Course 3.

Modality and Modal Verbs

2. Syntactic Features of Modal Verbs
To describe the syntactic features of pure modals the relationships, which may be
established between modality and temporality/aspectuality and between modality and
agentiality should be considered.

2.1. Modality and Tempo-aspectuality

As already specified, pure modals will always be followed by an infinitive. As a
form of the verb, even if non-finite, the infinitive can be described with the help of the
grammatical categories of any verb, i.e. tense, aspect and voice.
The context consisting of a pure modal and an infinitive will add temporal and
aspectual shades of meaning to the modality expressed by the speaker/hearer. The
position of pure modals within a pattern (a compound verbal predicate) will always be
initial and even if the label of ‘pure’ modals was adopted by this approach, it is beyond
any doubt that the modal verbs will act as auxiliaries. Consequently, they will either have
to bear the mark of temporality/aspectuality or will have to be part of a more
comprehensive structure suggesting the idea of time (be it internal or external).
Pure modals are most frequently followed by the present infinitive, simple or
continuous, to emphasize the coincidence of the speech moment (i.e. the moment when
the speaker/hearer expresses his/her attitude) and the event moment (the reality to
which reference is made):

I am watching him attentively and I am convinced that he can use a computer.

Yes, you may smoke in this room.
Their little baby used to be playing whenever we met them in the park.

When a modal verb is followed by a perfect infinitive the relationship established

between the speech moment and the event moment will be one of anteriority, meaning
that the attitude the speaker conveys regards an event which took place somewhere in a
past moment/interval.

They may have had an accident since they haven’t come back yet.
He must have left something at home and he’s back to take it.
She can’t have cooked such a delicious cake.

When the situation type described by the verb takes place for a longer time
interval and the speaker feels like emphasizing the semantic feature of durativity, the
modal will be followed by an infinitive in its aspectual form:

He can be working for hours and hours without any break.

You may be living with us over this whole summer if you want to.

An aspectual form of the infinitive should also be used in case the speaker wants
to emphasize the full progress of the action/process expressed by the lexical verb in the
compound verbal predicate:

They must be playing chess now and they certainly can’t hear the bell ringing.
She may be watching television while I am cooking, it doesn’t bother me.

A final distribution of the modal verb with the infinitive shows the modal is in the
present tense and the infinitive is the form infinitive perfect continuous:

26
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
They must have been watching TV for hours as they look exhausted.
They shouldn’t have been debating on that issue for such a long time.

2.2. Modality and the Passive Voice

The infinitive following the modal may function both in its active and in its
passive forms and such patterns point out to the interaction, which may exist between
modality and voice. These constructions will always imply that the agent performing the
action expressed by the lexical verb has no relevance to the speaker; what matters is the
result of the agent’s action:

They may/must be punished by the International Tribunal in the Hague.

The hostages may have been killed in January 1998.
The Serbian president must be being interrogated now.

There are instances where the English passive voice is translated into Romanian
with the active voice:

He may/must be caught in the rain. (Poate/probabil ca l-a prins ploaia)

As a rule, epistemic modality combines freely with voice, but deontic and ability
modalities are either inherently active or inherently passive:

He is willing to help. (willingness – deontic value: inherently active )

He can/is able to help me. (ability: inherently active )
They wouldn’t be helped. (willingness – deontic value: inherently passive)
They weren’t willing to be helped. (willingness – deontic value: inherently passive)

All these distributions underline features to be assigned to the lexical verb

following the modal. When special reference is made to the speaker’s attitude towards a
certain situation, modal verbs are replaced by substitutes which convey the same
meanings and which provide patterns for all tenses or aspects.

F. Uses and Meanings of Pure Modal Verbs

CAN
This modal has a high frequency of occurrence for speakers may use it in relation to
present, past or future situations.
When the time of the situation expressed by the lexical verb is present, the modal can
may involve the following concepts:
► ability:
i) physical ability:

He can cut trees and he can turn them into furniture.

ii) mental ability:

He can learn long poems by heart.

