MODALS IN THE PAST
Aim: to learn about the modal verbs in the past
WHAT MAKES MODAL VERBS SO
SPECIAL THAT THEY FORM A
WHOLE SPECIAL GROUP OF VERBS?
FOCUS ON THE WORDS IN BOLD AND TRY TO
WORK IT OUT!
1.
2.
3.
4.
He can swim.
I will be able to swim.
Can he swim?
He cannot swim.
1.
2.
3.
4.
He swims every day.
I will swim.
Does he swim every
day?
He doesn’t swim every
day.
IT’S BECAUSE OF THEIR GRAMMAR.
Modal verbs:
1.
Have the same form for each person, so no -s ending
for the third person singular.
2.
Can’t form some tenses e.g. future, perfect and
continuous tenses. We use some modal expressions
instead.
3.
Don’t need an auxiliary verb (pomocni glagol) to form
questions and negative sentences.
4.
They need another verb to complete them.
P.
32, EX. 1
manage to = uspeti, moci
 be obliged to = biti primoran da…
 have the ability to = biti u stanju da…
 lack the ability to = ne biti u stanju…
 I was allowed to = bilo mi je dozvoljeno da…

MODALS IN THE PAST

Some modal verbs have past forms, e.g. can – could.
For those modals that don’t have past forms, we use
other verbs and expressions with modal meaning in
the past, e.g. must – had to.
Present
Past
Example
Must/have to
Had to
I had to study hard before the exam.
Needn’t/don’t
have to
Didn’t have to
We didn’t have to do the test.
Can
Could
He could speak English when he was 7.
I could do what I wanted.
Can’t
Couldn’t
We couldn’t understand it.
I couldn’t watch TV after 1p.m. when I
was younger.
Can/be able to
Was able to
I was able to talk to the Pope.
Can’t
Wasn’t able to
Couldn’t
I wasn’t able to swim across the river.
COULD AND WAS ABLE TO
We use COULD for
general ability, when
the actual action
wasn’t performed.
Mike was an excellent
tennis player when he
was younger. He
could beat anybody.

We use WAS ABLE
TO or MANAGED TO
when we want to say
that somebody did
something in a specific
situation.
Mike and Peter played
tennis yesterday.
Peter played very
well, but Mike
managed to beat him.
