Modal verbs
Core modal verbs have only one form. They have noto-infinitive form, -ingform, past form or -edform. We have to reword what we want to say by using other expressions:
I’d love to be able to see the Taj Mahal one day.
Not:I’d love to can see the Taj Mahal one day.
They had to sell their house.
Not:They musted sell their house.
Affirmative (+) forms
Modal verbs are placed first in the verb phrase (after the subject) and are followed by a verb in the base form. The next verb may be a main verb or an auxiliary verb (be,have):
Modal verbs do not change form for tense or person. Modal verbs can be followed by the substitute verbdo:
A:We thought hemightsell the house
B:Yes, hecould do.
Modal verbs cannot be used with another modal verb:
Windsurfingcanbe difficult.
Not:Windsurfing can might be difficult. orWindsurfing might can be difficult.
Modal verbs always go before other verbs in a verb phrase:
[in a restaurant after a meal]
I think the billcouldbe expensive.
Not:I think the bill could expensive.
Youcango swimming, go for a long walk or visit the exhibition.
Not:You can swimming, go for a long walk or visit the exhibition.
Modal verbs can only be used alone when the main verb is clearly understood:
A:Shecouldtake the bus.
B:Yeah, that’s true. Shecould. (She could take the bus.)
A:He may be wrong, you know.
B:Yes, hemay. (Yes, he may be wrong.)
Negative (−) forms
Negatives are formed by adding ‘not’ after the modal verbs. We don’t usedon’t/doesn’t/didn’twith modal verbs:
Wecan’thear very well at the back.
Not:We don’t can hear very well…
Question (?) forms
The subject and the modal verb change position to form questions. We don’t usedo/does/did:
Couldyou help me?
Not:Do you could help me?
Willit be a problem?
Not:Does it will be a problem?
Whycan’tyou come too?
Not:Why don’t you can come too?
We use modal verbs in question tags:
Youcan’tlive like that,canyou?
Itcouldbe any of those things,couldn’tit?
See also:
Question tags
Tags
Contracted forms
In speakingshallandwillare often contracted to ’llandwouldis contracted to ’d, especially when they follow a pronoun:
I’llsee you later.
We’llnever get there.
I knew they’dlove it.
The negative forms of modal verbs are often contracted.
modal verb | uncontracted negative | contracted negative |
can | cannot(usually written as one word not two) | can’t/kɑnt/ |
could | could not | couldn’t/ˈkʊdənt/ |
may | may not | |
might | might not | mightn’t/ˈmaɪtənt/ |
will | will not | *won’t/wəʊnt/ or’ll not |
shall | shall not | *shan’t/ʃɑnt/ or’ll not |
would | would not | *wouldn’t/ˈwʊdənt/ or’d not |
should | should not | shouldn’t/ˈʃʊdənt/ |
must | must not | mustn’t/ˈmʌsənt/ |
* is the more common of the two forms.
Modal verbs and adverbs
We usually put adverbs in mid position between the modal verb and the main verb:
Loud noises maysometimesfrighten dogs and other animals.
You’llprobablynotice something different about the house.
When the main verb is understood, we can put the adverb between the subject and the modal verb:
A:I canneverremember Flo’s number.
B:Inevercan either. (I can never remember Flo’s number either.)
Dare,need,ought toandused to(semi-modal verbs)
Dare, need, ought toandused toareoften called semi-modalbecause in some ways they are formed like modal verbs and in some ways they arelike other main verbs.
Like modal verbs,ought toandused todo not change form for person.Needn’tanddaren’tdo not have a third person-sin the present:
Itused tobe so easy. Itought tobe easy now.
Sheneedn’tworry.
Johndaren’ttell Ruth about the accident.
Like main verbs, the negative form ofneed,dareandused tois made by usingdo. But it can also be made without usingdo(like modal verbs).
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The negative form ofought tois not made withdo:
Weoughtn’t tospend so much money.
Not:We don’t ought to spend so much money.
Like main verbs, the question form forneed, dareandused tois made by usingdo:
Doessheneedto get a camera before she goes away?
Didyouuse toplay football when you were a child?
Question and negative forms ofought toare rare.
See also:
Dare
Need
Ought to
Used to