Auxiliaries Flashcards
Modal auxiliaries Classification
- Central (can, may, must , will, shall, could might, would, should)
- Marginal (need, dare, used to, ought to)
- Semi-auxiliaries (to be able to, to be about to, to be bound to …)
- Modal idioms (had, better, would rather, have to, be to)
Modal auxiliaries Description
Function as operators
- they create questions and negations, when they occur as a first verb in a finite verb phrase
- They are followed by the bare infinitive = the base form of the verb without “to”
-> You will make me breakfast
-> You might have fallen, but you are alright now.
- They are always finite (they are always the first verb in a VP) – cannot occur in nonfinite forms - (no -s form, no -ing form, no -ed forms, no to infinitive)
- They have a past form – but usually refers to present or future
- Only one modal auxiliary in a verb phrase (combined with periphrastic equivalents)
- The same/different/limited meaning
Modal auxiliaries may be followed by…
May be followed by:
- Perfect -> You should have gone there.
- Continuous -> Tom may be watching TV
- Passive -> We must be done by eight
- Perfect + continuous -> It must have been working well.
- Perfect + passive -> You should have been done by now.
Modal auxiliaries meanings in negation
Different meaning in negation
- Must not -> You mustn’t come because my parents are at home (forbidden)
- Needn’t/don’t need to -> You don’t need to come, we have solved it ourselves.
- Don’t have to –> You don’t have to come if you don’t want to (its not an obligation)
- Can’t –> I can’t come because my parents won’t let me. (impossible/forbidden)
- May not –> You may not come after 10 pm. (not allowed, nesmieš)
Modal auxiliaries different scope of negation
Different scope of negation – ambiguous meaning
- John may not come = not allowed
-> It is impossible that he comes - epistemic meaning
- John may not come = He is allowed
-> It is possible that he will not come - epistemic meaning
- A lot of different meanings (root-epistemic)
Modal auxiliaries Marginal
- Okrajové, nerešpektujú pravidlá spoločnosti
- Don’t respect rules and obligations
- They may function as:
- modal auxiliaries (operator, no inflection, bare infinitive)
- full verbs (inflection, to infinitive)
- As blends
Marginal Modal auxiliaries Used to
-
Only past tense - past habits, states (would)
-> I used to travel by bus when I was…. -
Questions
-> Did you use to go there?
-> (formal) Used you to go there? -
Negation
-> didn´t use to
-> didn´t used to
-> used not to ( formal, old)
Marginal Modal auxiliaries Dare
Functions as MA (operator, no inflection, bare infinitive)
- in negation
-> I dare not do it. (daren´t)
- in interrogative
-> Dare you do it?
Functions as a full verb
- in all sentences
-> Do you dare to do it?
-> I don´t dare to do it
- Blends
-> I don’t dare do it
- Fixed phrases
-> How dare you (do that)!
-> Don´t you dare (do it)!
-> I dare say (daresay) …
-> I dare you! - a different meaning
Marginal Modal auxiliaries Need
- Like dare but no blends
- Most common as full verb, same as ↑
-
Needn´t have (done it) ≠ didn´t need (to do it)
-> I needn´t have gone there. (but I did and wasted time) :-(
-> I didn´t need to go there. (and I didn´t waste time) :-)
Marginal Modal auxiliaries Ought to
= should
- Modal auxiliary + infinitive
- Operator
-> Ought you to go there?
-> I ought not to go there.
Modal auxiliaries semi-auxiliaries
-> to be able to
-> to be about to
-> to be going to
-> to be bound to
-> to be due to
-> to be likely to
-> to be supposed to
-> to have to
- Phrases/idioms
- Combination (regular) of auxiliary and full verb construction:
-> first part = auxiliary V (to be, to have)
-> second part = full V (to infinitive)
Modal auxiliaries central auxiliaries
-> can – can not
-> could – could not
-> may – may not
-> might – might not
-> shall - shall not
-> should – should not
-> will – will not
-> would – would not
-> must – must not
