Tamilnadu Samacheer Kalvi 12th English Grammar: Modals
General Characteristics Of Modals
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Modals are never used alone. A Principal verb is either present or implied.
I can sing. He will help you.
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Modals do not change according to the number or person of the subject.
I can. We can. You can. He can. They can.
- Modals have no Infinitive, Present Participle, or Past Participle forms.
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Modals cannot be used in all the tenses. When a modal-like word does not fit this pattern, it works as a Principal Verb.
God willed so.
Henry needs a pen.
Malathi dared to go into the dark forest.
Relationship of Modals with Tenses
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May, can, shall, and will are present forms, while might, could, should, and would are their past forms. However, the difference is often about the degree of probability, not time.
Sheela may come today. (possibility/likely to happen)
Sandra might come today. (remote possibility/less likely) -
If the verb in the main clause is in the past tense, the past forms of modals are used.
He said, "I can help you." → He said that he could help her.
You said, "She will come back soon." → You said that she would come back soon. -
To express past time with modals, we use the Present Perfect Tense of the Principal Verb.
Senthil must have reached home by now.
You ought to have told me all the facts.
Quasi/Semi Modals
Quasi-modals (or semi-modals) are verbs that share some characteristics with modals. The main ones are: ‘used to’, ‘need to’, ‘dare to’ and ‘ought to’.
Practice Questions
Question Set 1
(a) ________ I have that pen?
Can
(b) We ________ perform our duties sincerely.
must
(c) I think you ________ learn it by heart.
should
(d) I ________ go for swimming every weekend.
used to
Question Set 2
(a) ________ you mind if I borrowed your car for a day.
would
(b) He ________ win the race.
can
(c) ________ you come for a movie tonight?
Will
(d) I ________ fly to Switzerland next week.
might
Question Set 3
(a) If you stopped shouting, I ________ get some work done.
might
(b) They knelt in front of the child who ________ one day rule their country.
would
(c) Life ________ be more interesting when I was a child.
used to
(d) I ________ probably go out tonight.
will
Question Set 4
(a) There ________ be no food and drink on the premises.
shall
(b) ________ we tell him about our idea?
should
(c) You ________ smoke in a gas station.
mustn't
(d) They ________ go near the cage, that lion is very ferocious.
dare not
Question Set 5
(a) You ________ drive rashly.
shouldn't
(b) I ________ attend the party tomorrow as my exams are starting.
can't
(c) There are chances that it ________ rain by the time you reach there.
might
(d) You ________ take your umbrella. It is not going to rain.
needn't
Fill in with Quasi-modal Verbs
1. I ………………….. not go to office on alternate Saturdays.
need
2. He is getting ………………….. the new environment.
used to
3. How ………………….. you ask me such a question?
dare
4. We ………………….. arrive at the airport at 4.00 pm.
ought to
5. You ………………….. shout at Rahul. He is too young to understand things.
shouldn't
6. He doesn’t ………………….. argue with the company manager.
dare to
7. My mother ………………….. have called; I told her I would be late.
needn't
8. The manager ………………….. that report by tomorrow.
needs
9. You ………………….. to read in such dim light.
ought not to
10. He wasn’t ………………….. so much work.
used to
Glossary of Terms
Click on a term to see its definition.
- Modals
- Special auxiliary (helping) verbs that express concepts like ability, possibility, permission, or obligation. Examples include can, will, may, should, and must. They always accompany a main verb.
- Principal Verb
- The main verb in a sentence that describes the action or state of being. For example, in "She can sing," the word 'sing' is the principal verb.
- Infinitive
- The basic, unconjugated form of a verb, usually preceded by 'to' (e.g., 'to run', 'to see'). Modal verbs are followed by a "bare infinitive" (the verb without 'to').
- Present Participle
- The '-ing' form of a verb (e.g., 'running', 'seeing'). It is used to form continuous tenses and can also function as an adjective.
- Past Participle
- The form of a verb, often ending in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n, used to form perfect tenses (e.g., 'I have seen') and passive voice (e.g., 'the song was sung').
- Tenses
- Forms of a verb that indicate the time an action occurred (e.g., past, present, future).
- Main Clause
- A part of a sentence that contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete thought.
- Present Perfect Tense
- A verb tense that describes an action that happened at an unspecified time in the past, or an action that started in the past and continues to the present. It is formed with 'have/has' + the past participle (e.g., "She has finished her work.").
- Quasi-modals (or Semi-modals)
- Verbs or phrases (like 'ought to', 'used to', 'need to') that function similarly to modal verbs but do not share all of their grammatical characteristics.