Point 1: The Usage of Modal Verbs Can, May, Must in Statements:1. Usage of can:(1) Indicates ability, permission, and possibility. When indicating ability, it is generally translated as “can” or “be able to”, meaning having a certain ability, especially an innate ability. For example: She can swim fast, but I can’t. I can see with my eyes. “Could” is the past tense of “can”, indicating past ability.Be able to do something often refers to being able to do something after effort, time, and labor. is/am/are able to do sth was/were able to do sth.(2) Indicates permission, often in spoken language. For example: You can use my dictionary.(3) Indicates speculation or possibility, meaning “may”. It is often used in negative sentences and questions, where “can’t” translates to “impossible”. For example: Can the news be true? —Can it be our teacher? —No, it can’t be our teacher. He is on a visit to the Great Wall.[Example] —I think Miss Gao must be in the library. She said she would go there. —No. She __be there, I have just been there. A.can’t B.mustn’t C.needn’t D.wouldn’t[Analysis] According to the following sentence “I just went there”, it should be “impossible”, so “can’t” indicates speculation. [Answer] AUsage of could:(1) The past tense of “can”, meaning “could” or “be able to”, indicating past ability. For example: He could write poems when he was 10.(2) In questions, “could” indicates a polite tone, and at this time “could” does not imply past tense. For example: Could you give me a hand? —Could I use your pen? —Yes, you can. (When asking with “could”, do not answer with “could”).2. Usage of may:(1) Indicates request or permission, which is more formal than “can”. For example: May I borrow your bike? You may go home now.[Example] —_______ I borrow your MP3? —Sure. Here you are. A. May B.Should C.Must D. Would[Analysis] Here it indicates a request, meaning “Is it okay to…”. Answer: A(2) Indicates speculation, discussing possibility, meaning “may” or “perhaps”, generally used in affirmative sentences. For example: It may rain tomorrow. She may be at home.(3) The past tense of “may” is “might”, indicating speculation with lower probability than “may”. For example: He is away from school. He might be sick.(4) Indicates hope, prayer, or wish, often translated as “wish”. Usually expressed as may + subject + verb. For example: May you have a good time. May you be happy! May you succeed!3. Usage of must:(1) “Must” indicates subjective opinion, meaning “must” or “certainly”. For example: You must stay here until I come back. Must I finish my homework right now? (must leads a question)A positive answer: yes, you must.A negative answer: No, you needn’t/ don’t have to.(2) Its negative form “mustn’t” indicates “must not” or “forbid”. For example: You mustn’t play with fire. You mustn’t be late.(3) “Must” indicates a certain speculation, used in affirmative sentences, indicating 100% certainty. For example: The light is on, so he must be at home now.(4) ① “Must” and “have to” both imply “must”, but the focus is different:“Must” emphasizes the speaker’s subjective opinion.“Have to” emphasizes the need for objective circumstances, which can also be translated as “have to”.I must go to school and learn some knowledge. (I want to go back)I have to go to school because the holiday is over.② “Must” has no person or number changes, while “have to” has the third person singular form: has to and the past tense: had to.Future tense: will have tomust not=mustn’t indicates prohibition…When “must” asks questions, the positive answer uses “must”. The negative answer uses “needn’t” and “don’t have to”.4. Usage of need:(1) When “need” acts as a modal verb: it indicates “need” or “must”, mainly used in negative sentences and questions, its negative form is “needn’t”, meaning “no need”.When asking with “need”, the positive answer is “must”, and the negative answer is “needn’t” or “don’t have to”. For example: —Need I do my homework now? —Yes, you must. —No. you needn’t / don’t have to.(2) “Need” can also act as a lexical verb, at this time it has changes in person, number, and tense.If the subject is a person sb.: sb. need(s) sth. Someone needs something.sb. need to do sth. Someone needs to do something.Need’s third singular form is “needs”. Past tense is “needed”. To negate, use “don’t/doesn’t /didn’t”.For example: I need to pass the exam. He needs to learn English.If the subject is something sth.: sth. need doing. Something needs to be done = need to be done.In this case, two points should be noted:①. The active form of gerund “doing” has a passive meaning;②. The gerund can be changed to its infinitive passive form without changing the meaning of the sentence. For example: Your car needs washing. = Your car needs to be washed.5. Usage of shall:“Shall” indicates seeking the other person’s opinion (mostly used in the first and third person), for example: Shall we go out for a walk?In English, we can use various ways to make suggestions or seek the other person’s opinion.