Материал: doichik_oia_modal_verbs_theory_and_practice

Common responses with modals are: You can/may or

- affirmative: Of course you

You can’t / may not

can / may (*Not “could /

Numerous non-modal responses are

might”)

Of course (polite affirmative),

- negative: No, you can’t /

I’m afraid not, I’d rather you didn’t (polite,

may not.

negative),

(Not “could not”/”might

Certainly not (blunt refusal).

not”)

A polite refusal is usually accompanied by some kind

I’m afraid you can’t take my

of explanation (I‟m afraid you can‟t because…)

car. I need it for the whole

day.

** We use can (not may) / be allowed to to speak

** I can stay up as late as I

about permissions

like. My parents don‟t mind.

These yellow lines mean that

you can’t park here.

Past permission can be expressed by could in general

Last night the kids were

situations or by was / were allowed to in general and

allowed to stay up longer.

particular situations

I could / couldn’t walk alone

when I was small. (or: I

was(n’t) allowed to walk

alone when I was small).

PROHIBITION

You shouldn’t talk to me

Should not (inadvisable = you‟d better not; less

like that

strict)

Cannot

(generally, according to the

- Can I stay out late

circumstances; you are not allowed)

- No, you may not / can’t /

May not (speaker‟s personal prohibition; or

mustn’t stay out late.

formal contexts)

Am/is/are

You are not to open this

not to (giving instructions in formal contexts)

door.

Must not (speaker‟s absolute prohibition; often

subjective, implies that there is no other

choice)

You shall do as you please

* In formal contexts permission can be given with

(=I allow you to)

shall and denied with shan’t (2nd and 3rd persons)

If he doesn‟t finish, he shan’t

go out (=I don‟t allow him

to)

To express criticism / disapproval / reproach

referring to the present or future we use:

Can

(criticism about repetitive things)

You can be very annoying, you know?

Could (sounds less direct than can in

You could help me now.

expressing disapproval)

You could be less arrogant

Should (criticism on what is the wrong

You should not talk to your mom like

thing to do according to the

that

speaker)

He should dress warmer

Ought to (criticism based on moral duties)

You oughtn’t to throw litter here

Might (sounds less strong than should; a

You might be more polite

nagging complaint)

You might clean after yourself

To express criticism / disapproval / reproach

You could have written your essay

referring to the past we use:

better

Could + have + V3

He could have helped you

Should + have + V3

You should have booked the tickets in

Ought to + have + V3

advance

Might + have + V3 (less strong than should)

Of course, you feel sick. You shouldn’t

The use of these forms indicates that the

have eaten so much chocolate.

past action wasn‟t carried out the way the

You might have told me you weren't

speaker thinks it was right to be done.

coming!

* Note

*

Might/could (at least) + V1 is used to

You might at least clean after yourself

express reproach

He might at least be less annoying

**Note

**

Might have + V3 with the verbs guess,

I might have guessed it was a lie

know, suspect reinforce complaint

I might have suspected he would fail

to follow the instructions

To express reprimand / outrage / strong

How dare you suggest such a thing!

disapproval we use dare /dared

How dare you raise your voice!

Don’t you dare speak to me like that!

How dared he tell it to everyone!

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To express willingness to do something

I will act as a witness to your story

we use will / would (=be willing to).

He will help you

Will → Present

Would → Past

To express unwillingness / refusal we

He won’t drink his milk

use:

The car won’t start

Won’t → Present

Wouldn’t → Past

It can refer to inanimate objects

*Note

*

Would can be used to express

Dad would always help us with our

willingness in the past (but only to refer

maths. (= was always willing to)

to general willingness = habit and not to

refer to a single occasion in the past)

I offered him some milk but he wouldn’t

Wouldn’t can be used for refusal on a

drink it

single occasion in the past

The car wouldn’t start this morning

** Note

**

In the meaning of willingness will/won’t

If you will take a seat for a moment, the

can be used after if in the First

doctor will see you soon (=if you are

conditional.

willing to)

With the future reference we can also use

If you will / would / could wait a moment

other modals in this sense: If smb will /

I‟ll join you.

would / could…

If he will / would / could only try harder,

I‟m sure he‟ll succeed.

Shall I wait? – Yes, if you will / would

To express promise we use will

I will help you with your baggage, when

you arrive.

To express polite disagreement we use

I wouldn’t say that

would / wouldn’t

I would do it otherwise

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