Modal verbs

Present	Past	Future
can (фізична можливість, можливість, дозвіл, вирогідність) I can translate this text easily. Can you pass the salt, please? to be able to (здатний) He is a great sportsman, he is able to swim over the English Channel.	could (можливість дії, менша вірогідність у порівнянні із can) They could miss the train but fortunately they were on time at the station. was / were able to (можливість, здатність) The child was not able to read the book, he was too small.	‑ will be able to (можливість, здатність) As soon as you finish the work, you will be able to go out.
must (повинен, моральне зобов’язання) People must take care about their old parents. to have to (вимушений, повинен за обставинами) We have to work under awful conditions. to be to (повинен згідно з попереднім планом, домовленості) Students are to take exams at the end of the term. What am I to do?	‑ had to He had to carry out experiments without anyone’s assistance. was / were to My neighbour was away and I was to feed his cat and water the flowers.	‑ will have to We will have to translate the article. Nobody will do it for us. ‑
may (дозвіл, вірогідність) The work has been done. You may be free. to be allowed to (дозвіл) You are not allowed to leave your place without permission.	might (вірогідність менша у порівнянні із may) They might be there but I’m not sure. was / were allowed to (дозвіл) There were not allowed to go to the party.	‑ will be allowed to (дозвіл) You will be allowed to go out if you tidy up everywhere.
should (слід, порада, рекомендація) You should wear safety glasses in the laboratory.
ought to (слід, використовується як синонім should) You ought to revise for your test.
need (використовується у заперечній формі із значенням відсутність необхідності) He didn’t need to take a taxi as I gave him a lift.
Would (1) звичайна дія у минулому, що повторювалася, синонімічно до used to; 2) сильне небажання виконувати якусь дію; 3. властива дія (у технічних текстах) He would go to the country every summer in his childhood. I asked him to do it but he wouldn’t. Paper would burn well.

Exercise 1. Fill in the blanks with "to have to", "to be to", "must" according to the meaning.

1. The experiment ... take place on Monday, I think everything is ready. 2. They ... examine this sample under a very powerful microscope as it is very small: 3. I am very tired, I ... have a rest. 4. Our meeting ... take place after our last lecture. 5. You ... work hard if you want to finish this work. 6. I .... go to the reading-room as I have no books at home. 7. He ... wait for two hours as his train has just left. 8. All the students of our Institute ... carry out a number of experiments in the laboratory.

Exercise 2. Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.

1. Do you mind if I leave the door open for a while? (can) 2. You are obliged to take notes during the lecture. (have) 3. I am sorry but you are not allowed to enter this room (must) 4. Jack managed to unlock the door. (able) 5. It was not necessary for Ann to cook the dinner, but she did. (need) 6. Let’s play the game of chess. (could) 7. I’m certain, Jane is bored with her work. (must) 8. I strongly advise you to take up sport. (must) 9. I’m certain Mary isn’t interested in your ideas. (can) 10. You may take the car tonight if you want. (can)

Exercise 3. Complete the sentences with must or have to. Sometimes both are possible.

1. It’s later than I thought. I … go now. 2. Peter left before the end of the meeting. He … go home earlier. 3. In Britain many children … wear uniform when they go to school. 4. When you come to Kharkiv again, you … come and see us. 5. Last night Jim become suddenly ill. We … call a doctor. 6. You really … work harder if you want to pass the examination. 7. I’m afraid I can’t come tomorrow. I … work late. 8. I’m sorry I couldn’t come yesterday. I … work late. 9. Michael doesn’t like his new job, because sometimes he … work at weekends. 10. Ann … go away next week. 11. We couldn’t repair the device ourselves. We … take it to the service. 12. Mary wears glasses. She … wear glasses since she was very young.

Exercise 4. Substitute would with used to where possible. Translate the sentences.

1. They would spend hours in Gorky Park. It was a real fun. 2. Tsiolkovsky believed that rockets would be used for space travel. 3. Bell and Watson would repeat their experiments many times. 4. It became known that a new car would be shown at the exhibition. 5. Electricity would pass through metals, but wouldn’t pass through wood. 6. I asked my friend to help me, but he wouldn’t, he said I could do everything without his help. 7. He would work in the library when he was getting ready for his exam.

Exercise 5. Translate the following sentences.

1. As telegraph wires couldn’t be hung over the ocean, cables had to be laid on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. 2. In the next few years engineers are to develop computers of more than 2 billion operations a second. 3. A new kind of a telephone can be called a videophone. 4. One must know that we will need a lot of specialists that will be able to work and live in space for a long time. 5. To see distant objects clearly, one should change the focus. 6. Within a few coming years a quantity production of various materials is to begin in space. 7. Some liquid mixture components would immediately separate on Earth because of different density. 8. It should be said that special space vehicles are necessary for industrial production of space materials. 9. Our group will be allowed to use new laboratory equipment next term. 10. One can see that there is no principle difference between iron and copper as conductors.

Exercise 6. Rephrase the sentences using modal verbs to express necessity, ability, supposition, prohibition.

1. It is not supposed that all yellow objects reflect only yellow light (prohibition). 2. A physical colour is identified by the amount of refraction it undergoes in passing from one substance into another (ability). 3. The retina is activated by a mixture of colours (supposition). 4. In 1807 Thomas Young pointed out that red, green, and blue, in proper combination, give rise to the sensation of any other colour (ability). 5. A coloured print is obtained by combining dots of a few different colours (supposition). 6. A lens is made of glass with two curved surfaces (necessity). 7. Light passes through a lens and some is necessarily absorbed (necessity). 8. The mirror is supported at as many points as is desired (ability, supposition). 9. Actually we do not think of sunlight as being composed of a few different colours (prohibition). 10. The emission line spectrum is used as a set of “finger-prints” for the elements (ability). 11. It is well to say that the heavenly bodies are made up of the same chemical elements that make up the earth (supposition). 12. Lines are drawn representing light rays, and the phenomena of reflection and refraction is analyzed without any consideration of what the nature of light is (ability, supposition).

Exercise 7.Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Він може розрахувати проект до вечора, але я не впевнений. 2. Я впевнений, що він може провести експеримент. 3. Можна мені взяти вашу книгу? – Ні, не можна, я зараз її читаю. 4. Тобі не потрібно братися за це. 5. Сьогодні у мене багато роботи, я можу зробити це лише завтра. 6. Він може полагодити цей прилад. 7. Мені потрібно використовувати цей пристрій у моєму досліді? – Ні, не потрібно. 8. Обережно, ти можеш обпектися. Ця речовина дуже їдка. А її можна змішувати з іншою речовиною? – Ні, не можна. 9. Вона не знає техніки безпеки при роботі у лабораторії, але її можна навчити. 10. Раніше для проведення електрики використовували ненадійний і крихкий алюмінієвий дріт.

Study the following grammar rule