Verbs 3: Modal Auxiliaries

Materials by Liz Siler

Review Points

• Last time we talked about the differences between “lexical” (I.e. “main”) verbs and “auxiliary” (I.e. “helping”) verbs.

• We focused on the three primary auxiliaries: be, do, have.

• Today we will talk about “modal” auxiliaries

All About Modals

• Modals are a type of auxiliary verb.

• Modal auxiliaries are formed from a group of verbs known as modals.

• Here’s a list of modals in English: will/would/shall/should/can/could/may/

might/must.

Examples of Modals

• I shall return to the bar for more Sake.

• You should quit that dirty habit.

• Who could know?

• This conflict in Gaza must end NOW!

• The Haitian people will survive this disaster.

Auxiliaries in Verb Phrases

• It is possible to have a verb phrase that has both one or more primary auxiliaries (be/do/have) and a modal auxiliary.

• You must be joking me!

• You can’t have been drinking that much Sake!

Facts About Modals