MODAL AUXIALIRIES
General definition: An auxiliary verb is a
verb that combines two characteristics:
• Support: It supports another verb.
• Other distinctions: It shares some
other (and unrelated) grammatical distinctive characteristic with a small group
of other verbs.
Definition for English: An auxiliary verb is a verb that
combines two characteristics:
• Support: It can support another verb.
• Other distinctions: It allows subject
inversion, negation, contraction but it does not allow do-support and may not
show subject agreement.
Notice how the definition for English
is a slight modification of the general definition – it changes supports
to can support, and it supplies a particular range of other
distinctions. The support role is still relevant, because every auxiliary verb
can be used to support another; but it is not crucial because the main
distinctive load is carried by the other distinctions. The consequence of this
definition is that a sentence like He is ready, contains an ordinary and
straightforward auxiliary verb as far as the English definition is concerned,
but this auxiliary verb is untypical in comparison with the general definition.
USE OF AUXILIARY VERBS:
·
In forming question tags, negatives, questions
·
Help to form and deciding tenses
·
To make passive forms
·
To express permissions, possibilities,
abilities etc.
Auxiliaries
Primary Secondary/Modal
Be forms (=am, is, are, was, were) Have, has, had Do, does, did can, could, will, would, shall, should
may, might, must, need, dare, have to used to, ought to.
These are often called Modal
auxiliaries or helping verbs or special verbs or anomalous
finites or modals.
CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT:
• We use can to talk about
ability in the present. Can means ‘be able to’ or ‘know how to’. Could
is used for ability in past time. Ex: He can swim across the river. I
can play cricket. He could swim well when he was young.
• Note that could only express
the ability to do something. But does not say that it was done. We should use was/were
able to talk about ability + action in the past. Don’t use could for
a past action which really completed or happened. Ex: When the boat was upset, they were
able to swim to the bank (NOT : they could swim to the bank). How much
sugar were able to get? (NOT: could get).
• In negative sentences, however, could
or was/were able to may be used. Ex: He couldn’t (or wasn’t able
to)lift the table. It was too heavy.
• We can use can/may to talk
about permission or ask permission. May is rather formal. Ex: You
can/may go now. Can/may I use your mobile? The past form of can
that is could is polite. Ex: Could I use your mobile?
• We use may and might to
talk about possibility in the present or future. Ex: He may/might
come tomorrow (=perhaps he will come tomorrow).The news may/might be
true. Might expresses a smaller degree of possibility than may.
Could is also used in the same way. I could see him this evening. (=
It is possible, but not very likely as I have lot of things to do).
• Can, not may/might, is used in
questions about possibility. Cannot is normally used to express
impossibility. Ex: Can the news be true? The news can’t be true (= it is
possible that the news is true). Compare the sentence with The news may
not be true (= perhaps the news is not true).
• Could you…….? (less often can you…..?) is a
polite request. Ex: Could you lend me money? Could
you give me lift. Please? In the examples below, could and might
refer to the past. Ex: He said that I could/might go (permission). I
thought the news might be true (possibility). I wondered whether the
news could be true (doubt about possibility.
o The use can, could, may and might
with the past perfect infinitives (i.e., have + past participle).
He is not in the room. Where can
he has gone? (=where
it is possible that he has gone)
I could have got full marks in
mathematics, but I had a bad cold on the day of examination (= I had the ability to get full marks,
but I didn’t get so many marks)
You might/may have met my
brother (=possibly
you have met/met him)
You might have asked him to
attend the party (= I wish you had done so).
You might have been injured (=it is fortunate that you were not
injured)
WILL, WOULD, SHALL, SHOULD:
·
We use will to talk about something in
the future. Instead of will, shall is sometimes used (especially in
formal English) for the simple future, but only with I and we.
Ex: I will (or shall) be ready in an hour. You will the result
in a week. I expect Seetha will get first class.
·
With you, will is often used to
make requests. Will you open the window please? Will
you please pass the salt?
·
Requests are more polite if they are made with
would instead of will. Ex: Would you open the window,
Please? Will you and, more usually, would you are also
used in invitations. Ex: Will you come with me to town? Would
you come to dinner tomorrow night?
·
We also use would you like in
invitations. Ex: Would you like some more rice? Would you like to come with
me to cinema?
