Modal Verbs
Modal verbs will give some additional information about the mood of the main verb. They help to incorporate or add to the level of necessity.
Examples
‘Must’ would imply obligation, a requirement with no choice
‘Should’ is a recommendation
‘Can’ or ‘could’ says that something is possible
Many modal verbs have two different and distinctive interpretations or meanings. One expresses how certain the factual statement is. This one is called ‘epistemic’. The second meaning is ‘deontic’ and involves notion of permission or obligation.
Examples
“You must be tired.”
This is the epistemic version. It basically says “It is necessarily the case that you are tired.”
“You must go to bed now.”
This is the deontic interpretation. This says “You are required to go to bed now.”
“You must speak English.”
This one is ambiguous. It would depend on the context in which it was placed. For example:
“You must speak English, because you have lived in the UK your whole life.” That would be epistemic.
“You must speak English if you want to work at Scotland Yard.” This would be deontic. In the case of this example you need the context to figure out exactly what the statement meant.
Some of the more common modal verbs are ‘can’, ‘shall’, ‘will’, ‘must’, ‘may’ and ‘dare’. The past tense for each of these words is also a modal verb. The words ‘dare’ and ‘need’ have both a modal use and a non-modal use.
Examples
He dare not drive the care
This is the modal use.
He does not dare to drive the car.
This is the non-modal use.
Some other modal verbs in the English language include ‘want’, ‘wish’ and ‘hope’. These all differ from the main or usual modal verbs because they take the particle “to” in the infinitive. These like all other English verbs are followed by “to” when they are used as a modal.
Example
“You want to go “
This is an example of a modal verb.
Some other pointers
‘Must’ and ‘Have to’
These are used to express that something is imperative. The difference between "must" and "have to" is found in the source of the obligation. “Must” is usually chosen when the obligation stems from an internal source. Meaning this is an obligation the person imposes on himself or herself. “Have to” is used when the source is external. In this case someone else, like a parent or boss, has imposed the obligation on you.
If you find yourself needing more information on this or other topics in grammar there is a lot of help available. You can use English writing software, online grammar checkers or online punctuation checkers.
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