MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

According to P. D. Graver there are only twelve modal auxiliary verbs but they are used very frequently and with a lot of meanings. They express concepts or attitudes relating to recommendation, obligation, necessity and prohibition, permission and refusal, possibility, expectation, probability and certainty, promise and intention, ability and willingness. There are four paired forms: can-could, may-might; shall-should, will-would; and four single forms: must, ought to, need, dare. (1995: 17)

R. Quirk also includes used to in the list of modals together with need and dare as marginal modal auxiliaries. Used always takes the to-infinitive and occurs only in the past tense. It may take the do-construction, in which the spellings didnt used to and didnt use to both occur. The interrogative construction used he to? is especially BrE; did he use to? is preferred in both AmE and BrE.

Need and dare

They can be used either as modal auxiliaries (with short infinitive and with no inflected s form) or as lexical verbs (with to -infinitive and with inflected s form). The modal verb constructions are restricted to non-assertive (or non-affirmative) contexts.

Thus they are used mainly in negative and interrogative sentences, whereas the lexical verb construction is actually more common. Dare and need, as auxiliaries are rarer in AmE than in BrE.

Need. The use of the three forms (neednt, dont need to, dont have to) has some common points with the use of must and have to. We shall have three examples:

1. You neednt come if you dont want to.

2. You dont need to see a doctor.

3. I dont have to work on Saturdays.

Neednt generally expresses the authority of the speaker, while the other two constructions denote external authority or circumstances remove the obligation or necessity for action.

Neednt + present infinitive has only a present or future time reference, although it can be left unchanged in reported speech, e. g.,

I told him he neednt come if he didnt want to

If the absence of obligation or necessity will exist only eventually or is dependent on some other event, we use not need to or not have to, with will and shall:

When you get an assistant, perhaps you wont have to work quite so hard yourself

The simple present tense dont have to and dont need to express what is habitual, or what is already planned or arranged for the future:

I dont need to get up till eight to get to work on time

We dont have to be there till ten tomorrow, or

We havent got to be there till ten tomorrow

We use negative forms of have to and need to in some situations where neednt lacks the necessary forms:

I havent had to see a doctor for several years (present perfect).

We may not need to bring the subject up (infinitive without to).

We wouldnt have to hurry if the play started later (conditional).

We wouldnt have had to sleep in the car if we had booked a room at the hotel (past conditional).

As the other forms of neednt are supplied by other verbs, we cannot always distinguish between the three verbs, especially their meanings. The difference between dont need to and dont have to in sentences 2 and 3 may be paraphrased as

2a. It isnt necessary for you to see a doctor.

3a. I am not obliged to work on Saturdays.

For the latter we could use another sentence, only slightly different in meaning:

It isnt necessary for me to work on Saturdays

A more important distinction is the grammatical one between dont need to and neednt. Dont need to is part of the regular verb to need. Negative and interrogative sentences are formed using do, as with other regular verbs, and there is a full range of verb tenses. To need may be followed by a noun, an infinitive or a gerund:

He needs/needed your help.

doesnt need/didnt need

Does he need your help?

Did

I need/needed to see him immediately.

dont need/didnt need

A gerund after to need is the equivalent of a passive infinitive:

My pen needs filling = My pen needs to be filled.

The modal auxiliary verb need is always used in negative and interrogative sentences, which are made by adding not to the auxiliary verb and by inversion of the subject and auxiliary verb:

He neednt come. Need he come?

The interrogative forms Must I? and Need I? are more or less synonymous, although Need I? often suggests that the speaker hopes for a negative answer. The positive answer to both is Yes, you must, never *Yes, you need. The negative answer is No, you neednt. The positive form need is, however, found in sentences that already have a negative verb or adverb:

I dont think that need worry us unduly

He need study only the two chapters

Neednt is followed by a perfect infinitive to indicate the absence of necessity or obligation in the past:

He neednt have come

This sentence may be compared with others containing similar verb forms (auxiliary verb + perfect infinitive), which often suggests the idea contrary to fact:

You shouldnt have come (but you came).

You could have come (but you didnt come).

He neednt have come (but he came).

Neednt + perfect infinitive always expresses unreal past, and contrasts with didnt need to, which nearly always expresses real past:

I neednt have gone (but I went).

I didnt need to go (so presumably I didnt go).

Dare as a modal verb is not as common as need and used to. It can be replaced by (not) be afraid to or (not) have the courage to. It occurs in questions and negatives and is rare in the affirmative, unless a negative is expressed or implied:

Dare you do it?

