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I. General points
The modals are auxiliaries.
As the auxiliaries, they:
Ø are always followed by the verbal base without "to";
Ø can not be conjugated among themselves;
Ø don't have "s" at the third person of the present;
Ø have no infinitive (so no future);
Ø do not use the auxiliary "to do" in the inquiring
and negative forms;
Ø have no present participle so no progressive form;
Ø have no past participle so have neither perfect, or passive.
II. Equivalents
These verbs have only one or two forms. In certain cases a circumlocution
called "equivalent" is uses for conjugating the tenses
which are missing.
| Can |
could |
to be able to (capacity) |
| may |
might |
to be allowed to (permission)
to be permitted to |
| must |
|
to have to (necessity)
to be obliged to |
| shall |
should |
to have the duty to |
will
ought to |
would |
to want , to wish to
(constraint) |
o
III. Conjugation
| |
Présent |
Prétérit |
| |
Affirmatif |
Négatif |
Affirmatif |
Négatif |
| can |
can |
cannot |
could |
could not |
| may |
may |
may not |
might |
might not |
| must |
must |
must not |
X |
X |
| will |
will |
will not |
would |
would not |
| shall |
shall |
shall not |
should |
should not |
| need |
need |
need not |
X |
X |
| dare |
dare |
dare not |
X |
X |
| ought to |
X |
X |
ought to |
ought not to |
IV. Detailed study
A. Can (pouvoir)
Notion of possibility, of capacity, permission ( objective sense).
Ex: I can't swim. Je ne sais pas nager.
Can I borrow your car ? Puis-je t'emprunter ta voiture ?
Other uses similar to the french.
Ex: Can you open the door ? Peux-tu ouvrir la porte ?
Could you open the door ? Pourrais-tu ouvrir la porte ?
Walking in the mountain can be dangerous. Marcher en montagne peut
être dangereux.
B. May (pouvoir)
Notion of possibility.
Ex: He may be in town. Il est peut-être en ville.
He might be in town. Il se pourrait qu'il soit en ville.
I may come tonight. Il se peut que je vienne ce soir.
Notion of permission (subjective sense).
Ex: May I smoke in your office ? Puis-je fumer dans votre bureau
?
Note : we ask for the permission to the interlocutor.
C. Must (devoir, traduit au présent)
Notion of obligation, of probability (stronger than with should).
Ex: You must come with us. Tu dois venir avec nous.
In the past, we use had to :
I had to go to work earlier. J'ai dû aller au travail plus
tôt.
He must be in town. Il doit être en ville.
D. Will
Expression of the future.
Ex: I will tell you later. Je te raconterai plus tard.
Expression of a refusal.
Ex: He won't come. Il ne viendra pas.
Expression of a certainty.
Ex: She's late, she will have missed her bus. Elle est en retard,
elle aura manqué le bus.
E. Would
Conditional.
Ex: If I were you, I would buy it now. Si j'étais toi, je
l'achèterais maintenant.
F. Shall
Expression of the future (elevated language), uses as will.
Inquiring form to the first person.
Ex: Shall we go now ? Nous partons maintenant ?
G. Should (devoir, traduit au conditionnel)
Obligation, probability (less strong than with must).
Ex: You should talk to him. Tu devrais lui parler.
He should have arrived now. Il devrait être arrivé
maintenant.
H. Need (avoir besoin de)
Employed as modal verb, it has no preterit.
Negation of a necessity.
Ex : You needn't come with me. Tu n'as pas besoin de venir avec
moi.
I. Dare (oser)
Has no preterit.
Ex: She daren't/doesn't dare to come with us. Elle n'ose pas venir
avec nous.
J. Ought to (devoir, traduit au conditionnel).
Expression of necessity and probability similar to should.
Ex: You ought to know it. Tu devrais le savoir.
EXERCI SES
Exercise 1:
Complete with: can, can't, cannot, can not, have to, may, may not,
might, might not, must, mustn't, must not (cannot is british, can
not is american).
Do not forget that must is used for orders as well as to say what
is possible.
In the first case, the oposite is must not; otherwise, it is cannot.
1) It must be late as it's already dark. It …. be any earlier
than 5 PM.
2) Pupils may go out if they've finished their homework. Since your
homework isn't in fact finished you …. go out.
3) "He can't be serious, no one could believe that." "In
fact he's an important scientist, so he …. be serious after
all."
4) "She might get good results if she tires harder." "No,
it's too late; the exam's next week: she …. possibly succeed."
5) If you want to ask for permission, use "can" or "….".
Exercise 2:
Complete with the good auxiliary followed by the right form of
the verb in quotes:
1) He …. at the airport this afternoon.He was with me in town.(Be)
2) When your are in the army, you …. what your sergeant tells
you.(Do)
3) The teacher …. in class 5 minutes before his students, so
he hurriedup with his preceding class.(Be)
4) He …. adjusting the aerial if he's not getting a good pictureon
his new TV set.(Try)
5) I knew what to do. You …. me three times.(Tell)
Exercise 3:
Complete with the right form of the auxiliaries must or have to.
1) You …. get a visa if you want to visit China.
2) I don't like …. work during holidays.
3) Those passengers will …. show their fight coupons before
bording the plane.
4) You …. your glasses mended. I order you to do so!
5) I …. stay at home two days ago because it was snowing.
Exercise 4:
Complete conjugating have to and adding the negation when it is
necessary.
1) We …. be in the classroom at 8:30 am.
2) An air hostess …. serves passengers' food, but she ….
cook it.
3) The children go to school by bus. They have bus passes so they
…. buy a ticket every day.
4) I …. go shopping every day; once a week is enough.
5) A construction worker …. wear a safety helmet.
CORRECTION
Exercise 1:
1) It must be late as it's already dark. It can't be any earlier
than 5 PM.
2) Pupils may go out if they've finished their homework. Since your
homework isn't in fact finished you may not go out.
3) "He can't be serious, no one could believe that." "In
fact he's an important scientist, so he must be serious after all."
4) "She might get good results if she tires harder." "No,
it's too late; the exam's next week: she can't possibly succeed."
5) If you want to ask for permission, use "can" or "may".
Exercise 2 :
1) He can't have been at the airport this afternoon.He was with
me in town.
2) When your are in the army, you have to do what your sergeant
tells you.
3) The teacher had to be in class 5 minutes before his students,
so he hurriedup with his preceding class.
4) He should try adjusting the aerial if he's not getting a good
pictureon his new TV set.
5) I knew what to do. You didn't have to/didn't need to tell me
three times.
Exercise 3:
1) You have to get a visa if you want to visit China.
2) I don't like having to work during holidays.
3) Those passengers will have to show their fight coupons before
bording the plane.
4) You must your glasses mended. I order you to do so!
5) I had to stay at home two days ago because it was snowing.
Exercise 4:
1) We have to be in the classroom at 8:30 am.
2) An air hostess has to serves passengers' food, but she doesn't
have to cook it.
3) The children go to school by bus. They have bus passes so they
don't have to buy a ticket every day.
4) I don't have to go shopping every day; once a week is enough.
5) A construction worker has to wear a safety helmet.
Marilyne RIOS
LAP 2002/2003
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