There are four other uses of modals that are
somewhat different from the uses described above. They are:
Ability-can, be able to:
I can speak
Spanish.
Maria is able to
run fast.
Desire-would like
to:
Sarah would like
to visit London.
Offer-would you
like...?
Would you like
anything to drink?
Preference-would rather, would prefer to:
I would rather
study languages than math.
Martha would
prefer to go to school instead of working.
Additional
information:
There are some more facts about modals that we
should observe:
1- the negation of a modal (meaning to use a
modal in the negative form)
To use a modal in a
negative sentence, we put 'not' after the modal, for example: I
cannot do it
I am not able to do it
We will not eat at
that restaurant.
We are not going
to eat at that restaurant.
You should not
smoke here.
You are not
supposed to smoke here.
Notice that pair of sentences above shares the
same meaning. However, the following is different:
You must not go.
You do not have to
go.
The meaning is clearly different. While the
first is a command, the second is not. It is more of a
choice.
Making sense of
it all:
Now let me try to help you make sense out of
this. Modals are words that express possibility, authority, advice
or ability. The level of certainty and/or the level of
ability control which modal to use. Let us look at this:
May
Possibility
Might
Can
ability
Could
Will
Possibility and/or ability
Would
Should
advice
Must
command
Let us review the following sentences and notice
the degree of possibility decreases as we use the past for of the
modal:
I may visit you tonight.
(50%
chance that I will)
I might visit you tonight.
(Less than 50% chance I will)
I can run fast. (I
am positively sure I can)
I could run fast. (I
am not 100% sure - possibility may depend on something else)
Will you shut the door? (You
are close to the door and the possibility of you shutting it is
high)
Would you shut the door?
(You are far from the door and you might not want to go shut it)
You should study harder. (I
am advising you without authority)
You must study harder.
(I
am commanding you with authority)
