1. MODAL VERBS
SPOTLIGHT-11
Module 5
Кригер И.И.

2. USE Don’t take –s/-ing/-ed affixes; Are followed by bare infinitive;
Come before subject in questions:
Come after NOT in negations:
Don’t have tenses in the normal state. BUT!
to show uncompleted action or state (present or future):
to show completed action or state:
Can I have some juice?
You must not cross the road here.
I should visit him tomorrow.
I should have visited him yesterday.

3. Obligation, duty, necessity
MUST
I must contact the school for further information (the speaker himself decided it is necessary)
HAVE TO
He has to get up early as his classes start at 8 a.m (circumstances make us do smth.)
SHOULD OUGHT TO
We should clear away the mess in the kitchen (duty or weak obligation)

4. Absence of necessity DON’T HAVE TO DON’T NEED TO NEEDN’T
You don’t have to dress formally today.
You don’t need to go if you don’t want.
You needn’t wear your best clothes (smth. not necessary to do in present, future)
NEEDN’T HAVE DONE
You needn’t have cooked so much food. We were not hungry (it wasn’t necessary for you to cook but you did)
DIDN’T HAVE TO
He didn’t have to invite everyone to the party (smth. which wasn’t necessary to do. We don’t know if it was done or not)

5. Permission, prohibition
CAN MAY
Can/May I use your phone?
Yes, of course, you can/may. (may is more formal than can)
MUSTN’T CAN’T
You mustn’t/can’t park here (it is forbidden to do so; it is against the rule/law; you’re not allowed to do smth.)

6. COULD, MIGHT, WOULD + perfect infinitive
Possibility
CAN
Going to the gym can be boring (general, theoretical possibility)
COULD
MAY
MIGHT
She should take a map with her. She might get lost (possibility in specific situation. NOTE! MAY is not used in questions in such a way)
COULD, MIGHT, WOULD + perfect infinitive
He could have come with us, if he hadn’t missed the train (smth. in the past that was possible but didn’t happen)

7. Ability / Inability COULD CAN WAS(N’T) ABLE TO COULDN’T
I can speak Italian fluently. (ability in present/future)
COULD
I could sing quite well when I was younger (general or repeated ability in the past)
WAS(N’T) ABLE TO
I was able (wasn’t able) to find all the answers to the questions ((in)ability in specific situation in the past)
COULDN’T
I couldn’t read or write when I was four. (any kind of inability in the past, repeated or specific)