Grammar Corner 5- MODALS

Modal verbs Verbs used instead of modals

Can – képes, tud, -hat, -het

Could – képes volt, tudott, -hatott, -hetett
tudna to be able to – képes

may – -hat, -het (megenged), lehet

might - -hat, -het (megenged), lehet to be allowed to- megengedik neki
to be permitted to – engedélyezik
neki
shall – fog, -jak, -jek
will – fog, valószínűleg
should – kellene, jó lenne ha
ought to – kellene, illene (erősebb, mint a should)
would - -na, -ne, múlt idejű rendszeresség

must – kell, muszáj have to – kell (külső kényszer)

mustn’t – tilos
needn’t – nem kell, nem szükséges

used to – szokott

dare – mer, merészel

Rules:
1. You cannot use two modals in a clause : NO will may
BUT He may go home tomorrow.
2. They cannot get endings: NO he mays
BUT He may go.
3. The verb that follows the modal is always in short infinitive: may go, should try
4. They usually form their past tense with ‘modal+have+verb 3 rd form’: We might have
done our homework.
Exception: can – tud / could – tudott
To express future or perfect tenses, we use the verbs that are used instead of modals: I
have been able to play the guitar for a year.

USE

I. ABILITY - KÉPESSÉG can, could, to be able to

1. Present/past ability – can/could, be able to

a. We use ‘can/could’ to express general ability: I can swim. = Tudok úszni.

I could swim when I was three. = Már
három éves koromban tudtam úszni.
b. We also use ‘can’ when we talk about something that refers to the moment of
speaking: Look! I can stand on my head. = Nézd! Tudok fejen állni!
c. ‘Can/could’ is used to express the continuous aspect of verbs such as feel, hear, see,
smell, taste: I can hear the baby crying. = Hallom, hogy sír a gyerek.
d. ‘To be able to’ is used to express physical ability: John has broken his leg but he is
still able to walk. = John eltörte a lábát, mégis képes járni.
e. We use ‘to be able to’ when we want to emphasise. We could also use ‘succeed in
doing’ or ‘manage to do’ instead: I couldn’t find pineapples in three shops, but I was
able to/ managed to buy some in the fourth one. = Három boltban nem volt ananász,
végül a negyedikben sikerült venni.

2. Future ability, ability in perfect tenses: can, to be able to

a. ‘Can’ is only possible when we decide in the moment of speaking: I can’t play football
with you today, but we can go and play tomorrow. = Ma nem tudok focizni veled, de
holnap tudok menni.
b. All other future and perfect forms are expressed with the help of ‘to be able to’: I have
been able to swim for five years.

3. Unreal present and past ability: could, could have done

I could write. Tudnék írni. (De nem akarok!)
I could have written when I was 4. = Tudtam volna írni négy éves koromban. (De nem
akartam!)

II. POSSIBILITY – LEHETŐSÉG must/will, can, could, may, might

Must can may could might can’t

Will (-,?)
Certain possible possible possible less possible impossible
(bizonyára) (valószínű, (valószínű, (lehet) (lehet) (ki van zárva)
lehet) lehet)

1. Present possibility
a. We use must/may/might and could in affirmative sentences depending on how certain
we are:
There is a knock on the door. It must be Jim. = Kopognak. Bizonyára Jim az.
It may/might be Jim. Talán Jim az.
It may/might as well be Jim. Akár Jim is lehet/ne.
It could be Jim. Lehetne Jim. (de
valószínűleg nem ő.

b. ‘Can’ usually refers to general truth in the present, otherwise it is not used in
affirmative sentences:
Summers can be really hot here. = Nyáron nagyon meleg tud lenni itt.
c. We refer to actions in the moment of speaking by using ‘modal + be + verb + ing’:
John must be learning. = John bizonyára éppen tanul.
John may/might learning. = Lehet, hogy John éppen tanul.
John could be learning. = John éppen tanulhatna. (Van rá lehetősége, de valószínűleg
nem teszi.)
d. In questions we use ‘can/could’:
Can/Could he be learning? = Lehet, hogy épp tanul?
We only use ‘may/might’ in structures like: Do you think she may/might be learning
now? = Gondolod, hogy épp tanul?

e. In negative we use ‘cannot, could not, may not, might not’:

It can’t be John. = Ki van zárva, hogy John az.
John cannot be learning. = Lehetetlen, hogy John épp tanul.
(Mary couldn’t be at home. = Mary nem lehetne otthon. – rarely used structure)
John may/might not come. Lehet, hogy John nem jön el.

2. Past possibility

a. We use ‘must/may/might/could + past participle (have + verb3rd form)’:

She must have learnt it. = Bizonyára megtanulta.
She may/might have learnt it. = Lehet, hogy megtanulta.
She could have learnt it. = Megtanulhatta volna. (Valószínűleg nem tette.)

b. In interrogative sentences we use ‘can/could + past participle’, however when

answering, we only use ‘may, might and could + past participle’:
Can/Could there have been a storm here? = Lehetséges az, hogy itt vihar volt?
There must have been. = Bizonyára.
There may/might/could have been. = Lehet.

c. Negative sentences are formed using ‘can, may, might + past participle’
It can’t have been John who you saw last night. He has green hair, not red. = Ki van
zárva, hogy John-nal találkoztál tegnap este. Neki zöld haja van, nem piros.
He may/might not have heard the bell. = Lehet, hogy nem hallotta a csöngőt.

