Un pequeño resumen acerca del uso de los verbos modales y auxiliares

1. The Modal auxiliary verbs
WILL, SHALL, MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD, MUST
WILL and SHALL:
WILL and SHALL + the infinitive of the verb (shall is rarely used in modern English) are used to
form the future:
WILL Y SHALL + EL INFINITIVO DEL VERBO (SHALL CASI NO SE USA EN EL INGLES
MODERNO) SE USAN PARA FORMAR EL MODO FUTURO:
She will go to London next year. ELLA IRA A LONDRES EL SIGUIENTE AÑO
They will visit us next August. ELLOS NOS VISITARAN EN AGOSTO PROXIMO
Sometimes SHALL can indicate obligation or a promise. In this case 'shall' is usually stressed
in the pronunciation of the sentence.
ALGUNAS VECES SHALL PUEDE INDICAR OBLIGACION O PROMESA. EN ESTE CASO SHALL
SE PRONUNCIA ACENTUADAMENTE EN EL ENUNCUADO.
He shall go to school! (obligation) EL DEBE IR A LA ESCUELA.
I shall ask him ! (promise) LE PREGUNTARE
WILL + infinitive = future : WILL + INFINITIVO = FUTURO
Examples:
a. Simon will leave for Poland tonight. SIMON SE IRA A POLONIA ESTA NOCHE
b. His next trip will be to Australia. SU SIGUIENTE VIAJE SERA A AUSTRALIA
c. Lucy will change her job at Easter. LUCY CAMBIARA DE TRABAJO DURANTE PASCUA.
MAY & MIGHT:
1. MAY expresses :
1.-MAY EXPRESA:
a. Permission PERMISO
b. Possibility POSIBILIDAD
2. MIGHT expresses :
2.-MIGHT EXPRESA:
a. Possibility POSIBILIDAD
MIGHT can replace MAY only when MAY is used to express possibility :
MIGHT SOLO PUEDE REEMPLAZAR A MAY SOLO CUANDO SE USA PARA EXPRESAR
POSIBILIDAD:
It may rain today. PUEDE QUE LLUEVA HOY
It might rain today PUEDE QUE LLUEVA HOY
MAY and MIGHT used to express possibility never take the negative form.
MAY Y MIGHT USADOS PARA EXPRESAR POSIBILIDAD NUNCA TOMAN LA FORMA
NEGATIVA
Affirmative form:
FORMA AFIRMATIVA:
She may go to the cinema. ELLA PUEDE IR AL CINE
They might go to the cinema. ELLOS PUEDEN IR AL CINE
Negative form:
FORMA NEGATIVA:
She may not go to the cinema. ELLA NO PUEDE IR AL CINE
They might not go to the cinema. ELLOS NO PUEDEN IR AL CINE

2. Interrogative form:(N.B. Permission only)
FORMA INTERROGATIVA
May I go to the cinema? PUEDO IR AL CINE?
May I leave now? ME PUEDO IR YA?
MAY for PERMISSION
MAY PARA PERMISO
Examples:
a. May I watch television tonight? Yes, you may. ¿PUEDO VER TELEVISION ESTA
NOCHE? SI PUEDES
Note : Here 'may' has the same function as 'can.
AQUI "MAY" TIENE LA MISMA FUNCION DE "CAN"
B.MAY and MIGHT for POSSIBILITY
B.MAY Y MIGHT PARA POSIBILIDAD
Examples :
a. We may go to dinner tonight, I'm not sure. PUEDE QUE VAYAMOS A CENAR ESTA NOCHE.
NO ESTOY SEGURO.
or
b. We might go to dinner tonight, I'm not sure. PUEDE QUE VAYAMOS A CENAR ESTA
NOCHE, NO ESTOY SEGURO.
CAN and COULD
CAN and COULD are used to express :
CAN Y COULD SE USAN PARA EXPRESAR:
-CAPACITY / CAPABILITY CAPACIDAD
-PERMISSION PERMISO
-POSSIBILITY. POSIBILIDAD
1. CAN
Note: CAN and COULD cannot be used in the future. The future is formed with 'will be able to'.
CAN Y COULD NO SE PUEDEN USAR EN FUTURO, PARA ELLO SE UTILIZA "PODRE, O
ESTARE EN POSIBILIDAD DE"
CAN
Present
She can speak English. ELLA PUEDE HABLAR INGLES
They can swim. ELLOS PUEDEN NADAR
Past
She could speak English. ELLA PUDO HABLAR INGLES
They could swim. ELLOS PUDIERON NADAR
Future
She will be able to speak English. ELLA PODRA HABLAR INGLÉS
ELLA ESTARA EN POSIBILIDADES DE HABLAR INGLES.
They will be able to swim . ELLOS PODRAN NADAR
-O-ELLOS ESTARAN EN POSIBILIDAD DE NADAR
FORM :
Affirmative
Present: can (is able to) CAN (PUEDE)
Past: could (was able to) COULD (PUDO)
Future: will be able to WILL BE ABLE TO (PODRA)
Negative
cannot (isn't able to) CANNOT (NO PUEDE)
could not (wasn't able to) COULD NOT (NO PUDO)
will not be able to WILL NOT BE ABLE TO (NO PODRA)

