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3ºESO UNIT 6 Modal Verbs

Modals are different from normal verbs: 1: They don't use an ’s’ for the third person singular. 2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'Can she go?'). 3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Modal Example Uses

Can They can control their own budgets. We can’t fix it. Can I smoke here? Can you help me?

Ability / Possibility Inability / Impossibility Asking for permission Request

Could Could I borrow your dictionary? Could you say it again more slowly? We could try to fix it ourselves. I think we could have another Gulf War. He gave up his old job so he could work for us.

Asking for permission. Request Suggestion Future possibility Ability in the past

May May I have another cup of coffee? China may become a major economic power.

Asking for permission Future possibility

Might We'd better phone tomorrow, they might be eating their dinner now. They might give us a 10% discount.

Present possibility Future possibility

Must We must say good-bye now. Look! It’s snowing! It must be cold outside. They mustn’t disrupt the work more than necessary.

Necessity / Obligation Deduction Prohibition

Ought to We ought to employ a professional writer. Saying what’s right or correct

Shall

Shall I help you with your luggage? Shall we say 2.30 then? Shall I do that or will you?

Offer Suggestion Asking what to do

Should We should sort out this problem at once. I think we should check everything again. Profits should increase next year.

Saying what’s right or correct Recommending action Uncertain prediction

Will I can’t see any taxis so I’ll walk. I'll do that for you if you like. I’ll get back to you first thing on Monday. Profits will increase next year.

Instant decisions Offer Promise Certain prediction

Would Would you mind if I brought a colleague with me? Would you pass the salt please? Would you mind waiting a moment? "Would three o`clock suit you?" - "That’d be fine." Would you like to play golf this Friday? "Would you prefer tea or coffee?" -I’d like tea, please"

Asking for permission Request Request Making arrangements Invitation Preferences

Be able to He is able to cook delicious meals. You will be able to meet my partner tonight. Note: use of INFINITIVE and verb tenses

Ability Possibility

Have to We have to get up at 7a.m. every day to get the train I have to look after my small brother.

Necessity Obligation

Don’t have to You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Lack of necessity/obligation

Needn’t You needn’t bring anything to the party – we have everything.

Lack of necessity/obligation

Be allowed to Nobody is allowed to block the aisle on a plane. Permission

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EXERCISES

A. Use a modal or semi-modal to complete these sentences. In some cases there may be

more than one possibility, according to the meaning.

1. I didn’t feel very well yesterday. I ..... eat anything.

2. You ..... look at me when I am talking to you.

3. I was using my pencil a minute ago. It ..... be here somewhere!

4. You really ..... not be late again or your boss will fire you.

5. If you don’t start working harder, you will..... repeat the course next year.

6. Phone her now. She ..... home by now.

7. You ..... forget your sun cream. It’s going to be very hot!

8. I ..... be able to help you, but I’m not sure yet.

9. Entrance to the museum was free. We didn’t..... pay to get in.

10. Already as a child Mozart ..... play the piano beautifully.

11. Which sign are you more likely to see at an airport: Bags ..... not be left unattended.

12. I really ..... try to get fit.

13. ..... take a photograph of you?

14. Students ..... borrow up to 6 books at any time.

15. Whose is this bag? - I don’t know, but it ..... belong to Julie.

16. It’s very important to ..... speak more than one language.

17. I don’t like ..... get up early on a Sunday.

18. I ..... talk already before I was two years old.

19. She ..... be very pleased with herself. She got the best grades.

20. You ..... put your feet on the cafeteria tables.

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MODAL PERFECTS

Los verbos modales expresan posibilidad o probabilidad. Cuando se utilizan con la forma infinitiva del perfecto (“have” + participio pasado), los verbos modales indican especulación sobre cosas en el pasado.

Must have “Must have” se usa para expresar una conclusión lógica sobre algo que ocurrió en el pasado. No estamos seguros de lo que sucedió exactamente, pero basada en las pruebas, podemos llegar a alguna conclusión. A diferencia de “might have” o “may have”, como veremos más tarde, “must have” expresa más certeza. Ejemplos:

The lights are off. They must have gone out. (Las luces están apagadas. Se deben haber abagado.)

I never see John and Claire together anymore. They must have separated. (Ya nunca veo a John y Claire juntos. Se deben haber separado.)

I know you love chocolate. It must have been difficult to say “no” to that piece of cake. (Sé que te gusta el chocolate. Debe de ser difícil para ti decir “no” a un pedazo de pastel.)

John didn’t call you last night? He must have been working late. (¿John no te llamó anoche? Debe haber trabajado hasta tarde.)

Frank failed the exam. He must not have been paying attention in class. (Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)

May have / Might have “May have” y “might have” se utilizan para expresar posibilidad en el pasado. El uso de estos dos modales también expresa incertidumbre. Ejemplos:

I think it may have worked, but we gave up too soon. (Creo que pudo haber funcionado, pero nos rendimos demasiado pronto.)

They might have won if their star player hadn’t been injured. (Ellos podrían haber ganado si su mejor jugador no se hubiera lesionado.)

I don’t know, it might have been different if you were there. (No sé, podría haber sido diferente si tú hubieras estado allí.)

