Modal Auxiliaries: Functions & Uses

 

Modal Auxiliaries: Functions & Uses

                            

                         Nidhu Bhusan Das

 

Modals are auxiliary verbs because they help the main verb to express the mode or manner of action. They also express the attitude of the speaker. Modals are also called Defective verbs. The most commonly used modals are: can, could, may, might, need, will, would, shall, should, dare, must, used to, ought to.

 

can	could	may	might
will	would	shall	should
need	dare	must	used to
ought to	………………….	…………………	………………

 

Now let us see how the modals function and how they are useful as grammatical elements.

 

Functions  & uses of Modals

 

can	Indicates – ability,possibility,permission,advice,offering help, right
could	Indicate – past ability, polite request, wish,advice,possibility
may	Indicates – possibility, permission, request, doubt/uncertainty, wish/prayer, purpose, concession.
might	Indicates – possibility, weak possibility,permission,polite request, gentle reproach, purpose

 

Shall	Indicates – Simple present with first person ( I, We ) subject. With second/third person subject indicates – command,threat,promise,compulsion,certainty,determination
Will	Indicates – Simple present with second or person (you, he/she, they ) subject. With first person ( I, We) subject indicates –  willingness,promise,intention,threat,determination,quality/capacity.Never used with the first person in question.
Should	Indicates – Past form of Shall. Besides, it indicates duty/obligation, supposition/possibility/condition, opinion, disapproval, purpose & result, assumption, wish, and after the conjunction Lest.
Would	Indicates – Past form of Will.Besides,it indicate polite request,refusal,wish, past habit,permission,determination, preference
Need	Indicates – Used in the Negative & Interrogative, Need not with a Perfect Infinitive
Dare	Inflectional suffix –s/es is not added when  dare is followed by not if the subject is in the third person singular(he/she) in the simple present tense.
Must	Indicates – obligation/compulsion, strong determination,duty,certainty of belief/strong likelihood, inevitability, prohibition.
Ought to	Indicates – Duty/social or moral obligation,advice,desirability,strong probability,recommendation,Ought to have for past obligation, Ought not to have disapproval

 

Used to

Indicates – discontinued habit

 

We may show all the functions and uses of the modals in the table above in sentences to indicate how the modals express mode/manner of action and attitude of the speaker/user. (to be continued)