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Verbos Modales Los verbos modales realizan una función similar a la de los verbos auxiliares. Dan información adicional sobre el verbo que los sigue y se utilizan para indicar posibilidad, probabilidad, certeza, deducción, capacidad, consejo, obligación, prohibición, permiso, hacer peticiones, ofrecimientos, sugerencias, etc. Son verbos modales: can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will y would. Los verbos modales tienen algunas características que los diferencian de los verbos normales: 1. Los modales van seguidos siempre de un verbo en infinitivo:

She must leave in a few minutes. I think it will look rather nice. Things might have been so different. People may be watching. She ought to go straight back to England. My sister can't drive yet. You could be right. Shall we go out for a meal tonight? You should study harder. Would you finish this for me?

2. Los modales sólo tienen una forma. No añaden '-s' a la tercera persona del singular del presente y no tienen formas acabadas en '-ing' o en '-ed'. Tampoco tienen infinitivo.

There's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure he can do it.

3. Los verbos modales no necesitan el auxiliar DO para la forma negativa ni para las preguntas. Para la forma negativa de un modal simplemente añadimos NOT o una palabra negativa inmediatamente detrás del modal.

You must not worry. I can never remember his name.

'Can + not' se escribe siembre como una palabra, 'cannot'.

I cannot go back. = I can't go back. En inglés hablado o escrito informal 'not' se contrae en '-n't' y se añade al modal:

could not -> couldn't We couldn't leave the farm. should not -> shouldn't You shouldn't talk like that. must not -> mustn't You mustn't talk about Ron like that. would not -> wouldn't I wouldn't do it if I were you.

Las siguientes formas contractas son irregulares:

shall not -> shan't I shan't let you go. will not -> won't Won't you change your mind? cannot -> can't We can't stop now. Might not' y 'ought not' se contraen a veces en 'mightn't' y

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oughtn't'. Sin embargo, es muy raro que 'may not' aparezca como mayn't' en inglés moderno.

Para hacer una pregunta, se pone el modal delante del sujeto.

Could you give me an example? Will you be coming in later? Shall I shut the door?

4. La mayoría de los verbos modales no se pueden utilizar en tiempos de pasado o futuro. Por ejemplo, no podemos decir *She will can come with me. Tampoco es correcto *We musted study a lot. Cuando nos referimos al pasado, utilizamos un modal seguido de 'have' y un participio pasado:

They may have seen the film - Puede que hayan visto la película 5. Los modales no indican normalmente el tiempo en que ocurre algo. Sin embargo, 'shall' y 'will' indican a menudo un hecho o una situación futura.

I shall do what you suggested. He will not return for many hours.

6. En inglés hablado y en inglés escrito informal, 'shall' y 'will' se utilizan en forma contracta como 'll. 'Would' se contrae en 'd.

I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you'll agree. Mary said she'd love to stay.

'Shall', 'will' y 'would' no se contraen cuando van al final de una oración.

Paul said he would come, and I hope he will. ATENCIÓN: La forma contracta del auxiliar 'had' es también 'd.

I'd heard it many times. = I had heard it many times. 7. 'Could' se utiliza como pasado de 'can' para expresar habilidad.

'Would' se utiliza en estilo indirecto como reporting verb de 'will' para expresar futuro. When I was young, I could run for miles. I will see my mother tomorrow

He said that he would see his mother the next day. 8. Nunca se usan dos modales juntos. Por ejemplo, no se puede decir *"He will can come". En su lugar se puede utilizar BE ABLE TO:

"He will be able to come". De la misma forma, tampoco podemos decir *"I will must go". Pero podemos utilizar HAVE TO:

"I will have to go". 9. Los modales se pueden utilizar en question tags :

You won't tell her, will you? She can drive, can't she?

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Prohibición / Obligación / Ausencia de obligación / Permiso

Prohibición Obligación Ausencia

de obligación Permiso

mustn't

You mustn't run in the corridor

must

You must be here on time

needn't

You needn't come tomorrow

can

You can use your book

can't You can't use your

dictionary in the exam

have (got) to

You have to wear a uniform

You've got to be quiet.

don't have to You don't have to

buy it

may May I use your

car?

may not

You may not use your mobile phone

here

should You should bring

your book

haven't got to I haven't got to

do any homework

could Could I take

another biscuit?

shall not You shall not leave without permission

Ought to It's very cold. You

ought to take a coat

didn't need to I didn't need to take the bus

because it was just across the

road.

needn't have + past participle

You needn't have come

(You came although it wasn't

necessary)

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Habilidad o capacidad / Posibilidad o probabilidad / Certeza

/ Deducciones

Habilidad o Capacidad

Posibilidad o probabilidad

Certeza Deducciones

can I can speak

French

can

The temperature in Jaén can reach

40ºC in July

will Most of you will

have heard of this.

must You must be Tom's father.

could When I was

younger I could play tennis quite

well.

could They could be

friends

would You would agree

that changes must be done

can't She can't have left

the party.

be able to

- I'll be able to finish it on time.

- We were able to talk to the

headteacher. (We actually talked to

her)

may

It may rain

should

She should be sad living in Great

Britain

must have + past

participle She must have

forgotten

might

It might be true

shall We shall be

leaving as soon as we are ready.

can't have + past participle

She can't have finished yet

may have + past participle

She may have forgotten it

must have + past participle

I must have left my credit card in

the bookshop (I'm sure I did)

might have + past

participle They might have

arrived

could have + past participle

He could have killed her

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Peticiones / Ofrecimientos / Sugerencias y consejos / Deseos

Peticiones Ofrecimientos Sugerencias y

consejos Deseos

can Can you help me?

can Can I help you?

should You should ask

your teacher

would

I would like to know the answer.

could Could I interrupt

you?

may May I help you?

ought to She ought to be

more careful

would rather I would rather

have left

will Will you open the window, please?

shall Shall I close the

door?

could We could go to

the cinema.

would sooner I'd sooner walk than go by bus

would you mind if Would you mind

If I used your car?

will Will you have a

cup of tea?

should have + past participle

She ought to have finished it.

would you mind + V-ing

Would you mind bringing some

bread?

would Would you like a

drink?

shall Shall we meet

outside the bank?

should Should I phone for

a taxi for you?

can You can take a taxi if you are

tired

might You might like to

come with us

had better You'd better leave

now (we might have a quarrel)

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SIGNIFICADO Y USOS Must – “deber” – es una obligación personal, impuesta por ti mismo (no viene de una regla externa determinada) Have to – “tener que” – obligación impuesta desde fuera (señales de tráfico, normas, leyes…) ATENCIÓN: Fíjate que must y have to son TOTALMENTE LO CONTRARIO EN NEGATIVA, es decir, mustn’t es prohibición mientras que don’t have to es ausencia de obligación (no tienes por qué…) Should / Ought to (más formal y enfático) – “deberías” - para dar consejo sobre cosas que se consideran correctas o apropiadas May / might – “puede que” - expresa posibilidad pero, en lugar de una posibilidad física, expresa probabilidad. Can – “poder” – posibilidad física o probable de hacer algo Could – “podía o podría” – pasado de “can”