Modals: ability, permission, advice, obligation and necessity, degrees of certainty (with simple or continuous infinitives)

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Form:All modals (will, would, should, can, could, may, might, must) and the semi-modal ought to have only one form.

Modalsare always followed by the bare infinitive.

e.g. I think, you should go to the doctor.

Modal equivalents have to, need to, be able to, be allowed to may change in the same way as other verbs.

e.g. The doctor said I had/needed to give up smoking.

I’ll be able to leave hospital in a few weeks.

Modals: ability and possibility

Use	Modal verb	Example
Expressing ability	can	I can run a kilometer in four minutes.
Expressing decisions	can	We can meet at the gym tomorrow, if you like.
Expressing ability in the past	could	I could already swim when I was five.
Talking about possible actions now or in the future	could	When you are in Paris you could stay with Julia.
Expressing unrealistic actions	could	I’m so hungry I could eat a sheep!

Attention!

· We use be able to for the infinitive and other tenses.

I’d love to be able to fit into these jeans again.

· We use could for general ability. But if you speak about a specific case use was/were able to or managed to (not could).

The child was lost but they were able/managed to find him in the end.

See EGU: U26, pp.52-53, U27 (A,B,C), pp.54-55

Modals: permission.

Use	Modal verb	Example
Asking for and giving permission	May/ could/can	May/Could/Can I talk to the manager, please?

Attention! We don’t usually use a modal verb to talk about past permission.

e.g. We were allowed to use dictionaries during the test.

However, we do use could to talk about past permission in the reported speech.

See EGU: U37, pp.74-75

Modals: advice

Use	Modal verb	Example
Asking for and giving advice	should ought to	You should/ought togo to bed early tonight.

Attention!

· For advice you can also use had better, which is similar to should but not exactly the same. We use had better only for a specific situation (not for things in general). You can use should in all types of situations to give an opinion or give advice:

e.g. It’s late. You’d bettergo./ You should go. (a specific situation)

· Also, had bettermeans there is always a danger or a problem if you don’t follow the advice.

e.g. The train leaves in 15 minutes. You’d bettergo now or you’ll be late.

See UGU: U33, pp.66-67, U35, pp.70-71.

Modals: obligation and necessity

Use	Modal verb	Example
Expressing obligation or necessity	must/have to/need to	I must/have to/need to pick up the prescribed medicine from the chemist on the way home.
Expressing lack of obligation or necessity	needn’t/don’t have to/ don’t need to	You needn’t/don’t have to/don’t need to pick up that prescription today.
Expressing past obligation	had to	I had to take pills three times a day for two weeks
Expressing lack of past obligation	didn’t have to/didn’t need to	Ididn’t have to go to the doctor.

Attention!

· There is usually very little difference in meaning between must and have to. However, we are more likely to use must for personal obligation (making our own decision about what we must do) and have to for external obligation (someone else making a decision about what we must do).

· We can also use will have to/will need to to express future obligation.

You’ll have to be more careful about what you eat in future.

· It is unusual to use must for questions. We usually use have/need to.

Do I have totake this medicine before meal every day?

· Mustn’t and don’t/doesn’t have to/need to have different meanings.

You mustn’t do that! (Don’t do that!)

You don’t have to/need to do that. (You can do that if you want but it’s not

necessary.

See EGU: U31-32, pp. 62-65

Modals: degrees of certainty

Use	Modal verb	Example
Expressing certainty (or near certainty)	must can’t couldn’t	That must be the doctor at the door. These can’t/couldn’t be the pills; they are wrong colour.
Expressing probability	should ought to	You should/ought to feel better in a few days if you get some rest.
Expressing possibility	could may might	You should talk to your doctor first because this diet could/may/might be dangerous.

See EGU: U28, pp.56-57, U29, pp.58-59.

Modalityis about a speaker's attitude towards the world. A speaker or writer can express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity and ability by using modal words and expressions. Speakers often have different opinions about the same thing.

Often the same modal verb is used to express different meanings.

Meaning	Verb	Example
Really certain	will/ must/can't	My birthday will be on Sunday this year. The cakes must be ready soon. They've been in the oven for fifty minutes. You can't be hungry. You had a huge lunch.
Very likely	should/ought to	The traffic isn't heavy. We should/ought to be there in an hour.
Possible	may/might/could	She may/might/could be a friend of Richard's.
Strong obligation	must/have to/need to	You must arrive at 6 to pick up the tickets. I have to get up early twice a week. We need to win this game to get into the final.
Weak obligation	should/ought to	Children should/ought to look after their parents in old age.
No obligation	needn't/don't need to/don't have to	I needn't/don't need to/don't have to do it now. I'll do it later.
Permission	can/may/could/might	Can/May I borrow the chair? You can/may go now if you've finished. Could we borrow the car? Might we have a little more time to finish the exam?(very formal)
No permission	can't/may not/must not	You can't go in without a ticket. You may not enter while the exam is in progress. (formal) You must not leave your bike in front of the fire exit.
Offer	will/shall	I'll help you. Don't worry. Shall I go and make dinner?
Request	will/would/could	Will/would you close the door, please? Could you help me, please?
Promise	will	I'll come back before 6.
Decision	will	I think I'll eat later. I'm not hungry now.
Advice and suggestion	should	You should apply for that job.
Ability	can/could	Can you swim underwater? I could play tennis much better 10 years ago.
General truth	can/may	Too much exercise can be bad for you. A list of verbs may be found at the back of the book.

Question Patterns:

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