► possibility
i) for a situation to happen in the future, in:

If you are busy now, we can discuss it later.

27
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
ii) to describe peculiar features of people of things, in:

Insomnia can prove a sing of another disease.

iii) with generic reference to any situation which may happen in the future,
in:
Any lady can be a member of our woman’s club.

►uncertainty, lack of knowledge (in interrogations)

Who can ring us up so very late?

Can it be your grandmother?

►permission
i) asking for permission - in: Can I pick your daughter up for the prom?
ii) giving permission - in: Yes, you can.
iii) permission already granted - in: Writers who have published three volumes can
join our literary club.

►offers

I can plant the flowers for you if you feel bad.

When the time of the situation expressed by the lexical verb is present or future can may
involve the following concepts:
►requests or orders

Can you mow the lawn for me, please?

Do you think you can fix my watch until Friday morning?

►suggestions

You can try this dress in a larger size, the colour really fits you.

When the time of the situation expressed by the lexical verb is past, can may involve the
following concepts:
►to make guesses about past situations, in interrogations and negations:

Can Amanda have stolen my bracelet?

She is anything but foolish, that’s why I think she can’t have stolen it.

COULD
Some grammarians agree that could is the past tense form of the modal can, but this form
conceals other meanings as well.
When it refers to past situations, could may be followed by the present infinitive:

► ability - with reference to a past situation:

Sharon could skate very well when she was a little girl.
He could come sooner whenever he himself drove his car.

►possibility (to give details about past behaviour)

28
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
When under pressure she could be impossible to put up with.

►permission

On week-ends we could watch TV till late at night.

Could is also used with reference to present or to future situations to underlie the
following concepts:

► permission (hesitatingly asking for permission – you are not sure to get it):

Could I use your computer while you are out of the town?

►requests and orders

You could help me with my chores if you would.

She could start with the windows, to make a good beginning.

► offers or suggestions

I could do it for you, if you accepted my offer.

We could look at the house designs after supper.

►politeness

I’m afraid that talking to her could be of no consequence to you, sir.

Could I see you again, tomorrow?

When it refers to past situations, could may be followed by the perfect infinitive:

► the speaker did not take advantage of a past possibility:

I could have bought that blue car. (but I did not)

You could have gone jogging yesterday.

► to express some theoretical possibility about a past situation:

That stone could have hit you! Thanks God it missed you this time!

► reproach

You could have prevented me about their plans!

To be able/apt to, to be capable to/of successfully replace can or could within past or
future tense frameworks:

They will be able to provide for their family only after they have got a job.
Mary was capable of working for hours on end.
Lately she has been able to perform impressively, now that she has been trained by a
professional.

MAY
When the time of the situation expressed by the lexical verb is present, may will involve
the following concepts:

► permission

29
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
i) asking for permission – in formal English, in: May I have some more coffee, please?
ii) granting permission, in: Yes, please, help yourself.
iii) permission not granted, but may not is less emphatic than must not
You may not take your shoes off in my house.

► possibility

Mother is not in the kitchen, she may be upstairs.

She may be making our beds.
compare:
She may not be baking = it is possible that she is not baking
and
She can’t be baking = it is not possible that she is baking

►possibility (as a contradictory argument)

I may be drunk but I still can shoot.

May is among the modals used with reference to future situations in order to express:

► possibility likely to happen in the future

It may snow before Christmas. (weather feature in our part of the world)
We may be visiting the Bulgarian Black Sea coast this summer.

► formal wishes on celebrations or special holidays

May all your dreams come true!

May you live long and happy!

May is also followed by the perfect infinitive to refer to:

► possibility for something to have happened in the past:

I may have left my umbrella at home, I can’t have lost it.

MIGHT
This modal is similar to could, in that it may suggest both reference to a past tense context
and to unreal situations (aspirations, unfulfilled desires, regrets, etc.). Might is followed
by present infinitive and it refers to past situations to express:

► permission
i) asking for permission, in: Do you think I might put in a good word for Paul?
ii) permission granted, in: You might wait for the manager in his office.

