TEMA 20

Good morning. My name is ... and I have decided to deal with topic 20, which is about “
Los verbos auxiliares y modales.Formas y funciones”. In order to deal with it in an
oredered and clearly way, I have divided it into the following main points :

MODAL AND AUXILIARY VERS: FORMS AND FUNCTIONS ---------------------------

1. INTRODUCTION

2. PRIMARY AUXILIARY VERBS

2.1.BE

2.2.HAVE

2.3. DO

3. MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

3.1.-CAN.

3.2. - COULD.

3.3. -MAY.

3.4. -MIGHT.

3.5. -BE ABLE TO

3.6. -MUST

3.7. -WILL

3.8. -WOULD.

3.9. - SHALL

3.10. -SHOULD.

3.11. -OUGHT TO.

3.12. -DARE/NEED

3.13. -HAVE TO
3.14. -USED TO

4.CONCLUSION

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Let us start with our point 1, which is the introduction

In contrast to full verbs, those which we will consider in the next sections are capable of
functioning as auxiliary or “ helping verbs”. These are BE, HAVE and DO.

An auxiliary verb is a verb that is used with a main verb

to form a verb group. The auxiliary BE and HAVE are sued to form

tenses. BE is also used to form passive verb groups. The

auxiliary DO is more commonly used in questions and negative clauses.

Modals are used to indicate a the possibility or the

necessity of an event, or to make requests, offers and

suggestions. They can also be used to make what you are saying

more tactful and polite. It is always the first word in a verb

group.

Modal verbs are: can, may, will, shall ,could, might, would , should and must.

Let us continue with our point 2, which is primary auxiliary verbs.

2. PRIMARY AUXILIARY VERBS

Auxiliary verbs are, as their name indicates. “ helping verbs “. They do not make up a verb
phrase of their own, but must usually be accompanied by a following main verb. These
verbs are structurally necessary for certain constructions especially negative and question
clauses.

Primary auxiliaries have a purely grammatical function and are inflectionally marked for
the third person singular present tense. They are three: BE, HAVE and DO.

Let us see them now in detail :

2.1.BE.
Used in impersonal sentences: has “it” as impersonal subject.

_in expressions denoting time and date:” it is half past ten.”

-in expressions denoting distance: “ how far is it from London?”

_in a few other miscellaneous expressions: “ it is so. If it were not for you, I should...

in cleft_sentences: it divides a single clause into two separate sections. Most

cleft_sentences begin with the pronoun “ it “ followed by one of the forms of “to be”: “ it is
he that is a

genious.”

Uses of the verb to be:

1._As an auxiliary verb:

-It functions as an auxiliary in the formation of the continuous or progressive tenses in the
active voice.

_Passive voice: to be + past participle.

-To express immediate future : _be going to + infinitive

_be about to + infinitive

_be on the point + gerund.

_The construction “am/is/are + infinitive” is similar in meaning to “have to” or “ ought to”.

_ the past tense “ was/ were” to + infinitive “ expresses the imperative sense of “am/is/are
to” in indirect speech.

2. _ The verb” to be “ is also found in other constructions:

_ The commonest functions of “ to be “ is that of linking verb, its main function is to link
the subject with the predicate.

other constructions can express :

_ Physical or mental condition: “ I AM COLD”.

_ Age: “I AM TWENTY_TWO YEARS OLD.”

_Size and weight: “ HOW HEAVY IS THE BAG ?”

_ Price: “ HOW MUCH IS IT?”

_ “ To be” is a full verb when it has the general meaning of “ to exist “.

_There are also idiomatic expressions such as “ it is no use...” or “it´s no good”.

_Negative and interrogative sentences with “to be” are normally formed without the
auxiliary “ to do “. However, the negative imperative is formed with “don’t”.

2.2. HAVE:

a). As an auxiliary verb.

_To form the perfect tenses, it is an expressions of the perfective aspect.

_”Have” is also used in the modal construction “have to + infinitive”. It can express
obligation as in: “ YOU HAVE TO GO BACK “. or logical necessity as in: “ THERE HAS
TO BE A MISTAKE.”

b). Constructions containing “have” + some non-finite forms of another verb. “Causative
use of to have”:

_ “have” may be followed by an object plus a bare infinitive with the meaning of “to
experience” or “to cause”: “PLEASE HAVE THE PORTERCARRY THESE BOXES UP
TO MY ROOM”.

