MODAL VERBS: Epistemic and Deontic Modality

Prof. Jesús Moya

1. Introduction
2. Grammatical points:
2.1 Expressing ability
2.2 Expressing possibility and probability (Epistemic)
2.3 Expressing permission, obligation and recommendation (Deontic)
2.4 Willingness, refusals, request and offers
3. Didactic resources to teach modal auxiliaries

Modality is the category by which speakers express attitudes towards the state of affairs
expressed in the sentences. Modality is realized by modal verbs. These meet the
following criteria:
1. They can function as operators.
2. They do not have tense inflections.
3. They have a pre-adverb position: you can surely pass your linguistics exam.
4. They are followed by the bare infinitive.
5. They do not have: infinitive / present participle (ing) / past participle

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EXPRESSING ABILITY

CAN: Possession of a general ability in the present (be capable of, know how to):
He can speak French but he can’t write it well.
Our team can easily beat your team this evening.

COULD: Possession of a general ability in the past:

I could play the piano when I was five.

BE ABLE TO, MANAGE TO, SUCEED IN:

(a) If the present or past ability is surprising or involves overcoming some difficulty:
Despite his handicap he is able to drive a car.
The army succeeded in defeating their enemy.
(b) To describe the successful use of an ability on a specific occasion (ability + particular
action):
Mike’s car broke down but fortunately he was able to repair it.
BUT
Could you fix the computer yourself?
No, I could only back up the key files.

THERE is also another difference of meaning between Could and Was able to:
What’s it possible to go in? Did he go in?
The door was open and he could go into the room.

The door was open and he was able to go into the room.
Only one of these two sentences actually means I escaped. Which one?
I could escape / I managed to escape.

WILL BE ABLE TO: She will be able to do it.

COULDN’T: Lack of ability or success: My grandfather couldn’t swim. In negative, there is no

such difference between general and particular ability

COULD -HAVE –PAST PARTICIPLE: a past ability that wasn’t used.

She could have paid by credit card but she preferred to use cash.

PRACTICE: Complete the following sentences with could, managed to or couldn’t:

1. The smoke was so thick that you …………….. breathe.
2. There was an old man with his hair on fire. Luckily, I .…. put it out with my jumper.
3. The doors at the back were locked, so the people …………. get out.
4. Someone tried to unlock them, but they ………… do it in time.
5. The flames were all around, but I ……..get to the front and the police pulled me on the
pitch.
6. We were in the changing-rooms when it started. When we got out, we………see the horror
of it all.
7. One fan …………… to escape only because three men broke the lock on one of the gates.
8. The fire was so big you ………….. see it from miles away.
9. You……… smell the smoke for days after the fire.

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Song: I can run (ability): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKn5H1cekyo
Tale: From Head to Toe by E. Carle
Song: the bath song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=924CDZofcSQ

EXPRESSING PERMISSION

CAN: (a) be permitted to. The speaker only states that there is permission to do something, but this
permission does not come from the speaker him/herself. It can be paraphrased as ‘It is permitted to…’:
Can I smoke in here? / Yes, you can.
(b) Also permission subject to some external authority such as the law:
You can’t smoke on the underground.

MAY: Permission granted by the speaker (I give you permission to): you may smoke in here.
More formal than Can and less than Could: May I put the TV on? /Yes, of course, you may.

MUSTN’T: You mustn’t some in here.

MIGHT: Only to ask for permission in a more tentative and formal way:
Might I ask the court for an adjournment at this point?

COULD:
(a) Only to ask for permission in the present. More formal than may: Could I smoke in here?
(b) General permission in the past: In the 1950s British children could leave school at
the age of fourteen.
BUT
(c) Was allowed to (permission given on a particular occasion in the part): I WAS
ALLOWED TO leave early yesterday. NOT: I could leave early yesterday.

Difference (formality)?
CAN /MAY /COULD I USE YOUR COMPUTER, PLEASE?

Song: Can I have a party? Song (permission): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xynf-

Z8RFcA

EXPRESSING POSSIBILITY

Can you explain the difference between these two sentences?

In honour of our old coin: The pound can be devalued.
The pound may be devalued.