►possibility (in formal English, or rather in literature)

The family worked hard so that they might pay for the boy’s education.

Might + present infinitive may refer to present or future situations to express:

►possibility (weaker certainty on the part of the speaker)

She might be working in her room (but I am not so sure of that)

I might take you with me if you were willing to escort me to the museum.

►suggestions or requests
30
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

You might buy some bread on your way back home.

You might put the album on the mantelpiece for me, please. I like to have it there.

►reproach related to a situation which happened in the past

You might have let me know about your idea of throwing a party this weekend.

** When permission or possibility are set against a future background, may or might are
replaced by to be allowed/permitted to.

Our children will be allowed to have breakfast in the gazebo only after 10 May.
They will be permitted on board the vessel after they have produced their vouchers.

The same substitutes are used with relative tenses:

They have just been permitted to enter the marvelous garden.

MUST
Unlike the rest of modals, must is used only with reference to present or future situations
to express:
►obligation (inner obligation, the speaker’s own feeling)

I must take my mother a bunch of flowers on her birthday.

►obligation (imposed by the speaker who may be an authority)

You must be there in time, don’t keep your father waiting!

►inquiring about one’s obligation

Must I give you the answer tomorrow?

Yes, you must./ No, you needn’t (I think it is not necessary for you…)
No, you don’t have to. (no rule, norm or regulation forces you to…)

► deduction:

The light is on in the garage; he must be fixing his car.

► friendly invitation for a meal:

You must have breakfast with me tomorrow; I need to talk to you.

Must is followed by the perfect infinitive to express:

► deductions about the past

They must have met before, they seemed to be old friends.

N.B. When obligation refers to the past or future, must is replaced by have to:

She accepted she had to take all the medicine to feel better.
I shall have to consider all options before making a choice.

N.B. In reported speech, the use of must depends upon the context, as follows:
i) it remains unchanged when the direct speech subject is in the first person
singular:
direct speech: I must do my room before I go out.
31
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
reported speech: He said he must do his room before he went out.

ii) it is replaced by to be to when orders or instructions are reported:

direct speech: You must take your medicine before going to sleep.
reported speech: The doctor told the patient she was to take her medicine before
going to sleep.

SHALL
The verb shall behaves both as an auxiliary and a modal. It is used with modal values to
express:
► an offer (in interrogative sentences should have a first person subject):

Shall I make you a coffee?

Shall we help you with your luggage?

► determination on the part of the speaker (in affirmative sentences should have
a second or third person subject):

You shall spend the evening all by yourself!

► a threat (always with a second or third person subject):

You shall be punished unless you do your job in due time!

► a promise(always with a second or third person subject):

You shall get what you deserve!

She shall be there in due time! I’ll see to that!

SHOULD
This verb is used in combination with a second or third person subject to suggest:
► advice:

You should work harder if you want to get a scholarship.

►reproach:

She should have worked much harder to get the scholarship.

They shouldn’t spend so much money on drinks.
They shouldn’t have been so rude to our friends.

►hypothesis, when used in a subordinate conditional clause:

If you should find my dictionary, please send it back to me as soon as possible.

Should you meet Loraine give her my best regards.

► obligation/duty under hypothetical conditions:

If I could work my will, every idiot should be boiled in his own pudding.

Should in subordinate clauses

►tentative should to show uncertainty, in subordinate clauses introduced by as
if/in case

Margaret invited Mr. March in case he should change his mind.

►when trying to get things done, using:
32
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
i) verbs like demand, command, order or suggest.
He insisted that Joe should bring Mary to dinner on Sunday.

ii) adjectives like anxious, concerned, eager, essential, important, necessary, vital

It was essential that they should make that decision together.