I didnt dare do it

I hardly dare tell him what happened

Questions and negatives are more common with do/does/did:

Do you dare tell him

To can be used after dare when we use do/dont and did/didnt, making it a full verb, but not changing its meaning. Both dare not and dared not can be used to refer to the past.

She dare(d) not ask him come again.

Dare cannot combine with be + progressive, but it can combine with have + past participle, this not being very common:

She didnt like my idea but darent have said so

Darent is used in the present (with reference to the present or future time) meaning be afraid to, to express courage or lack of courage:

Id like to go earlier but I darent (also accepted now: I dont dare).

As a modal it is often used to reprimand and express outrage or disapproval. It is especially common after How:

How dare you

Dont you dare speak to me like that again

The verbs dare and say can combine into a single verb, daresay, which can be used in the first person singular and plural (present tense only) to mean I suppose or its possible, or in the sense of accept what you say:

I daresay hell be back by midnight!

General characteristics of modal verbs.

The principal distinctive formal features of modal verbs are:

a)      Negative sentences are formed by adding not after the modal verb;

b)      Interrogative sentences are formed by inversion;

c)      There is no s ending in the third person singular present tense;

d)      Modal verbs are followed by the infinitive without to (except ought).

e) Modal verbs have neither infinitive nor participle forms. That is why a number of more or less synonymous expressions are used instead: be able to, have to. It would not be possible to use can or must in the following:

Id like to be able to speak English fluently

No one has been able to solve the problem

Ive had to read this very carefully

Youll have to pay extra for a single room.

f) Modal verbs are also limited in their range of time reference. When used with the present infinitive of the main verb, they generally have a present or future time reference:

He can/could/may/might/will/would/shall/should/must/ought to help you immediately/later.

The use of the alternative forms could/might/would/should suggests a more tentative attitude on the part of the speaker. In requests it represents what is commonly called the polite form:

Would you do me a favour

Of the four past tense forms (could/might/would/should) only the first three are used to refer to past time when followed by a present infinitive, and then only within a restricted range of meanings:

He could speak several languages when he was ten.

He was very independent, and would never ask for help.

Try as he might, he couldnt get the car to start

The use of the four past tense forms is, however, automatic in the sequence of tenses in reported speech:

He can/could/[] tell me.

I said he could/might/would/should tell me

As we have already mentioned, tense and time are not always synonymous terms in English and, although a past tense often refers to the chronological past, it does not necessarily do so all the time. The past tenses of both modal and other verbs are frequently used with a present or future time reference, especially in tentative or unreal conditional sentences:

I could come tomorrow, if thats convenient. (future)

If I knew how it worked, I could tell him what to do. (present)

The four single forms must, ought to, dare, need may be left unchanged in reported speech:

He mustnt/oughtnt to/darent/neednt tell anyone.

I said he mustnt/oughtnt to/darent/neednt tell anyone.

There are two distinctive uses of modal verbs. In their primary function they are used to refer to ability, duty, willingness, permission etc. in relation to the subject:

must/mustnt  obligation

neednt absence of obligation

should/ought to recommendation

He shall go immediately. promise

will willingness

may permission

can ability or permission

Table I.

The second function of the modals is to assert different degrees of likelihood regarding the truth of the statement.

very uncertain

might possibility

may possibility

could possibility

can  possibility

should probability

He  ought to be there already. probability

would belief

will belief

cant/couldnt logical conclusion

logical conclusion

must  almost certain

He is there already. certain

Table II.

(adapted after Graver and Alexander)

We can extend the range of time reference of the modal verbs and refer to past time by using the perfect infinitive of the main verb:

He must/cant couldnt/will/would/may/etc. have been there already.

The use of the past infinitive in such cases generally refers to real past, it does not usually affect the truth of the statement, and only in a limited number of contexts can it indicate unreal past (i.e. contrary to the fact). If we wish to refer to real past time with the modals, we either use the past tense of the modals, if appropriate or available, or we use a synonymous verb phrase. If the modal verbs as used in Table I are followed by a past infinitive, they always indicate unreal past:

He neednt/should/ought to/would/might/could have gone yesterday.

☻ Ability or potential: can, could, be able to

Can is used to indicate:

The possession of ability in general;

He can speak Spanish fluently.

