Verbos Modais - Modal Verbs

Os verbos modais (modal verbs) são um tipo especial de verbos auxiliares que alteram ou completam o
sentido do verbo principal.

De um modo geral, estes verbos expressam ideias

como capacidade, possibilidade, obrigação, permissão, proibição, suposição, pedido, vontade, ou
desejo .

can - could - may - might - must - shall - will - should - ought to - would

Observe alguns exemplos de ideias que os verbos modais podem expressar:

May I use your umbrella? (Permissão)

(Posso usar seu guarda-chuva?)

He may be in the library. (Possibilidade)

(Ele pode estar na biblioteca.)

Sorry, I cannot understand what you are saying. (Capacidade)

(Desculpa, não consigo entender o que você está dizendo.)

The students must behave as I say. (Obrigação)

(Os alunos devem se comportar como eu digo.)

Can I leave now? (Permissão - Tom informal)

(Posso sair agora?)

Could I leave now? (Permissão - Tom formal)

(Eu poderia sair agora?)

It is late, you should go home. (Conselho)

(É tarde, você devia ir para casa.)

She can arrive after dinner. (Possibilidade)

(Ela pode chegar depois do jantar.)

You should see a dentist. (Conselho)

(Você devia ir a um dentista.)
Características gerais dos verbos modais

1. Os verbos modais não existem na forma infinitiva, ou seja, não são precedidos pela
partícula to (indicação de infinitivo) nem seguidos por ela, com exceção de ought to:

She can play the violin. (Ela sabe tocar violino.)

You must do the next tasks.

(Você deve fazer as próximas tarefas.)

He might come here tomorrow.

(Ele deve vir aqui amanhã. / Pode ser que / Talvez ele venha aqui amanhã.)

You should see a doctor. You are always complaining about headaches.
(Você devia ir ao médico, pois está sempre reclamando de dores de cabeça.)

2. Não necessitam de outros verbos auxiliares para as formas interrogativas e negativas, já que eles
próprios são auxiliares:

May I come in? (Posso entrar?)

Could you do me a favor? (Você poderia me fazer um favor?)

I could not finish my homework yesterday night. (Não consegui terminar minha lição ontem à noite.)

He cannot come. (Ele não pode vir.)

3. Os verbos modais nunca são flexionados, ou seja, possuem a mesma forma para todos os sujeitos;

It must be late. (Deve ser tarde.)

She must be late. (Ela deve estar atrasada.)

I can ski; she can ski; he can ski; we can ski; they can ski.

5. Nas orações negativas acrescenta-se not logo após o verbo modal:

I cannot stay here. (Não posso ficar aqui.)

Passengers must not use their cell phones on board airplane.

(Os passageiros não podem usar seus celulares a bordo do avião.)

You should not talk to your mother loud.

(Você não deveria falar alto com a sua mãe.)

I could not speak English before going to England.

(Eu não sabia falar Inglês antes de ir para Inglaterra.)

It may not rain tonight. (Pode ser que não chove esta noite.)
Formas negativas dos verbos modais

No quadro abaixo apresentamos as formas negativas dos verbos modais, bem como suas formas
negativas contraídas.

VERBOS MODAIS FORMA NEGATIVA FORMA NEGATIVA CONTRAÍDA

Can Cannot Can't

May May not ---x---

Must Must not Mustn't

Shall Shall not Shan't

Will Will not Won't

Could Could not Couldn't

Might Might not Mightn't

Ought to Ought not to Oughtn't to

Should Should not Shouldn't

Would Would not Wouldn't

OBSERVAÇÕES:

a. O negativo de can é cannot (sem separar can de not), no entanto, a forma negativa mais comum
de can é a contraída can't:

You can't (cannot) smoke here. (Você não pode fumar aqui.)

He can't (cannot) speak Chinese. (Ele não sabe falar Chinês.)

b. A forma interrogativa se faz colocando o verbo modal antes do sujeito, à semelhança dos demais
auxiliares:

Ought he to take any medicine? (Ele deveria tomar algum remédio?)

Should I wait for you here? (Devo te esperar aqui?)

Can you speak Italian? I need someone to translate this for me.
(Você sabe falar Italiano? Preciso de alguém que traduza isto para mim.)

Should they be here when you get home? (Eles devem estar aqui quando você chegar em casa?)

Could you tell me why you didn't come to our meeting?

(Você poderia me dizer por que não veio à nossa reunião?)
Will Alice be there? (A Alice estará lá?)

May I use your pen? (Posso usar sua caneta?)