► to suggest an emotional reaction to the verb in the clause introduced by that

I am so sorry that my brother should be responsible for this.
WILL
As a modal will is used to express:
► a request (in interrogative sentences):

Will you help me with these letters? (friendly tone)

Help me with these letters, will you? (a slightly authoritative tone)

► refusal (in negative assertions):

I won’t do this job. (I am not willing to do this job)

The locksmith has repaired the lock but the box won’t open.

As these final examples show it, the modal value of will is active both with animate and
inanimate subjects.
► persistence/insistence on the part of the sentence subject (with conditional
clauses):

If she will go hiking all by herself, it’s her choice.

If you will argue with everybody around, you will end up all alone!

WOULD
The modal meanings assigned to would express:

►a highly polite request (in conditional clauses):

If you would sign in here, you would get your order before the weekend.

►refusal (in a ‘past tense’ context)

The mechanic repaired the engine thoroughly but still it wouldn’t start.

► (emphatically) the idea of volition:

“If I had Byron’s genius, and health and liberty, I would make the next three centuries
recollect me”. (Carlyle)
Would you agree to meeting our manager tomorrow?

►’a condition contrary to fact’ (hypothetical meaning):

Suppose he came back, what would happen? (G09: 284)

►probability or what one might expect (imaginative would):

That would be in the year 1877. (trebuie să fi fost în anul…)

Unaware of the details, that’s what most men would say.

G. Uses and Meanings of Marginal Modal Verbs

33
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
Marginal modals refer those modal verbs which have the enclitic particle ‘to’ in
their best known pattern, i.e. ought to and used to, on the one hand, and two verbs which
overlap meanings and uses of full verbs in some contexts and of modals in other contexts.

OUGHT TO
This verb form displays the morpho-syntactic characteristics of modals:
► it shows no third person inflection:

She ought to stop smoking.

► it forms the interrogative and the negative according to the central modals:

She oughtn’t to smoke after such a disease.

Ought you to study so hard?

N.B. ought to also forms the interrogative and the negative with the help of the do
auxiliary, but these patterns are considered dialectal usage:
What did we ought to have done with that old car?
They didn’t ought to do that sort of thing.

Modal meanings:
►’tentative inference’ (on the basis of his /her previous knowledge, the speaker
tentatively concludes that the proposition (s/he utters is true):

The Omu peak ought to be visible from here. (din câte ştiu eu, Omu ar trebui să se vadă de
aici)

► obligation (implying the speaker’s authority; nevertheless the speaker is not

convinced that his/her recommendations will be turned into reality) :

She ought to strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations.

N.B. When followed by perfect infinitive, the implicature is that the

recommendation has not been turned into reality:

She ought to have followed the doctor’s recommendations (but she didn’t).

USED TO

This modal verb expresses frequency in the past, with reference to a state, a habit,
a process, an event or an activity that existed in the past and which NO longer happens.
This particular meaning – frequency in the past – may be conveyed by the modal would
but used to is more frequently employed since it is distributed both with processes or
events and with states.
Would insists on iterativity in the past or on the fact that a certain thing happened
just occasionally. Would suggests the idea of volition or willingness regarding the
development of the dynamic verbs and it never appears with state verbs:

She used to/would be talking about her boyfriend for hours.

They used to would attend the meetings regularly.
She used to be very happy / talkative / judgemental.
* She would be very happy/talkative/judgemental. (ungrammatical)

While the full verb forms the interrogative and the negative with the do operator,
34
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
the modal used to expresses the two forms both with the do auxiliary in its past form and
according to the modal verbs pattern:

She used not to smoke when she was a student. (BrE)

She didn’t use to smoke when she was a student. (BrE)
She didn’t used to smoke when she was a student. (AmE)

Used to may lead to difficulty in understanding it because of its resemblance with

the main verb to use, which is always transitively used:

They use tiles for their house roof.

We do not use a laser printer with our computer.

