MODAL
One of the auxiliary verbs used to show and add the different meanings connected with particular expressions
MODAL
AUXILIARY
Pattern: Modals + Be
Modals + Verb 1
e.g. She may be sick today. You may leave this room.
Can
o Present/future ability
To show present and future ability e.g. I can do my homework
o Request
To show request e.g. Can I borrow your car?
o Offering
To express an offering e.g. Can I do something for you?
Could
o Past ability
To show ability in the past
e.g. I could play basket ball when I was a child
o Polite request
To show a polite request.
e.g. Could I borrow your pen, please?
May
o Possibility
To show possibility in the present or future. e.g. He may go to the library now.
o Polite request
To show a polite request e.g. May I borrow your pen?
o Offering
To show offering e.g. May I help you?
o Hopes and wishes
To show hopes and wishes about future
e.g. May God be with you. May you rest in peace.
Might
o Possibility
To show possibility in the present or future e.g. He might be at the library now.
o Polite request
To show a polite request e.g. Might I borrow your pen?
Must – Have/Has/Had to
To show obligation e.g. You must study hard.
o Prohibition
o Essence/recommendation
To show essence/recommendation
e.g. It is essential that you should go home early.
Would
o Past willingness
To show past willingness
e.g. I would come to the party last night.
o Offering
To show offering
e.g. Would you like some tea?
o Request
To show a request
e.g. Would you mind closing the door?
Will/Shall
o Willingness
To show about willingness in the present or future. e.g. I’ll call you when I get back.
o Request
To show a request e.g. Will you go with me?
EXERCISES
A. Change the following sentences into the suitable forms.
B. Complete the following sentences using can/may/must/should. Sometimes you need the negatives.
1. My father is very smart. He ________ speak five languages.
2. Look! The girl is falling into the river. We ________ rescue her now. 3. Tom gets failed in his exams. I think he ________ study harder.
4. There is nobody in the room now. They ________ go out to buy something. 5. If you don’t bring your dictionary, you ________ borrow mine now.
6. You ________ touch the wall. My father has just painted it. 7. You ________ care about her since she loves you very much. 8. John is absent from school today. He ________ be sick. 9. The bus 1 has just left. We ____wait another later. 10. Sorry, I am very busy now. I ________ help you.
C. Situational exercise 1
Give your responses or opinions to the following situations with the suitable modal auxiliaries. Use your own words to express your ideas.
1. You want to go or study abroad. What must you do?
_______________________________________________________ 2. Your father gives you a lot of money. What can you do?
_______________________________________________________ 3. Your mother is sick today. What should you do?
_______________________________________________________
4. You come late and don’t see any friends in the class. Tell the possibilities about it. _______________________________________________________
5. You’ll have the exams next week. What you must you do?
_______________________________________________________ 6. Ann finds difficult to understand the lesson. What can you do?
_______________________________________________________
7. Jane looks tired. She’s been working for ten hours. What is your suggestion? _______________________________________________________
8. Your teacher is coming late today. This never happens before. What do you think of possibilities about him?
_______________________________________________________
MODAL PERFECT
Unimplemented past ability
To show unimplemented ability in the past Pattern:
Could + Have +Been/Verb III
e.g. I could have gone home on time but the bus was late last night. Past possibility
To show possibility in the past Pattern:
Might + Have +Been/Verb III
e.g. She was not here yesterday, she might have been sick.
Past certainty
e.g. There was so much noise last night; our neighbor must have come back from their holiday.
Past advisability
To show advisability in the past Pattern:
Should + Have +Been/Verb III
e.g. She did not pass her exams last term, she should have studied hard.
The key notions Modal progressive
Present Pattern:
e.g. I should be sleeping now.
Past Pattern:
e.g. He should have been sleeping at this time yesterday
Modal preparatory subject
There can be combined with modals.
e.g. There must be a rule to prevent the accident in the street.
Expressions
Special occasion
e.g. Everybody was died on the fire but she was able to escape.
