Everything about Modal Verb totally explained
A
modal verb (also
modal,
modal auxiliary verb,
modal auxiliary) is a type of
auxiliary verb that's used to indicate
modality. The use of auxiliary verbs to express modality is characteristic of
Germanic languages.
Function
Modal verbs give additional information about the mood of the main
verb that follows it. In other words, they help to incorporate or add the level of necessity: (
must = obligation, requirement, no choice); (
should = recommendation); (
can/
could = it's possible); and (
may/
might = option, choice).
Most modal verbs have two distinct interpretations,
epistemic (expressing how certain the factual status of the embedded proposition is) and
deontic (involving notions of permission and obligation). The following sentences illustrate the two uses of
must:
- epistemic: You must be starving. (= "It is necessarily the case that you're starving.")
- deontic: You must leave now. (= "You are required to leave now.")
- ambiguous: You must speak Spanish.
- epistemic = "It is surely the case that you speak Spanish (for example, after having lived in Spain for 10 years)."
- deontic = "It is a requirement that you speak Spanish (for example, if you want to get a job in Spain)."
Epistemic modals can be analyzed as raising verbs, while deontic modals can be analyzed as control verbs.
List
This table lists some modal verbs with common roots in
English,
German and
Dutch.
English modal auxiliary verb provides an exhaustive list of modal verbs in English.
The words in this list are not translations of each other! Words in the same row share the same
etymological root. But, because of
semantic drift, words in the same row may no longer be proper translations of each other. For instance, the German verb "dürfen" is closer in meaning to the English verb "may" than to its cognate "dare".
For German and Dutch, both the plural and singular form of the verb are shown. In English, the plural and singular form are identical.
| English |
German |
Dutch |
| can |
können, kann |
kunnen, kan |
| should |
sollen, soll |
zullen, zal |
| want |
wollen, will |
willen, wil |
| must |
müssen, muss |
moeten, moet |
| like |
mögen, mag |
mogen, mag |
| may |
dürfen, darf |
durven, durf |
The English
could is the past tense of
can,
should is the past tense of
shall and
might is the past tense of
may. These verbs have acquired an independent, present tense meaning. The German form
möchten is sometimes taught as a vocabulary word and included in the list of modal verbs, but it's actually the past
subjunctive form of
mögen.
The English verbs
dare and
need have both a modal use (
he dare not do it), and a non-modal use (
he doesn't dare to do it). The Dutch verb
durven isn't included in the list because its modal use has disappeared, but it has a non-modal use analogous with the English
dare.
Properties
Germanic modal verbs are
preterite-present verbs, which means that their present tense has the form of a vocalic preterite. This is the source of the vowel alternation between singular and plural in German and Dutch. Because of their preterite origins, modal verbs also lack the suffix (-s in modern English, -t in German and Dutch) that would normally mark the third person singular form:
| |
normal verb |
modal verb |
| English |
he works |
he can |
| German |
er arbeitet |
er kann |
| Dutch |
hij werkt |
hij kan |
The main verb that's modified by the modal verb is in the infinitive form and is
not preceded by the word
to (German:
zu, Dutch:
te). There are verbs that may seem somewhat similar in meaning to modal verbs (for example
like,
want), but the construction with such verbs would be different:
| |
normal verb |
modal verb |
| English |
he tries to work |
he can work |
| German |
er versucht zu arbeiten |
er kann arbeiten |
| Dutch |
hij probeert te werken |
hij kan werken |
In English, main verbs require the auxiliary verb
do to form negations or questions. Modal verbs never use this auxiliary
do:
| |
normal verb |
modal verb |
| affirmative |
he tries to work |
he can work |
| negation |
he doesn't try to work |
he can't work |
| question |
does he try to work? |
can he work? |
| negation + question |
doesn't he try to work? |
can't he work? |
Modal verbs are called
defective verbs because of their incomplete conjugation: they've a narrower range of functions than ordinary verbs.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Modal Verb'.
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