MODAL AND AUXILIARY VERBS

 

Use of Shall:

1_In assertive sentences, ‘shall’ in first person is used to indicate simple future tense; as:-

a_I shall go to Samrala tomorrow.              

b_We shall play football.                    

2_ In assertive sentences, ‘shall’ in second and third person is used to indicate a promise, a command, a threat, a determination or a compulsion; as:-

a_You shall stay with me.                   

b_He shall be fined for this mischief.            

3_ In interrogative sentences, ‘shall’ in first and second person is used to indicate simple future tense; as:-

a_Shall I help you?                    

b_Shall you read this book?     

4_ In interrogative sentences, ‘shall’ in first and third person is used to indicate desire or liking of the person spoken to; as:-

a_Shall I join this college?                   

b_Shall he not marry her?                           

5_In interrogative sentences, ‘shall’ in second person is used in line with the expected reply; as:

a_Shall you attend the meeting? Yes, I shall.

b_Shall you go there? No, I shall not.

Use of Will:

1_In assertive sentences, ‘will’ in second and third person is used in simple future tense; as:-

a_You will go there to deliver this message. 

b_Mohan will finish the remaining work.             

2_ In assertive sentences, ‘will’ in first person is used to indicate a promise, a threat, a determination, a wish or willingness; as:-

a_I will carry out your orders.            

b_We will either win or die.                

3_ In interrogative sentences, ‘will’ in first person is never used. 

4_ In interrogative sentences, ‘will’ in second person is used to indicate desire or liking of the person spoken to; as:-

a_Will you go to Delhi today?            

b_Will you leave this job?                   

5_In interrogative sentences, ‘will’ in second person is used according to the expected reply; as:

a_Will you accompany me to the market? Yes, I will.

b_Will you be back by 10 o’clock? No, I will not.

Use of Should:

1_ ‘Should’ is the past form of ‘shall’. It denotes duty, obligation and advice; as:-

a_We should obey our parents.    

b_You should keep your promise.      

2_ ‘Should’ indicate an expected event which did not take place in the past, when ‘have’ is used with it; as:-

a_You should have paid the money long ago.

b_I should have attended the meeting yesterday, but I forgot about it.

3_ In a sentence in the past, ‘should’ and not ‘shall’ is used to signify future from a point of time in the past; as:-

a_I told you that you should not disturb me.        

b_He wrote to me that I should not wait for him.

4_ ‘Should’ is used to indicate supposition or possibility; as:-

a_If he should fail, he will discontinue his studies.

b_Should she see me here, she would be annoyed.

5_ In a sentence in the past, ‘should’ and not ‘shall’ is used in the indirect speech; as:-

Direct     : The teacher said to the students, “We shall take up the exercise.”

Indirect  : The teacher told the students that they should take up the exercise.

6_In the past, ‘should’ indicates disapproval when ‘have’ is used with it; as:-

a_You shouldn’t have laughed at her mistakes.

b_She shouldn’t have given the child a knife to play with.

7_ ‘Should’ is used to refer to purpose and result in phrases governed by ‘in order that’ and ‘so that’; as:-

a_We did it carefully so that none should escape.

b_I did it in order that all should be satisfied.

8_ ‘Should’ is used to denote negative purpose in phrases conducted by ‘lest’; as:-

a_Take heed lest you should fall.                  

b_He ran fast lest he should miss the train.  

9_ ‘Should’ is used in subordinate clauses following verbs and phrases indicating determination, willingness, threat, orders or promise; as:-

a_I promised my brother that he should have a new pen.

b_Is your father willing that you should go abroad?

Use of Would:

1_ ‘Would’ is the past form of ‘will’. It denotes a wish, a refusal, a determination, a habit, willingness and a possibility; as:-

a_Would you like to come to the library with me?

b_We would go for a walk in the moonlit nights.

2_ ‘Would’ is used to indicate an imagination; as:-

a_Would that I were rich!         

b_Would that I were a king!     

3_ In interrogative sentences, ‘would’ is used to signify a polite speech; as:-

a_Would you please lend me your book?

b_Would you mind if I shut the window?

4_ ‘Would’ is used to refer to a condition or an uncertainty; as:-

a_Had she met me, I would have told her everything.

b_If I were allowed, I would go there.

5_ In a sentence in the past, ‘would’ and not ‘will’ is used to represent future from a point of time in the past; as:-

a_I was certain that you would reach there tomorrow.

b_Whatever the conditions, he would not let me down.

