Unit 5 ---Modal Verbs (Defective or Anomalous)

Caractersticas Generales:
1-Se denominan as (anmalos) porque carecen de la mayora de los tiempos verbales.
2-No llevan "to"nunca, ni delante, ni detrs, excepto "ought to" que tiene que llevarlo
obligatoriamente.
"I can **to go tomorrow"
3-No necesitan auxiliares (do/did) para formar las negativas o interrogativas: "Can you help
me?"
4-No llevan "S" en la 3 persona del singular del presente: "He can do it".

CAN / COULD
Can-presente
Could-pasado y condicional (cant /couldnt)
Significa "poder" con varios sentidos:
1.Tener la capacidad de o la habilidad para : "I can speak English" (habilidad)
"I can swim 500 m. in three minutes" (capacidad)
2-Pedir permiso:"Can I go with them?"
To be able to-otros tiempos (capacidad/posibilidad) ser capaz de
To be allowed to-otros tiempos (permiso) "ser permitido", tener permiso.
CANT- Dos usos:

1-Prohibicin-"You cant park here"

2-Suposicin-"She cant be speaking seriously!"

MUST

Slo tiene esta forma. Se utiliza para presente y excepcionalmente para pasado. Los tiempos
que no tiene must se conjugan con "to have to".
Significa:
1-"deber", con sentido de obligacin fuerte. "You must study more"
2-"deber", con sentido de suposicin. "Mary must have a problem. Shes very serious"
MUSTNT-prohibicin- "You mustnt smoke here"
PERO: si queremos negar una frase afirmativa en la que aparece "must", sin querer expresar
prohibicin, es decir que lo que queremos expresar es una ausencia de obligacin, lo que
tenemos que utilizar es "dont have to" o "dont need / neednt".
You must bring your dictionaries tomorrow-- Teneis que traerlos
You musnt bring ................ prohibicin
You dont have to bring..... no teneis que traerlos
You neednt bring ................. no hace falta que los traigis.
Must y Have to pueden coexistir en el mismo tiempo verbal (presente, por ejemplo) porque
su campo de utilizacin es diferente en algunos casos.
Usamos "must" cuando queremos expresar que la obligacin viene impuesta directamente por
la persona que habla, los sentimientos y deseos del hablante son lo que hay que tener en
cuenta. "Have to" es ms impersonal. Se usa have to para hechos, no para sentimientos
personales.
Mother to child: "You must take off your shoes before getting into the house" ,PERO
Child to friend: "We have to take off our shoes before.... " porque la orden no viene
directamente de la persona que habla.
"You cant turn right here. You have to turn left" (por el Cdigo de la Circulacin)
"I must get up early tomorrow;Ive lots of things to do" Son mis pensamientos los que estn
involucrados.

SHOULD / OUGHT TO

Tienen el mismo significado, se utilizan indistintamente y slo tienen esta forma. Se traducen
por "deber" (moral), y normalmente con la forma de "debera-s" :
"You should / ought to visit her, because she needs you." Deberas ir a verla........

MAY / MIGHT
May- presente
Might-pasado/condicional.
Significa "poder" con dos sentidos distintos:
1-Permiso: es ms corts que "can" o que "could", en este orden. Usamos " to be allowed to"
para sustituir a "may" en los tiempos que may no tiene en este contexto, al igual que lo
hacamos con "can".:
"Will I be allowed to buy a car? Me dejareis (permiso) comprarme un coche? (Se me
permitir......? .// Ser permitido......?)
2-Probabilidad- "They may come tonight"-Puede que ellos vengan esta noche
La forma "might" indica que la probabilidad de que el suceso ocurra es ms remota. "She
might win the lottery" Pudiera ser que a ella le tocara la lotera

**************EXERCISES:
1-Translate:

!- No podrs venir conmigo si tienes un examen maana.

2-Debes ir a comprar esa medicina. La necesito ahora.
3-No deberas decir esas cosas. Creern que ests loco.
4-No debe estar en casa porque no contesta al telfono.
5.No hace falta que me llames esta noche. Llmame maana por la maana.
6-Puede que vayamos a su casa el domingo, aunque pudiera ser que no furamos.
7- No pudimos ver la pelcula ayer porque no haba entradas.
8-Puede que tengamos suerte en la carrera; puede que nuestro caballo gane.
9-Deberas decirme la verdad ahora. Todo sera mucho ms fcil.
10-No se puede fumar en la sala de reuniones. (no est permitido)
11-Puedo ir a ver la TV a casa de mi amigo esta tarde?. No, debes estudiar porque debers
aprobar el examen maana.
12-Puede que compremos esa casa, pero no estamos seguros.

2.- Rewrite these sentences using must or cant:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Im certain you are crazy

I know that girl isnt Janet. Shes in America.
Im sure she thinks Im stupid.
Theyre always buying new cars. I think theyre very rich.
Are you an architect? Im sure its an interesting job.
The doorbell is ringing. Im sure its Roger.
No, I think it isnt Roger. He told me he was arriving late.

1.

-I think you ............. take a holiday. You look tired.

Mark, you ............... tidy your room at once.
Im sorry, but you ................... go. We dont want you here.
I think you .................... write to Aunt Rachel. She feels lonely.
I dont think children ........... watch TV so many hours.
You .................. go and cut you hair this evening.

3-Complete these sentences with must / should

2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

4-Choose the best option:

1-We may / might win, but I dont think we will.

2-That girl cant / mustnt be her daughter! Theyre nearly the same age.
3-We can / may decide to go camping again next summer
4-You cant / shouldnt get in without a ticket. Its forbidden
5-In this country boys mustnt / dont have to do military service
6-You must / have to pass a special exam to be a teacher
7.I dont know why shes not here. She must / cant have got my message.
7. Hes not answering the phone. He may not/cant have got home yet.
8. You absolutely should/must go and see Liz.
9. I may/might ask you to help me tomorrow. I have to finish it this week.
10. That story mustnt /cant be true! Those things dont happen in real life.
11. I think you should/must try to relax more.

5.- Find out the mistake, if any, and correct it:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

I dont can sing.

He should to work harder.
Peter musts study more.
Can you telling me the time?
I can finish this work for tomorrow evening..

6-Complete with:
to

must / have to / mustnt / dont have to / dont need

1. This is a great book. You .............................. read it.

2. You .......................... disturb your sister while shes working
3.You .................... give me the money for the tickets now. Give it to me tomorrow if you prefer
4-In football you .....................................touch the ball with your hand
5.You are a soldier. You ........................ obey your Captains orders!
6.You .............................. to knock before coming into my room! My door is always open for you.
7.The doctor told him that he ................................ stop smoking
8.They told us that we ............................. pay for it in advance
9.Spanish people ................................ a passport to go to France
10.Its rained a lot, so we ......................................... to water the garden
11.Campers ................................. play music after 10 p.m.
12.Fridays a holiday. I ............................. to work
13.We ........................... get another dog soon
14.We ............................ go to London for a meeting
15.Passengers ..................................... speak to the driver
16.You .................................... bring the umbrella. It isnt going to rain.