From: http://anasenglishactivities.blogspot.com/2008/03/modal-verbs.

html MODAL VERBS

TABLE OF MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

DEFINICIN: Los verbos modales son verbos diferentes al resto de los verbos. Tienen una serie de caractersticas especiales. Estos verbos pueden expresar: obligacin, necesidad, prohibicin, ausencia de necesidad, probabilidad, posibilidad, habilidad

CARACTERSTICAS: o Son verbos incompletos. No tienen participio ni infinitivo, y necesitan otros verbos para completar su conjugacin: CAN se completa con la perfrasis BE ABLE TO, MUST con HAVE TO, etc. o No llevan -S en la 3 persona singular del presente simple, excepto HAVE TO (HAS TO) o Todos van seguidos de otro verbo en infinitivo sin TO, excepto OUGHT TO, HAVE TO y NEED TO. o Como no necesitan verbo auxiliar, construyen la interrogativa invirtiendo el orden del sujeto y el verbo, y la negativa aadiendo NOT. OJO!! CANNOT

TABLA DE VERBOS MODALES

VERB

USE
- Expresar habilidad

EXAMPLES

NOTES

PURE MODALS

CAN
(presente)

COULD
(pasado)

- We can drive very - Be able well - Expresar - I can't talk, tocomplementa posibilidad o I've got a very a cancuando indica habilidad y imposibilidad sore throat posibilidad: - Expresar o - Can I sit infinitivo, futuro, pedir permiso down? present perfect y - She can't be gerundio, e.g. I at school. It's will be able to - En negativa holiday. expresar play the guitar in deduccin y a year. prohibicin. - You cannot smoke here. - Expresar - Jane could habilidad en drive before pasado. she was 18. - Pedir algo - Could you educadamente. pass the salt,

please? - Expresar posibilidad o imposibilidad en el pasado. - Hacer especulaciones (posibilidad remota) - Hacer sugerencias. - It was so hot I couldn't walk in the sand. - This passport could be his.

- We could play bingo today. - Remplaza a - They said can en el estilo they could do indirecto it themselves. - You could - Expresar una have bought crtica. some more food. - May I leave - Pedir algo. the classroom? - Expresar - You may go permiso. to the toilet. - Cuando MAY indica posibilidad MAY - Expresar - The indica que algo posibilidad headmaster no es seguro. (PRE/FUT) (presente o may visit the (quiz, tal vez, futura) class today. puede que) - That may be - Hacer the thief that especulaciones. was arrested by the police. - Expresar - They might posibilidad (ms invite us to - La posibilidad dudosa) the party. MIGHT es muy dudosa - They might (pudiera ser que) - Hacer have broken especulaciones the window SHOULD - You should - Dar y pedir do more consejos physical (debera) exercise - Expresar - You should obligacin be more moral o que tolerant algo no es lo adecuado que esperabamos

- She should have been quiet - I'll carry the - Hacer un suitcase for ofrecimiento you. WILL - Will you - Pedir algo bring me a educadamente coffee, please? - Hacer un - Shall I open ofrecimiento the window? - What shall - Pedir we do SHALL sugerencias tonight? - I shall speak - Tomar to the decisiones headmaster - Would you - Hacer un like some ofrecimiento tea? WOULD - When I was - Rutinas en el a child, I pasado (afirm.) would go (sola) fishing. - Expresar - You must go obligacin to school - HAVE TO (autoridad fuerte) complementa a - En negativa: - You mustn't MUST MUST en los expresar smoke in tiempos que este prohibicin hospitals (presente) carece, e.g. She - They must had to get up - Expresar be happy. early yesterday. deduccin They've won (afirmativa) the lottery - Expresar - Need we go necesidad now? - Con sentido - The trees pasivo need pruning. NEED - En negativa: - You needn't ausencia de get up early obligacin = at weekends don't have to OUGHT TO - Dar consejos - You ought to do more physical exercise

- Criticar acciones pasadas

MODAL S IDIOMS

- You ought to be more tolerant - I used to - Expresar play tennis, USED TO hbitos o rutinas but now I play en el pasado basket - Expresar - You have to obligacin (+ be 18 to drive suave) a car HAVE (GOT) - You don't TO - En negativa: have to wear ausencia de a uniform in obligacin this school - It's getting - Dar consejos o HAD dark, we'd sugerencia (sera BETTER better go mejor) home now - I'd rather - + infinitivo: stay at home preferir algo 2 (prefiero) sujetos iguales WOULD RATHER - I'd rather - + Oracin en she studied pasado simple: harder (preferira) sujetos diferentes - I'd rather listen to - + infinitivo + music than than + infinitivo dance - I'm used to going to bed late. - I can't get used to his way of cooking.

- Expresar obligacin moral

BE USED - Expresa "estar TO acostumbrado a.." + -ING GET USED - Expresa " TO acostumbrarse a.." + -ING
MODALES PERFECTOS:

Se refieren al pasado: expresan conclusiones, suposiciones y conjeturas que hacemos sobre hechos pasados y se forman con un modal + have + participio. o MUST + HAVE + PARTICIPIO conclusiones lgicas en el pasado, e.g. Sheila was absent yesterday. She must have been ill. o COULD + HAVE + PARTICIPIO indica que hubo posibilidad de hacer algo en el pasado pero realmente no se hizo, e.g. He could have helped us, but he came too late.

 en negativa, expresa la incredulidad de que lo ocurrido sea cierto, e.g. She couldn't have said those words. para hacer una suposicin en el pasado, e.g. She didn't come to the party. She could have been ill. o o MAY / MIGHT + HAVE + PARTICIPIO expresan una suposicin sobre el pasado, e.g. Call her again. She may / might not have heard you the first time. SHOULD / OUGHT TO + HHAVE + PARTICIPIO para lamentar que no se sigui un consejo en el pasado, e.g. She looks worse. She should / ought to have seen a doctor last week. para lamentar que no se haya cumplido lo que esperbamos, e.g. They should have been home by now. en negativa demuestran nuestra opinin crtica sobre algo que no debera haber ocurrido, e.g. I'm very angry with her. She shouldn't have been so rude.