Grammar

Intermediate - Grammar - Unit 3

Modal Verbs - Part 1

Basic modal verbs
can
could

the second form of can

may

might

the second form of may

shall

compare with will

should

the second form of shall

ought to

a semi-modal verb, the same meaning as should

a semi-modal verb

must
be allowed to

The verb have to is not the same as most of the verbs above.
After a modal verb, we always use the infinitive without "to":
I can swim.
You could be an actor.
She may come late.
Shall I open the window?
Children should learn a lot.
You ought to go to school.
I must meet him tonight.
They might never pass this exam.
Tom is not allowed to come home late.
All modal verbs work the same way:

e.g.
I can work.
She can work.

Can I work?
Can she work?

I can't work.
She can't work.

I could work.
She could work.

Could I work?
Could she work?

I couldn't work.
She couldn't work.

I might work.
She might work.

Might I work?
Might she work?

I mightn't work.
She mightn't work.

must + not (mustn't) means 'It is forbidden'.

Should / should have
The form: should + infinitive : talking about the present or future
The form should + have + past participle : talking about the past
Present advice

Regret & criticism

Robert should come home at 8.

Robert should have come home at 8.

Robert should be listening now.

Robert should have been listening then.

Jack should be friends with his

wife.

Jack should have been friends with his

wife.

We shouldn't drink so much.

We shouldn't have drunk so much.

They shouldn't drive so fast.

They shouldn't have driven so fast.

Susy shouldn't talk to strangers.

Susy shouldn't have talked to strangers.
Should we tell them?
Should we have told them?
Shouldn't you start worrying about
our daughter?
Shouldn't you have started worrying about
our daughter then?

The verbs "have to", "must" and "can" in the context of time
Past - only had to, and didn't have to appear in the past tense, in place
of must:
I had to work very hard.

I could work very hard.

She had to work very hard.

She could work very hard.

Did I have to work very hard?

Could I work very hard?

Did she have to work very hard?

Could she work very hard?

I didn't have to work very hard.

I couldn't work very hard.

She didn't have to work very hard.

She couldn't work very hard.

Present - In the present tense, we make the verb must negative by

using don't have to, or needn't:
I have to (must) work very hard.

She has to (must) work very hard.

Do I have to work very hard?

I can work very hard.

She can work very hard.

Can I work very hard?

Must I work very hard?

Does she have to work very hard?
Must she work very hard?

Can she work very hard?

I don't have to work very hard.

I can't work very hard.

She doesn't have to work very hard.

She can't work very hard.

must + not (mustn't) means 'It is forbidden.'

I mustn't work very hard.

I am forbidden to work very hard.

Future - In the future tense, we replace must with a form of have to,
or don't have to:
I will have to work very hard.

- I will be able to work very hard.

-

She will have to work very hard.

Will I have to work very hard?

- She will be able to work very hard.

Will she have to work very hard?

Will I be able to work very hard?

I will not have to work very hard.

Will she be able to work very hard?

-

She will not have to work very hard.

I will not be able to work very hard.

- She will not be able to work very hard.
-

Uses of "might"
The past form of the verb "may":
The soldiers were coming and they
might have caught you.
I think she might have done it.
"May I speak to your boss?" she asked.
She asked if she might speak to his
boss.
Suzy wanted to discuss it but I told her
that you might not be in all day.
You might like to try this blouse on.
Talking about possibility and probability (not as strong as "may"):

You might take a taxi.

She might be ill.
We might want to discuss it later.
Might I have been caught if I had not
been more careful?
They might not be here on time.

The short form mightn't is not very common.

Could he speak fluent English?

Did they have to go to bed before 10 p.m.?
Should we hve done anything more to help them?
Will I be able to go to the Metallica concert next week?
Is Susan allowed to stay up late at night?

Should I have told her the truth?

Should Tony be with you now that your father has died?
Could I win this match if I wanted to?
Might they be here any minute?
Ought I to study more if I want to pass this exam?
Should I always listen to my parents?
May I be with you shortly?
Could she drive anyone crazy?
Blind as he was, could he still sense other people's movements.

couldn`t meet
can`t stop
can`t find
could play
must be
couldn`t help
could give
could come round
should go
shouldn`t take
shouldn`t play
can`t trust

I couldn't meet him because I wasn't there.

She can't stop talking! She's the most talkative woman I've ever
met.

Have you seen my pullover? I can't find it anywhere.

I could play snooker so well that when I was 8 I took part in the local
snooker championships.
Listen! Someone's knocking at the door. It must be Peter. He's the

only one who knows we're here.

The man rejected my offer of help so I couldn't help him.

I know you always leave your work late at night. Maybe I could
give you a lift next time?
Mother wanted to know if I could come round for her at about 8
p.m.
There's no point waiting for a table here. We should go somewhere
else if we don't want to waste the whole evening.
In my opinion she shouldn't take part in the competition just yet.
She's still got a lot to learn!
The boys shouldn't play basketball at this time. They should be at
school.
You can't trust her. She is very deceptive and might cause you a lot
of trouble.

He couldn`t speak fluent English.

They didn`t have to go to bed before 10 p.m.
We shouldn`t have done something more to help them.
I won`t be able to go to the Metallica concert next week.
Susan isn`t allowed to stay up late at night.
I shouldn`t have told her the truth.

Tony shouldn`t be with you now that your father has died.
I couldn`t win this match if I wanted to.
They might not be here any minute.
I oughtn`t to study more if I want to pass this exam.
I shouldn`t always listen to my parents.