In addition, use appears as a noun in various contexts, out of which we mention a

selection of examples selected from the Webster’s Dictionary (1996:2097)
- he made good use of his spare time,
- a dish in daily use,
- mother gave my husband the use of her car,
- his mistress had the use of the estate for life,
- to put learning to practical use,
- some people have no use (liking) for modern art
N.B. To express a habit with reference to a present interval the structures: to be in
the habit of, to be accustomed to/with, to get used to

Lately they have been used to fishing in the Danube twice a week.
Harry admitted he had been accustomed to feeding his canary when he had one.

TO NEED AND TO DARE

The verbs need and dare represent a singular phenomenon since they display the
characteristics of full verbs and of modal verbs.

As main verbs both need and dare share these common features:
► they take a direct object:

You need a special diet to lose weight and look younger and healthier again.
They have dared him to drink vodka and that is why he feels sick.

► they use the do operator for interrogatives and negatives:

Do you need his money or do you need him?

I don’t need his money, I have told you several times before.
What did they dare him to do?
They didn’t dare him to play poker but to spend the night in a sexy club.

►they have al the temporal and aspectual forms the other main verbs have:

The baby will need the fresh milk tomorrow. (future)

They will dare him to play golf when they meet him in Braşov next month. (future)
I should dare her with a witty saying if she were more open-minded. (conditional)
Mother has been needing you to help her with the chores, so I am here to take you home.
As modal verbs both need and dare behave as any other modal, revealing all the
morphological and syntactic features of central modals. They appear mainly in
interrogative and negative sentences:

35
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
Need/dare she say anything else?
Need I wake up so early tomorrow? (used when a negative answer is expected)
Dare they contradict their parents?
Needn’t he take the money?
He daren’t take the money.

NEED

Need is used in a negative context in order to express:

► lack of necessity or obligation (when followed by a present infinitive):

I need to tell you how miserable I felt on that occasion.

She needn’t work so hard to earn her daily bread as she is the wife of a succesful
businessman.
You needn’t copy all those poems you can have them photocopied.

► the uselessness of an action which was nevertheless carried out:

She needn’t have bought any pie because we still have some biscuits.

N.B. When an unnecessary situation was NOT carried out the pattern to be used
consists of didn’t + have + to + infinitive:
We didn’t have to water the flowers in the garden this evening, so you DID
NOT.*(implicature: it had rained in the afternoon).
► obligation in interrogative sentences:
Need you leave the house right now?

N.B. In such a question need is replaceable with MUST but it will never be
replaced when following wh-words with an interrogative meaning:
* Where need you meet Mary? (ungrammatical)
Where must you meet Mary?

DARE
The modal meaning of this verb may roughly be paraphrased as (don’t/didn’t)
have (or summon up) the courage to, be courageous/bold enough to. Its most frequently
used modal meaning is with the set phrase ‘I dare say’ which seems to occur with two
different spellings and senses:
► “I dare say” may suggest certainty, lack of doubt or even supposition:

I dare say they will be meeting us at the station.

(Presupun, probabil, desigur, nu mă îndoiesc …)

► “I daresay” suggests the speaker’s willingness in accepting a truth:

Traveller: But the bracelet was given to me, I didn’t buy it.
Customs Officer: I daresay you didn’t, but you will have to pay duty on it all the same.
(Bîră 1979:204) ( Ofiţerul de la punctul de control: Sunt de acord, vă înţeleg… )

