CHAPTER 8

AUXILIARY AND MODALS

PRESENT
Ability
Permission
Possibility
Advise
Necessity
Probability

Can
I can speak German
May, Can, Might
May I go playing football ?
May, Can, Might
John hasnt come yet. He may work.
Should, Ought to, Had better.
You should study hard.
Must, Have to.
We must eat our breakfast.
Must
He is absent today.
He must be sick.

PAST

Could
I could speak German when I was a chil
Could, Might
Could I go playing football?
May, Have, Might Have
John hadnt come yet when we got home
He might have worked overtime
Should have, Ought to have.
you should have studied hard.
Had to
We had to eat our breakfast this morning
Must have
He was absent yesterday.
He must have been sick.

Catatan :
1. Probability adalah strong possibility.
2. Larangan (Prohibition) dinyatakan dengan menggunakan MUST NOT. Contoh :
You must not go out tonight (kamu dilarang pergi).
You dont have to go out tonight (kamu tidak perlu pergi).
3. SHOULD HAVE dan COULD HAVE menyatakan penyesalan terhadap suatu aktivitas yang
pada kenyataannya tidak dilakukan.
4. WOULD juga digunakan untuk menyatakan kebiasaan masa lalu (bermakna USED TO).
contoh :
o My Grandfather would tell bedtime story when I was a child.
o My Grandfather used to tell bedtime story when I was a child.
EXAMPLES
- He can do it
- Can I borrow your pen?
- Could I borrow your pen please? Yes, certainly or yes of course
- May I borrow your pen please?
- Would you pass the salt please?
- Will you pass the salt please?
- Could you pass the salt
- Can you pass the salt? Yes, certainly, Id be glad to
- Would you mind if I closed the window?
- Would you mind helping me?
- You must take an extra exam
Ask and answer polite questions
1.
A and B are sitting at the dinner table. A. wants the butter
A: Would you please pass me the butter?
B: Certainly, Id be glad to, Here you are
2.
3.

You want to ask your teacher question

You want to leave the class earlier . youre speaking to your instructor.

Change into polite requests

Example:
- Open the window (could you please open the window or would you mind opening the
window)
1. turn on the light

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

give me that book

sit down
Say that again
Give me you pen
pass me the butter

Complete the sentence with your own words

1. Children must not
2. Driver must not..
3. Students must..
4. I must
5. we mustnt
Complete the following sentences
1. I should study tonight because..
2. I should wash my clothes today, but.
3. You shouldnt stay up late tonight because.
Auxiliary Verbs "Will/Would" and "Shall/Should"
The verbs will, would, shall, should, can, could, may, might, and must cannot be the main (full) verbs
alone. They are used as auxiliary verbs only and always need a main verb to follow.
Will
Used to express desire, preference, choice, or consent:
I will take this duty.
Will you stop talking like that?
Used to express the future:

It will rain tomorrow.

The news will spread soon.
Used to express capacity or capability:

This bucket will hold two gallons of water.

This airplane will take 200 passengers.
Used to express determination, insistence, or persistence:

I will do it as you say.

Would (past form of will)
Often used in auxiliary functions with rather to express preference:

I would rather go shopping today.

Wed rather say something than stay quiet.
Used to express a wish or desire:

I would like to have one more pencil.

Used to express contingency or possibility:

If I were you, I would be so happy.

Used to express routine or habitual things:

Normally, we would work until 6 p.m.

Shall
Mainly used in American English to ask questions politely (it has more usages in British English). For
the future tense, will is more frequently used in American English than shall.
Shall we dance?
Shall I go now?
Lets drink, shall we?
Often used in formal settings to deliver obligation or requirement:

You shall abide by the law.

There shall be no trespassing on this property.
Students shall not enter this room.
Should (past form of shall)
Often used in auxiliary functions to express an opinion, suggestion, preference, or idea:

You should rest at home today.

I should take a bus this time.
He should be more thoughtful in the decision-making process.
Used to express that you wish something had happened but it didnt or couldnt (should + have + past
participle):

You should have seen it. It was really beautiful.

I should have completed it earlier to meet the deadline.
We should have visited the place on the way.
Used to ask for someones opinion:

What should we do now?

Should we continue our meeting?
Should we go this way?
Where should we go this summer?
Used to say something expected or correct:

There should be an old city hall building here.

Everybody should arrive by 6 p.m.
We should be there this evening.

[Quiz 20.1]
Fill in the blanks using an appropriate auxiliary verb.
1) I
2) You
3)
4) I
5)
[20.1]
1) should

leave now. It is too late.

have seen him. His dance was amazing.
we have lunch together?
like a cup of tea, please.
we read the email?

2)
3)
4)
5)

should
Shall
would
Should

Uses of Can and Could

Themodalauxiliarycanisused

toexpressability(inthesenseofbeingabletodosomethingor
knowinghowtodosomething):
HecanspeakSpanishbuthecan'twriteitverywell.
toexpressionpermission(inthesenseofbeingallowedor
permittedtodosomething):
CanItalktomyfriendsinthelibrarywaitingroom?(Note
thatcanislessformalthanmay.Also,somewriterswillobjectto
theuseofcaninthiscontext.)
toexpresstheoreticalpossibility:
Americanautomobilemakerscanmakebettercarsiftheythink
there'saprofitinit.