CAN:
(a) Theoretical possibility (things that are generally possible): The road can be blocked.
EXCEPTION:
In scientific and academic English we use may in the same way:
Over-prescribing antibiotics may lead to the rapid development of resistant strains.

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MAY:
(b) Factual possibility (the possibility that something, a particular fact, can possibly be
happening or will happen). To talk about specific possibilities: may, might or could (but not
can): The road may be blocked.
EXCEPTION:
We use can or could (but not may) to talk about specific possibilities in wh-
questions or in affirmative sentences with adverbs such as only or hardly:
Who can / could that be at this time of night?
It can /could only be Steve. He’s the only one with a key.
(c) May expressing possibility is typically stressed, but when it indicates permission is
normally unstressed: He MAY leave tomorrow / He may leave tomorrow.
(d) May expressing possibility can only be used in declarative clauses. Never in interrogative
structures: *May it rain?

Factual possibility is stronger than theoretical possibility, more probable to really happen.

MIGHT:
(a) Remote factual possibility, a smaller and less probable present or future possibility
than may: I might go to the concert.
(b) To describe possibilities which depend on certain conditions, we use might or could:
She might / could learn much more quickly if she paid attention.

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COULD:
(e) Theoretical or factual possibility in the present or future. It gives the idea that something is
possible but not particularly likely.
He could be in his office.
Teachers could be very strict.
(f) To talk about general possibility in the past (things which sometimes happened).
In scientific and academic English we use might in the same way:
Wealthy Victorian families might keep as many as a dozen indoor servants.

Difference?: She may /might /could be in her office

PRACTICE:
Which of the following modal verbs will fit in the sentences below? More than one might
fit: may can might could may not cannot
1. …………….I ask you something?
2. I ……….. go out this evening: I haven’t decided yet.
3. You …………… usually get a table without booking.
4. You …………….. find driving on the left a little strange at first.
5. Ask her: she …………. be able to help you.
6. He says you ………….. go out if you want to.
7. I ………….. be young, but I’m not stupid.
8. He ………. play really well when he wants to.
9. I ……………. be able to come round tonight.
10. He …….. want to come with us.
11. Do it now: you ……….. have time later.
12. Don’t shout at her: it ……….. have been her fault.

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DEDUCTION, SPECULATION, PROBABILITY

+ CERTAIN
It is Simon.
Used to state a fact without expressing an opinion.
It will be Simon.
Used to make predictions about the present based on our knowledge or previous experience.
The speaker feels sure about the situation.
It must be Simon.
For something we believe to be true because of evidence: The logic of the situation
leads the speaker to the conclusion that something is true.
We are very certain of the possibility.
It may be Simon.
For predictions that are less certain that the ones expressed by will.
Probability: We believe the statement to be true because of our prior knowledge or experience
of present evidence.
It might be Simon.
It is a very remote probability.
It could be Simon.
It is possible but not likely.
A weaker possibility than may or might.
Deduction based on evidence or on our previous experience:
He always wears smart suits / He could be a businessman.
It couldn’t be Simon.
The logic of the situation leads the speaker to the conclusion that something is not probable.
It can’t be Simon.
The opposite of must.
We can use can’t or couldn’t for things which we know are impossible and to make
negative deductions: You can’t get blood out of a stone / I couldn’t pick up a spider, they terrify me.
Negative deduction about the past: She can’t have fixed the computer, it’s still not
working properly.
It won’t be Simon.
It is not Simon.
- CERTAIN
-

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DEDUCTION. Complete these sentences using the modal verbs must or can’t and the
appropriate form of verbs in brackets.

1. It …………. (be) 10 o’clock already! I had no idea it was so late.

2. Who is that outside? It ………… (be) the postman – he has already been here.
3. There ………. (be) many people who believe that.
4. He ………. (do) it: he wasn’t even in England at the time.
5. You aren’t serious, are you? You …………….. (joke)!
6. It ………….. (be) Simon. I’m sure it was really Joe who did it.
7. How old do you think she is? “Oh, she …………… (be) in her late fifties I would think”.
8. The flight was terrible. It ……………. (last) more than six hours.
9. I heard about the fight. It …………… (be) a very nice experience for you.
10. Did you see that car that went by? It ………….. (travel) at 100 mph!