Conclusions
Modality is a comprehensive concept through which a considerable range of
attitudes may be expressed at different language levels.
Phonologically, it is expressed through (1) intonation, (2) stress and (3) rhythm.
Lexically, nouns, adjectives adverbs, interjections, lexical verbs, modal idioms, set
36
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
phrases, proverbs and sayings also suggest shades of modality. Morphologically, the each
of the four finite moods specifically refers to the factual, hypothetical or theoretical
meaning of an action. Syntactically, declarative, interrogative, imperative and
exclamatory sentences complete the range of means involving modality. Stylistically, the
use of epithets, metaphor, metonymy underlie the speaker’s attitude towards a situation.
To sum up, modal verbs represent a conglomerate made up of:
- pure modals, never to be used as any other kind of verbs (which is the case with can,
could, may, might, must, ought to);
- modals which behave as such as well as auxiliaries (shall, should, will, would, have –
which as a modal will always be followed by the infinitival particle to);
- modals which play the role of main or modal verbs depending on the context they are
part of (used to – as a past tense form of the main transitive verb to use, always
followed by an object, need and dare).
In spite of their diversity, all modal verbs share a cluster of common grammatical
features. In addition, some of them behave as nouns or noun phrases:
a) Writing well constructed essays is a must in European colleges and
universities.
b) All these might have beens are not my concern for the time to come.
This diversity in the verb role play reveals the flexibility of the English language
where words convey their meanings depending on the position they hold at sentence
level. A parallel approach to the most frequently used modals is intended to and compare
and notice their particulars. Although modals are quite numerous, most of them have
their own semantic peculiarities which grant their uniqueness. The vicinity of modal
verbs, the lexical verbs/structures following them play an important part in their correct
usage. The appendix has four major divisions which were devised according to the
distributions of modal verbs in different patterns.

37

CAN
present reference
I can speak German fluently.
future ability:
He will be able to face the case.
to make decisions about future
ability:
I’m busy now, but we can talk
about that tomorrow.
Can you come to Jane’s party
on Friday?
Table 1. Expressing ability
Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
A PARALLEL DESCRIPTION OF CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT
A. MODALS followed by PRESENT INFINITIVE EXPRESS
1. ABILITY
COULD MAY MIGHT
past reference: not used not used
He could ride a horse when he was younger.
He could speak four languages.
general lack of ability:
He was a good teacher; he could make anybody understand his explanations.
lack of particular ability:
He was so sensitive that he couldn’t stand such situations.
TO BE ABLE TO
more emphatic: not used not used
She was able to work long hours when she was younger.
not used about particular ability in the past ( to do something on a certain
occasion): was able to, managed to, succeed in are used instead:
How many pages were you able to translate last night/under the circumstances?
Harry managed to get some money from his uncle.
After a few hours’ hard work we succeeded in bringing it to a good end.
47
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

2. POSSIBILITIES

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

theoretical:
Such things can happen.
actual chance of something to strong possibility for something to
happen happen (in BrE):
There could be some flood in April I may go abroad in summer
(statistically speaking) (= Perhaps I will go…)
Nick doesn’t answer. He may be at
Jane’s, I suppose.
weaker possibility (in BrE):
I might go abroad in summer (but I
rather doubt; I don’t think I will have
the money to).

present possibility in present possibility in statements possibility based on the speaker’s asking about possibility:
interrogations and knowledge
negations

Can it be Mark? Will you answer the phone? He may be sleeping (he usually I wonder where Jack is. He might be
It can’t be true. It could be Dorothy. does). at Jane’s (but I’m not sure).
It may rain tonight (it is very He might be sleeping (but I don’t
cloudy) think so, because he usually doesn’t)

strong possibility in Am weaker possibility in Am E: never used in questions: reporting possibility:

E:

It can rain tonight. (It is
very cloudy)
He could be sleeping (but I rather
doubt, because usually he doesn’t
sleep at this time of the day).
It could rain tonight (but I doubt it,
because the sky is not overcast).
Is it likely to rain? I think it might rain tonight (but it
(not * May it rain?) isn’t very cloudy)
Do you think Jack is with Timmy? He said that it might be a mistake to
(not * May he be…?) do that.

