3 Modals (1) Can/could Weill get wealthy people from the mainland who can afford second homes (= general ability) Before the bridge was built we could only get to the island by ferry. (= general ability in the pact) ‘May/could)/might Up to 100,600 people may experience delays. (= i's possible this will happen), Air passengers could be hit badly today. (= ics possible) {t might be a number of months before the sports centre is back in operation. (= it's possible this is true; less ‘certain than may or could) willwould That will push up house prices (= prediction about the future) If schools highlighted the importance of physical exercise, this would have a major positive impact on children's ‘attitudes to sport. (= prediction about an imaginary situation) Must The cabin staff must accept the new working conditions. (=a rule or order) This negative attitude to sport mustn't be ollowed to continue. (= it's not allowed or not a good idea) Dont need to / needn't / don't have to Parents don't need to / needn't be very interested in sport themselves. (= it's not necessarily true) {im sure | don't have to spell out the chaos being caused in the airline industry. (= its not necessary) ‘Ought to / should Parents ought to / should give their children whatever encouragement they can. (= obligation and recommendation) Can, could, be able to: ability ‘We can use be able to instead of can or could, particularly in more formal contexts: The hotels on the island are able to accommodate hundreds of visitors. (more formal) or The hotels on the island can accommodate .. (les formal) ‘We use be able toto talk about ability on a specific occasion in the past: Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control fairly quickly. (not Firefighters could-bring ...) ‘We can use either could or be able to in negatives in the past: They couldn't / weren't able to prevent the fire damaging the school’s sports centre. ‘We usually prefer can or could with verbs of sense (eg. fel, hear, see, smell, taste) and verbs of thinking (eg, believe, remember, understand): (can't believe Mr Wade is being so confrontational. ‘We use be able to in perfect tenses, -ing forms, infnitives and after modal verbs: We've now been able to contact him. The film star hates not being able to leave her house. They've got to be able to adapt to change Parents might be able to help. We prefer can and could in passives: The news can be read on our website. To talk about a future ability, we use will be able Islanders won't be able to buy properties. 26_ Modals (1) 3 We use can or be able to to talk about possible future arrangements and can (or more politely could) to ask for permission: The President can't /is not able to visit the country until next month Can/Could | ask you what you think of the new bridge? May, might, can, could: possibility To talk about a more general possibility of something happening we can use can or may: The temperature in the mountains can/may fall helow freezing even at thc time of year We use could to say that something was possible in the past: It could be a very rough journey, too. We don't use may to ask questions about the possibility of something happening. Instead we use could or the phrase be likely to: Could the negotiations finish today, do you think? What time is the meeting likely to finish? ‘Might is sometimes used in questions, but is rather formal. We can use these modals in negative sentences, including those with words like only or hardly, to say that things are not possible or that its possible that things are not the case: The company can hardly be described as a success. (= itis not possible to describ | think we should call off the strike, but other people may/might not agree with me. don't agree with me) Will, would, used to: conclusions, willingness, habitual events We can use will to draw conclusions or state assumptions about things we think are true: No doubt you will have heard the news by now. ‘We use wll (not) to talk about (un) willingness or refusal to do something: The minister says he will resign if no solution is found. We will nat be bullied by management. The computer won't let me print documents. (We can say that inanimate objects, such as machines, can be unwilling or refuse to do something) We use would to talk about willingness in the future, in conditionals, and when we say that we are willing but tunable to do something: Many people would be happy to pay higher taxes for better public services. The minister would be pleased to accept the invitation it were not for other commitments We don't use would to talk about willingness on a specific occasion in the past: David Wade agreed to meet the union representatives. (not Bavid-Yvade-wowld-agree ...) We can use will (present) and would (past) to talk about characteristic behaviour or habits, or about things that are true now or were true in the past: ‘Some parents will actually discourage ther children from taking up a sport ‘Many passengers would get seasick during the crossing ‘We can use either would or used to to talk about things that happened repeatedly in the past: The crossing would/used to take over an hour at least. ‘We don't use would to talk about past states: We used to be terribly isolated here because the ferry service was so bad. (not We-would be terribly isolated ...) sa success) it's possible that people 273 Modals (1) _ Must, have (got) to: necessity, deduction ‘We can use either must or have toto say that it is necessary to do something, although have to is less formal and is also preferred in questions: The cabin staff must / have to accept the new working conditions if the airline isto compete. ‘When we say that something was necessary in the past we use had to, not must: Up to 200 teachers and pupils had to be evacuated from a school in South Wales today. To say something is necessary in the future we use will have to: To stay in business we will have to cut our costs. We use must when we decide that, in our opinion, something is necessary or important: | must give you my email address. Have to suggests that the necessity comes from outside; for example, from a rule or official order: The council has to close two city centre car parks following a health and safety report. We usually use must, rather than have to, when we conclude that something (has) happened or that something is true. The bridge must have cast a fortune. When we conclude that something is impossible, we use cant or couldn't: That can’t be right, surely? (not That-rnustn'- be right-strely?) Sometimes we can use either have to or have got to, although have got to is more informal, We use have to with frequency adverbs and with other modal verbs: Islanders normally have to queue for half an hour to get on the ferry. The airlines will have to return to the negotiating table. Ihave is contracted (eg. ve), then we must include got: They've got to be changed. (not Theyvetobechanged) When we use the past simple we prefer had to rather than had got to: The manager seemed to be doing a good job. Why did he have to go? (not Why-had-he-got-to-go?) Didn't need to, didn't have to, needn't have: ‘not necessary" To say it was not necessary to do something in the past, we use didn't need to or didn't have to: He didn’t have to wait long for a response. (= he didn't actually wait long) When we think something that was done in the past was not necessary, we use need not (needn't) have: The event organisers expected the bad weather to affect ticket sales. However, they need not have worried, os every ticket was sold. (= they worried but it was not necessary) Should, ought to: obligation ‘We can often use either should or ought toto talk about obligation (in giving advice and recommendations, saying what we think isa good idea and talking about responsibility): I think we ought to / should keep Borland for the islanders! (= it’s a good idea) The authorities ought to / should prosecute companies that cause pollution. (= talking about responsibility) ‘We can use either should or ought to to say that something is likely because we have planned it or expect it to happen: They suy the road will be reudly in five yeurs, but they should / ought to be able to build it fuster. ‘We use shouldn't rather than oughtn’ to ifsomething is unlikely: ‘If you're In the south of the country, you shouldn’t be troubled by any rain today. 28