3. Future possibility

a. For expressing future possibility, we use ‘will, may, might, could’. ‘Shall’ and
‘should/ought to’ are also possible:
It will certainly be a storm tomorrow. = Holnap biztosan vihar lesz.
It may/might/could be a storm tomorrow. = Lehet, hogy holnap vihar lesz.
I shall/should be at home tomorrow. = Holnap valószínűleg itthon leszek.
The test ought not to be too difficult. = Nem kellene túl nehéznek lenni a tesztnek.
(Valószínűleg nem lesz az.)

b. ‘Can’ is not normally used to talk about future possibilities. However, we use it when
we want to refer to a choice of different possibilities in the future:
‘Where shall we go next week?’ ‘We can either go to Balaton or to the mountains.’

III. PERMISSION – ENGEDÉLY can, could, may, might be allowed to

1. We ask for permission in the present. We use can/could/may/might depending on how

polite we want to be.

can could may might (rarely used)

least polite polite more polite the most polite
 However, we only use ‘can’ or ‘may’ to give permission:

‘Mum, can/could I go and play?’ = Anya, mehetek játszani?

‘Yes, you can.’/ ‘No, you can’t.’ = Igen/nem mehetsz.
(‘You could.’ = Elvben mehetnél, de nem engedlek el.)

‘May/Might I come with you, mister?’ = Jöhetek önnel, uram?

‘Yes, you may.’ /’No, you may not.’ = Igen/nem jöhet.
(‘You might.’ = Akár jöhetne, de nem szeretném.)

We can also use ‘be not allowed to’ (nem engedik), ‘mustn’t’ (tilos), ‘shouldn’t’ (nem
kellene), ‘oughtn’t to’ (nem kellene), ‘had better not’ (jobb lenne, ha nem) to refuse
permission.

You shouldn’t/had better not go there. = Jobb lenne, ha nem mennél oda.

2.
a. We use ‘could’, ‘was/were allowed/permitted to’ to express past permission:

When I was a child, I could only stay up late in the holidays. =

Gyerekkoromban csak a szünetekben maradhattam fenn későig.
We were not allowed to wear tattoos at school. = Iskoláskoromban nem lehetett
tetoválásunk.

b. To express unreal permission in the past, we use ‘should not/ought not to + have +
verb 3rd form’:

You shouldn’t have/oughtn’t have to come here. = Nem lett volna szabad
idejönnöd.

3. In the future we use ‘can’ or ‘will be able to’:

We can/will be able to stay here for the whole week. = Itt maradhatunk egész héten.

IV. ADVICE – TANÁCS should, ought to, need

1. We use ‘should’ and ‘ought to’ to express advice in present tense:
You should sleep more. = Többet kellene aludnod.
You ought to sleep more. = Tényleg többet kellene aludnod. (stronger advice)

2. We use ‘shouldn’t’ or rarely ‘oughtn’t to’ to express criticism in the present. If we

want to say that something is not necessary, we use ‘needn’t’:
You shouldn’t wash the dishes, it’s Mary’s turn. = Nem kellene mosogatnod, Mari a
soros.
You needn’t wash the dishes, we have a dishwasher. = Nem kell elmosogatnod, van
mosogatógépünk.
 3. We use ‘should/ought to + have + verb 3rd form’ to talk about advice referring to the
past:
You should/ought to have gone to that party. = El kellett volna menned arra a bulira.
4. We use ‘shouldn’t / oughtn’t to + have + verb 3rd form’ to express criticism concerning
the past:
You shouldn’t have eaten the whole cake. = Nem kellett volna megenned az egész
tortát. (Nem volt szép tőled.)
You needn’t have brought that umbrella, it isn’t cloudy. = Nem kellett volna elhoznod
az ernyőt, nem felhős az ég.

V. OBLIGATION – KÉNYSZER

Must have to need to had better ought to should

very strong strong necessity milder obl. advice advice

inner outside

1. To express obligation in the present, we usually use ‘must’ and ‘have to’. Must is
usually used to express inner obligation, namely that the person wants to do
something. However, we also use ‘must to express very strong obligation independent
from the person’s wishes, and we use it to talk about signs. ‘Will’ is also used to
express strong orders.
When we talk about something that the person is obliged to do from the outside, such
as rules, laws, etc, we use ‘have to’:

I must go now, I have a lot of work to do. = Mennem kell, egy csomó dolgom van.
Students in Britain have to wear uniforms. = Nagybritanniában a diákoknak
egyenruhát kell hordani.
You mustn’t step on grass! = Fűre lépni tilos!
You must do it! = Meg kell tenned! (Mert én így akarom!)
You will do it! = Megteszed! (Parancsolom!)

2. Past obligation is expressed with ‘had to’:

When I was a student I had to wear uniform. = Amikor diák voltam, egyenruhát kellett
hordanom.

4. Future obligation: ‘will + have to’

You will have to go now. = Most már el kell menned.

VI. OFFERS – AJÁNLAT shall I/we?

To make offers, we use ‘shall I/we?’:

Shall I carry your bag? = Vigyem a táskádat?

VII. REQUESTS – KÉRÉSEK will can would could

least polite more polite polite polite

Can/Could/Would you help me, please? = Segítenél, kérlek?

Sure. = Persze. (Nem utasítunk vissza kérést!)