Table 2. Expressing possibilities

48
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

3. SUGGESTIONS

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

about possible solutions when more “tentative”, less informally used (to suggest about what people should do (may
someone is in trouble definite something when you think there’s no as well)
better choice, special phrase) providing an alternative solution

You can tell him the truth now or We could discuss his results, Things are changing for the worse. You might look out for a better
you can put it off till he gets it over. if you think I’m wrong. We may as well give up. job.

not used not used not used to compare an unpleasant situation

with another:
There’s nothing else to do. We
might as well go back.
Table 3. Expressing suggestions

4. OFFERS, ORDERS AND REQUESTS

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

make an offer: - make an offer, a suggestion more hesitantly more formal not used
than can; makes an offer or a request seem more
polite or respectful

I can lend you some money. You could help me lay the table/I could cook May I buy you a
Can I take the luggage upstairs? the dinner, if you are tired. beer?)

give an order make a request not used to make a request instead of could

You can help me with the dishes. Could you help me wash the car? You might see to the children to
Can you come right now? get something to eat.
Table 4. Expressing offers, orders, requests

49

CAN
general meaning
She can go abroad any time.
Can you go by car to work
every day?
Anybody can learn to drive.
informal
(it is the commonest of all)
Can I say something?
CAN
with present reference
On Sundays patients can
walk in the park (not may
walk)
Could I disturb him now? Of
course, you can.
it can turn into an order:
Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
5. PERMISSIONS
5.1. IMPLICIT PERMISSION (FREEDOM)
COULD MAY MIGHT
freedom + possibility (general meaning; not used not used
weaker than can)
She could go abroad if she wanted to. I
could come by car to my office every day if
I wanted to.
Anybody could learn to drive.
5. 2. ASKING FOR PERMISSION
(informal) when you are not sure you will more formal, more (not very common)
be given permission; it is not past tense, it respectful (more tentative or hesitant)
refers to the future (it is more polite)
N.B. - it has future reference:
Could I talk to you if you have a few May I interfere? Might I remind you that you made a
minutes? promise the other day?
I wonder if I might have some more
soup.
5. 3. GIVING PERMISSION
COULD MAY MIGHT
permission granted in the past (formal) in the present or future not used
When I stayed with my grandparents I You may take the floor now.
could watch television whenever I wanted You may order the book if you are interested.
to.
When I was a kid I could play in the park
every afternoon (not I might play)
not used when used by an authority it gets an imperative not used
50
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

force and turns into an order (formal):

You can leave now. You may leave now.
not used not used With rules and regulations not used
Patients may leave the wards only after 10
o’clock.
not used not used in answers: not used
Might I ask you something?
Of course you may.
not used not used may not used to refuse permission or to forbid. not used
Patients may not stand in the hall (must not is
more emphatic)
5. 4. REPORTING PERMISSION

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

reporting permission reporting general permission not used in reported speech as the past tense of
may
It’s not fair! Donna can go
to the club and I have to As a student I could borrow books from He said that she might go to the club.
read for the exam. (not that library. She answered that I might take her case
may go…) (or I could take…)
Can he leave the like
here? (not may he
leave…)
not used for a particular past action, was/were not used not used
allowed to is used:
not used I was allowed to go and see Jane not used not used
yesterday. (not I could go…)
not used conditional meaning certainty or not used conditional meaning + possibility:
possibility
If the manager agreed, we could get up the If you stopped bothering me, you
show this month. might get something out of me.
I couldn’t make both ends meet without
your help.

51

impossibility
She can’t be as old as that
(= It is not possible that
she is…; I can’t believe
that she is…)
Table 5. Expressing Permissions
CAN
characteristic behaviour of people or things
People can be very mean in such situations.
Copper can’t be used to make household
objects because it is harmful.
Table 6. Expressing characteristic behaviour
Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs
not used possibility for something reporting possibility:
not to happen or to be
true:
She may not be guilty (= He said that it might be a mistake to do
It is possible that she is that
not…)
6. (characteristic) BEHAVIOUR
COULD MAY MIGHT
characteristic behaviour in the characteristic behaviour + possibility with not used
past present and past reference
(always followed by but may…but…)
My neighbours could be very She may be good-looking but she isn’t very
mean when it came about land. clever.
She may have been a beauty in her youth, but
now she looks very poorly.
52
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

B. MODALS and PAST TENSE forms

COULD MIGHT
the past tense of can: the past tense of may:

She could play the piano very well when she was younger.
Mum said I might go to the party.

the conditional of can: the conditional of may:

I could invite him too if I wanted.

