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Tema 20: 
Los verbos auxiliares 
y modales: Formas y 
funciones 

Madhatter 
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 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
2

Table of contents.
1. Verbs in auxiliary function. __________________________________________________ 3
1.1. Criteria for Auxiliary function (≈Operators) ______________________________________ 4
1.1.1. Auxiliaries as operators (=Op). _________________________________________________________ 4
a. Operator in negation with not. __________________________________________________________ 4
b. Inversion of subject operator ___________________________________________________________ 4
c. Emphatic positive ____________________________________________________________________ 5
d. Operators in reduced clauses ___________________________________________________________ 5
1.1.2. Morphological criteria (=Op). __________________________________________________________ 6
e. Negative and V contraction. ____________________________________________________________ 6
f. Weak Forms. ________________________________________________________________________ 7
g. Defectiveness of nonfinite forms. _______________________________________________________ 7
1.1.3. Syntactic criteria (=Op). ______________________________________________________________ 7
h. pre-adverb position __________________________________________________________________ 7
i. Quantifier position ___________________________________________________________________ 8
1.1.4. Semantic criteria (≠ Ops). _____________________________________________________________ 8
j. Independence of subject._______________________________________________________________ 8
1.2. Additional features of Modal auxiliary Vs (≠ Operators) _____________________________ 8
1.2.1. Morphological characteristics __________________________________________________________ 9
k. Finite functions only _________________________________________________________________ 9
l. No 3rd person inflection. _______________________________________________________________ 9
1.2.2. syntactic characteristics. ______________________________________________________________ 9
m. Construction with the bare infinitive ____________________________________________________ 9
n. Modal auxs cannot occur together in a sentence.____________________________________________ 9
o. Modal auxs are the 1st element in the main clause of an unreal conditional clause: ________________ 10
2. The primary Vs be, have & Do. ______________________________________________ 10
2.1. Be _________________________________________________________________________ 10
2.2. Have _______________________________________________________________________ 11
2.2.1. Have as main verb. _________________________________________________________________ 11
2.3. Do _________________________________________________________________________ 12
2.3.1. Do-support ________________________________________________________________________ 12
2.3.2. Do as main V ______________________________________________________________________ 12
3. Modal Auxiliaries. ________________________________________________________ 13
3.1. Meanings of the modal Vs _____________________________________________________ 13
3.1.1. Can / Could _______________________________________________________________________ 14
3.1.2. May / Might _______________________________________________________________________ 15
3.1.3. Must. ____________________________________________________________________________ 15
3.1.4. Need, have (got) to _________________________________________________________________ 16
3.1.5. Ought to & should __________________________________________________________________ 17
3.1.6. Will & would ______________________________________________________________________ 17
3.1.7. Shall _____________________________________________________________________________ 18
3.2. The past tense form of the modals: Could, might, would & should ____________________ 19
3.2.1. “Past time” in reported speech. ________________________________________________________ 19
3.2.2. “Past time” in other constructions ______________________________________________________ 19
3.2.3. Hypothetical meaning._______________________________________________________________ 19
3.2.4. Tentativeness or politeness: could, might & should. ________________________________________ 19
3.2.5. “Mood markers”: would & should. _____________________________________________________ 20
4. Vs of intermediate Function _________________________________________________ 20
4.1. Marginal Modals ____________________________________________________________ 21
4.1.1. Dare and need. ____________________________________________________________________ 21
4.1.2. Ought to __________________________________________________________________________ 21
4.1.3. Used to___________________________________________________________________________ 22
4.2. Modal Idioms: had better, would rather, HAVE got to, BE to. _________________________ 22
4.2.1. The meanings of the modal idioms _____________________________________________________ 22
4.3. Semi-Auxiliaries: be going to … ________________________________________________ 23
4.4. Catenative Vs _______________________________________________________________ 24
4.5 Meaning of marginal auxiliaries. ________________________________________________ 24
Bibliography._______________________________________________________________ 24
Brief summary _____________________________________________________________ 25

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
3

1. Verbs in auxiliary function. VS IN AUX FUNCTION.

In contrast to full Vs, the Vs I will describe in the next section are
capable of functioning as auxiliary or “helping” Vs. These are the primary Vs
be, have & do, and the Modal Vs can, may, will, shall, could, might,
would, should & must. Since they can only function as auxiliaries (auxs), the
modal Vs will generally be referred to as Modal Auxs.
The auxs make different contributions to the VP. Of the three PRIMARY Primary aux Vs.

VS, Do is only a semantically empty syntactic component which Do.

Be.
processes negation and interrogation, whereas be contributes to
Have.
aspect and voice, and have contributes to aspect. The modal auxs are
Modal aux Vs.
so called because of their contribution of meaning in the area of Modality
Contribution of meaning
(including such concepts as volition, probability & obligation). in the area of Modality.