6_In a sentence in the past, ‘would’ and not ‘will’ is used in the indirect speech; as:-

Direct       : The Commander said to the soldiers, “We will attack the enemy.”

Indirect    : The Commander told the soldiers that they would attack the enemy.

Use of Can:

1_ ‘Can’ is used to indicate ability, power or authority; as:-

a_I can speak English.               

b_I can read and write.             

2_ ‘Can’ is used to seek or grant permission; as:-

a_You can go now.          

b_Can I go to the cinema tonight? No, you can’t.

Use of Could:

1_ ‘Could’ is the past form of ‘can’. ‘could’ is used to denote ability, power or authority in the past; as:-

a_The box was so heavy that I could not lift it.

b_He could write English before he came to school.

2_In interrogative sentences, ‘could’ is used to seek or grant permission; as:-

a_Could I have that dictionary, please?

b_Could you lend me five hundred rupees for a week?

Use of May:

1_ ‘May’ is used to indicate a possibility; as:-

a_It may rain today.                           

b_She may pass if she works hard.     

2_ In interrogative sentences, ‘may’ is used to seek or grant permission politely; as:-

a_May I go out? Yes, you may.          

b_May I come in, sir?                

3_ ‘May’ is used to denote a purpose; as:-

a_We eat that we may live.        

b_He flatters that he may win a favour.

4_ ‘May’ is used to denote a wish; as:-

a_May you live long!       

b_May God bless you!     

Use of Might:

1_ ‘Might’ is the past form of ‘may’. ‘might’ is used to denote possibility; as:-

a_I was afraid that if I asked her again, she might refuse.

b_He hopes that he might get this job.

2_ ‘Might’ is used to denote a request; as:-

a_Might I borrow your pen for a minute?

b_You might make a little less noise. 

3_ ‘Might’ is used to denote a purpose; as:-

a_They died that we might live.         

b_I stepped aside so that she might go in.     

4_ ‘Might’ is used to denote a wish; as:-

a_If he had wished he might have gone yesterday.

b_He might not go tomorrow unless you wished.

Use of Must:

1_ ‘Must’ is used to denote an obligation; as:-

a_You must do as you are told.

b_We must keep our promise.  

2_ ‘Must’ is used to denote a determination; as:-

a_I must have my say in this matter.   

b_I must surrender myself to her whim.

3_ ‘Must’ is used to denote a duty; as:-

a_A soldier must fight for his country.

b_Everyone must do one’s duty.

4_ ‘Must’ is used to denote a certainty; as:-

a_He must have reached home by this time.

b_You must be hungry after your long walk.

5_ ‘Must’ is used to denote inevitability; as:-

a_We must all die. 

b_We must sink or sail together.             

Use of Ought to:

1_ ‘Ought’ is used to denote moral obligation or duty. ‘Ought’ is an imperfect verb which indicates a time in present or future. ‘To’ follows it; as:-

a_You ought to know how to behave.

b_They ought to take my advice.      

2_ ‘To have’ following ‘ought’ shows past which indicates moral obligation or duty in the past; as:-

a_She ought to have obeyed her husband.

b_She ought not to have treated her husband like that.         

Use of Have to/Has to:

1_ ‘Have to/has to’ is used to denote an obligation or compulsion; as:-

a_He has to be there at ten.

b_We don’t have to go to school on Saturdays.

2_ ‘Had to’ is the past form of ‘have to/has to’; as:-

a_They had to work hard for a living.

b_I had to send her a message.

Use of Used to:

1_ ‘Used to’ is used to refer to be accustomed to something occurring again and again or a habit in the past; as:-

a_She used to go to the temple every morning.

b_I am not used to a hot climate.                

Use of Dare:

1_ ‘Dare’ is used to signify courage. In present tense, ‘dare’ and not ‘dares’ is used in third person singular; as:-

a_How dare you say it to my face?   

b_He dare not take such a foolish step.

2_ When ‘dare’ is used to mean courage as simple verb, it is found in all forms of the verb and ‘to’ follows it; as:-

a_I never dare to say things like that, do I?

b_He does not dare to refuse what you ask.

Use of Need:

1_ ‘Need’ is used to signify compulsion or necessity. ‘To’ does not follow it. In present tense, ‘need’ and not ‘needs’ is used in third person singular; as:-

a_He need not work so hard, need he?

b_Need I help you solve the problem?

2_When ‘need’ is used as simple verb to mean requirement, it is found in all forms of verb, as:-

a_Did he need my help? 

b_She needs a little rest.