Preference
e.g. I would rather tell you about the news.
Strong advice
e.g. You had better go home now.
Strong expectation
e.g. She is to be here, the class will start soon. Typical suggestion
e.g. The play is boring; I may go home as well. Mind cases
e.g.Would you mind if I closed the door? (offering/permission) Would you mind closing the door? (request)
Dare and Need case
Dare and Ned can used as modals. e.g. I need to drink some water. (Modal) è I need water (Verb)
I dare not see the body. (Modal) è I dare you play this game. (Verb)
EXERCISES
A. Complete the following sentences with Modal Perfect.
1. The ground was wet this morning. It __________ (rain) last night. Must + Have +Been/Verb III
Modals + be +Verb- ing
2. John was absent yesterday. He __________ (be) sick.
3. Tom woke up late this morning. He ________ (sleep) earlier last night.
4. Susan __________ (win) the contest but she got an accident on the way to the stage last month. 5. John got lost to my house last week. He __________ (take) the wrong bus.
6. I didn’t see Peter at home last night. He __________ (go) to the hall.
7. Jane got failed in her interview because of being late last week. She __________ (come) earlier to the interview.
8. Kim __________ (help) me do my homework but she was very busy last night.
B. Use Modal Perfect to give your responses or opinions about the following situations.
1. I didn’t see my jacket in the class this morning. I had left it there last night.
6. It was raining hard when I wanted to leave home. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my umbrella with me.
(should)_________________________________________________
7. I planned to take some pictures when I climbed the mountain. But I lost my camera on the way to get the top of the mountain.
(could)__________________________________________________
8. Everyone laughed when the film started. They watched a comedy show in the theatre last night. (must) __________________________________________________
INTEGRATED EXERCISE
Choose the best choice to the following questions. 1. We ____ when the traffic light shows red.
a. must stop b. may stop c. can stop d. ought to stop 2. He asked me whether he ____ my car to go to the party
a. must borrow b. might borrow c. may borrow d. would borrow 3. I could not find the museum you told me about. I ____ the wrong bus
a. must have taken c. might have taken b. should have taken d. could have taken
4. She did not tell me where she ____ after classes.
a. would go b. should go c. might go d. must go 5. “Does Anton know that Myrna had an accident yesterday?”
“I don’t think so, we ____ him as soon as we were informed.”
a. may have told c. should have told
b. must have told d. would have told
6. “I can’t find my phone book in my bag” “Well, you ____ in the car, let’s take a look.”
a. must leave b. will leave c. can leave d. may leave 7. “Don’t you think the driver is speeding?”
“Yes, I am afraid he ____ the lives of the passengers.”
a. may endanger b. should endanger c. must endanger d. can endanger 8. “The players spent the night before the big match at a party.”
“That was foolish of them, they ____ to bed early.”
a. must have gone c. could have gone
b. should have gone d. would have gone 9. “The oil was frozen, mother could not use it to fry the fish.
“I am sure, it ____ very cold last night.
a. must have been c. should have been
10. She looks so hungry and weak. She ____ some food.
a. may buy b. must buy c. will buy d. can buy 11. She missed the train yesterday. She ____ earlier.
a. would have left b. should have left c. must have left d. might have left 12. “She did not answer the phone when I called her.”
“She ____ yesterday.”
a. must have slept c. would have slept b. could have slept d. should have slept 13. I did not know there was a test yesterday, you ____ me about it.
a. should have told c. could have told b. might have told d. must have told
14. “I wonder how old he is. He was Asti’s classmate in 1985, so he ____ at least twenty five now.
a. will be b. shall be c. can be d. may be
15. “I am sorry I was not able to finish typing your paper.” “Well, it was my fault, I ____ you with too much work.”
a. might not have burdened c. could not have burdened b. should not have burdened d. must not have burdened
16. Rita has just missed the plane to Medan. She ____ at the airport at least two hours before the departure.
a. could have been c. should have been b. might have been d. must have been
17. Many people didn’t eat during the war ten years ago. They ____. a. could have suffered c. must have suffered
b. may have suffered d. should have suffered
EXERCISES
SOAL – MODAL AUXILIARY
1. Your glass is empty. …. I get you some more fresh water?A. shall B. will C. can D. should E. Shall have
2. We …. like to visit that new store some day. A. shall
B. will C. can D. would E. Shall have
3. You are sick, but you don’t come hospital to see a doctor. You …. visit him soon.
A. would B. could C. should D. will E, can
4. “I really don’t know why Tony didn’t come to the meeting”. “There ….. something wrong with him.
