Grammar reference

Aprende inglés con música: Modal verbs, de Diego Salazar Lira

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Modal verbs

Ability Peter was able to turn in his homework

📌 Can and can’t late.
Peter could turn in his homework
We generally use can and can’t to talk
late. (This example would imply an
about the abilities someone has in the
imaginary possibility in the present or
present. We also use it to talk about
future).
what someone knows how to do.
My mother can cook a hundred different
dishes.
📌 Could have
Could have more accurately expresses
I cannot/can’t drive without glasses.
an imaginary possibility in the past.
Peter could have turned in his homework
In the past, we generally use couldn’t
late. (Imaginary possibility in the past).
only to talk about lack of ability or
Jessica couldn’t have worn a more
possibility.
beautiful dress.
Sam couldn’t come to the party because
she got sick.
📌 Used to and would
📌 Be able to Because used to and would are used
to talk about past habits, we also use
Be able to also expresses ability in
them to talk about past ability.
a more literal and formal way. We
I used to play the drums when I was 10.
conjugate the verb to be to move
(Now I can’t because I probably haven’t
backward or forward in time: was/were,
practiced in years).
will be, has/have been, etc.
When I was a child, my grandmother
I have a friend who is able to speak
would play soccer with me. (Now she
eight languages.
can’t because she’s older).
My teacher gave us so much homework,
I wasn’t able to finish it.
Although used to and would can
generally be used interchangeably,
In the past, we generally use was/
would can only be used with dynamic
were able to to talk about affirmative
verbs, while used to can be used with
ability or possibility.
both stative and dynamic verbs.

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Rules, permissions and You don’t need to provide references to
apply for this job.
prohibitions I took my phone to the service center,
📌 Have to so I didn’t have to buy a new one.
We commonly use have to to talk about
obligations, duties and responsibilities. 📌 Must and mustn’t
It implies a strong commitment that can Must expresses a strong commitment
rarely be avoided. toward a rule. It is very similar to have
The marketing team has to deliver a to. However, must is more formal and
report by the end of this month. also implies a moral commitment.
All employees must respect diversity of
The past form of have to works in the beliefs and opinions.
same way as the present. Guests mustn’t leave their valuables
I had to apply for a visa in order to study unattended.
in Denmark.
Although there is a past form of
Counterintuitive as it sounds, don’t must, it is never used to talk about
have to and its past form, didn’t have obligations. Whenever we want to talk
to, imply lack of obligation, NOT a about obligations in the past, we use
prohibition. had to.
We don’t have to do exams at my
school. 📌 Can and can’t / could
My best friend lent me a dress for the Can expresses a permission or an
party, so I didn’t have to buy one. absolute cancellation of such. It is
extremely common in the interrogative.
Can I come in late tomorrow? I have a
📌 Need to doctor appointment.
When we want to talk about our At my office, we can take two hours of
necessities, we use need to. lunch break.
I need to talk to Simon to see if he can You can’t come into the bank wearing
help me with my tax refund. sunglasses. prohibition

The past form of need to works in the Could and couldn’t express permission
same way as the present. or prohibition in the past. Be careful not
We needed to stop by the gas station to confuse it with ability or possibility.
halfway through our trip. In the past, people could smoke indoors.
We couldn’t wear shorts in Elementary
The negative form, don’t need to, school.
and its past, didn’t need to, work in the
exact same way as the negative of have
to, they express lack of necessity.

