overview of modal verbs

Overview of Modal VerbsOverview of Modal Verbs

MUST~HAVE TO~CANT (obligation, emphatic recommendation/advice and logical deduction)

Obligation Logical deduction

Present

must (obligation): I really must go home. Its late.

have/has (got) to (obligation): In the US everyone has to register their name and address in order to be able to vote.must (recommendation): If you have a cold, you must stay home!

must (logical truth): This must be the place. Its the only pub in the street.have/has (got) to (emphatic logical truth): The referees got to be joking! That was not a penalty!

+

mustnt (prohibition): You mustnt touch that kettle. Its hot!

cant (prohibition): You cant smoke here.

do/es not have to (no obligation/necessity): You dont have to pay to visit most museums in Britain. (Entrance is free)

cant (logical impossibility): This cant be the place theres no one inside and there are no lights on.

-

Past

had to (obligation): When I was at school, I had to wear a uniform must have (logical truth): There was a huge lighting last night it must have been the sea storm the weather forecast mentioned.had (got) to (emphatic logical truth): They had to make a mistake in the bank. Im absolutely sure I transferred your money correctly!

+

couldnt / was/were not allowed to (prohibition): The journalists couldnt/werent allowed to see the crime scene as the police wanted to avoid any sensationalism.didnt have to (no obligation/necessity): You didnt have to call John yesterday it was Bills turn!

cant have (logical impossibility): They cant have climbed over that wall without a ladder.

-

Future

must (obligation): The Council must cut costs next year.

will have to (obligation): If she thinks Im going to go with her to Anns party, shes utterly mistaken. Shell have to go on her own!must (recommendation): You really must come to the party!

must (logical truth): I thought the eclipse was today, but it must be happening tomorrowhave/has (got) to (emphatic logical truth): Bills so absent-minded! He forgot about our date! Hes got to feel really sorry when he realises.

+

wont be allowed to to (prohibition): Lets eat before we go. We wont be allowed to take food into the auditoriumwont have to (no obligation/necessity): If you finish your exercise in the class, you wont have to take it home

cant (logical impossibility): You really cant be going to Russia tomorrow. Why didnt you tell me?

-

2008, Universitat de Valncia. Beatriu Cardona i Prats. Page 1 of 4


SHOULD~OUGHT TO~HAD BETTER (recommendation/advice/regret, weak/moral obligation and probability)

Recommendation/advice, weak obligation Probability

Present

should/ ought to (advice): Even people as young as twenty-five should/ought to consider a personal pension.had better (advice: best thing to do): If you lost your keys on the train, youd better change the locks.should/ ought to (weak/moral obligation): You should/ought to treat your teacher with more respect.

should/ought to (probability): The plane should be landing about now.

+

shouldnt/ought not to (advice/formal): Children shouldnt/ought not to spend long periods in front of a computer screen.shouldnt/ought not to (weak/moral obligation): You shouldnt/ought not to lie to her like that: she trusts you!had better not (advice: best thing to do): Your had better not talk to your mother like that.

shouldnt/ought not to (improbability): There shouldnt be problems with traffic at that time of the evening.

-

Past

should have/ ought to have (regret): You should have prepared dinner! should have/ ought to have (probability): I dont know where our teacher can be. She should have arrived half an hour ago.

+

shouldnt/ ought not to have (regret): I shouldnt have brought my car. Ive spent 30 minutes looking for a parking place!

shouldnt shouldnt/ ought not to have (improbability): Bill? He left a few minutes ago, so he shouldnt have gone far.

-

Future

should / ought to (advice): You should visit her as soon as you can.

had better (advice: best thing to do): You had better finish your composition before 12am if you dont want to be penalised.

should/ought to (probability): There should be a new law next year, so weve just got to wait.

+

shouldnt / ought not to (advice): Ann shouldnt mention in the interview that she was sacked if she wants to get that job.had better not (advice: best thing to do): Your dog had better not dig up my rose bush again!

shouldnt/ought not to (improbability): There shouldnt be problems with your request. This is just a formality.

-



NEED (necessity)

Presentneed -ing /need to/have to: Need you shout so? Im right next to you!. Do you need to shout so? Do you have to shout so? +

need not/ do/es not need to/ do/es not have to: You neednt/don't need to/dont have to put the heating on yet. Its not cold enough. -

Past

needed to/-ing/ had to: In old times, milk needed to be boiled/boiling so as to eradicate the toxins in it. +

didnt need to/ need not have/ didnt have to: We didnt need to/have to take warm sweaters, as the weather was so good (we dont know whether the speaker took warm sweaters) We neednt have taken warm sweaters. We could have used the space in our luggage for more books, instead! (we know the speaker took warm sweaters for nothing)

-

Futurewill need to/-ing/ will have to: Well need to/have to come back to the Prop tomorrow. Theres always yet another paper to hand over! +

wont need to/-ing/ need not/ wont have to: With one of the new generation of food processors, cooks wont need to/ neednt/ wont have to peel or chop any more.

-

CAN~COULD~BE ABLE TO~MIGHT HAVE (ability)

Present

can: This book can be used by complete beginners. She can play the guitar amazingly well.

am/is/are able to (surprising ability): Despite his handicap he is able to drive a car.+

cant (lack of ability): She cant play the guitar at all Absolutely hopeless! -

Past

could: Mozart could play the piano at the age of five. . She was so exhausted she could hardly speak.

was/were able to (successful use of an ability on a specific occasion): Mikes car broke down but fortunately he was able to repair it.

could/might have (lost ability/opportunity): She could have paid by credit card but she preferred to use cash. I might have gone to university after leaving school but I chose to get a job instead.

+

couldnt/ wasnt/werent able to (lack of ability or success): Mozart couldnt speak French. Despite being a mechanic, Mike wasnt able to fix his car when it broke down yesterday.

-

Future

will be able to: If you pass all your examinations this year, itll mean that youll be able to communicate in English in any context. +

shouldnt / ought not to (advice): Ann shouldnt mention in the interview that she was sacked if she wants to get that job.had better not (advice: best thing to do): Your dog had better not dig up my rose bush again!

-



Notes1) must meaning recommendations and advice is usually heavy stressed in speech

2) have (got) to / must: The difference in meaning between have to and must can be fine and often depends on whether or not the speaker sees the

obligation as one they are imposing. we use have to to express an obligation we see as outside our control, e.g. rules imposed by an authority:

Students have to wear school uniforms.

We often use must to express an obligation imposed by the speaker:

I must get up earlier I waste so much time in the mornings.

Must is commonly used for the following situations:

a) to give a strong personal opinion: I believe people must vote at elections.

b) to impose an obligation on oneself: I really must lose some weight after Xmas.

c) to give instructions (often with a passive verb): The electricity must always be switched off before repairs are attempted.

However, must expresses a strong obligation and we do not often use it in face-to-face conversation as it can seem impolite and often inappropriate.

Meaning recommendation, though, must is widely used.

2) should and ought to are often used as an alternative to must (obligation) as they express a subjective (often moral) obligation felt by the speaker, but the

obligation is weaker than with must:

You should treat your teacher with more respect.

3) had better often has a sense of urgency and can be a warning or a threat.

4) should/ought to for probability express an statement we believe to be true because of our prior knowledge, experience or present evidence. We rarely use

should to predict a negative (unpleasant) situation. Instead, we use will.

There should be problems with traffic at that time. The roads should be awful

Therell be problems with traffic at that time. The roads will be awful


Notes

overview of modal verbs

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