MODAL VERBS

23/24
 INDEX
1.- DEFINITION AND LIST

2.- GOLDEN RULES (link)

3.- MODALS AND USES (link)
4.- SEMI - MODALS AND USES (link)

5.- MODAL PERFECT AND

USES (link)
1.- DEFINITION AND LIST

A.- DEFINITION

B.- LIST OF MODALS

C.- LIST OF SEMI - MODALS

1A.- DEFINITION
● Modal verbs ARE main verb to
NOT “full verbs” convey meaning

● Add meaning to the possibility, ability,

main verb permission or obligation

● They follow the “Golden Rules”

1B.- LIST OF MODALS

CAN / COULD OUGHT TO / SHALL / SHOULD

CAN’T / COULDN’T
WILL / WOULD / WOULDN’T
MAY / MIGHT
NEEDN’T
MUST / MUSTN’T
1C.- LIST OF SEMI - MODALS

BE ABLE TO

HAVE TO / HAS TO

DON’T HAVE TO / DOESN’T HAVE TO

2.- GOLDEN RULES

Modal verbs MUST follow the 4 “Golden Rules”

GOLDEN RULE 1

* Carol cans speak English

Carol can speak English

RULE:
Modal verbs never take “-s” in 3rd person singular
GOLDEN RULE 2
* We could to swim very fast RULE
We could swim very fast
Modal verbs are
* You mustn’t smoking here ALWAYS followed
You mustn’t smoke here by a verb in BASE
FORM
* Carol can speaks English
Carol can speak English
GOLDEN RULE 3
* Do they can visit us?
Can they visit us?

* She doesn’t can swim very fast

She can’t swim very fast
RULE
Modal verbs DON’T need an auxiliary verb to
form the negative or the interrogative
GOLDEN RULE 4
* Sam will can become a good astronaut
Sam will be able to become a good astronaut

* Sarah will must bring two dollars tomorrow

Sarah will have to bring two dollars tomorrow
RULE
Two modal verbs MUST NEVER go together
GOLDEN RULES: summary
1.- Modal verbs never take “-s” in 3rd person singular
2.- Modal verbs are ALWAYS followed by a verb in
BASE FORM
3.- Modal verbs DON’T need an auxiliary verb to form
the negative or the interrogative
4.- Two modal verbs MUST NEVER go together

<<back to index
MODALS
AND
USES
3.- MODALS AND USES: CAN and CAN’T
I can speak Italian informal request
Can you visit Zoe
impossibility or something
tomorrow?
hard to believe
You can’t be hungry now! permission
You have just eaten!
general ability in the
You can play in the present
garden until 5 o’clock
3.- MODALS AND USES: COULD and COULDN’T
I could swim when I was 5 request
If she is not here, she
ability in the past
could be at the cinema
Could I borrow your pen? possibility (not sure)

You could pay more attention inability

He broke his leg, so he

suggestion
couldn’t walk
3.- MODALS AND USES: MAY

I may go to the party tomorrow formal permission

May I use the toilet, please? formal request

(usually with we /I)
You may leave the room when you
possibility in the
have finished the exam
present / future
 3.- MODALS AND USES: MIGHT

I might go to the party tomorrow possibility in the

present / future
We might not go to the party
polite use of may
tomorrow
You might want to come negative possibility
with us tomorrow
We thought you might join us at past form of may
the disco
 3.- MODALS AND USES: MUST
We must read the
suggestion / recommendation
contract carefully
You must obey the rules Obligation
Lisa must be happy with near certainty
her grades
You must try the cake! Strong necessity,
not compulsory
but almost
 3.- MODALS AND USES: MUSTN’T, NEEDN’T AND SHALL

You mustn’t drive faster Lack of necessity/

than the speed limit no obligation

You needn’t bring any food Polite question / offer

to the party / suggestion (We/I)

Shall I open the door? Prohibition

 3.- MODALS AND USES: SHOULD (OUGHT TO)

You look pale, you should lie down Advice / Opinion

We should visit him Predictions (hypothesis)

Should I put away the cake? Obligations

We should be there on
polite suggestions (We/I)
time if we leave right now
 3.- MODALS AND USES: WILL and WOULD
Will (would) you close the repeated action in the past
door, please?
Every summer, we would polite request
go to the beach
They thought he would past form of will
invite me to the party
They asked him to stop making refusal or impossibility
that noise, but he wouldn’t
BE CAREFUL WITH MUST and its negative! (I)

You must respect the OBLIGATION

speed limit

You mustn’t drive faster

than the speed limit PROHIBITION
BE CAREFUL WITH MUST and its negative! (II)

You must read the NECESSITY

instructions carefully

You don’t have to put money

LACK OF
to pay for the pizza
NECESSITY
BE CAREFUL WITH MUST and its negative! (III)

Tom must be pleased I am sure you are not tired

with his marks

You can’t be tired now,

you have been sleeping
I’m certain he is pleased
the whole evening!
BE CAREFUL WITH MUST and its negative! (IV)

ADVICE (NEGATIVE
You must read this book
RECOMMENDATION)