If you went to bed earlier you might not be so tired.
the subjunctive of can: the subjunctive of may:

I would help her more if I could. I would come and see you if I might.

for present and future reference: a distinct modal verb used for present and future reference:

You could be wrong. He might be at home now (but I’m not sure).
Could I see you in the afternoon? (strong possibility) It might snow tonight. (weaker possibility)

lack of particular ability not used

He was so confused that he couldn’t decide on that.

used with a conditional meaning = would be able to: not used

We could take good care of her if she stayed with us.

Table 7. Modals followed by past infinitive

53
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

C. MODALS followed by PERFECT INFINITIVE

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

an action viewed from the theoretical ability: to say that we had the ability to a present to express the possibility that past events happened
present to express do something but we did not try to do it: possibility that (viewed from the past):
possibility + irritation: past events
happened
Where can she I could have told her that straight in the face (= He may have We heard footsteps in the next room; we thought
have gone? I was so angry that I was capable of telling been upset by that it might have been the nurse.
her… but I didn’t). that.

impossibility or unrealized past possibility: something that was not used to express that a past event was possible but didn’t
refusal to believe possible but didn’t happen: happen:
something:
He can’t have gone Why did you go there? You could have fallen You were a fool to tell him that. He might have got
to work – it’s into the water. angry with you.
Saturday.
not used to make a reproach; to criticize somebody for not not used to make a reproach about things that we expected to
having done something: happen, but they didn’t:
You could have done it earlier (= you were able You might have told me about your intentions.
to do it why didn’t you do it?) You might have let me know that earlier.
not used used with a conditional meaning : not used not used
I could have made a good job of that if I had
stuck to it. (= I would have been able to …)
not used the negative structure used to express lack of not used not used
ability; past reference
I couldn’t have won the competition, so I didn’t
go in for it.
Table 8. Modals followed by perfect infinitive

C.1. MODALS followed by PRESENT/PERFECT INFINITIVES

54
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

PERFECT INFINITIVES of VERBS OF MENTAL ABILITY

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

speak, understand, remember, play, imagine the modal it is the same as can with past reference; but there is a not used not used
often omitted without any change of meaning: slight change of meaning:

[ ]
Do
Can you speak German? I (can) speak a little Italian [ Could
Did ] you speak German when you stayed with

[ ]
Can
Do you play the piano?
them?

PRESENT/PERFECT INFINITIVES of VERBS OF PERCEPTION

smell, taste, hear, see. feel the same as can; with past reference: not used not used

Can you see Jim’s brother among those young men?

Speak louder please, I can’t hear you. [ Could
Did ]you see him among the guests?
When I got home I could smell the cake my mother
was making.
Table 9. Modals followed by verbs of perception

55
 Course 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

D. MODALS and SUBORDINATION

CAN COULD MAY MIGHT

so that- purpose clauses - to refer so that- purpose clauses - to refer to formal purpose clauses formal and literary purpose
to the present (more common than the past (more common than might) clauses
may)

He works hard so that he can earn He was trying hard so that he could He is very careful with the All this was done so that the
an honest penny. make great progress. details to present so that landlords might get richer
everybody may accept them.
present and future reference: not used not used not used

He exercises a lot so that he can go

in for the competition.
can’t help + gerund (to be forced to couldn’t help + gerund not used not used
do something even if you don’t want
to)

I can’t help going into such I couldn’t help interfering when

details. they mentioned her name.

not used + help but + short infinitive  not used not used
meaningfully similar to the affirmative
structure, but not commonly used:

Catherine could not but realize

what his aims were.
not used not used in formal wishes: not used

May luck attend you!

May you be happy!
Table 10. Modals and subordination

56
Chapter 3. Modality and Modal Verbs

59