MODALNI GLAGOLI
CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, MUST, OUGHT TO, SHALL, SHOULD,
WILL, WOULD
- modalni glagoli imaju samo jedan oblik (ne dobivaju nastavke, ne mijenjaju
se kroz vremena)
- modalni glagol je uvijek prvi u glagolskoj grupi
- iza svih modalnih glagola dolazi osnovni oblik glagola - osim OUGHT iza
kojeg dolazi TO - infinitive
(He must come. - He ought to come.)
- SHALL/WILL često (ne uvijek!) označavaju budući događaj. (He'll come
tomorrow.)
- COULD se koristi kao prošlost za CAN za izražavanje sposobnosti (ability)
When I was young, I could run for miles.
- WOULD se koristi kao prošli oblik za WILL u izražavanju budućnosti.
He remembered that he would see his mother the next day.
- nikad se ne koriste dva modalna glagola zajedno
(He will can come. - NE! )
CAN
BE ABLE TO
MUST
HAVE TO
MIGHT
BE LIKELY TO
- negativni / upitni oblik / kratki odgovori
- Question Tags: She can cook, can't she?
They shouldn't be here, should they?
POSSIBILITY (CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT)
- You use CAN to say that something is possible.
Cooking can be a real pleasure.
- "cannot" or "can't" - not possible
You can't be serious.
This cannot be the answer.
- You use COULD, MIGHT, MAY (which is slightly formal) to indicate that
you are not certain whether sth is possible, but you think it is.
That could be one reason.
He might come. They may help us.
He might not be in England at all.
They may not get a room with a view.
! "could not" normally refers to ability in the past.
- When there is a possibility that sth happened in the past, but you are not
certain if it actually happened.
COULD HAVE
MAY HAVE
MIGHT HAVE
+ PAST PARTICIPLE
It could have been tomato soup.
You may have noticed this ad.
He might not have seen me. (perhaps he didn't)
They may not have done it. (perhaps they didn't do it)
!! "could not have" - you want to indicate that it is not possible that sth happened
He didn't have a boat, so he couldn't have rowed away.
The old lady couldn't have climbed there.
I couldn't have been wrong - it was him.
! "could have" - there is a possibility of sth happening in the past, but it did not
happen.
It could have been awful. (But it wasn't.)
You could have got a job last year. (But you didn't get a job.)
- COULD HAVE, MIGHT HAVE - if a particular thing had happened, then
there was a possibility of sth else happening.
If I'd been there, I could have helped you. (But I wasn't there, so I couldn't help
you.)
COULD + NEGATIVE WORD + COMPARATIVE
I couldn't be happier. (I am very happy.)
He could hardly have felt more ashamed of himself.
Since he could not come, he sent a card.
Being unable to come….
You used to be able to buy cigarettes in packs of five. (sth was possible in the
past, but it is not possible now)
Exercises:
1. Use either MAY or MIGHT:
Maybe you are right. I can't be sure.
Perhaps Tom will help if you ask him.
Possibly it's a mistake.
Perhaps things won't be so bad after all.
It's possible that she won't recognize you even if she sees you.
Perhaps it is broken.
Now put these sentences into the past using MAY HAVE or MIGHT HAVE.
1. MAY NOT or CAN'T?
There ______ be anybody there when you arrive.
That ______be true! It's absolutely impossible.
I don't know if she will agree. She ________want to.
You ______ be serious. You've got to be joking.
It may very well happen, but on the other hand it ________.
It________ be done. It's quite out of the question.
PROBABILITY AND CERTAINTY - CANNOT, CAN'T, MUST, SHOULD,
WILL
1. When you want to say that sth is probably true or that it will probably
happen, you use SHOULD or OUGHT TO.
You should arrive by dinner time.
She ought to know.
- sth is probably not true / it will probably not happen:
There shouldn't be any problem.
That ought not to be too difficult.
2. You are fairly sure that sth has happened:
SHOULD HAVE
WILL HAVE
OUGHT TO HAVE
+ PAST PARTICIPLE
They should have heard by now that I'm OK.
You will have heard about Donald Trump.
They ought to have arrived yesterday.
- you don't think sth has happened
You shouldn't have had any difficulty in getting there.
This ought not to have been a problem.
3. You expected sth to happen, but it did not happen.
Yesterday should have been the start of the soccer season.
She ought to have been home by now.
- you do not use the negative forms with this meaning.
4. When you are fairly sure that sth is the case, you use MUST:
Oh, you must be Sylvia's husband.
He must know something about it.
- if you are fairly sure that sth is not the case, you use CANNOT or CAN'T:
This cannot be the whole story.
He can't be very old - he's about 25, isn't he?
-
you don't use MUST NOT with this meaning.
5. You are almost certain that sth has happened:
MUST HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
This article must have been written by a woman.
We must have taken the wrong road.
- you don't think sth has happened.
You can't have forgotten me.
He can't have said that.
6. You use "will" or "-'ll" to say that sth is certain to happen in the future:
They'll manage.
- sth is certain not to happen:
You won't get much sympathy from them.
7. There are several ways of talking about probability and certainty without
using modals.
BE + BOUND TO + BASE FORM OF A VERB
It was bound to happen.
You're bound to make a mistake.
BE + CERTAIN, LIKELY,
SURE, UNLIKELY
+ "to" - infinitive clause or "that" - clause
I am not likely to forget it.
It is unlikely that he'll come. He isn't likely…
He is sure to be late. (Sigurno će zakasniti.)
Say comments with MUST:
You haven't eaten for a whole day?
(you / starving) - You must be starving.
They've been traveling all night? (they / tired out)
He's passed his exam? (he / delighted)
Your son is in hospital? (you / worried)
Your son has won a scholarship? (you / very proud of him)
Rephrase the second clause using MUST HAVE:
He drove all the way from Glasgow.
Obviously it was a long journey. ---- It must have been…
He pretended to be innocent, but I'm sure he did it.
Jim was standing very close to you. Of course you saw him.
There's nobody in. Probably they've gone shopping.
My coat isn't there. Perhaps someone has taken it by mistake.
Paraphrase using a modal verb
I am certain that he heard what we said.
It is possible that he heard what we said.
It is impossible…
He is not to enter before he is called.
She is to be admired for her courage.
She is sometimes to be seen in suspicious bars.
The nightingale is to be heard in the morning.
I expected our children to obey and come home early last night.
The best thing is to ask him directly.
There is a chance to get a ticket.
I am sure that this is Sam's father.
It is impossible that he is in Chicago.
I met him half an hour ago.
Perhaps they are in the theatre already.
He said that he watered the plants every day. He… (water) them. If he had they
wouldn't have died.
I suggest that we don't give him credit.