EXPRESSING OBLIGATION:

MUST:
(a) Obligation imposed by the speaker: You must be back by ten.
(b) Self compulsion (to impose an obligation on oneself): I must try to lose weight.
(c) To give a strong personal opinion: I believe people must vote in elections.

(d) Must can only be used to express obligation in the present or in the future. Had to is used to
express obligation in the past. HOWEVER, in reported speech both must and had to are
possible: You said I had to / must be back by ten o’clock.

HAVE (GOT) TO:

(a) Rules imposed by an external authority (obligation we see as outside our control):
You have to wear a uniform in that school, don’t you?
You have to be back by ten
(b) Explain the differences between these two sentences:
I must / have to try to lose weight.

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NEED TO: External obligation, particularly in the future:
We’ll need to get our visas sorted out or we won’t be able to stop over the states.
MUSTN’T: Strong prohibition.
You mustn’t try drugs.
You must not touch that kettle. It’s hot.
DON’T HAVE TO: Absence of obligation.
You don’t have to be back by seven. I’ll look after the children.
SHOULD / OUGHT TO:
(a)A less categorical or weaker obligation than with must or the imperative. The speaker
doesn’t have absolute confidence that the recommendation will be carried out by the hearer:
You must study harder / you should study harder.
(c) Should: subjective often moral obligation or advice:
You should not drink if you intend to drive.
(d) Should and ought to can sometimes be used alternatively but there are slight differences
between them:
i. In oral discourse, ought to is normally stressed, whereas should is
unstressed.
ii. Should: own subjective opinion. Ought to: more objective force.

PRACTICE. OBLIGATION. Fill the spaces in the following sentences by inserting must or the
present, future of past forms of have to.

1. She …………… leave home at 8.o every morning at present.

2. Notice in a picture gallery: Cameras, sticks and umbrellas ………….. be left at the desk.
3. He sees very badly; he ………… wear glasses all the time.
4. I ………… do all the typing at my office.
5. You ……….. read this book. It’s really excellent.
6. The children ……….. play in the street till their mothers get home from work.
7. She felt ill and ………… leave early.
8. Mr Pitt ………… cook his own meals. His wife is away.
9. I hadn’t enough money and I ………… pay by cheque.
10. I never remember his address. I always ………… book it up.
11. Employer: You…………. come to work in time.

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 12. You ………… clean your own shoes when you are in the army.

Must / Mustn’t. Game: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-

games/modals-must-and-mustnt
See more didactic resources to teach modal in Campus Virtual.

WILLINGNESS, REFUSALS, REQUESTS, OFFERS AND DESIRES

SHALL:
(a) Speaker’s willingness or intention to do something:
He shall do it whatever he says.
(b) Making offers (in questions, 1st person): Shall I carry your bag?
(c) Making suggestions (with we as subject in questions): Shall we go out for a curry
tonight?
BUT: US English: Let’s decide what to do this evening. Should we go bowling?
(d) For rules and formal instructions (specially in official documents, examinations or
competitions):
The secretary shall minute the proceedings of each meeting.
Their decision shall be final.
WILL:
(e) Willingness to do something on the part of the subject of the sentence. In this sense,
will is always stressed and never contracted:
Who will do the washing up? / He says he WILL.
(f) Can you explain the difference between these two sentences:
He will do it whatever you say / He shall do it whatever you say.
(g) Making requests: Will / Would you please open the door for me?
(h) Making promises: My government will turn round the economy and reduce
unemployment.
(i) Invitations (when we offer something to another person):
Will / Would you have another cup of tea?
Won’t you have ….?
(j) Making offers (affirmative sentences): Sit down. I’ll wash up this evening.
(k) For orders and formal instructions: You will / shall stay behind for thirty minutes
and clean the room.
WOULD:
(l) Polite request: Would you excuse me?
(m) General willingness in the past ( a characteristic activity in the past):
He was ill but he would go to the school whatever the doctor said.,
Every morning he would go for a walk.
BUT
We do not use would in affirmative sentences to express willingness to do
something on a single occasion in the past: The tour guide was very helpful. She
contacted / offered to contact the consulate for me when I lost my passport.