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📌 Be allowed to B: No way! I will pick you up.
Be allowed to more directly expresses
authorization to do something. We Will you please open the door for me?
conjugate the verb to be to move My hands are empty.
backward or forward in time: was/were,
will be, has/have been, etc. This form does not express future.
Students aren’t allowed to leave the
school building without a written
request from their parents. 📌 Could
We were allowed to bring a +1 for the Mainly used in the interrogative, could
Christmas party at my office. is a polite alternative to ask someone
for a favor.
📌 May Could you please open the window? It’s
May also expresses permission in a getting hot.
more formal way. It is also especially I could come pick you up at the airport.
used in questions. Just let me know what time your flight
You may invite someone for our lands. This example also expresses
Christmas party next Friday. imaginary possibility.
May I leave 15 minutes early today?
📌 Would
Could in the interrogative is an Another polite way to ask someone for
alternative to may in the interrogative a favor is would.
to ask for permission politely. Would you pick me up at the airport?
Counterintuitive as it sounds, it is not in
the past, but in the present. 📌 Shall
Could I leave 15 minutes early today? Although very rarely used, shall
commonly implies a formal invitation.
Although there is a negative and a Shall we serve dinner yet? It’s past 10.
past form of may, it is never used to
talk about permissions. If we want to Shall can be an alternative to will in
express permission or prohibition in the future simple, but its use is very rare.
either the negative or the past, our I will take a driving test next week.
alternatives are can and be allowed to. I shall take a driving test next week.

Requests, offers and 📌 Must

In the context of invitations, must is a
invitations very friendly way to invite someone to
📌 Will do something.
To offer or request something in a We must go get coffee soon! There’s a
friendly way, we can use will. lot of catching up to do.
A: I’m getting an Uber from the airport.

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Speculation 📌 Must
Must and mustn’t can be used to
We can split modal verbs of speculation
speculate in the certainty, much like can
into two groups: possibility and
and can’t.
certainty.
Alan just came out of the shower, he
must be getting ready.
Possibility It mustn’t take us any longer than 40
📌 May and might minutes to drive there. It’s only 15 miles.
May and might can be used
interchangeably to express possibility, 📌 Have to
with may being a little more formal. Have to works in the same way as must,
Claire didn’t come to work today, she except that no negative form exists to
might be sick. speculate in the certainty.
It’s only 7AM, so the store may not be A: Someone is knocking on the door.
open. B: It has to be the mailman. I’m expecting
a package.
📌 Could
Could is used in the same way as may/
might to speculate in the possibility.
In the past
To form the past of modal verbs for
Emily is late, she could be stuck in traffic.
speculation we add the auxiliary verb
Aaron was fired this morning. I’m going
“have”.
to call him, he could not be feeling well.
I can’t find my keys, I may have left them
in the restaurant.
Certainty Henry might have called me, but my
📌 Can and can’t phone was out of battery.
When we are sure about the speculation We got completely lost on the highway.
we are making, we use can and can’t. We must have taken the wrong turn.
Chicago can get pretty cold in winter.
In the past, couldn’t have and can’t
A: Someone’s ringing the bell. I think it’s have are used interchangeably to
Saul. express certainty.
B: It can’t be Saul because he’s on a trip Sarah couldn’t have come to the
in the Bahamas meeting because she was sent to the
New York office.
📌 Should I can’t have left my keys in the restaurant
When we are sure about the speculation because I remember unlocking the door
we are making but some exceptional when we got here.
factors may play against it, we use
should. Have to changes to had to and is
The store should be open by now. It’s usually used with introductory “it”.
past 11AM. It had to be you!
The repair should not be too expensive.
It’s only maintenance. No past form is used for can, mustn’t
and should.
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Advice
Modal verbs for advice are: had better,
should, could, and ought to, with slight
differences in meaning. They are used
to express what we think is a good idea
for someone or even for ourselves.
If you have to submit that paper tonight,
you’d better start working on it now.
You’d better not take your phone into
the classroom if you don’t want to have
your exam cancelled.

I should start eating more vegetables.

I’m not feeling healthy.
You shouldn’t listen to such loud music.
You risk losing your hearing.

A: I have a horrible headache.

B: You could try lying down to see if it
goes away.

We ought to call the plumber. The sink

is leaking.
You ought not to go to bed so late. You
look exhausted.

In the past
To form the past of modal verbs for
advice we add the auxiliary verb “have”.
He’d better have waited until Christmas
to buy his phone. There are usually
discounts.
I should have left home 10 minutes
earlier. I didn’t expect for there to be so
much traffic.
You could have called me last night. I
was free to hang out.
Mary ought to have checked the best
by date on the tin. Now she’s very ill.

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