Would you like a cup of coffee?

(Você gostaria de uma xícara de café?)

c. Can e could podem ser substituídos por be able to (ser capaz de) quando expressam sentido
de capacidade, habilidade ou possibilidade de fazer algo. Diferentemente dos demais modal verbs, a
expressão be able to se conjuga em todos os tempos:

I can't talk to you today, but I will be able to talk tomorrow.

(Não posso falar com você hoje, mas amanhã poderei.)

I'd like to be able to stay here. (Gostaria de poder ficar aqui.)

I'm not sure if I will be able to see the movie later.

(Não tenho certeza se vou conseguir ver o filme mais tarde.)

He is able to play soccer. (Ele sabe jogar futebol.)

I had my own key, so I was able to go out every night if I wanted to.
(Eu tinha minha própria chave, então podia sair toda noite caso quisesse.)

d. Quando can / could expressam sentido de permissão para fazer algo, podem ser substituídos,
também, por be allowed to. Diferentemente dos demais modal verbs, a expressão be allowed to se
conjuga em todos os tempos:

You can't enter this room. (Você não pode entrar nesta sala) = You are not allowed to enter this room.

My cousins could watch as much tv as they wanted. (Meus primos podiam ver televisão o quanto eles
quisessem) = My cousins were allowed to watch as much tv as they wanted.

Listen, you can't speak during the exam. (Escutem, vocês não podem falar durante a prova.) = Listen,
you are not allowed to speak during the exam.

e. Os modal verbs não podem ser usados um após o outro:

NOT CORRECT You could should talk to me first.

11. Could, em alguns casos, é usado como passado de can:

When I was younger I could play tennis very well. (Eu sabia jogar tênis super bem quando era pequeno.)

I could speak a little Arabic. (Eu sabia falar um pouco Árabe.)

 QUESTÕES

1) In the phrase “should be avoided" (line 5) the modal verb expresses

A) a sense of obligation.

B) something that is probable.

C) confidence that something will happen.

D) the idea of what is right to do.

2) Mark the only sentence below that has the same function of the Modal verb in bold (line 6).

A) 'Children under 8 are not allowed to swim here', the sign says.

B) In UK, pubs must close at ten. It's a rule.

C) “May I have your attention?" The principal asked the students before the classes started.

D) My father said to me: “ It can be dangerous, watch out!"

3) In the topic “Forced and early marriage- When someone is married against their will and cannot leave the
marriage” (line 56), the modal verb can be replaced by ____ without changing the meaning.

A) mustn‟t B) shouldn‟t C) doesn‟t have to D) doesn‟t need to

4) “Cyberbullying is getting extremely popular because teens can stay anonymous” (lines 19-20). The underlined
verb expresses

A) possibility. B) obligation. C) prohibition. D) permission.

5) In the sentence “Studies show that dancing can improve your heart health [...]" (lines 6 and 7) the verb can
expresses

A) ability. B) possibility. C) permission. D) capacity.

6) In "Virtual communities may contribute to that end." (line 70), the word that could replace may without changing
the meaning of the sentence is:

a) will. b) can. c) must. d) should.

7) In “… the industry must continue to invest in conventional resources such as oil and natural gas.” (lines 60-61), the
word that could replace “must” without changing the meaning of the sentence is:

a) ought to. b) could. c) has to. d) may.

8) In ". the industries should invest in many kind of resources ..." (lines 66-67), the word that could replace "should"
without changing the meaning of the sentence is:
a) ought to. b) could. c) has to. d) may.
9) In "An Ishiguro made of circuitry and silicone might soon be answering his own questions." (lines 64-66), "might"
can be correctly substituted by:
a) must. b) shall. c) could. d) had to.

10) In "...additional demand for oil could be met by nonconventional methods," (lines 52-53) the verb form could
expresses
a) certainty. b) necessity. c) possibility. d) obligation.

11) In “To release their stored energy, fossil fuels must be burned." (lines 33-34) the expression in bold type can be
replaced by:
a) have to be. b) have been. c) would be. d) might be.

12) The word may in “They may be lawyers, accountants, your next-door neighbor," (lines 40-41) expresses
a) ability. b) advice. c) certainty. d) possibility.

13) In “You have to climb out the same way you climbed in: with new rituals” (lines 58-59) the modal that substitutes
„have to’ without a change in meaning is
a) may b) can c) must d) would

14) In “The work can be applied to immediate, pressing situations," (lines 41-42), the fragment “ can be applied" is
replaced, without change in meaning, by
a) may be applied. b) has to be applied. c) ought to be applied. d) will definitely be applied.

