Modal Verbs (10)

can

could

might

may

ought to

will
must
would

shall
should

Instead of Modals, we can use:

need

be able to

have to -

allow

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Modal Verbs
1. Structure of Modal Verbs

I
You
He
She
It

Modal Verb
(can /should, etc.)

Bare Infinitive
(without TO)

We
They
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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

[Contents of UNIT 5]

1. OBLIGATION
1. AFFIRMATIVE:
Must + verb: You must leave now.
Have to/has to + verb: She has to leave now.
2. INTERROGATIVE
Must + verb?: Must she leave now?
Do / Does + have to + verb?: Does she have to leave now?
For obligation we can often use MUST or HAVE TO:

You must leave

now.
Women must
stay home and
raise their
children.

I must
catch the
bus or Ill
have to
walk

I must go now or Ill miss the bus.

I have to go now or Ill miss the bus.
We also use MUST to give orders or strong advice, including to ourselves:
You must tell me everything. (=I feel curious about all this)
Sara must be home by midnight. (=these are my instructions)
You must come to the hotel one day. (=I strongly advise you to)
I must go now. (=I have decided to do this)
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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

We only use must in the present tense. In all other tenses, we use have to:
I had to work every day. (past simple)
Ill have to work longer hours. (future)
I avoided having to speak to him by crossing the street. (verb + -ing)
If I got the job, Id have to buy a car. (Necessity)
EXAMPLES:

The Present: Karen must cook for all the guests.

The Past: Karen had to cook for all the guests.
The Future: Karen will

have to cook for all the guests.

Verb + -ing: She avoided having to cook for all the guests by pretending she was ill.
Necessity: If she had 100 guests, shed have to cook for all of them.

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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

MUSTNT and DONT HAVE TO
Although must and have to both express obligation, mustnt and dont have to
have different meanings.
MUSTNT means dont do it and DONT HAVE TO means its not necessary to do it:
We mustnt make a lot of noise (= it is wrong to do this and it isnt allowed)
You dont have to stay at school until youre 18. (= you are not obliged to but you can if you want)

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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

1.1. OBLIGATION or ADVICE
SHOULD OUGHT TO
We use should and ought to to express advice or make recommendations:
You should eat less fat if you want to lose weight.
You ought to relax if you don't want to get ill.
You shouldn't be rude to anybody.
You oughtn't to tell lies.
When we are talking about the right thing to do, we use SHOULD:
Mark should take more care when hes cycling. (= its a good idea but he doesnt)
I shouldnt spend so much time watching TV. (its a bad idea but I still do it)
To talk about the past, we use SHOULD HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE:
We shouldnt have lent him the money. (=it was a bad idea but we still did)
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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

3. NECESSITY
We can use NEED like a normal verb in all the tenses, but it can also be used as a
modal verb in questions and in the negative:
Need I come with you? (=Do I need to come with you?)
I neednt come. (if I dont want to) (=I dont need to come. / I dont have to come)

In positive statements, we say:

I need to come. (not I need come.)

I needn't buy any more bread; I have plenty here.

But I need to buy some vegetables.

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Modal Verbs of Obligation and Necessity

To talk about the past we say:

Peter needed to buy a computer. (=it was necessary because he didnt have one)
Peter didnt need to buy a computer. (=it wasnt necessary because he already had one)

NEEDNT HAVE has a different meaning:

Peter neednt have bought a computer. (= he bought a computer but his parents gave him
one so now he has two!)
You neednt have
come here. There is
nothing wrong with
you, youre a
Picasso.

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Modal Verbs for Ability, Possibility and Permission

Can Could - May
CAN is used to indicate ABILITY, POSSIBILITY and PERMISSION
Ability: He can sing very well. (= Hes able to sing)
Possibility: You can add graphics to your web pages. (= You can do it if you want to.)
Permission: Can I use your mobile phone? (= Am I allowed to use it?)
COULD is also used to indicate POSSIBILITY, ABILITY or PERMISSION.
He could swim very well when he was 5. (= he was able to swim)
We couldnt send e-mails 30 years ago (= we didnt have the possibility)
Could I just interrupt you for a minute? (= polite request / permission)
BE ALLOWED + TO INFINITIVE is also used for general permission

(all tenses are possible)

We are allowed to smoke in the office. (= We can smoke in the office).

We arent allowed to smoke in the office. (= We cant smoke in the office).

Past tense: was/were allowed

We were allowed to smoke in the office.

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Modal Verbs for Ability, Possibility and Permission

MAY is used to indicate POSSIBILITY, and PERMISSION.
(May is a polite modal verb used to ask for permission)
He may talk about e-business.
Can/May I go to the bathroom? (In this case May is more formal than can)

MIGHT is also used to indicate WEAK POSSIBILITY.

The prices of Smartphones might go down next month.

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Be supposed to - Had better

1. be supposed to
We use "be supposed to" when we are talking about the normal or correct way of doing things.
The guests are supposed to buy flowers for the hostess.
Look at these cars. This area is supposed to be kept clear of traffic.
The bus driver needs to concentrate. Youre not supposed to talk to him.
How am I supposed to cook this? - It tells you on the packet.
We can use "was/were supposed to" for the past.
Its eleven oclock. You were supposed to be here at ten thirty, you know.

2. had better
We use "had better" to say what is the best thing to do in a situation.
Its cold. The children had better wear their coats.
The neighbours are complaining. Wed better turn the music down.
My mother is complaining. I 'd better help her with the household.
My husband is waiting for me. Id better hurry up.

We could also use "should" or "ought to" in these examples, although "had better" is
stronger. The speaker sees the action as necessary and expects that it will happen.
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Let and Make

Grammar:
Make + Someone + Infinitive (without to) means "to force someone to do something
Let

+ Someone + Infinitive (without to) means "to allow someone to do something"

My parents make me do the homework every day.

My parents let me watch TV late at night at the weekend.

End