Themodalauxiliarycouldisused

toexpressanabilityinthepast:
Icouldalwaysbeatyouattenniswhenwewerekids.
toexpresspastorfuturepermission:
CouldIburymycatinyourbackyard?
toexpresspresentpossibility:
Wecouldalwaysspendtheafternoonjustsittingaroundtalking.
toexpresspossibilityorabilityincontingentcircumstances:
Ifhestudiedharder,hecouldpassthiscourse.

Inexpressingability,canandcouldfrequentlyalsoimplywillingness:Canyou
helpmewithmyhomework?

Can versus May

Whethertheauxiliaryverbcancanbeusedtoexpresspermissionornot
"CanIleavetheroomnow?"["Idon'tknowifyoucan,butyoumay."]
dependsonthelevelofformalityofyourtextorsituation.AsTheodore
BernsteinputsitinTheCarefulWriter,"awriterwhoisattentivetothe
proprietieswillpreservethetraditionaldistinction:canforabilityorpowerto
dosomething,mayforpermissiontodoit.
Thequestionisatwhatlevelcanyousafelyignorethe"proprieties."
MerriamWebster'sDictionary,tenthedition,saysthebattleisoverandcancan
beusedinvirtuallyanysituationtoexpressoraskforpermission.Most
authorities,however,recommendastricteradherencetothedistinction,atleast
informalsituations.

Authority: The Careful Writer by Theodore Bernstein. The Free Press: New York. 1998. p. 87.

Uses of May and Might

Twoofthemoretroublesomemodalauxiliariesaremayandmight.When
usedinthecontextofgrantingorseekingpermission,mightisthepasttense
ofmay.Mightisconsiderablymoretentativethanmay.

MayIleaveclassearly?
IfI'vefinishedallmyworkandI'mreallyquiet,mightIleave
early?

Inthecontextofexpressingpossibility,mayandmightareinterchangeable
presentandfutureformsandmight+have+pastparticipleisthepastform:

Shemightbemyadvisornextsemester.
Shemaybemyadvisornextsemester.
Shemighthaveadvisedmenottotakebiology.

Avoidconfusingthesenseofpossibilityinmaywiththeimplication
ofmight,thatahypotheticalsituationhasnotinfactoccurred.Forinstance,let's
saythere'sbeenahelicoptercrashattheairport.Inhisinitialreport,beforeall
thefactsaregathered,anewscastercouldsaythatthepilot"mayhavebeen
injured."Afterwediscoverthatthepilotisinfactallright,thenewscastercan
nowsaythatthepilot"mighthavebeeninjured"becauseitisahypothetical
situationthathasnotoccurred.Anotherexample:abodyhadbeenidentified
aftermuchworkbyadetective.Itwasreportedthat"withoutthispainstaking
work,thebodymayhaveremainedunidentified."Sincethebodywas,infact,
identified,mightisclearlycalledfor.

Uses of Will and Would

Incertaincontexts,willandwouldarevirtuallyinterchangeable,butthere
aredifferences.Noticethatthecontractedform'llisveryfrequentlyused
forwill.
Willcanbeusedtoexpresswillingness:

I'llwashthedishesifyoudry.
We'regoingtothemovies.Willyoujoinus?

Itcanalsoexpressintention(especiallyinthefirstperson):

I'lldomyexerciseslateron.

andprediction:

specific:Themeetingwillbeoversoon.

timeless:Humiditywillruinmyhairdo.
habitual:Theriverwilloverflowitsbankseveryspring.

Wouldcanalsobeusedtoexpresswillingness:

Wouldyoupleasetakeoffyourhat?

Itcanalsoexpressinsistence(ratherrare,andwithastrongstressontheword
"would"):

Nowyou'veruinedeverything.Youwouldactthatway.

andcharacteristicactivity:

customary:Afterwork,hewouldwalktohishomeinWest
Hartford.
typical(casual):Shewouldcausethewholefamilytobelate,
everytime.

Inamainclause,wouldcanexpressahypotheticalmeaning:

MycockerspanielwouldweighatonifIlethereatwhatshe
wants.

Finally,wouldcanexpressasenseofprobability:

Ihearawhistle.Thatwouldbethefiveo'clocktrain.

Uses of Used to
Theauxiliaryverbconstructionusedtoisusedtoexpressanactionthat
tookplaceinthepast,perhapscustomarily,butnowthatactionnolonger
customarilytakesplace:

Weusedtotakelongvacationtripswiththewholefamily.

Thespellingofthisverbisaproblemforsomepeoplebecausethe"ed"ending
quitenaturallydisappearsinspeaking:"Weyoostootakelongtrips."Butit
oughtnottodisappearinwriting.Thereareexceptions,though.Whenthe
auxiliaryiscombinedwithanotherauxiliary,did,thepasttenseiscarriedby
thenewauxiliaryandthe"ed"endingisdropped.Thiswilloftenhappeninthe
interrogative:

Didn'tyouusetogojoggingeverymorningbeforebreakfast?
Itdidn'tusetobethatway.

Usedtocanalsobeusedtoconveythesenseofbeingaccustomedtoor
familiarwithsomething:

Thetirefactorydowntheroadreallystinks,butwe'reusedtoitby
now.

Iliketheseoldsneakers;I'musedtothem.

Usedtoisbestreservedforcolloquialusage;ithasnoplaceinformalor
academictext.