PET MODALS

1) Asking someone to do something

- Can/Will you help me? less polite
- Could/Would you help me? more polite
2) Making a suggestion/Asking for suggestion with the pronoun we in the question
form
- It looks nice outside. Shall we go for a walk?
- Where shall we go for our next holiday?
- Shall I/We move some tables outside?
- I can make one of my special recipes if you like.
- We could serve more interesting food perhaps.
- Shall I/We go by bicycle today?
- Why dont I/We? Lets .
How about/ What about Ving?
IF WE ARE LESS SURE OF WHAT WE ARE SUGGESTING, WE CAN SAY: We could go by bicycle
today.
3) Making offers offering help to someone
- Shall/Can I/We help you to cook dinner?
- Shall/Can I/We clean the car for you?
- Why dont I carry that bag for you?
4) Offering to do something with the pronoun I in the question form
- You look cold. Shall I put the heater on?
- What shall I bring you, tea or coffee?
5) Giving or not giving(refusing) permission, asking for permission
- You can use my office.
- You cannot smoke here.
- Can I sit here? less polite
- Could/May I sit here? more polite
- Can I leave my bag here while I look round the museum?
- Could I borrow your car for a few days? Of course (you can). Certainly.
- You can borrow my camera.
- You can finish work early tomorrow.
- You cant use the phone.
- You can/may(more polite) go home if you want.
- We can go out whenever we want.
- Students can/may travel free.
When you ask for permission it depends how polite you want to be; how formal you want to
be or how formal is the situation; how well you know the person; how badly do you want it
(the necessity) the tone counts
-

Can I borrow your pencil? sounds very urgent, youre going to give my pencil
Could I borrow your pencil? like a possibility
May I borrow your pencil? educated/polited

Do you mind. ? more polite than may, when you inconvenience someone with
my/your actions. In this case Im not really looking to disturb the person; I hope
Im not causing you too much trouble.

OBLIGATION
MUST (it is essential or necessary)
1)

To give orders, strong advice including ourselves, something that is important to us

- You really must start looking for a job.(an order I am telling you to do this, or this is
my opinion which I feel very strong about)
- You must read the letter carefully.
- You must check the details.

HAVE TO its a rule that does not come from the speaker
1) Expressing an external obligation (positive sentences)
- You have to make an appointment to see him.
- She has failed her exam. She has to retake it.
2) Expressing a necessity or obligation in the past
- He was very ill. We had to call the doctor immediately.
- He was very busy. I had to make an appointment to see him.
3) Rules
- I have to wear a microphone.
- We have to cook the meals.
- She has to follow the rules in the castle.
DONT/DOESNT HAVE TO removes the necessity or the obligation in all tenses, its not
necessary to do it = dont need to=neednt
-

We dont have to take our own clothes.

NEED TO is an ordinary verb and it takes auxiliaries

1) A softer alternative to both must and have to
- I must/need to finish this tonight, because I want to take tomorrow off.
- I have to/need to finish this tonight. My deadline is tomorrow.
- Do I need to finish this tonight? I dont need to finish this tonight.
2) It can only be used in negative sentences and questions:
- Do I need to finish this? = Need I finish this?
- I dont need to finish this? = I neednt finish this.
3) It is not a very common modal verb
NEED = it is necessary
as a normal verb
-

I need to buy some bread. ( I need buy some bread )

Do you need to take any food with you?

In the negative, need can be:

-

either a modal verb: You neednt worry.

or a normal verb: You dont need to worry.

Neednt and dont need need to= it isnt necessary=dont have to

You neednt worry=You dont need to worry=You dont have to worry.
PAST
They needed to look after the animals. (=It was necessary)
They didnt need to work hard. (=It wasnt necessary .)
Did they need to grow their own food?(=Was it necessary?)
Oliver needed to buy a computer.(=it was necessary because he didnt have one)
Oliver didnt need to buy a computer. (=it wasnt necessary because he already had one)
ADVICE
1) Expressing an opinion or giving/asking for advice
- I believe nurses should have higher salaries.
- You look tired. I think you should have some rest.
- He shouldnt make a rushed decision.
- Do you think we should phone her?
- What should I say when I speak to him?
- You should start looking for a job.
2) To talk about the right thing to do
- She should be more thoughtful.
- I should learn to cook.
- She should be more careful.
- We ought to send her a postcard.
- I shouldnt worry so much.
- I ought not to eat that cake.
- Sarah should take more care when shes cycling.
- I shouldnt spend so much time watching TV.
- He had better go and say sorry.
ORDERS AND ADVICE
Strong advice MUST : You must check the details.
Advice: SHOULD/OUGHT TO: You should/ought to take a diary.
Less strong advice COULD: You could take some book.(We dont use couldnt to give advice)

CERTAINTY AND POSSIBILITY

1) We use must for making logical deductions (certainty we are sure of sg is true)
- That must be his brother they look alike.

It must be from Steven because he is in Australia. (I am certain it is from Steven)

It must be a pen because that looks like ink.
The must be at home because the light is on.

2) When somethingg is possibly true, to indicate a strong possibility in the present or

future
- It may(might/could) happen again.
- She may not accept the offer.
- It may be a butterfly because those are its wings.
- He may be her brother but Im not sure.
- The parcel might be/may be/could be from Dads friend, Tony, because he moved
to Australia recently.(=I know Tony lives there and it is possible, not certain, that
the parcel is from him.)
- It could be a butterfly because those are its wings.
- He could be her brother but Im not sure.
- He couldnt be serious. He obviously was joking. (impossibility)
- Our teacher could be very strict when we are at school.
- People could starve in those days.
- You couldnt use the computer in the 19th century.
- Its ten oclock. They could have arrived now (hours ago).
- She could have learned Chinese, but she didnt have time.
- I could have danced all night, but I didnt.
3) We also use may/might/could when we are uncertain about the future, or certain
about the future:
- I could go to Greece next month. (Its possible, but Im not certain.)
- My football team could win the cup.
- If we dont hurry we could be late. (Perhaps/Maybe we will late)
4) When we are sure something isnt true , we use cant:
- It cant be a butterfly because it hasnt got a body. (It mustnt be a butterfly.)
- That cant be Sues car because hers is at the garage.
- I cant come to the party on Friday.
- You cant help me. Im sorry.
- He cant do the shopping for you.
- She cant do the dinner tonight.
- We cant clean the flat tomorrow.
- You cant be serious.
- Linda cant be at home because she didnt answer the phone.

ABILITY
1) Express ability or lack of ability in the present
- I can see you at 3 P.M. tomorrow. Can you manage that?
- The cant dance.
- You can drive a car.

- You can swim very well.

- She cant draw anything.
- We cant sing and dance.
- They cant drive.
- I cant decide what it is.
- He can swim like a fish.
2) Ability or lack of ability in the past
- I could read without glasses last year.
- I couldnt sleep last night.
- He could/was able to read when he was three but he couldnt/wasnt able to catch
a ball when he started school.
- She could speak several languages.
BE ABLE TO more formal, less common
-

He is/was able to walk when he was one.

They couldnt/werent able to prevent the fire damaging the school.
The athletes couldnt/werent able to train because the weather was bad.

For all the other tenses we use be able to:

-

I will be able to come back next week.(future)

I havent been able to answer the question yet.(present perfect)
I hope to be able to come back next week.(infinitive)
My grandfather is able to cook his own meals but he isnt able to walk to the
shops.
I am not able to answer that question.