Modal verbs

The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other
verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful
modals and their most common meanings:

Modal Meaning Example

can to express ability I can speak a little Russian.
can to request permission Can I open the window?
may to express possibility I may be home late.
may to request permission May I sit down, please?
must to express obligation I must go now.
must to express strong belief She must be over 90 years old.
should to give advice You should stop smoking.
would to request or offer Would you like a cup of tea?
would in if-sentences If I were you, I would say sorry.

 We tend to use could as the past tense of can to talk about ability in the past:

I could hear Beth sniggering and cringed in embarrassment.

Mozart could play the piano blindfolded.

By the 1970s, jumbo jets could fly almost anywhere non-stop.

 We use could to talk about less definite aspects of possibility or suggested options,
either now or in the future:

We could go for a walk now and then have dinner.

There could be a storm later.

She could be in line for a top government job.

  Perfect Modal Verbs

modal verb + have + past participle

These past modal verbs are all used hypothetically, to talk about things that didn't really
happen in the past

Perfect Modal Picture sentence

Could have +p.p

Couldn't +p.p The boy could have

done the dishes
means that something was possible himself, but his father
in the past, or you had the ability to decided to help.
do something in the past, but that
you didn't do it.

should have + p.p

shouldn't have +p.p

“I was so worried
You did or didn't do something that about you. You should
was a good idea. have called!”

Should have means that something I’m sorry that I’m late
did not happen, but we wish it had for work. I should
happened. We use should have to have woken up
earlier.
talk about past mistakes.

Should have is common in apologies.

would have +p.p I would have called,

but there was no
wouldn't have +p.p phone service.

past condition /past situation I would have loaned

you the money, but I
Would have is a bit more difficult didn’t have any.
because it has two common
structures. The first is with but. I I would have made a
would have A, but I had to B. Use this salad if I had known
structure to show that you wanted they were
to do something in the past, but you
vegetarians.
could not.
 may have +p.p

may not have +p.p My grandfather may

have used this camera
past possibility when he was a young
man, but I'm not sure.
MAY when something is more likely

might have +p.p Her mother might

have put mustard on
might not have p.p
her sandwich. She
hopes not.
MIGHT when something is less likely

must have ____

They must have
must not have ___
practiced a lot
past probability. because they're very
good musicians
This indicates that something
probably happened in the past.

May and Might

We use may:

 when we are not sure about something:

Jack may be coming to see us tomorrow.

Oh dear! It’s half past ten. We may be late for the meeting.
There may not be very many people there.
  to make polite requests:

May I borrow the car tomorrow?

May we come a bit later?

When we use may not for a refusal it is emphatic:

You may not!

You may not borrow the car until you can be more careful with it.

We use might:

• when we are not sure about something:

I might see you tomorrow.

It looks nice, but it might be very expensive.
It’s quite bright. It might not rain today.

• As the past tense of may for requests:

He asked if he might borrow the car.

They wanted to know if they might come later.

• For very polite requests:

Might I ask you a question?

Might we just interrupt for a moment?

We use may have and might have to show that something has possibly happened now or
happened at some time in the past:

It’s ten o’clock. They might have arrived now.[= Perhaps they have arrived]
They may have arrived hours ago. [= Perhaps they arrived hours ago.]

If you don’t know the truth about a possible past situation at the time of speaking or writing,
you can use may have or might have:
√  I think that comment may have offended some people.
√ I think that comment might have offended some people.

If you’re referring to a possibility in the past but you know that it didn’t actually happen, it’s
preferable to use might have:

√ Rose assured us that she was well, but she might have been badly hurt.
X  Rose assured us that she was well, but she may have been badly hurt.

When politely asking for permission to do something, it’s acceptable to use may or might, but
nowadays might is regarded as very formal. May is considered more polite than the most
typical way of asking permission in English, using can:

May I borrow your pen?  [polite] Might I borrow your pen?  [polite and very formal] Can I
borrow your pen?  [less polite; considered by some to be incorrect usage]

When giving (or refusing) permission, only may and can are acceptable:

√  Yes, you may (borrow my pen).  [polite] √  Yes, you can (borrow my pen). [less polite] X  Yes,
you might (borrow my pen).
√  No, you may not (borrow my pen).  [polite] √  No, you can’t (borrow my pen). [less polite] X 
No, you might not (borrow my pen).

Must vs. have to

Both Must and have to express obligation or necessity, but there are some small differences:

•  Must expresses the speaker's feelings, whereas have to expresses, above all, an impersonal
idea:
You must come. You are obliged to come (I require that you come)
You have to come. You are obliged to come. (There's a rule requiring you to come)
Must I wear this tie? Am I obliged to wear this tie? (What do you think?)
Do I have to wear this tie? Am I obliged to wear this tie? (Is there a rule about ties?)

•  Have to mainly expresses general obligations, while must is used for specific obligations:
I have to brush my teeth twice a day.
I must tell you something.

Important: To express obligation, duty or necessity in the future or the past, must and need are
not used. They are replaced by have to:
We must (need to) buy another ticket.
We had to buy another ticket yesterday.
We'll have to buy another ticket later.

However, in their negative forms, mustn't and don't have to have completely different
meanings:

•  Mustn't expresses prohibition

You mustn't drive. You are prohibited to drive. You are not allowed to drive.

•  Don't have to expresses the absence of obligation or necessity:

You don't have to drive. You are not obliged to drive (but you can if you want to).
present
When expressing obligation, we say:
I must go.
or
I have to go.
When expressing a personal opinion about
probability (deduction), we mostly use must to
express that we feel something is true:
He must be fit if he can run 10 kilometers.
It must be great to be rich.
past
When expressing obligation, the past of must
and have to is always had to:
I had to wash my car yesterday .
We had to go to bed at 8 o’clock when we
were kids.
When expressing a personal opinion in the
past, we mostly use must have, NOT had to:
He must have been fit.
He had to be fit. - incorrect
It must have been great.
It had to be great. - incorrect

Ought to

Ought to and should are similar in meaning. Should is more common than ought to. Ought to is
more formal than should.They both express the conditional:

You ought to pay him back shortly. You should pay him back shortly.
She oughtn't speak so loudly. It would be better if she didn't speak so loudly.
You ought not to speak with your mouth full. You should not speak with your mouth full.
The negative of ought to is not common. We usually use shouldn’t or should not instead:
You shouldn’t speak to your father like that.

We use ought to have + -ed form to talk about things that were desired or ideal in the past but
which didn’t happen. It can express regret:

We ought to have locked the gate. Then the dog wouldn’t have got out. (The ideal or desired
thing was that we locked the gate, but we didn’t.)

I often think that I ought to have studied medicine not pharmacy. (I would be happier now if I
had studied medicine.)