The ability in particular circumstances, the performance of the activity indicated by the main verb, e.g.,

I can/could give him a straight answer now/later/tomorrow. In the first sentence can forms part of a statement having general current validity, whereas in the second, it refers to an ability existing in particular circumstances at the present or future time indicated. It is important to recognise this distinction between ability in general and ability in specific circumstances. It is also important to note that both sentences refer to a potential performance of the action mentioned, not to an actual performance.

1.a. He could speak Spanish when he was younger.

This sentence represents the equivalent of sentence 1 in the chronological past. It refers to the possession of the ability to speak Spanish, not to an actual performance of speaking.

2.a. I could have given him a straight answer.

This is the equivalent in past time of sentence 2 and means I was in a position to give him a straight answer (ability in specific circumstances at a specific time). Here again it does not refer to an actual performance; it implies that I did not give him an answer. Such sentences suggest a conditional idea:

I could have given him an answer if he had asked me

If we wish to refer to an actual performance, we use a form of be able to, as in sentence:

2.b. I was able to give him an answer yesterday.

I can see/could hear quite clearly what you are doing/were saying

Verbs like see, hear, and understand come into a special category (already mentioned). The ability to see and the performance of seeing are inseparable and in this case the use of could is possible when referring to an actual performance in past time. The negative form couldnt necessarily indicates non-performance of an action, and may always be used to refer to past time.

He cant/couldnt see her in the distance

Can may be used with a future time reference (I can see you tomorrow) but in this case the ability is more or less taken for granted now and is not really in question. In cases where ability will exist only eventually or where it is dependent on some other event in the future we use be able to with will or shall:

By the time he finishes his course, hell be able to speak English well

We also use be able to when we wish to indicate that an action was in fact performed in the past:

After looking at his notes again, he was able to complete the exercise

Since can/could lack infinitive and participle forms, we use be able to where an infinitive or a perfect form is required:

He should/ought to be able to help you

☻ Conditional could, would be able to.

When could (+ present infinitive) is used as the tentative form of can, it refers to present or future time:

a)      I could do it for you now if you like.

b)      I cant do it immediately, but I could do it tomorrow morning

The reported version of sentence b) is:

I told him I couldnt do it immediately, but that I could do it the following morning. In conditional sentences, could often represents the unreal present:

If I knew how it works, I could tell him what to do

The equivalent form of be able in this case is would be able. In a conditional sentence, could + perfect infinitive expresses unreal past:

If I had known how it worked, I could have told him what to do

Can and could are also used to refer to a general characteristic or quality that may show itself now and then:

A house in London can cost a lot of money.

He could be very unpleasant when he was angry.

‼ Neither of these sentences refer to an actual occurrence of the phenomena referred to, and be able is not used as a substitute for can or could in such sentences.

☻ Possibility: can, could, may, might.

Many modal verbs have more than one meaning or use and in some cases two different modal verbs have some meanings or uses in common, but are not fully interchangeable.

Some good books can/may be found at the bookshop in the centre of the city

In this sentence can and may are fully interchangeable, may being a little more formal.

Agreement between the two states may be reached in a month

If we wish to state a possibility rather than a fact, only may is appropriate here, which means, It is possible that agreement will be reached. The distinction between sentences 1 and 2 may be paraphrased as: 1) It is possible for this to be done at any time (statement of present fact); 2) It is possible that this will be done (statement of future possibility).

Might represents the tentative form of may as used in sentence 2:

3.a. I may/might/could drop in, of course (present);

3.b. The two parties may/might/could reach an agreement tomorrow (future).

Could, often stressed, is quite usually used as an alternative to tentative might (3.a, 3.b). Could is not used in this way in assertive negative sentences:

4.a. They may/might not reach an agreement tomorrow.

4.b. They could not reach agreement tomorrow.

These sentences have quite different meanings because of the way the negative particle not operates. In assertive sentences with may or might (in the sense of possibility), not goes with the main verb:

They may/might not reach agreement. The other way is not going with the modal could (unless we use a special stress and intonation pattern):

They could not reach agreement tomorrow meaning that it is not possible that they will reach agreement tomorrow. In this sentence could operates in a conditional context as well:

They could not reach agreement tomorrow, even if they sat talking all day. (Graver 1995: 26)

Permission: can, could, may, might.

When we give permission, we use can or may, the latter being considered more formal:

You can/may speak to the patient for just a few minutes now/late/tomorrow

Asking for permission more tentatively (politely) we use could/might:

Can/Could/May/Might I speak to Mr. Smith for a minute? In the reported version of sentence 1. we use could or might:

The nurse said we could/might speak to the patient for just a few minutes

We do not use could or might + present infinitive to refer to permission given in past time. We are obliged to use a paraphrase:

We had/were given permission to speak to the patient.