15) In Text I, the excerpt, “the world could face a future of “water wars” ” (lines 9-10), the verb form in bold expresses
the idea of
a) advice b) possibility c) necessity d) obligation

16) The excerpt that includes a word (modal) in bold that conveys the meaning “of obligation” is:
a) “Investments in marketing should promote new businesses” (lines 31-32)
b) “To help the economic scenario, the LDA must maintain London” (lines 33-34)
c) “With LDA‟s help London may secure its position” (lines 35-36)
d) “London might also profit” (line 38)
e) “LDA can help develop with emerging countries.” (lines 39-40)

The crew did everything they could, including performing CPR with a doctor on board, but unfortunately the
passenger has passed away.

17) In “The crew did everything they could (...)”, the modal “could” is used to indicate
A) ability
B) obligation
C) permission
D) prohibition
Read the text to answer question.

18) The word “must” (line 6), underlined in the text, is used to express:

A) advice B) possibility C) obligation D) lack of necessity

Routine

We’re supposed to start work at nine, but I often come in later

because I have to take my children to school first, but then I stay

a little later. Of course, if I have an early meeting or if I have to

be in court first thing in the morning, my wife has to take the kids

to school.

19) According to the text, in “We are supposed to start work at nine, (...)”. The underlined words are
closest in meaning to “We are to start (...)”

A) wanted B) wished C) hopped D) expected

20) In the famous words by John Lennon: “You may say I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one. I hope
someday you’ll join us and the world will be as one”, the modal verb in bold indicates that:

A) He knew that he could dream about peace and try to help everybody.

B) He understood that he could be seen as a dreamer.

C) He was not able to dream about peace and love.

D) He considered himself the only dreamer.

21) The word “can”, in bold in the text, expresses ________.

A) quality B) permission C) prohibition D) importance

22) In the sentence “It’s never too late to make changes to prevent diseases that may end your flying
career”, the modal verb “may” expresses __________.

A) ability
B) necessity
C) deduction
D) possibility

23) The modal verbs underlined in each sentence express:

1 – She might be at the party.

2 – Can you drive a dump truck?

3 – He mustn’t sleep during the class.

4 – You ought to learn Aviation English.

A) ability, possibility, advice, prohibition

B) possibility, ability, prohibition, advice

C) permission, possibility, request, wish

D) ability, request, prohibition, offers

24) Mmm, It’s cool! Suddenly he gets cramp in his legs and he can’t swim. He looks at the house and
it’s on fire. Sam’s parents are in there and he must help them. He is desperate.

The word “must”, in bold, in the text, indicate

A) ability B) necessity C) permission D) suggestion

25) In “Can I see it?”, (line 4), the modal verb “can” gives us an idea of

A) ability. B) obligation. C) permission. D) probability.

26) A similar meaning to the modal verb “must”, (line 5), is

A) may. B) will. C) could. D) need to.

27) In “...Argentina must respect the wishes of…”, (line 7), the underlined word can be replaced by

A) would like to. B) is likely to. C) is able to. D) needs to.

Angry Birds

Angry Birds are fat and round. Angry Birds cannot fly. But Angry Birds are superstars. Millions of people
around the world are addicted to them. It’s the number one game for smartphones.

GLOSSARY

addicted to – viciado em

27) The affirmative form of the underlined modal verb, in the paragraph, expresses

A) obligation. B) necessity. C) advice. D) ability.

Child: Mom, uncle Tom looks so sleepy and tired.

Mom: He may have stayed up all night.

28) “May”, in bold type in the dialogue, expresses

A) impossibility. B) possibility. C) permission. D) certainty.

29) “can”, (line 2), gives us an idea of

A) intention.

B) necessity.

C) deduction.

D) possibility.

Chandra is a dentist in Texas. She is from India. “I’m afraid to try new foods because they might contain
beef.

I’m a Hindu, and my religion forbids me to eat meat from the cow. That’s why I can’t eat hamburgers or
spaghetti with meatballs.”

30) The modal verb, underlined in the extract, expresses

A) advice.

B) ability.

C) possibility.

D) permission.
 1-D/ 2-D/ 3-A/ 4-A/ 5-B / 6-B / 7-C / 8-A / 9- C/ 10- C/ 11- A/ 12-D / 13-C / 14- A/ 15- B/ 16-B/17-
A/18-C/19-D/20-B/ 21-B / 22- D/ 23-B/24-B/25-C /26- D/27-D/ 28-B/ 29-D/ 30- C