Modal Verbs Team 04

What is modal verbs?

Is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality.

- Ability;

Ex: I can lift the chair (Eu posso levantar a cadeira)

- Permission;

Ex: Hey Jim, can I use your PC for a while? (Hey Jim, eu posso usar seu PC rapidinho?)

- Obligation;

Ex: You should stop smoking. (Você deve parar de fumar)

Modal Verbs: Meaning

Modal Verb Use ExampleCan (poder) Ability, permission, request, possibility or offer. Can you please write for me?

Shall (dever) Express obligation or requirement. You shall abide by the law.

Will (irá)Express desire, preference, choice, concert, capacity

or determination.This bucket will hold two gallons of

water.

Could (poderia, podia) Possible circumstance, make requests, express forcefully.

We could go to the cinema.

Would (iria) Express preference, desire, possibility or routine. Normally, we would work until 6 p.m.

Should (devia, deveria) Express opinion, suggestion, preference or idea. You should rest at home today.

Rules

1. The have no –s in the 3rd person singular;

2. Always followed by the infinitive without to;

Ex: I can to speak English. (Eu posso/sei falar em inglês)

3. Questions, negatives, tags and short answers are made without do;

Ex: Can you do swim? (Você pode/sabe nadar?)

She can’t do run (Ela não pode fugir)

Can Is used to tell if something is possible or if anyone has some ability to do something.

- Ability:

Ex: I can speak English (Eu posso falar em inglês)

- Permission:

Ex: Can I leave early today? (Eu posso sair mais cedo hoje?)

- Request or suggestions:

Ex: Can you help here for a while? (Você pode me ajudar aqui rapidinho?)

- Possibility:

Ex: Using mobile phones while driving can cause accidents. (O uso de celulares enquanto dirige pode causar acidentes)

Can

It’s common to use “can” with verbs of perception: see, hear, etc.

Ex: I can see a car. (Eu posso ver o carro)

The negation of can is the word cannot. It’s contracted form is can’t.

Ex: We cannot sing. › We can’t sing. (Não podemos cantar)

The negative forms reverse the meaning of the modal.

Ex: express inability, impermissibly, impossibility.

Could The preterit form “could” is used as the past tense or conditional form of can.

- Possible circumstance:

Ex: We could go to the cinema. (Nós poderíamos ir ao cinema)

- Make requests:

Ex: Could you pass me the salt? (Você poderia me passar o sal)

- Past ability or possibility:

Ex: My grandfather could speak five languages. (Meu avô podia falar cinco línguas)

- The negation of could is the regular could not, contracted to couldn't.

Ex: We could not go to the cinema > We couldn’t go to the cinema. (Nós não poderíamos ir ao cinema)

Comparison Can X Could

Johan said: “I can speak English”

Johan disse: “Eu posso falar em inglês”

Johan said that he could speak English

Johan disse que ele poderia falar em inglês.

Will Will can be employed to talk about the future.

Ex: It will rain tomorrow. (Vai chover amanhã)

- Confidence about the present/future situations:

Ex: I’m sure that he will call you in less than three days.

(Eu tenho certeza que ele vai chamá-lo em menos de três dias)

- Desire, preference, choice, or consent:

Ex: I will take this duty. (Vou fazer esse dever)

- Capacity:

Ex: This airplane will take 200 passengers. (Este avião levará 200 passageiros)

Will- Announce a decision, firm intention, promise or threat:

Ex: I will definitely talk to her tomorrow.

(Definitivamente vou falar com ela amanhã)

- Express determination, insistence or persistence:

Ex: I will do it as you say. (Eu o farei como você disse)

- The negation of will is the regular will not.

Ex: It will not rain tomorrow. (Não vai chover amanhã)

Would It is less definite than will, and could also be the past of will.

- Use of would for indirect speech:

Ex: Morgan said that she would buy a bike for Mike tomorrow.

(Morgan disse que iria comprar uma bicicleta para o Mike amanhã)

- Express wish or desire:

Ex: I would like to have one more pencil. (Eu gostaria de ter mais um lápis)

- Express contingency or possibility:

Ex: If I were you, I would be so happy. (Se eu fosse você, eu seria tão feliz)

- Express routine or habitual things:

Ex: Normally, we would work until 6 p.m. (Normalmente, nós trabalhamos até as 18:00)

Comparison Will X Would

Morgan said: “Tomorrow I will buy a bike for Mike”

(Morgan disse: “Amanhã eu irei comprar uma bicicleta para o Mike”)

Morgan said that she would buy a bike for Mike tomorrow.

(Morgan disse que iria comprar uma bicicleta para o Mike amanhã)

Shall

Mainly used in American English to ask questions politely.

- We use ‘shall’, with ‘I’ or ‘we’, when we make a suggestion:

Ex: Shall we go to the beach tomorrow? (Vamos para a praia amanhã?)

- Often used in formal settings to deliver obligation or requirement:

Ex: You shall abide by the law. (Você deve respeitar a lei.)

Should

Often used in auxiliary functions.

-There is no –s in the 3rd person.

- Questions/negative made without do.

- Express an opinion, suggestion, preference, or idea:

Ex: I should take a bus this time. (Eu deveria pegar um ônibus nesse momento)

-Express obligation:

Ex: You should wear a jacket. (Você deve usar um casaco)

-Used to express that you wish something had happened but it didn’t or couldn’t (should + have + past participle):

Ex: We should have visited the place on the way. (Devíamos ter visitado o lugar no caminho)

Comparison Shall X Should

She asked: "What shall we learn today?“

Ela disse: “O que vamos aprender hoje?”

She asked what we should learn today/that day.

Ela perguntou o que iremos aprender hoje.

StudentsLorena BorilleLucas ForlinMateus AurélioMatheus MendesMaria Beatriz