Could and might + perfect infinitive suggest that permission existed but the action was not performed:

5. You could/might have come yesterday if you had wanted to.

May is often used in clauses with a concessive meaning:

Your job may be very demanding, but you are very well paid. May + perfect infinitive is used when we refer to past time:

The work may have been difficult, but you finished it on time

Might is sometimes used as a tentative way of making a request, suggestion or recommendation:

You might send me a postcard while youre on holiday

In some contexts, might suggests sarcasm or annoyance on the part of the speaker:

You might look where youre going

Expectation or probability: should, ought to.

Should and ought to are often used to indicate what is regarded as probable or what may reasonably be expected:

The introduction of computer science should greatly contribute to better education

Should and ought to + perfect infinitive refer to expectations in past time and may indicate that expectations were not realised or fulfilled:

He should have past his driving test easily

This sentence can have two interpretations: a. Perhaps he has passed at least, this is what we expected; b. He didnt pass this is not what we expected.

Inference and logical conclusion: must, cant.

We use must to assert what we infer, conclude or are sure to be the most likely interpretation of a situation or event:

He must be at least sixty

We dont know for a fact that this is true, but taking everything into account, we think that this is almost certainly so. The opposite of must in this sense is cant:

He cant be anything like as old as that

To refer to past time, we use must and cant/couldnt + perfect infinitive:

It must have been a great shock for him

Belief and conjecture: will, would.

Will and would are used to express what we believe or guess to be true. Although they lack the assertive force of must and cant, they do not necessarily indicate any less certainty on the part of the speaker. Used with present infinitive they refer to present time and with perfect infinitive to past time:

You will already be familiar with his behaviour

This statement does not refer to future time, but means You are, I feel sure, already familiar with his behaviour. Would is used as a tentative form of will and is more often used than the latter in questions (which indicate some lack of certainty):

He wouldnt be a friend of yours, I suppose

Would your name be Smith, by any chance

That will/would have been the chance of your life

Characteristic behaviour: will, would.

Will may be used to refer to a characteristic or persistent pattern of behaviour or event:

When he has a problem to solve, he will work at it until he finds an answer

This isnt a prediction about a future event, but a statement having general current validity. Would is used to refer to a similar situation in past time:

When he had a problem to solve, he would work at it until he found an answer

In these sentences we could use the simple present instead of will and the simple past tense (or used to) instead of would with little change, but less emphatically. If will and would are stressed, it indicates that the speaker is annoyed by some habitual behaviour:

He will/would borrow my things without asking

Inherent capacity: will, would.

Will for present time and would for past time may refer to the possession of an inherent quality or capacity in relation to things (as opposed to people):

The money in your pocket will buy far less today than it would ten years ago

The use of will and would may even suggest that an object is capable of co-operation or willingness (or their absence):

The brown bag will hold everything.

This old car wouldnt start

Used in the last case will or would may appear in the if clause of a conditional clause:

If the brown bag will hold everything, we can take less luggage

Will and would are not used with the verb be in a conditional clause. We do not say,

*If the brown bag will be big enough for everything, we can take less luggage.

Prediction: shall, will.

Besides referring to future time, all modal verbs carry some additional implication (ability, permission, possibility). Shall and will often carry an additional implication, too (promise, refusal, determination) and they are often used in a purely predictive sense, i.e. simply to state what will be in the future. When used with other persons than I and we, shall does not have a purely predictive meaning, and is not interchangeable with will. The use of will as alternatives to shall, can sometimes lead to ambiguity:

I think I shall/will finish the work tonight.

In the case of will or ll the precise meaning of the speaker would be made clear only by the context, situation or intonation.

a.       I think I shall finish the work tonight (pure future).

b.      I think I will finish the work tonight (pure future or intention).

c.       I think Ill finish the work tonight (a. or b.?). In negative sentences we use shant and wont but the short form ll not is not often used. The interrogative Shall I/we? used with an active verb form does not generally occur with a pure future meaning, since we rarely ask other people about our own future plans. It may be used in a pure future sense with verbs denoting actions or events which do not depend on the speaker for their performance:

Shall/Will I hear from you as soon as you get there

Shall I? is also used in a pure future sense with passive verbs, since the speaker is not in this case asking about his own future activities:

Shall/Will I be told the exact date of departure

In most cases Shall I? used with an active verb form represents a request on the part of the speaker to know the wishes or opinions of the person he is talking to, and in this case it is never replaced by will:

Shall I order another course

In reported speech I shall gives us a choice between should and would, only when the speaker reports his own words. The tendency is to use only would, probably because of the potential ambiguity of should in some contexts:

I said I should be able to attend your course, could be interpreted as the reported version of I should be able to come. If the report is made by a person other than the original speaker, only would is used.

