0425_110_143:0425_108_141 20-11-2009 10:49 Pagina 124

SCHEDA 47 Verbi modali: regole e usi

Modal verbs
I verbi modali sono:
can, could, may, might, must, ought to, needn’t, should, shall, will, would

Forma
I modali sono sempre seguiti dalla forma base del verbo (senza il to dell’infinito).
He can cook and paint really well. We must hurry.
47
Nella forma negativa si aggiunge not al modale.
He cannot (can’t) leave. They will not (won’t) go.
Con may, might e shall, la forma negativa generalmente non viene contratta:
They might not be happy with our offer.
Nelle forme interrogative i modali vanno prima del soggetto (e non richiedono l’ausiliare do / did).
Can you come tonight? What will he say?
Al presente indicativo i modali non prendono la -s della terza persona singolare.
He can swim. non He cans swim.
She must come before he leaves. non She musts come.
I verbi modali sono ripresi nelle risposte brevi e nei question tags.
Will you arrive before next week? – No, I won’t. Can you speak Russian? – Yes, I can.
You can ride a horse, can’t you? He should be here by now, shouldn’t he?
I verbi modali non hanno le forme Verbi modali Infinito
dell’infinito, per cui si deve ricorrere
can could (to) be able
ad altri verbi, come indicato nella
tabella. Must ha solo la forma del may might (to) be allowed, (to) be permitted
presente; should e ought to sono must / (to) have to
sinonimi. needn’t /
shall should / ought to
will would
Uso
L’uso dei verbi modali può essere ricondotto a due grandi aree di significato:
– un significato logico di possibilità e predizione, che va dal certo al meno certo;
– un significato legato agli usi sociali della lingua (permesso, obbligo, volontà, ecc.), secondo gradi
che vanno dal forte al debole.
Grado di certezza Grado di forza dell’affermazione
It will arrive. will + will / shall I will phone you.
It must be here. must must You must study.
It should phone. should should You should do your homework.
It may arrive. may /
It might / could arrive. might / could – could You could do your homework.

In genere, i verbi modali usati al passato suonano meno diretti o esprimono esitazione. Le seguenti
frasi pongono tutte la stessa domanda. Osserva il diverso modo di avanzare una richiesta, dal tono
più perentorio e diretto a quello più esitante e indiretto.
Open the window, will you? perentorio
Open the window, please! diretto
Can you open the window, please? gentile
Could you open the window? indiretto
I wonder if you can open the window. molto indiretto
I wonder if you could open the window. molto, molto indiretto
Nota anche i seguenti esempi:
Can I talk to you? Could I talk to you? più indiretto
You must give up smoking. You should give up smoking. meno perentorio
Will you help me? Would you mind helping me? più indiretto
He may come. He might come. più esitante

124 Questa pagina può essere fotocopiata esclusivamente per uso didattico – © Loescher Editore
0425_110_143:0425_108_141 20-11-2009 10:49 Pagina 125

Exercises
5. They won’t arrive on time.
1 Riordina le parole per formare frasi. ....................................................................................................................
Ex. OK. / hope / I / everything / will / be 6. Can you pass me that box?
I..................................................................................................................
hope everything will be OK. ....................................................................................................................
1. time. / arrive / not / might / They / on 7. Will you help me with this?
.................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... 47
2. me? / letter / you / this / Could / for / check
.................................................................................................................... 4 Leggi la pagina di diario di Sarah e
3. money. / careful / be / should / You / more / inserisci un verbo modale negli spazi.
your / with Scegli tra: might, might not, can, can’t,
.................................................................................................................... must, mustn’t, should, shouldn’t.
4. to / must / visitors / All / report / reception.
.................................................................................................................... Tuesday 30 September
5. for / week? / have / I / my / money / pocket /
this / Can What a day! You (Ex.) ................. can’t .................................... imagine how
.................................................................................................................... bad it’s been … It’s 11.30p.m. and I (1) ..................................................... be
6. ought / call / They / to / us. asleep, but I (2) ..................................................... close my eyes without
....................................................................................................................
thinking about today. My parents have just gone to bed so I
(3) ..................................................... write my diary in peace, finally.
2 Abbina le frasi alla funzione Day started with a big argument. I love Giorgia dearly but she
comunicativa. (4) ..................................................... be more careful about what she says
1. You mustn’t do that again. to people – everyone seemed to know about me and Philippe
2. Of course you can go to the party. breaking up before we made it public – I (5) ................................ have a
3. I must have your report today. quiet word with her tomorrow. I (6) ............................................... really
4. I’ll be in touch. describe how I feel about Philippe – I know I (7) ................................................
5. We can’t get the door open. start feeling down about it and everyone says I (8) ..........................................
6. Can you help me with this? think about it but we’d been together for a couple of years so it’s
7. You should be more careful. quite hard not to.
a. permesso e. richiesta Today’s Maths test didn’t go too well and I (9) ....................................... pass
b. promessa f. consiglio – that (10) ..................................................... really please my Mum and
c. proibizione g. impossibilità Dad. I (11) ..................................................... really get things together at
d. obbligo
school before it’s too late. I hope I (12) ..................................................... at
least get a decent mark in the French test as that’s the only
3 Leggi le frasi ed esprimi lo stesso subject I like at the moment .
concetto con un minor grado di certezza Ah well, tomorrow’s another day. I’ve written everything I wanted
oppure in modo meno diretto. to so hopefully I (13) ........................................ get some sleep now – at last …
Ex. I can finish it by this evening. Night.
I..................................................................................................................
might finish it by this evening.
1. You must be here by 8.
.................................................................................................................... 5 Traduci le seguenti frasi in inglese.
2. They may be able to help you.
1. Dovresti stare più attento.
....................................................................................................................
2. Devi arrivare prima dalle 9.00.
3. It’ll be cold tomorrow. 3. Sai giocare a cricket, non è vero?
.................................................................................................................... 4. Potresti aiutarmi ogni tanto.
4. Everything is OK. 5. Ti porto le foto domani.
.................................................................................................................... 6. Può darsi che venga a trovarci stasera.

Questa pagina può essere fotocopiata esclusivamente per uso didattico – © Loescher Editore 125