Modals
Can, could
may, might
shall, should
will, would
must, ought to
• They are a type of auxiliary verbs used to express the
mood of a verb, such as ability, possibility, necessity, etc.
• They are used before the infinitive form of the main
verbs.
Examples
• I can drive.
• I cannot drive.
• They may visit us this week.
• They may not visit us.
• He will bring your book tonight.
• He will not bring.
Negative
• As all the auxiliary verbs we form negation by
adding not to them.
• May not, might not, ought to and shall can’t
appear in contractions.
• Contractions with the pronouns:
• He’ll - they’ll
• I’d - they’d
• Contractions with not:
• Can’t - won’t - couldn’t - wouldn’t
“Yes or No” Questions
The grammatical rule of making “yes or no” questions is applied
with the modals.
• Can you drive?
Yes I can
No I can’t
• Will you come with us?
Yes I will
No I won’t
• May I help you?
Yes you may
No you may not
Information questions
The grammatical rule of making W.H questions
is applied with the modals.
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•
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Why can’t you drive a car?
When will he come?
Who may stay here?
What would you like to read?