The main uses of modals

4.97 Modals are mainly used when you want to indicate your attitude towards what you are saying, or when you are concerned about the effect of what you are saying on the person you are speaking or writing to.

4.98 When you are giving information, you sometimes use modals to indicate how certain you are that what you are saying is true or correct. For example, if you say 'Mr Wilkins is the oldest person in the village' you are giving a definite statement of fact, if you say 'Mr Wilkins must be the oldest person in the village', the modal 'must' indicates that you think Mr Wilkins is the oldest person, because you cannot think of anyone in the village who is older than Mr Wilkins. If you say 'Mr Wilkins might be the oldest person in the village', the modal 'might' indicates that you think it is possible that Mr Wilkins is the oldest person, because he is very old.

4.99 You can use modals to indicate your attitude towards the things you intend to do, or intend not to do. For example, if you say 'I won't go without Simon', you are expressing strong unwillingness to do something. If you say 'I can't go without Simon' you are expressing unwillingness, but at the same time you are indicating that there is a special reason for your unwillingness, if you say 'I couldn't go without Simon', you are indicating that you are unwilling to go without Simon, because to do so would be unfair or morally wrong.

4.100 When you use language, you are affecting and responding to a particular person or audience. Modals are often used to produce a particular effect, and the modal you choose depends on several factors, such as the relationship you have with your listener, the formality or informality of the situation, and the importance of what you are saying.

For example, it would normally be rude to say to a stranger 'Open the door', although you might say it in an emergency, or you might say it to a close friend or a child. Normally, you would say to a stranger 'Will you open the door?', 'Would you open the door?', or 'Could you open the door?', depending on how polite you want to be.

4.101 Modals have special uses in three kinds of complex sentence:

• they are used in reported clauses

Wilson dropped a hint that he might come.

I felt that I would like to wake her up.

For more information about reported clauses see Chapter 7.

• they are used in conditional structures

If the bosses had known that he voted liberal, he would have got the sack.

If only things had been different, she would have been far happier with George.

For more information about these structures see paragraphs 8.25 to 8.42.

• they are used in purpose clauses.

He stole under the very noses of the store detectives in order that he might be arrested and punished.

They marched us through the town, so that they could say to the people, 'Look at the great British army.'

For more information about these structures see paragraphs 8.47 and 8.48.

Special features of modals

4.102 Modals are followed by the base form of a verb.

I must leave fairly soon.

I think it will be rather nice.

The rich ought to pay the tuition fees of their sons and daughters.

Note that 'ought' is sometimes regarded as a modal, rather than 'ought to'. 'Ought' is then said to be followed by a 'to'-infinitive.

4.103 Sometimes a modal is followed by the base form of one of the auxiliary verbs 'have' or 'be', followed by a participle.

When a modal is followed by 'be' and a present participle, this indicates that you are talking about the present or the future.

People may be watching.

You ought to be doing this.

The play will be starting soon.

When a modal is followed by 'have' and a past participle, this indicates that you are talking about the past.

You must have heard of him.

She may have gone already.

I ought to have sent the money.

In passive structures, a modal is followed by 'be' or 'have been' and a past participle.

The name of the winner will be announced.

They ought to be treated fairly.

Such charges may have been justified.

A modal is never followed by the auxiliary verb 'do', or by another modal.

no inflections 4.104 Modals do not inflect. This means there is no '-s' form in the third person singular, and there are no '-ing' or 'ed' forms.

There's nothing I can do about it.

I am sure he can do it.

I must leave fairly soon.

She insisted that Jim must leave.

'Could' is sometimes thought to be the past tense of 'can'. This is discussed in paragraphs 4.113 and 4.114.

negatives 4.105 Negatives are formed by putting a negative word such as 'not' immediately after the modal. In the case of 'ought to', you put the negative word after 'ought'. 'Can not' is usually written as one word, 'cannot'.

You must not worry.

He ought not to nave done.

I cannot go back.

After 'could', 'might', 'must', 'ought', 'should', and 'would', 'not' is often shortened to '-n't' and is added to the modal.

You mustn't talk about Ron like this.

Perhaps I oughtn't to confess this.

'Shall not', 'will not', and 'cannot' are shortened to 'shan't', 'won't', and 'can't'. 'May not' is not shortened at all.

I shan't get much work done tonight.

He won't be finished for at least another half an hour.

I can't go with you.

questions 4.106 Questions are formed by putting the modal in front of the subject. In the case of 'ought to', you put 'ought' in front of the subject and 'to' after it.

Could you give me an example?

Ought you to make some notes about it?

Mightn't it surprise people?

Why could they not leave her alone?

There are many questions we cannot answer, but must we not at least ask them?

4.107 Models are used in question tags.

They can't all be right, can they?

You won't forget the canary, will you?

With a negative tag, the shortened form of the negative is used.

It would be handy, wouldn't it?

It'll give you time to think about it, won't it?

Question tags are explained in paragraphs 10.122 to 10.130.

4.108 In spoken English, when 'will' and 'would' are used after a pronoun, they are often shortened to '-'ll' and '-'d' and added to the pronoun.

I hope you'll agree.

She'll be all right.

They'd both call each other horrible names.

If I went back on the train, it'd be better.

'Will' and 'would' cannot be shortened like this when they are used on their own, without a following verb. For example, you can say 'Paul said he would come, and I hope he will', but you cannot say 'Paul said he would come, and I hope he'll'.

4.109 You sometimes use a modal on its own, without a following verb. You do this when you are repeating a modal. For example, if someone says 'I expect Margaret will come tonight', you can say 'I hope she will', meaning 'I hope she will come'.

'I must go.'—'I suppose you must.'

'You should have become an archaeologist.'—'You're dead right, I should.'

If you can't do it, we'll find someone who can.

You can also omit the verb following a modal when this verb has just been used without a modal, or with a different modal. For example, if someone says 'George has failed his exam', you can say 'I thought he would', meaning 'I thought he would fail his exam'.

You learned to deal with each other. We never will.

They had come to believe that it not only must go on for ever but that it should.

However you cannot omit the verb 'be' after a modal when you have just used it without a modal. For example, if someone says 'Is he a teacher?', you cannot say 'I think he might'. You must say 'I think he might be'.

Linguistics is not yet a science and perhaps never will be.

The Board's methods are not as stringent as they could be.

Relations between the two countries have not been as smooth as they might have been.

The feature of language in which you omit certain words to avoid repeating them is called ellipsis. For more information about ellipsis in verb groups see paragraphs 9.49 to 9.69.