·
Shall I/we is used in
offers, suggestions and requests for orders or advices. Ex: Shall
I carry your bag? (offer);Shall we go out this evening?(suggestion);
Which sari shall I buy? (= what is your advice).
·
In formal style, shall is used for
third person command. Ex: Members of the club shall pay a
subscription of Rs. 100 every month. She shall work for a period of 2
years as an apprentice.
·
Would and should are used as the past
equivalents of will and shall. Ex: I
·
said I would (less usual: should) be
ready in an hour. I expected Seetha would get first class.
·
Should is often used to express duty,
obligation or necessity. Ex: You should obey your parents. He
should work harder.
·
Should + have + past participle is used
for past obligations that were not fulfilled. Ex: You should have
driven carefully (but you didn’t). I should have returned the books to
the library last Monday and now I have to pay a fine.
·
Will and should can also be
used to express probability. We use will when we are nearly certain
about a situation, should when we are less certain. Ex: That will
be the postman (=I feel nearly sure that is the postman); He will have
reached Vijayawada already (= the bus reaches by 3 p.m. it is already 3.10
p.m.); He should be at the class now (= he has left already).
MUST, HAVE TO, OUGHT TO, NEED:
• Must, have to and ought to are like
should are used to express obligation or duty. Ex: I must get
up at five tomorrow. You have to catch the first train. We ought to
respect our teachers.
• Have got to may be used instead of have to in
conversation. Ex: I’ve got to go now.
• Must and ought to have no past
forms. Past obligation is usually expressed by had to. Ex: I had
to get up at five this morning. He had to cook his own meals when
his wife was away.
• There is a slight difference in
meaning between must and have to. Must is preferred if the
obligation comes from the speaker; have to is used to suggest that the
obligation comes from somewhere else. Ex: You must come to the office
at nine tomorrow (=This is an order from me. I want you to come at nine); You have
to come to the office at nine tomorrow (=the boss requires you to come at
nine). I must try to lose weight (=it is own idea); I have to try
to lose weight (=the doctors had told me to lose weight).
• Ought to mainly expresses moral obligations; it
says what would be good for somebody. Ex: You ought to help her. You
ought to give up smoking.
• Need is normally used in questions and
negatives. Ex: Need I come again? (= is it necessary for me to
come again?); You needn’t do it now (=it is not necessary for you to do
it now).
• The negative forms mustn’t and needn’t
have quite different meanings. We use mustn’t to say that something is
not allowed, that is there is a necessity not to do it; we use needn’t
to say that there is no necessity to do something. Ex: You mustn’t go
there (= don’t go there); You needn’t go there (=you can if you like but
there is no necessity)
• We may use don’t have to (or
haven’t got to) instead of needn’t, but needn’t is more
usual.
• Need is a special verb and has no –s and
–ed forms. Need may also be used, like an ordinary verb, with do,
does, did. Ex: Do I need to come again? He doesn’t
need to go to the post office. I didn’t need to buy a book (=it was
not necessary for me to buy a book and I didn’t buy it); I needn’t have bought
the book (= it was not necessary for me to buy the book but I bought it).
• Must and ought to are also used to express strong
probability. Ex: He must be seventy now. She started at four, so she
ought to be in Bangalore by now.
• Strong stressed do is used to
strengthen or support another verb. Ex: “He never smokes” – “You are wrong.
He does smoke”. I did see him after all. Do be seated. Do
stop that noise.
• The modal dare means be
brave enough. Ex: He daren’t speak to her. He doesn’t dare
to speak to her. How dare you disobey me? He didn’t dare to say anything.
• Dare may be used either as a special verb
or as an ordinary verb. That is either without or with do, does, did.
When used with do, does, did it is followed by the infinitive with or
without to.
• Used to refers to past habits. It shows that
something often happened in the past but does not happen now. Ex: I used
to live there when I was a boy. I used to visit Vijayawada at least
once in a month (= but now I no longer do so); Ganesh used to come here
every day (=but he doesn’t now).
• Question and negatives are formed
either with did or without did. The did-forms are more
informal. Ex: Did you use to play football at school? (Les
usual: used you to play …..?); She used not (or : didn’t
use) to be so forgetful.
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