The present participle may be used in an analogous construction after "to have" with, more
or less, the same meaning:” WE CAN’T HAVE THEM WASTING THEIR TIME IN THIS
WAY.”

-A construction containing "have + object + past participle" is

used in the sense of "to experience" or "to suffer":” HAD THE

HOUSE PAINTED INSIDE OUT.”

c). “Have”, may also be a full verb.

-To indicate possession:” HOW MANY BROTHERS HAVE YOU GOT? “

-To mean "take":” I USUALLY HAVE MY BREAKFAST AT 7.00. “

-To mean "give" or "throw" (a party) : “MARY IS HAVING A PARTY NEXT

EVENING”.

-To mean "experience", "enjoy": “DID YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME?”

3. DO

Do as auxiliary verb has only the form DO, DOES and DID. It is

called periphrastic auxiliary and is the most neutral of all the

auxiliaries, because ¡t has no meaning of its own but ¡t is used

to express interrogative, negative and emphatic forms of speech.

It is required:

-In negative sentences, by adding "not", where the verb is

imperative, simple present or simple past: “ She doesn´t want to stay.”

-In questions where the verb is in the simple present or past tense: “ what does he buy ?” or
“ Did they stay late ?”

-In tag questions and substitutive clauses where the verb should be simple present or simple
past: “ I don´t like him, do you?”

-In emphatic or persuasive constructions where the verb is simple present, simple past or
imperative: “ they do you want you to come.” Or “ Do sit down , please.”

-In sentences with inversion(e.g. never):

“ Never did he think the book would be finished so soon. “

Let us continue with our point 3, which is modal auxiliary verbs.

3.MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS :

Modals are a special kind of auxiliary verb. Modals are mainly used when you want to
indicate your attitude towards what you are saying, or when you are concerned about the
effect of what you are saying on the person you are speaking or writing to.

The modals express a variety of moods or attitudes towards a possible action or state.

- Modals are used with other verbs.

- They are a special kind of auxiliary.

- The modals are often described as defective verbs, because they lack a full set of forms.
- Modals have a great variety of communicative functions, which sometimes appear
unrelated. But they can be related to a scale ranging from possibility to necessity.

- Sometimes ambiguities can arise with some verbs of the different meanings and time
contexts in which they can appear.

The main distinctive formal features of modal verbs:

-They are not used to talk about things that are definitely happening or have definitely
happened. Modal verbs are used when we say that we expect things to happen or that
events are possible or necessary or improbable or impossible.

-Negative sentences are formed by adding "not" after the modal verb.

-Interrogative sentences are formed by inverting the subject and the modal verb.

-There is no -S ending for the 3rd person singular in the present tense and no –ED ending
for the past tense.

-Modal verbs are followed by the infinitive of a verb without to.(except in the case of
“ought")

-Modal verbs have no infinitive.

There are two types of modality :

A)INTRINSIC : modals which express “ permission “, “ obligation “ and “ volition “,

which involve some kind of human control over events : can/could, may/might and
will/would.

B) EXTRINSIC : those such as “ possibility “ , “ necessity “ and “ prediction “, which do

not primarily involve human control of events, but do typically involve human judgement
of what is or is not likely to happen : must/ ought to / should.

Now we will explain the forms and functions of the modal auxiliary verbs one by one :

3.1 CAN:

1.It is used to express present or future ability.

_ “He can run faster than me.”

2. It is used to give, ask for or deny permission.

_ “You can smoke if you like.”

_ “Can I leave?”

_ “You can sing in here.”

3. To talk about something plausible.

_ “The disk can be damaged.”

4. Can´t is used to express certainty that something is not true:

_ “He can´t be French.”

3.2.COULD

1.To talk about past ability :

- “I could swim very well when I was young.”

2. As a politer form of “can” in requests:

- “Could you help me, please?”

3. It is also the conditional of the verb “can”:

“If I had more money, I could buy a car.”

4. It is used to express factual possibility:

- “Give him the ring. He could be at home.”

3.3 MAY:

It is used to ask and give permission. It is more formal than “can”.

_ “May I use the phone?”

2. It is used to express factual possibility.

_ “Take an umbrella, it may rain.”

