2. What are modal verbs?
They are:
• can (pode)
• could (poderia)
• may(pode, poderia)
• might (pode, poderia)
• should(deveria)
• must (deve)
• ought to (precisa)
• used to(costumava)
Modal verbs are sometimes
referred to as
Modal Auxiliary verbs because
they help other verbs
They are Auxiliary verbs that
provide additional and specific
meaning to the main verb of the
sentence
3. How do we use modals?
Example: Mary could play the piano
S
Subject
V
Verb
M
They do not accept conjugation
They do not need other auxiliary verbs
4. Form
He can ski He cans ski or He can skis
Would you like to come with me?
Do you would like to come with me?
They can’t be serious
They don’t can be serious
There is no “s” in singular
There is no “do / does” in the question
There is no “don’t / doesn’t” in the negative
5. Form
to can / caning to must /musting
She must study
We should have gone the other way
He could play football in his youth (general ability)
Modal verbs do not have infinitives or –ing forms
Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without to
6. Form
Modal verbs do not have all the tenses
Modal verbs use other verbs to complete the tenses
Can is completed with be able to
Must is completed with have to
They can play the piano
They will be able to play the piano in the future
You must come early
You had to come early yesterday
7. What do they express?
Can: pode ser usado para expressar permissão, habilidade.
Can I drink water? (Posso beber água?).
I can speak English. (Eu posso falar inglês).
Could: é empregado para expressar habilidade, só que no passado. É
usado também com o sentindo de poderia, em um contexto mais
formal.
I could ride a bike when I was 5 years old. (Eu podia/conseguia andar de
bicicleta quando tinha 5 anos de idade).
Could you bring me a sandwich and a coke, please? (Você poderia me
trazer um sanduíche e uma coca, por favor?).
8. What do they express?
May: é usado para expressar uma possibilidade no presente ou no
futuro. Também pode ser usado para pedir permissão, no
entanto, may é usado em contextos mais formais que o can.
It may rain tomorrow. (Pode chover amanhã).
May I go to the bathroom? (Eu poderia ir ao banheiro?).
Might: é usado para expressar possibilidades no passado ou no
presente.
She might have come to the party. (Ela poderia ter vindo à festa).
He might have lunch with us tomorrow. (Ele pode vir almoçar com a
gente amanhã).
9. What do they express?
Should e ought to: é usado para expressar um conselho.
You should go to the doctor. (Você deveria ir ao médico).
You ought to quit smoking. (Você deveria parar de fumar).
Must: é usado para expressar obrigação.
You must go to school. (Você deve ir à escola).
She must study more. (Ela deve estudar mais).
Used to: é empregado para expressar um hábito do passado.
I used to watch cartoons when I was a child. (Eu costumava assistir desenhos
quando era criança).
She used to play on the street when she was 8 years old. (Ela costumava brincar
na rua quando tinha 8 anos de idade).
10. Modals in the Past
They are modals referred to actions that
happened in the past
It must have been a difficult decision
They should have invited her to their
wedding
MODAL + HAVE + verb in past participle
11. A last tip
There are few verbs which often serve as
modals too.
These are modal-like verbs
They need to be conjugated
