5 Modal verbs and modality modals

Modals are helping verbs which often express a speaker’s attitude or mood. Modals are mainly used when:

• the speaker wants to indicate the attitude towards he is saying;

• the speaker wants to indicate his attitude towards the things he intends to do, or intends not to do;

• the speaker is concerned about the effect of what he is saying on the person he is speaking to;

• the speaker is giving information to indicate how certain he is that what he is saying is true or correct;

NOTE	The verbs that show the strongest association with modal verbs usually express various emotions, attitudes or cognitive states, and thus they commonly co-occur with modals expressing a personal stance. I can imagine what it’s like. I can’t cope with it.

Modal verbs are used to express: obligation, duty, necessity, prohibition, permission, refusal, expectation, probability, possibility, certainty, promise, intention, ability, willingness, advice, criticism, logical assumptions, offers, requests or suggestions. That is the free or independent use of modal verbs.

Modal verbs convey a range of judgements about the likelihood of events. They function only as auxiliary verbs, expressing meanings which are much less definable, focused, and independent than those of lexical verbs. A modal verb in combination with the infinitive forms a modal compound predicate.

The European Union says its members must tighten their belts. (obligation)

They used to call her Das Maedchen – “ the girl.” Maybe now they should call her Das Messer – “the knife”. (habitual action; advice assumption)

That was the last thing he needed to hear. (necessity)

Some modal verbs (should / would) are used as auxiliary verbs to build up the analytical forms. Such verbs begin to be dependent on the structure of the sentence and on the lexical character of the predicate verb in the main clause. That is the structurally dependent use of modals.

Modals have functions which can be defined as:

• primary functions (obligation, necessity, possibility, inevitability, etc.);

• secondary functions (supposition).

Modals have special uses in 3 kinds of complex sentences and are used in report clauses, conditional structures and purpose clauses:

I stress that I would like to make a clear distinction between these organizations.

Even though the Sweden furniture chain IKEA PR blitz would have us believe otherwise, the issue at stake is the grounds where the chain would like to build for its store.

There are nine central modal auxiliary verbs in this subclass: can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should with ought to, need (to) (= must), dare and used to (= would) having a very familiar meaning.

need (to) (= must), dare and used to (= would) are also referred to as modals or semi-modals.

There are four paired forms – can, could; may, might; shall, should; will, would; and four single forms – must, ought to, need, dare. dare can follow the grammatical patterns of either modal auxiliaries or lexical, ‘regular’, verbs, while need contrasts grammatically with the regular verb to need.

Modals are sometimes called defective verbs because:

• they lack forms ordinary full verbs have;

• they have no analytical forms (no future and present tenses, no past Subjunctive II)

• they cannot be used as infinitives and have no analytical forms (no future and perfect tenses, no past Subjunctive II);

• they have no -ing-forms;

• they take no -s in the third person singular and are followed by an infinitive without to except for ought to, have to, be to;

He must be at work. He ought to do what you asked him to.

• they come before the subject in questions and are followed by not in negations;

– Could you help me with the dishes? – I’m sorry, I can’t.

“You call this a fancy dress?” Mr. Geller asks, holding up the gown. “Would you wear this to dinner?”