After the pronouns you, he, she, it and they, only will is used in a purely predictive sense. In many cases will may carry an additional implication, especially after the pronoun you. In statements, you will may represent an instruction rather than a prediction:

You will arrive on time at the meeting, the president told his secretary

In questions, will you? may represent (a) a request for information, or (b) a request for action:

a.       Will you know the results of the contest soon

b.      Will/Would you wait for the manager, please

The predictive function of will is not obvious after he, she, it, they, and after nouns in general:

The space shuttle will land at 6.00 p. m.

Advice and recommendation

L. G. Alexander made a scale of choice of the modal verbs that go from advice and recommendation to necessity.

Advisability should: generally means in my opinion, it is advisable to or it is your duty;

ought to: can be slightly stronger than should because it is sometimes used to refer to regulations or duties imposed from outside. Should is more likely to appear than ought to in questions and negatives;

had better: is stronger than should and ought to. It is used to recommend future action on a particular occasion, not in general. It carries a hint of threat, warning or urgency;

am/is/are to: can be used for instructions;

need to: it is necessary to

have to: is an alternative to must and fills the gaps in that defective verb;

have got to: like have to, but more informal;

necessity must: like have (got) to, suggests inescapable obligation. In the speakers opinion there is no choice at all. (1994: 228)

Should and ought to express advice or recommendation. They may relate to everyday or practical matters, or to what is morally desirable:

You should/ought to see that film. Its really enjoyable.

You should/ought not to tell lies.

All these sentences have a present or future time reference.

Had better (d better) is used to suggest the wisest course of action in a particular situation:

Youd better see an optician if your eyes still hurt

The short form is usually found in affirmative positive sentences. In affirmative negative sentences, the particle not comes after the complete phrase:

Youd better not make a mistake next time

In interrogative negative sentences nt comes after had:

Hadnt you better go there by coach

It is used almost exclusively with the present infinitive to refer to present time. Should and ought to are used with the perfect infinitive to refer to past time and in this case the sentences always imply that the opposite was in fact true:

He should/ought to have been a little more tactful (but he wasnt).

Should is often used in a that-clause after verbs like suggest, recommend, require, decide:

I suggest that he should leave with the next train. Should is sometimes omitted in such sentences, using only the short infinitive (Graver1995: 40) :

I suggested that he leave with the next train

The verbal form is sometimes given the normal sequence of tenses:

I suggested that he left with the next train

Should is sometimes used in adverbial clauses of purpose, after the conjunctions so that, in order that, in case:

He spoke clearly so that everybody should understand his message

Should is also used in a that-clause after adjectives expressing pleasure, surprise, shock or disapproval, in sentences of the pattern, Subject + Be + Adjective + That-clause:

I am horrified that he should have killed so many women. This use is very common with the subject it:

Its odd that you should know everything about my wife

Other adjectives of this kind are important, essential, imperative, vital, inevitable.

Obligation and necessity: must, mustnt, have (got) to.

A.     Must has different meanings:

It expresses an instruction or obligation: Candidates must write in ink only;

It has a meaning of inner obligation: He must confess everything to feel better;

It expresses what is necessary or inevitable in the speakers opinion: We must express our vote by being present at the poll station;

It expresses little more than advice, being stronger than should. You must tell him about his mistakes.

If obligation or necessity is imposed by a person other than the speaker, or by the circumstances, we use have to:

You have to write in ink only (The teacher explains to the pupils the requirements of the exam);

He has to confess everything (Those are the instructions he has been given);

We have to express our vote (Circumstances make it necessary);

Youll have to tell him about his mistakes (If you put it off, he might never know about them).

B. Must can be used with adverbs having a present or future time reference:

We must try it again now/later/next week

However, the obligation or necessity is felt by the speaker to exist now and its future inference is implied by the main verb (try). Where the obligation or necessity will exist only in the end or it depends on other events, we use have to with will or shall:

If we miss the last bus we shall have to walk

C. The interrogative form in the present tense is generally formed with do:

What time do you have to get to work

D. Must can be left unchanged in reported speech:

You must tell me how to do it.