3. Affirmative:
CAN + infinitive:
I can speak French. YO PUEDO HABLAR FRANCES
Negative:
CAN + not + infinitive
They can not (can't, cannot) play tennis. ELLOS NO PUEDEN JUGAR TENNIS
Interrogative:
CAN or CAN NOT + subject + infinitive Can't she dance? ELLA NO PUEDE BAILAR?
Can we come? PODEMOS VENIR?
Examples:
a. CAPACITY
i. Howard can play the guitar. HOWARD PUEDE TOCAR LA GUITARRA
iii.He can't understand German. EL NO PUEDE ENTENDER ALEMAN
b.PERMISSION
i. Can I park my car here? PUEDO ESTACIONAR MI COCHE AQUI?
iii.Can I go to the theatre with Michael? PUEDO IR AL
TEATRO CON MICHAEL?
c.POSSIBILITY
i.We can live life with a positive or a negative attitude. PODEMOS VIVIR LA VIDA CON UNA
ACTITUD POSITIVA O NEGATIVA.
2.COULD
COULD is also the conditional of CAN and is often used in polite forms.
COULD ES EL CONDICIONANTE DE "CAN" I SE USA PARA HABLAR CON PROPIEDAD.
(FAROL)
Could you help me ? PODRIA USTED AYUDARME?
A. For polite requests
PARA SOLICITUDES FORMALES.
Examples:
In the conditional form
a.Could you tell me the time, please? PODRIA PROPORCIONARME LA HORA POR FAVOR?
b.Could I have a coffee, please ? PODRIA TRAERME UN CAFE POR FAVOR?
As the past of CAN
COMO PASADO DE CAN
e. She couldn't come to dinner last night. ELLA NO PUDO VENIR A CENAR ANOCHE.
f. They could walk faster when they were younger. ELLOS PODIAN CAMINAR MAS RAPIDO
CUANDO ERAN JOVENES.
MUST
MUST = TO HAVE TO: To express obligation or necessity
MUST = TENER QUE (EXPRESA OBLIGACION O NECESIDAD)
Important!
IMPORTANTE!
a. We only use 'must' in the present. For all other tenses we use 'have to'.
SOLO USAMOS MUST EN EL PRESENTE, PARA LOS DEMAS TIEMPOS SE USA HAVE TO
b.MUST is used with the infinitive of the verb.
MUST SE USA CON LA FORMA INFINITIVA DEL VERBO
She must leave immediately. ELLA SE DEBE IR DE INMEDIATO.
1.Present
2.Past
3.Future
Affirmative
1. I must go YO DEBO IR.

4. 2. I had to go. YO DEBIA IR
3. I will have to go. YO DEBERE IR.
Negative
1. I mustn't go. YO NO DEBO IR.
2. I didn't have to go. YO NO DEBIA IR
3. I won't have to go. YO NO DEBERE IR
Interrogative
1. Must I go? DEBO IR?
2. Do I have to go? DEBO IR -O- TENGO QUE
IR?
3. Will I have to go? DEBERE IR -O- TENDRE QUE IR?
Examples :
Present tense:
a.I must see her tonight. YO DEBO VERLA ESTA NOCHE
b.She must pass her exams. ELLA DEBE APROBAR SUS
EXAMENES
c.They must leave before 2 p.m. ELLOS SE DEBEN IR ANTES DE LAS 2.
Simple Past with 'have to':
d.I had to see her last night. YO DEBI VERLA ANOCHE -O- YO TENIA
QUE VERLA ANOCHE
e.She had to pass her exams. ELLA DEBIO APROBAR SUS EXAMENES
-O- ELLA TUVO QUE APROBAR SUS EXAM
Future with 'will have to':
g.I will have to see her tomorrow. DEBERE VERLA MAÑANA -O- TENDRE QUE
VERLA MAÑANA
h.She will have to pass her exams. ELLA DEBERA APROBAR SUS EXAMENES
-O- ELLA TENDRA QUE APROBAR SUS EXAMENES