3.4 MIGHT:

It is used to express factual possibility, it expresses a more distant possibility than “may”:

_ “He might have left.”

Occasionally, to express permission:

_ “Might I have another drink?”

In certain constructions ( e.g. conditionals or indirect speech ) might is the past tense of
“may”.

- “ We were afraid that it might rain later. “

3.5 BE ABLE TO:

Ability in the present and future.

_ “I will be able to swim very well next year.”

Specific use of an ability in the past.

_ “She could swim very well and was able to save the drowning man.”

3.6 MUST:

It expresses obligation ( in declarative sentences it invokes the speaker´s authority ).

_ “You must work harder in this class.”

Prohibition, with the negative MUSTN´T/MUST NOT.

_ “You mustn´t drive on the left in Spain.”

Expression of the speaker´s certainty.

_ “It must be six o´clock.”

3.7 WILL:

To form the future tense. In formal English “shall” is used for the first person singular and
plural.

To express willingness.

_ “I´ll get you a drink.”

_ “Will you hold a minute?”

Conjectures.
_ “There´s someone at the door. It´ll be the postman.”

Inherent ability of things.

_ “This computer will work faster than the one you have now.”

Habit and, if stressed, obstinate insistence.

_ “He´ll often drop in for a chat.”

_ “He will ask those silly questions.”

3.8 WOULD:

To form the conditional tense.

Willingness, in conjunction with rather, it expresses preference:

_ “Would you wait a minute?”

_ “I would rather live in a city than in the country.”

To express conjecture.

_ That would be my sister, I suppose.

To express the inherent ability of things in the past.

_ “The key wouldn´t go in the lock.”

We can use “would” to talk about repeated actions in the past.

_ “I would go to the cinema twice a week..”

3.9 SHALL:

It is used in the first person singular and plural.

We also use “shall” in questions to ask about the listener´s permission about a future course
of action.

_ “Shall I open the window?”

3.10 SHOULD:

We use “should” to express advisability. To past reference, perfect infinitive.

_ “You should see a doctor, you´ve got a bad cough.”

_ “I should have studied more.”

“Should” as a weaker form of the epistemic “must”:

_ “Phone him. He should be home by now.”

In certain contexts ( subordinate that-clauses, verbs and adjectives of volition, emotion,

necessity, etc.) it is used instead of the subjunctive.

_ “They insisted that he should wait.”

3.11 OUGHT TO:

The same uses that SHOULD has in 1,2.

_ “You ought to see a doctor.”

3.12 DARE/NEED:

These verbs may be used as lexical verbs. In negative and interrogative sentences they may
also be constructed as modals.

_ “Need I say more?”

_ “How dare you ?”

_ “He daren´t say anything.”

_ “He needn´t come.”

“Needn´t” expresses absence of obligation, it invokes the speaker´s authority, while the
modal in questions invokes the listener´s authority. “ Needn´t + have p.p.” for actions that
were unnecessary, but which were carried out.

_ “You needn´t have got so angry.”

3.13 HAVE TO:

It expresses external obligation.

_ “Everybody has to pay taxes.”

3.14 USED TO:

Repeated actions in the past that no longer hold. It is constructed as a lexical verb.

_ “I used to go to pubs every day when I was young.”

And now, we will finish with our point 4, which is the conclusion.

4.CONCLUSION :

Auxiliary verbs are put when they must be used in the following order : HAVE ( for perfect
tenses ), BE ( for continuous tenses and passives ). Auxiliaries cannot be used in
combination with other auxiliaries. But they are often used without the main verb when the
main verb has already been used.

With modals the speakers indicate their attitudes towards the things they say or their
concern with the effect of what they say on the listener. Modals can be followed only by a
verb in the infinitive form. They are not inflected. In questions and negative sentences they
are used as if they were auxiliaries. It can be used as a verbal group of its own under certain
circumstances, for instance in question tags.

Finally, we will mention the bibliography used in this topic .

5.BIBLIOGRAPHY :

_R,A.Close. A REFERENCE GRAMMAR FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH. Longman.

_ Sylvia Chalker. CURRENT ENGLISH GRAMMAR. MacMillan.

_ John Sinclair ed. COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH GRAMMAR. Harper Collins.

_ Raymond Murphy. ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE:C.U. P. (1991).