Can’t have “Can’t have” se utiliza de una manera similar a “must have”, pero en la forma negativa. Podemos utilizar “can’t have” cuando estamos bastante seguros de que algo no ocurra o que no era verdad en el pasado. Ejemplos:

I know you love chocolate. It can’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake. (Sé que te gusta el chocolate. Debe de ser difícil para ti decir “no” a un pedazo de pastel.)

Frank failed the exam. He can’t have been paying attention in class. (Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)

They had a lot of work to do and little time. They can’t have finished everything. (Tenían mucho trabajo que hacer y poco tiempo. No podrían haber terminado todo.)

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Could have “Couldn’t have” se puede usar en lugar de “can’t have”. Ejemplos:

I know you love chocolate. It couldn’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake. (Sé que te gusta el chocolate. Debe de ser difícil para ti decir “no” a un pedazo de pastel.)

Frank failed the exam. He couldn’t have been paying attention in class. (Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)

They had a lot of work to do and little time. They couldn’t have finished everything. (Tenían mucho trabajo que hacer y poco tiempo. No podrían haber terminado todo.)

“Could have” también se utiliza para expresar que algo era posible en el pasado pero en realidad no pasó. Ejemplos:

If it hadn’t stopped raining, the party could have been a disaster. (Si no hubiera parado de llover, la fiesta podría haber sido un desastre.)

She could have run faster, but she wanted to save her energy. (Ella podría haber corrido más rápido, pero quería ahorrar energía.)

We could have bought a new car, but we decided to use the money to go on holiday. (Podríamos haber comprado un coche nuevo, pero decidimos usar el dinero para ir de vacaciones.)

“Could have”, en la afirmativa, es parecido a “might have” o “may have”, expresa posibilidad en el pasado. Ejemplos:

I think it could have worked, but we gave up too soon. (Creo que pudo haber funcionado, pero nos rendimos demasiado pronto.)

They could have won if their star player hadn’t been injured. (Ellos podrían haber ganado si su mejor jugador no se hubiera lesionado.)

I don’t know, it could have been different if you were there. (No se, podría haber sido diferente si tu hubieras estado allí.)

Should have / Ought to have “Should have” y “ought to have” se utiliza cuando algo no ocurrió, pero hubiera sido mejor si hubiera ocurrido. En la negativa, estos referentes indican que algo sucedió, pero hubiera sido mejor que no fuese así. Ejemplos:

I told you, you should have studied more! (Te lo dije, deberías haber estudiado más.)

Ben ought to have gone to the doctor sooner. Now they say it will be a month before he has fully recovered. (Ben debería haber ido al médico antes. Ahora dicen que tardará un mes más en recuperarse por completo.)

We should have left earlier. Now we are going to be late. (Deberíamos haber salido más temprano. Ahora vamos a llegar tarde.)

I shouldn’t have eaten that last cookie. (No debería haber comido la última galleta.)

She shouldn’t have been angry, it wasn’t your fault. (No debería haberse enfadado, no fue culpa tuya.)

Would have “Would have” se usa para formar frases condicionales en inglés (el llamado tercer tipo)

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EXERCISES

B. Complete these sentences with a modal perfect.

1. If I had gone to the sales, I'm sure I .........................................(buy) something.

2. Claire was very upset you didn't go to her birthday party. You ................................(go).

3. The lights are out. I’m sure they ......................................... (go) to sleep.

4. We ............................................ (invite) Dave to the party if we had known he was in town.

5. You .................................. (come) to the pub on Saturday. We had a great time.

6. She ..................................... (change) her mind. I'm not sure.

7. You .................................... (not/spend) so much money on CDs. You'll have problems

getting to the end of the month now.

8. She .......................................(say) yes to a date. You never know.

9. “Why didn’t you tell your parents you were going out? They ......................................... (be)

worried.”

10. She fell off her bike yesterday. She ...................................... (not be looking) at the road.

C. Complete the sentences with the modal perfects below and the correct form of the verb in

brackets.

should have ■ couldn’t have ■ must not have ■ would have ■ could have ■must have ■ might have ■ shouldn’t have 1. I’m not sure where Don went. He ................................………… (go) to buy bread. 2. I’m sorry I’m so late. You ................................………… (think) I wasn’t coming. 3. You ................................………… (bring) the new world music CD. I wanted to listen to it while we studied. 4. She ................................………… (buy) three T-shirts, but she only had enough money for one. 5. I really upset Shari. I ................................………… (tell) her the terrible news about Jim. 6. They decided to stay at a hotel, although they ................................………… (stay) at our house. We insisted that they were welcome. 7. That cake was incredibly delicious. It ................................………… (be) better. 8. My swimming costume’s not in the suitcase. I ................................………… (pack) it. D. Rewrite the sentences with suitable modals or modal perfects. There may be more than one possible answer. 1. It was a bad idea for us to eat in this restaurant. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2. There’s a chance that she’ll have a test today. ................................................................................................................................................. 3. I’m sure I left my sunglasses at the café. .................................................................................................................................................

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4. You have got no reason to be concerned about Ted. .................................................................................................................................................. 5. It’s a shame you didn’t ask me earlier. ................................................................................................................................................... 6. María doesn’t know how to speak English very well. .................................................................................................................................................... 7. We didn’t go to your party because we didn’t know about it ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8. They are capable of climbing that high mountain by themselves. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9. The lights are out, so everyone is asleep for sure. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10. You don’t have to make a speech at the party if you don’t want to. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….