A. might be B. could be C. will be
5. “Rini is old enough. She …. know better than the others about it.
A. will
B. could
C. must
D. may be
E. can
6. My motorcycle runs out of oil. I ….buy it because I will ride it to the meeting. A. should
B. may C. can D. must E. might
7. Yanti looks so pale and weak. He must be sick. The underlined sentence means: A. He has to be sick
B. Maybe he is sick
C. It’s possible that he is sick. D. He is rather sick
E. I conclude that he is sick
8. “I could have somebody else to carry the heavy bags” It means : A. I carried the heavy bags
B Somebody else carried the heavy bags for me C. I asked someone carry the heavy bags.
D. I would carry the heavy bags myself. E. I didn’t want to carry the heavy bags.
SOAL KOMPETENSI
Soal – soal kompetensi
Modal
1. I need more data about this topic. Rawina might be able to help you. The underline sentence means...
A. Perhaps rawina can help you. B. Rawina can help you right now.
C. I am sure Rawina will be able to help you. D. Rawina will certainly be able to help you. E. Rawina was able to help you.
2. All her friends belive that she can do her job well. It means she ...do her job well. A. May C. Could E. Will
B. Is able to D. Might
3. It is possible that there will be another rise in the prise of petrol soon. We can also say, there …….another rise in the prise of petrol soon.
4. I may have to go to Malang next week. Means ……….. A. Perhaps I’ll have to Malang next week.
B. I am sure I’ll have to Malang next week.
C. It is possible that I’ll have to Malang next week. D. I know I’ll have to Malang next week.
5. Aswin did not keep his promiceto write us soon. He might have been very busy . The underlined word means……
A. Aswim will be very busy D. Aswim would be very busy. B. Aswim was certainly busy E. Aswim was perhaps very busy. C. Aswim is expected to be very busy.
6. When I called Jane at home there was no answer. She might have gone to school. The underlined word means……
A. It is clear that she went to school. B. I am sure that she has gone to school. C. It is not likely that she will go to school. D. It is possible that she has gone to school. E. I don’t think that she has gone to school.
7. We could have eaten ice cream yesterday, means….. A. We didin’t eat ice cream
B. We have eaten ice crem C. We had to eat ice cream D. We should eat the ice cram E. We would eat the ice cream
8. I coud have somebody else to carry that box. Means……
A. I carried the box D. I would somebody to carry the box B. Somebody carry the box E. I don’t want to carry the box C. I asked somebody to carry that box.
9. I could have asked my sister to go shoping alone. It means………. A. My sister didn’t go shopping with me D. I went shopping B. My sister asked me to go shopping with me E. I didn’t go shopping C. My sister went shopping with me
essay
1. We trimmed the hedges so that more sunlight (...) get through. Answer : could
2. The reason for the tax cut was so that more money (...) be available. Answer : might
3. You (...) tone up your muscle if you want to try out for gymnastics this year. Answer : ‘d better
4. Every time one of us kids lost o tooth, my grandfather (...) us 25 degree. Answer : would give
5. Angela lives in Minnesota now, she (...) live in Alabama. Answer : used to
6. Will they (...) you cut your hair if you joint the Air Force. Answer : make
Answer : must have
8. Who ( ...) teach the chemistry cource this year? Answer : is supposed to
9. It sounds as though you want to save money or repairs . You (...) take a course on self repair you know.
Answer : COULD
