CAN and COULD
MAY and MIGHT
WILL and WOULD
SHOULD
MUST
HAD BETTER
HAVE TO
Modals,
also referred to as modal verbs or modal auxiliaries, are words such as: can, could,
may, might,
will, would,
should, must, had better. These are helping verbs, each of
which has more than one meaning that we placed before the main verbs to express:
ability, possibility, necessity, certainty, make polite requests, or ask for
permission, and more.
1. CAN and COULD
Can and could are modal verbs. They are used with other
verbs to convey ideas such as possibility, permission, etc.
We use can:
v to
talk about possibility and ability;
EXAMPLE: I can ride a
horse.
EXAMPLE: He can speak
three languages.
v to
make requests or give orders;
EXAMPLE: Can you buy me
a can of beer?
EXAMPLE: Can you
complete now what you are doing?
v to
ask for or give permission.
EXAMPLE: Can I come in
now?
Note: we may also
use could, may and might for permission.
when we
decide we are able to do something for the present or future.
EXAMPLE: We can have our
dinner now.
EXAMPLE: We can go
swimming tomorrow.
Could
is one of the modal verbs. We use could:
v as
the past tense of can.
EXAMPLE: Jane said she could get the tickets for us.
v when
we wish to be very polite.
EXAMPLE: Could I go now, please?
v to
show what was possible in the past.
EXAMPLE: He could
cycle when he was four years old.
v to
ask someone to do something.
EXAMPLE: Could you
buy some cigarettes for me?
v to
show the ability to do something.
EXAMPLE: My grandmother could
speak Spanish.
v to
show that one is allowed to do something.
EXAMPLE: We could choose
to do the course we wanted.
v for
an action now or in the future.
EXAMPLE: It's a nice day. We could go for a walk.
EXAMPLE: When I go to London next week, I could stay with my uncle
v for
something that should have been done in the past.
EXAMPLE: I was so tired. I could have slept the whole day.
v with
present perfect tense for things which were possible to happen but didn't or an
event which we are not sure about.
EXAMPLE: You could
have taken a different route to avoid the traffic jam.
EXAMPLE: He could
have broken the glass. / She couldn't have
broken the glass.
Points to note:
v We
do not use can with infinitive verb.
EXAMPLE: We can play
football today. (NOT: We can to play football today.)
v We
commonly use Can I to offer to do
something
EXAMPLE: Can I help you to do it
v Sometimes
it is necessary to use (be) able to in place of can.
EXAMPLE: I can't contact him. / I haven't been able to
contact him for two days. (It is not possible to use can with present perfect
tense).
v Where
the subject is singular, we do not add –s to
the verb following can or could
EXAMPLE: He can swim.
(NOT: He can swims.)
EXAMPLE: We could smell burning. (NOT: We could smells
burning)
v Could
is less sure than can, so we use could when we do not really mean what we say.
EXAMPLE: I am so hungry. I could eat the whole chicken.
(NOT: I can eat the whole chicken).
2. MAY and MIGHT
We use may or might to:
make a suggestion or an assumption.
EXAMPLE: Everyone is looking for George. He may/might
be in the toilet.
indicate that something is a possibility.
EXAMPLE: What we are told may/might be true.
possibly take the place of could.
EXAMPLE: That man over there looks like Mike. He
could/may/might be Mike.
say about something that is possible to
happen in the future.
EXAMPLE: We may visit them in Birmingham for the summer
holidays.
EXAMPLE: They might go out later when the weather
improves.
(For these two examples, we can also use might visit or
may go.)
For something that happened in the
past, we can use may have or might have.
EXAMPLE: She may have been asleep when the burglar
entered the house.
EXAMPLE: The police think he might have seen the
robbery and are looking for him.
We use ‘might’, and not ‘may’, for an
unreal situation.
EXAMPLE: If I met her again, I might ask for her
telephone number.
(It is quite unlikely that I meet her again, so I don’t
get to ask for her telephone number. We do not use may here.)
We can use the continuing form with
may/might.
EXAMPLE: I may/might be reading in the library this
evening.
We can use be going with may/might.
EXAMPLE: We may/might be going to Australia next month.
// We may/might go to Australia next month. (These sentences do not change in
meaning)
3. WILL and WOULD
Ø We
use will and would
for polite questions.
EXAMPLE: Will/would you phone me later?
Ø for
invitations
EXAMPLE: Will/would join us for a drink?
Ø for
offering something
EXAMPLE: Would/wouldn't you like a coffee or tea?
Ø for
asking someone to do something
EXAMPLE: Will/would you please top grumbling about the
weather?
4. SHOULD
We use should
Ø for
a strong suggestion.
EXAMPLE: You should go back to him. (It's not a 'must'
but it would be good to do so.)
Ø for
advice and recommendations.
EXAMPLE: You should not be going now. It's going to
rain anytime.
Ø for
something that is right or morally right to do.
EXAMPLE: You should cut down on your heavy drinking.
Ø when
something is not right or normal.
EXAMPLE: They should be queuing up
Ø for
something or something fair to happen.
EXAMPLE: She has been shoplifting, so she should be
caught.
Ø for
the present moment.
EXAMPLE: You look tired. You should go to bed now.
Ø in
place of ought to. (No difference in meaning here.)
EXAMPLE: I think you should/ought to make more time for
yourself to relax.
Ø with
if.
EXAMPLE: If Jane should come while I'm out, please tell
her to wait.
5. MUST
o
We use must when we feel something is true.
EXAMPLE: You have been talking for so long your mouth
must be very dry now.
o
We use must when it is necessary to do
something.
EXAMPLE: I haven't seen my parents for a long while. I
must visit them at the weekend.
o
We can use must for the present or future.
EXAMPLE: We must leave now before the weather gets
worse.
EXAMPLE: We must leave very early tomorrow or we will
be late.
o
We use must have for something that we
think happened in the past.
EXAMPLE: He must have gone out while I was sleeping.
6. HAD BETTER
We usually
use had better to give advice or warning or make a suggestion about something
bad that is likely to happen.
EXAMPLE: You are coughing loudly. You had better see a
doctor.
EXAMPLE: I am overeating. I had better go on a diet.
EXAMPLE: We think she had better not befriend him. He
is a drug addict.
ü Had
better can be replaced by should/ought to and retain the meaning.
EXAMPLE: You are coughing loudly. You should/ought to
see a doctor.
EXAMPLE: I am overeating. I should/ought to go on a
diet.
EXAMPLE: We think she should/ought to befriend him. He
is a drug addict.
7. HAVE TO
We use have to:
v to
show it is necessary to do something.
EXAMPLE: I have to leave now as they are waiting for
me.
v when
circumstances dictate that we do something.
EXAMPLE: He has to see the doctor every month to treat
his skin disorder.
v for
the present or future.
EXAMPLE: All of us have to attend a meeting now.
EXAMPLE: We have to work late tomorrow.
v with
the past tense.
EXAMPLE: We had to do the training in order to be
eligible.
v in
place of have got to. There is no difference in meaning.
EXAMPLE: I have to/have got to give a talk tomorrow.
