Modal Auxiliaries

 Can
 We use can to:
 talk about possibility and ability
 make requests
 ask for or give permission
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Examples:
 I can drive a truck. (ability)
 Can I come in? (request)
 Can I use your cell phone? (permission)
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Use of Could
 could: Past Possibility or Ability
 could: Requests
 Modal Auxiliaries
 May & Might
 May
 Talking about things that can happen in
certain situations
 Might
 Saying that something was possible, but did
not actually happen
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Examples:
 The sky is very dark. It may (or might) rain
today.
 John is tight-fist, but he might lend you
some money.
 May I come in? (request – polite)
 May your dreams come true.
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Must
 Necessity and obligation
 Strong advice and invitations
 Saying you think something is certain

 Must not / mustn’t

 Prohibition
 Modal Auxiliaries
Examples:
Obligation
We must drink water to survive.
She must pay this bill today.
Deduction
John hasn’t drunk water for 10 hours. He must be
thirsty.
Prohibition: You mustn’t smoke in the
elevator.
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Should = ought to
 Giving advice
 Obligation: weak form of must
 Things which didn't or may/may not have
happened
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Ought to
Ought to usually has the same meaning as
should, particularly in affirmative statements
in the

 You should/ought to get your hair cut.

 Should is much more common (and easier
to say!), so if you're not sure, use should.
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Notes:
 Modal verbs do not accept other auxiliares
 Eg.Do,does,did, will
 They do not receive an “s” in the 3rd person
of singular.
 Eg. He cans. – Completely wrong.
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Therefore, if you want to say something that
you can do or must do in the future or in the
past you have to do the following:
 Can = to be able to
 I will be able to swim well in two months.
 I was able to dance well when I was young.
 Modal Auxiliaries
 Must = have to
 You will have to talk to Sue tomorrow first
thing in the morning.
 They had to stay at home all last weekend
long because the weather was terrible. It
snowed all the time.
 Today is Sunday. I don’t have to go to
school.
 Primary helping verbs
 To have is also in combination with other
modal verbs to express probability and
possibility in the past.
 As an affirmative statement, to have can
express how certain you are that something
happened (when combined with an
appropriate modal + have + a past
participle)
 Primary helping verbs
 Examples:
 I should have bought that car that I saw in
the agency last Sunday.
 I can’t find my keys. I must have left them in
the restaurant while we were having lunch.
 Why didn’t you help that old lady cross the
street. You could have helped her.
 Primary helping verbs
 As a negative statement, a modal is
combined with not + have + a past participle
to express how certain you are that
something did not happen:
 “George might not have known about the
gifts."