“Shall” means “Should we…?” or “Is it okay…?” used in the first person, indicating the future, while “will” can be used for any person.(1) Use “Let’s do…” to make a suggestion. For example: Let’s go for a walk after supper.(2) Use “What/How about…?” to make a suggestion; “about” is followed by a noun or verb in the -ing form. For example: What about/How about a drink? What about/How about taking Tom with us?(3) Use “Why not…?” to make a suggestion, meaning “Why not…”? “Not” is followed by the base form of the verb. For example: Why not meet at the school gate at eight? Why don’t we stay here another day?(4) Use “Would you like…?” to make a suggestion, meaning “Would you like…?” “Would you like” can be followed by a noun or infinitive. For example: Would you like a cup of tea? Would you like to go and see her?Thus, if we say: “Is it okay to go swimming?” in English, there are several ways to express it:Shall we go for a swim? Let’s go for a swim, shall we? What about/How about going swimming? Why not go for a swim? Would you like to go for a swim? What do you think of going for a swim?6. Usage of should:“Should” means “should”, which can indicate advice, suggestion, obligation, or responsibility. For example: We should protect ourselves.“Should not” = “shouldn’t” + base form of the verb.Usage of had better:“Had better” means “better”, with no person changes, followed by + base form of the verb, its negative form is: “had better not”. For example:We had better go home now. You had better not go home now.“Should” and “had better” can be interchangeable.“Should not” = “shouldn’t” and “had better not” can be interchangeable.7. Usage of will:Will① indicates willingness, intention, or plan, and can be used for various persons. For example: I will help you if I’m free this afternoon.② is the marker for the simple future tense, “will + base form of the verb”.Note:1. The form of “will” in the “there be” structure and its sentence transformation.Since the structure of the “simple future tense” can be expressed with “will + base form of the verb”, the future tense form of the “there be” structure is “there will be”. (It must not be said as “there will have”).For example: There are many students in our school. → There will be many students in our school. There will be a sports meeting next week. It must not be said: There will have a sports meeting next week.2. The difference between “will” and “be going to do sth”:①. “Be going to” indicates intention, plan, or arrangement to do something or a sign that something is about to happen,while “will” indicates a further future time, for example: He is going to Beijing on National Day.He will write a book someday.②. “Be going to” indicates something that will certainly happen based on subjective judgment, while “will” indicates something that will objectively happen in the future.For example: I am going to be a teacher.He will pass the exam because of hard work.③. In conditional sentences, the main clause generally does not use “be going to”, but often uses “will”, for example: I will go to school if I feel better.Point 2: Answers to Questions Containing Modal Verbs:1. For questions introduced by “may”, the following response methods can be used: Yes, you may. Yes, of course. Yes, certainly. Sure.No, you mustn’t. No, you can’t.2. For questions introduced by “must”, the response method is: Yes, …must. No,… needn’t/ don’t have to.3. “Could” in questions indicates a polite tone, and at this time “could” does not imply past tense. For example: Could you do me a favour? —Could I use your pen? —Yes, you can. (Do not answer with “could”).4. Questions introduced by “shall” are used in the first person to seek the other person’s opinion or a polite request. The response methods can be as follows:Yes, please. All right. No, thank you.5. The response methods for “would you…” can be as follows: Yes, I will. (No, I won’t.) Sure. (I’m sorry, I can’t.) All right/ OK/ With pleasure. Certainly. (No, thank you.) Yes, please.[Example] —Would you give me a hand and pass my thanks to Lily? —________.A. That’s right B. With pleasure C. It doesn’t matter D. No trouble[Analysis] A means “That’s right”, B means “With pleasure”, C means “It doesn’t matter”, D means “No trouble”. Answer: B6. For questions like “will you…?”, the response methods can use “yes,…” or “no…” as well. I’d be glad to…..Point 3: The Different Negative Meanings of Modal Verbs:1. (1) “can’t” can be translated as “cannot”, for example: I can’t play basketball.