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 (n) Wouldn’t: for refusals on a single occasion in the past:
The shop assistant wouldn’t change this jumper for me, even though I hadn’t
worn it.
(o) In suggestions or responding to invitations:
It would be a good idea to get together one evening.
(p) Hypothetical and unfulfilled desires about the present or the future:
I would prefer to be a man.
I would like to stay in five-star hotels.
(q) Hypothetical desires about the past: would –have –past participle:
It would have been a good idea to notify us in advance of your intentions.

REVISION AND EXTENSION. MODALS.

Choose the best answer.
1. ………… you open the window, please?
A may B need C shall D will
2. …………. I lock the door for you?
A shall B will C ought D need
3. I’m free this evening ………….. we go out to dinner?
A will B shall C won’t D would
4. She ……….. type at 40 words per minute.
A need B ought C dare D can
5. You ……….. try to make your applications a bit neater, or you’ll never get a job.
A shall B will C ought D should
6. Poor Jack –he lost his homework, and he ………… do it again.
A has got to B needs C shall D ought
7. I wish you ……. make such a noise. I’m trying to work.
A shouldn’t B wouldn’t C couldn’t D needn’t
8. The government ……….. increase taxes soon.
A may B need C ought D dare
9. I’m not surprised you failed the exam. You ……….. have worked harder.
A should B must C would D ought
10. They …………… understand the teacher, as he spoke too fast.
A wouldn’t B shouldn’t C can’t D couldn’t
11. …………. I have an orange juice, please?
A shall B must C could D will
12. This car is in terrible condition –you ……….. have an accident at any time.
A should B could C would D can

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 13. I ………. Go now, or I’ll be late for the lesson.
A may B need C ought D must
14. You ……… blame yourself for the accident. It wasn’t your fault.
A daren’t B mustn’t C won’t D oughtn’t
15. Are you saying you want me to work all weekend? You …… be serious.
A mustn’t B can’t C might not D shouldn’t
16. I …………. like to apologize for not replying to your letter earlier.
A could B might C would D must
17. You ………. pay for this information. It’s free.
A mustn’t B don’t have to C shouldn’t D ought not to
18. It was wrong of you to talk to her like that –the next time you see her, you ………. apologize.
A need B ought to C dare to D may
19. You ………. worry about paying the gas bill –I’ve already done it.
A needn’t B daren’t C can’t D might not
20. She ………..to work a little harder if she’s going to pass the exam.
A needs B must C had D should
21. She …………have rushed to the airport like that. The plane was delayed by several hours.
A needn’t B mustn’t C couldn’t D wouldn’t
22. You ………. be exhausted after that walk.
A can B need C must D ought
23. I ……….. rather not go by coach, if you don’t mind.
A would B should C will D had
24. He left home more than an hour ago. He ………… be at work by now.
A shall B can C must D would

Write a sentence containing a modal auxiliary. Change the modal verb as many times as possible
and explain the differences in meaning. Also suggest a situation for each sentence.

I must /have to/ should/ needn’t /musn’t study French.

Shall we study French together?/ Will you study French with me? / Would you study French
with me? / You shall study French.
It will/ must / can’t /may /might be the French teacher /
Can / May/ Could I talk to the French teacher, please? /You mustn’t talk to the French teacher.
I can speak French / I could speak French when I was five / I will be able to speak French / I
couldn’t speak French
The French teacher may /might/ could be ill.

References
Downing, A. and Ph. Locke. 1992. A University Course in English Grammar. New
York: Prentice Hall.
Foley, M. and D. Hall. 2003. Advanced Learner’s Grammar. China: Longman.
Halliday, M.A.K. 2004. An introduction to Functional Grammar. 3rd edition. Revised
by C. M. I. M. Matthiessen. London: Arnold.
Nettle M. And D. Hopkins. 2003. Developing Grammar in Context. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Quirk, R. et al. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. London:
Longman.
Swam, M. 2005. Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Martínez Freund, C. et al. 2002. English Grammar. 3rd Edition. Madrid: Vaughan

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