He said I must tell him how to do it.

Must cannot be used to refer to obligation or necessity before the time of speaking. Instead we use had to:

I had to shout to make myself heard in the crowd

E. We also use forms of have to to replace must where the latter lacks the tense forms:

Present progressive: Im having to read this very carefully.

Present perfect: Ive had to give up the idea.

Past perfect: Id had to give up the idea.

Infinitive without to: We may have to change our plans.

Infinitive: Its a pity to have to give up the idea.

Gerund: No one likes having to pay taxes.

Conditional: You would have to do it if he insisted.

Conditional perfect: You would have had to do it if he had insisted.

F. Must and have to do not differ in meaning in cases where both are grammatically possible. The choice of a verb or another depends on the speakers attitude.

G. The verb phrase to be to sometimes expresses a command or instruction coming from the speaker, or imposed on the speaker by external factors:

You are to give this letter to the manager

You are to be there at ten. Such sentences always have a future time reference and the form *will be to is never used. In reported speech and with past time reference we use was/were to. Was/Were to + perfect infinitive generally implies that instructions were not carried out:

You were to have given the letter to the manager (implying but you didnt).

H. If must is followed by a perfect infinitive it nearly always indicates an inference on the part of the speaker:

It must have been a great shock to him

There are also instances where must + perfect infinitive is equivalent in meaning to:

It is essential that this should already have been done.

To be here on time, they must have started early in the morning.

I. Must, have to can also express the necessity for non-action and then they are used in the forms mustnt and am/is/are not to:

You mustnt say a word about this.

You are not to say a word about this.

Although the negative particle not often follows must as nt it does not cancel the obligation, but relates to the meaning of the verb:

You must tell/not tell him. (I insist that you tell/not tell him.)

EXERCISES

21. Comment on the following statements using the words in brackets.

She didn't take her last exam. (can't )She can't have studied hard enough.

Nobody answered the phone. (might)

How did he persuade her to marry him? (could/might)

He didn't seem surprised when he heard the results. (may)

The Conservatives are very popular now before the elections. (should)

Our guests are expected to arrive before five. (ought)

I've looked everywhere for my car key. (must)

Did you say she phoned you from Madrid? (can't)

Your car is very fast. (will)

You are always late for work and the boss is getting angry. (had)

22. Complete the sentences with must, mustn't or a suitable form of have to or have got to.

You must hurry if you want to catch the bus.

Application forms be written in bold type.

You visit the Louver if you happen to be in Paris.

We lost our way in the mountains and we call for the rescue team.

I'm sorry to tell you the bad news, but you know the truth.

Nobody likes do the dirty jobs in a household.

If the crowd hadn't dispersed from the square, the police might use water cannons.

When I heard him coughing so badly I call the doctor, although it was after midnight.

Something be done about it, otherwise the situation will get out of control.

You don't get a visa to travel abroad nowadays.

23. Rewrite the sentences using needn't or a suitable negative form of have to or need to. (Obligation is expressed with a form of have to and (lack of) necessity is expressed with needn't or a form of need to).

It isn't necessary for them to buy a larger house. Their children will leave their home sooner or later.

They needn't buy a larger house

You aren't obliged to come over if you don't feel like.

It isn't necessary for you to tell us your decision. You can think it over and tell us later.

You were not obliged to write to them so soon after all.

We're not supposed to go to work tomorrow as it is a public holiday.

The car had just been serviced so it wasn't necessary to check it up.

He was speechless. He realised he hadn't been obliged to tell everything to the police.

There was no need for them to make such a fuss as it changed nothing.

Fortunately, he told me it was not necessary to go there and thus I saved money and time.

It's hardly necessary for me to tell you how much I appreciate your help.

24. Choose the correct answer.

BI write with your pen? I don't know where mine is.

A Must B Can C Shall

I have a shower. I've been jogging for two hours.

A must B may C can

John play the guitar when he was ten.

A might B could C was able to

you help me with the luggage? There's no porter around.

A must B will C may

You go to the market. I've already done the shopping.

A mustn't B can't C needn't

You pay your rent otherwise you'll be evicted.

A shall B would C must

Was the exercise difficult? Yes, but I solve it.

A was able to B ought to C should

We paid with cash. They accepted cards too.

A could have B shouldn't have C needn't have

What time we be at the airport to meet you?

A must B will C shall

Did you ring Mary up yesterday? No, I She came round to see us.

A didn't need B needn't C haven't to