(2) When the sentence expresses speculation, “can’t” expresses “impossible”, for example: He can’t be ill. He is playing chess with Tom.(3) “can’t” can also be used to answer questions like “May I…?”. For example: May I come in? No, you mustn’t. / can’t.(4) “can’t” can also be used in fixed phrases. For example: “can’t help doing” means “cannot help but…” and “can’t wait to do sth” means “can’t wait to…”. For example: She can’t help crying. The children can’t wait to open the box.2. The negative form of “may” is “may not”, translated as “may not”, for example: He may not be at home.3. (1) “mustn’t” means “must not” or “forbid”, for example: He mustn’t leave his room. You mustn’t talk in class. (2) “mustn’t” can also be used in negative responses to requests made with “may”. For example: —May I stand here? —No, you mustn’t (can’t).4. “needn’t” means “no need”, for example: You needn’t meet him unless you’d like to.5. “shouldn’t” means “should not”, for example: You shouldn’t feel so unhappy over such little things.Point 4: The Usage of Modal Verbs Indicating Speculation:1. “Modal verb + base form of the verb” indicates speculation about the present.1. “Must” indicates 100% certainty, usually used in affirmative sentences. For example: He must be at home because the light is still on.2. “Should” indicates a higher probability of speculation, less than “must”. For example: It is already 10 o’clock now; they should be there.3. “Can” indicates speculation, usually used in negative sentences or questions. For example: Who is knocking at the door? Can it be the postman?“Could” indicates speculation, with a weaker tone than “can”, leaving room for the speaker.—Could it be an animal?—It could not be, because it is not moving.4. “May” indicates speculation, used in affirmative sentences. “Might” can also indicate speculation, but with lower probability than “may”. For example: The man may be your new teacher.—Where is Mr. Li? —He might be working in his office.[Summary of Confusing Points of Modal Verbs]Confusing Point 1: Can and Be Able To:Both indicate ability, but “can” has only the base form “can” and the past tense “could”. In other tenses, “be able to” must be used. Additionally, “be able to” often refers to being able to do something after effort, time, and labor.For example: Jim can’t speak English. He could speak English at 5. We’ll be able to see him next week. He has been able to drive. I’m sure you’ll be able to finish it quickly. We were able to reach the top of the mountain at noon.Confusing Point 2: Can and May1. Both “can” and “may” can be used to seek permission, meaning “can”, generally interchangeable.For example: Can/ May I help you? Can I help you?2. The difference between “can” and “may” when indicating speculation/possibility:“Can” indicates disbelief, while “may” indicates uncertainty.1) In affirmative sentences, use “might”, “may”, “must”, not “can”. For example: She may be in the classroom.2) In negative sentences, use “can’t” (impossible), not “may”, “must”.3) In questions indicating speculation, use “can”, not “might”, “may”, “must”.Where can they be now? That can’t be true.Confusing Point 3: May Be and Maybe
Usage Difference
Common Position
may be
“may” is a modal verb, “be” is the base form of the verb
In the sentence, acts as the predicate
maybe
Adverb, meaning “perhaps”, equivalent to “maybe”
At the beginning of the sentence, acts as an adverbial
For example: He may be wrong, but I’m not sure.Confusing Point 4: Can’t and Mustn’t1. “Can’t” can be translated according to its basic usage as:(1) Cannot. For example: I can’t speak English.(2) Cannot. For example: We can’t do it now because it’s too dark.(3) In negative sentences, it indicates speculation: “impossible”, for example: The man can’t be our teacher because he is much younger than our teacher.2. “Mustn’t” means “forbid”, used to express orders or strong tones. For example: You mustn’t play football in the street. It’s too dangerous.Confusing Point 5: Must and Have To1. “Must” emphasizes personal will and subjective necessity, while “have to” emphasizes objective necessity, and can be used in present, past, and future tenses.For example: I know I must study hard. My brother was very ill, so I had to call the doctor in the mid-night. I haven’t got any money with me, so I’ll have to borrow some from my friend.He said they must work hard.2. “Have to” can be used in various tenses, while “must” is only used in the present or future.For example: The composition is due to hand in this morning, so I had to finish it last night.
