MODAL VERBS ​ARE A TYPE OF AUXILIARY VERBS

THAT CHANGE “THE MODE” OF OTHER VERBS.

EXAMPLE: I PLAY FOOTBALL ON SATURDAYS. I CAN
PLAY FOOTBALL ON SATURDAYS. WITH “CAN” I
HAVE CHANGED THE MODE OF THE VERB “PLAY”.
THE MOST COMMON ​MODAL VERBS​ARE: CAN,
COULD, MIGHT, MAY, WILL, WOULD, SHALL, MUST,
SHOULD AND OUGHT TO.

MODAL VERBS ​ARE USED TO EXPRESS:

-DEGREES OF CERTAINTY- I THINK IT ​MAY​RAIN.
-ABILITY- THEY ​CAN​DO MANY THINGS.
-POSSIBILITY- WE ​MIGHT​COME NEXT WEEK.
-PERMISSION- ​CAN ​I OPEN THE WINDOW?
-OBLIGATION- I ​MUST​WORK TODAY.

PAST TENSE OF THE MODAL VERBS

-COULD IS THE PAST TENSE OF CAN
-HAD IS THE PAST TENSE OF MUST
FOR THE REST OF THE MODAL VERBS WE NEED THE
STRUCTURE:​​SUBJECT + MODAL VERB +HAVE + PAST
PARTICIPLE OF THE MAIN VERB + OBJECT. EXAMPLE:
I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT. ​LO DEBERÍA HABER HECHO.
• To sum up:
• There are four types of conditional sentences: zero, first, second and third
conditional.

• They are categorized according to the possibility that the condition will be
fulfilled.

• –Zero conditional: No condition. Example: If you freeze water, it becomes ice

• –First conditional: Quite likely to happen. Example: If they send an email, I will
answer them.

• –Second conditional: Not very likely to happen. Example: If he sold it, I would
buy it.

• –Third conditional: Impossible. Example: If he had sold it, I would have bought it.

• Try to memorise them thinking about the equivalences between the Spanish
and the English structure. For example: if in Spanish the verb after “if” is in the
subjunctive mood, in English we use the Simple Past Tense. Remember: Si ella no
viniese (subjunctive)- If she didn’t come (simple past tense).
• Tag questions: el verbo auxiliar no significa nada, sino que nos
indica el tiempo (presente, pasado, futuro), el modo
(indicativo o subjuntivo), el aspecto (perfectivo o
imperfectivo), la persona (1ª, 2ª o 3ª) y el número (singular o
plural). en inglés nos servirán para formar preguntas y
oraciones negativas.
• Las “question tags” se forman con el verbo auxiliar de la
oración principal, acompañado del pronombre personal al
que se refiere al sujeto.
LAS “QUESTION TAGS” SE
FORMAN CON EL VERBO
AUXILIAR DE LA ORACIÓN
PRINCIPAL, ACOMPAÑADO
DEL PRONOMBRE
PERSONAL AL QUE SE
REFIERE AL SUJETO.