Introduction
There are nine modal verbs in English: can, could, may,
might, will (shall), would, should, must and
ought. They are auxiliary verbs, used before the
infinitive form of main verbs (without 'to' except after 'ought').
Modals mainly express meanings related to degrees of certainty,
possibility, obligation or freedom to act. Need
and dare can also be used as auxiliary modals, as
can the phrase had better.
Most common
errors made with modal verbs involve wrong usage on the
scale of 'strength', from absolute obligation (must, have to, will)
to weak possibility (might, could).
Moral obligations are expressed by 'should and 'ought to'.
Check that your sentence expresses the appropriate meaning.
Modal verbs are frequently used in the recommendation section of
an FYP.
|
e.g. |
Exercise
Match the modal sentences on the left with
their appropriate function on the right by clicking once and
"drawing" a line between the two and clicking once more.
|
Click here for more exercises on modal verbs
Links
This web site gives information on usage of modal verbs and other
auxiliaries, with an interactive self check quiz
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/auxiliary.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
This web site gives a
tutorial on modal verbs with quizzes to practise using specific
verbs.
http://www.englishpage.com/modals/modalintro.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
This web site gives drop
down menus of individual modal verbs and their meanings.
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/modals/modals_frames.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
This web page gives a game to match modal sentences with their
correct function
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/words/activities/modal_verbs_ma02.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