You mustn’t read this book

PROHIBITION

You shouldn’t read

this book RECOMMENDATION

<<back to index
SEMI- MODALS
AND
USES
DEFINITION

SEMI-MODALS are verbs that have a

similar meaning to modal verbs, but they
behave differently (they do not follow the
golden rules)
 4.- SEMI-MODALS AND USES: be able to

He isn’t able to run fast General ability (=can); it can

be used in all tenses
John was able to
Specific past ability /
rescue the child
managing to do something
difficult or successfully ( in
I won’t be able to meet you this case “could” is not
tomorrow used)
4.- SEMI-MODALS AND USES: have to / has to
You will have to speak to the manager tomorrow
He has to leave by five o’clock

I had to fix my bike

Obligation or necessity; in this case, “have to” is

used to express the future and the past of “must”
 4.- SEMI-MODALS AND USES: don’t / doesn’t have to

I won’t have to go to the training session tomorrow

He doesn’t have to bring any food to the party
You didn’t have to buy anything!

Lack of obligation or lack of necessity; in this case,

it has a similar meaning to “needn’t” and is used to
express its future and the past forms
<<back to index
MODAL PERFECT
AND
USES
DEFINITION

MODAL PERFECTS express the

speaker’s intentions, such as
certainty, probability, regret, etc but
REFERRING TO THE PAST
FORMATION

They follow the following pattern:

MODAL VERB + HAVE + PAST PART

This verb can NEVER be “HAS”

(2nd golden rule)
 MODAL PERFECTS (I).- COULD HAVE / COULDN’T HAVE

● You could have been a professional tennis player

● She couldn’t have stolen the bag, she wasn’t there
They denote past ability, how you had this option in
the past but now this option no longer exists

● She hasn’t arrived yet. She could have forgotten our date
When we are not sure what happened in the past
(similar to may have and might have)
MODAL PERFECTS (II).- SHOULD HAVE / SHOULDN’T HAVE

● I should have studied harder for the exam

● We should have gone to the bank, we have to pay the bill!
● She should have been my wife!

They show regret about something, denote past obligations

or speak about expectations that have not been fulfilled
MODAL PERFECTS (III).- WOULD HAVE / WOULDN’T HAVE

● I would have gone to Africa if I had had enough money

● I would have gone to the party if I had known she was
there
● If they had apologised, we wouldn’t have been so angry

Shows willingness to do something,

but didn’t do it (3rd conditional)
 MODAL PERFECTS (IV).- MAY HAVE / MAY NOT HAVE

● I may have left it at home, but I am not sure

● He may not have been honest with her
● We may have sent the project too late

They denote past possibility. It is used when we are not sure

what happened in the past
 MODAL PERFECTS (V).- MIGHT HAVE / MIGHT NOT HAVE

● I might not have been so angry, but I was having a

bad day
● She might have forgotten it, but I doubt it

They denote past possibility. It is used when we are not sure

what happened in the past. Very similar to MAY HAVE.
Sometimes you use MIGHT HAVE to express that the action is
very unlikely to have happened
 MODAL PERFECTS (VI).- MUST HAVE / MUST NOT HAVE

● She must not have heard me properly because I

didn’t say that
It denotes past probability. It is used when we are nearly sure
but not 100%
● Oh no! I must have forgotten my sunscreen at home!
We also use it when we are certain that something happened
in the past
MODAL PERFECTS (VII).- CAN’T HAVE

● Mary can’t have left for home because her car is

still here
● You can’t have lost your glasses. You were
wearing them one minute ago!

We use it when we are sure that something

did not happen in the past
MODAL PERFECTS (VIII).- NEEDN’T HAVE

● You needn’t have washed the dishes. We have

a dishwasher
● Thanks but you needn’t have driven me home

We use it when we want to express that there

was no obligation or necessity to do something
PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
Something important must have happened in the last
ten years….

…in 2020 our planet is not the same anymore.

In December 2009 world leaders met in Copenhagen for
the climate summit where they should have taken
measures to stop global warming. They might have tried
to do something, but certainly not enough. They failed and
now it’s time to apologise…

➔ What should they have done?

➔ What shouldn’t they have done?
➔ What could we have done?
➔ What would have happened if they had acted
efficiently?
Modal perfects
Should / ought to have + past participle. To express regret that
something didn’t happen.
● The world leaders should have taken effective measures to
stop climate change, but they failed.

Shouldn’t have + past participle. To express regret about

something that happened.
● Some people shouldn’t have ignored the problem for so long,
but they did.
may / might /could have + past participle. When we are not sure
about what happened in the past.
● I can’t find my phone. I might have left it at home.
● He didn’t come to class this morning. He may have lost the bus.

could have + past participle. When we had the ability to do something

in the past but did not do it
● They could have finished the work on time, but they wasted a
lot of time talking about what they would do next.
would have + past participle. To talk about someone’s willingness to do
something that finally didn’t happen.
● He would have helped you with your homework, but you didn’t ask him.

must have + past participle. When we are certain that something happened in
the past.
● Pete must have heard the good news. He looks really happy now.
● Nobody answers the door. They must have gone out.

can’t have + past participle. When we are certain that something didn’t
happen in the past.
● Kate can’t have forgotten about our appointment. I phoned her an hour ago.
...and, believe it or
not, this is
THE END!
<<back to index