Modals and Degrees of Certainty
Future 4, Unit 5, Lesson 8
Can, could, may, might, should, would, will & must are called modals.
Modals are helping verbs that can have many different meanings: ability (can), advice
(should), permission (can or may), possibility (can) and necessity (must).
When we use modals, we put the modal directly before the base form of the verb.
Example: My friends
could go
to a movie tonight.
modal + base form
Incorrect: My friends could to go to a movie tonight.
Incorrect: My friends could goes to a movie tonight.
Incorrect: My friends could went to a movie last night.
Incorrect: My friends could going to a movie tonight.
To make a negative modal, we just add “not” to the modal itself.
Example: It can’t (or can not, or cannot) be midnight already!
With “might” and “may” in the negative, we don’t make contractions with the “not”:
Incorrect: mayn’t or mightn’t.
You may have noticed, most modals have more than one meaning. Could (and
couldn’t), for example, can be confusing because it is used to talk about
1) ability in the past.
Example: When I was fifteen, I couldn’t drive.
Example: Could you swim when you were 5?
And it can also be used to talk about
2) possibility in the present or future.
Example: That could be Jane calling me right now. (Present)
Example: Could you call me tomorrow and tell me if you are going to come?
(Future)
In Future 4, Lesson 8, we are going to focus on “Degrees of Certainty” in the present
and future.
This means: the possibility that something will or will not happen in the present or the
future. (We will not focus on past tense here.)
To do this, we will use the following 5 modals and their negatives: can, could, may,
might, and must
A. Look at the following sentences and discuss how certain are they?
not sure
very sure
1. My friends and I could go to a movie tonight.
2. I might not go to school tomorrow.
3. The teacher must know what this word means.
4. It might rain tonight.
5. It can’t be midnight already!
6. He must not live near here. He keeps asking directions.
7. I already paid the bill. That couldn’t be the problem!
8. Could you call me tomorrow and tell me if you are going to come?
B. Using the sentences above, discuss with your partner:
1. When we use could, may, may not, might, or might not, what does it mean?
2. When we use can’t or couldn’t, what does it mean?
3. When we use must, what does it mean? What about must not?
4. Which of these modals can we use for asking questions?