Although auxs have different functions in the VP, they have one
important syntactic function in common: their ability to act as OPERATOR Operators.

when they occur as the first V of a finite VP; as such, they are used, for
instance, in the formation of yes-no Qs:
Is he asking any question? Will he be asked any question?
Here, the Operator, or first auxiliary of the VP, is isolated from the rest no
matter how complex the VP is. Since be & have (esp in BrE) have also this
function as main Vs, the term Operator (Op) will also be used in
sentence like:
Is the girl tall? Has he any money?
Many of the criteria for syntactic function of auxs have to do with their
status as operators, and therefore apply also to be and have as main Vs.
Formal Concepts Functional Concepts
Operators1 Auxiliaries

Ops can be Auxs Is he coming now?

Ops can be Main Vs (<be> & sm instances of <have>) Is she happy?

1
They DO NOT NEED do-support

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
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1.1. Criteria for Auxiliary function (≈Operators) Criteria for aux function.

1.1.1. Auxiliaries as operators (=Op). 1. AUXS AS OPS.

a. Operator in negation with not. 1a. Op in negation w/not.

In forming negative finite clauses, the particle not is added after the
Not added after 1st Op
first Op. This cannot not occur with full or Lex Vs.
You must smoke [Op] You smoke [Main V]
You must not smoke [Op] *You smoke not anymore. [Main V]
You are smoking [Op] You are not smoking [Op]

Whereas English has no negative sentence such as *She saw not the play
BUT: I prefer not to go.
we do have an acceptable negative sentence of the form:
I prefer not to go
I love not working on Fridays.
In this case, however, the negation is associated with the second, nonfinite VP
to go & working, rather than with the initial finite VP prefer & love.

Sometimes, not can also be used after a full V. See the following BUT: Ask not what your
country can do for
quotation from President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address: you; ask what you can
do for your country
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country
There is a contrastive parallelism between the two objects of the V ask, the
first of which is rejected by not. The scope of not here includes the
interrogative clause (what your country can do for you), but excludes the main V.

b. Inversion of subject operator 1b. Inversion as subj Op.

Ops admit inversion, that is, in certain constructions (especially in

Ops admit inversion.
st
interrogative clauses) the 1 Op can come before the subject NP. The 1st Op can come
before the subject NP.
SUBJ + OP + MAIN V ⇒ OP + SUBJ + MAIN V
The boy is singing ⇒ Is the boy singing? Yes-No Qs
Wh-Qs (so Subj)
She loves music ⇒ *loves she music?
So, as with not-negation, main Vs here require the use of an operator to form
questions.
Non-assertive advs can be placed at the beginning of a clause Non-assertive Advs &
place advbls cause
causing inversion. Place adverbials can also do so. also inversion.
Seldom had they eaten so well [NON-ASSERTIVE ADV]
hardly had she begun to speak when the bell rang. [NON-ASSERTIVE ADV]
They seldom read books ⇒ *Seldom they read books
The boys come down = Down come the boys [PLACE ADVERBIAL]

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
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Subject-operator inversion is usual not only with yes-no Qs, but also
with Wh-Qs. When the Wh-Pron is not working as the subject of the
clause there is also inversion. Otherwise, there is not inversion.
What are you looking for? I am looking for my pen [INVERSION]
Which table is red? This table is red [NON-INVERSION]

c. Emphatic positive 1c. Emphatic positive.

2
Ops can carry the nuclear stress to express that the sentence is Ops can carry the
nuclear stress to
positive rather than negative. Furthermore, contrast and emotional express that the
sentence is positive
support is also expressed. Do is used with full Vs rather than negative.

You MUST go to school I AM a good girl

*I LIKE Paul Newman ⇒ I DO like Paul Newman
Also contrast in meaning.
He LOVES her [Not only likes her –contrast in meaning, not negative-positive contrast]
Sometimes, the emphatic Op has no contrastive meaning, but it is used Sometimes emphatic
Op is used purely for
purely for emotive force. emotive force.

I AM glad! You HAVE done well!

d. Operators in reduced clauses 1d. Post-verbal Ellipsis.

In certain constructions Ops can be used to avoid repetitions just
Ops can be used to
like Prons avoid repetitions of Ns. So that the main V may be omitted either by avoid repetitions. The
main V can be omitted.
ellipsis or by pro-form substitution, and the clause is understood to repeat the
content of an earlier clause.
Can you come? Yes, I can [come]. Is he sick? Yes, he is.
You like music? *Yes, I like.
Here, I mention four types of reduced clause containing an operator Four types of reduced
clauses:
without a main V, of which the first two are the most important. Do is used as
an empty Op where the clause has no other Aux.
So / Neither / Nor + Op
1. So / Neither / Nor + Operator:
POSITIVE: NEGATIVE:
Ann will stay, and so will Barbara [stay] Ann won’t stay and neither will Barbara.
Bill stayed and so did Henry. Bill didn’t stay, nor did Henry.
2. Operator + too / either: Op + too / neither

POSITIVE: NEGATIVE:
Ann won’t eat much and Barbara won’t
Ann will stay late and Barbara will too.
either.
Bill didn’t break his promise and Henry
Bill broke his promise, and Henry did too.
didn’t either.

2
Place at which the intonation starts, usually in the last content word

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
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3. Predication fronting. Predication fronting.

Ann SAID that he would win the match, and win the match he DID.
Bill SAID she would be late, and late she WAS.
4. Relativized predication. Relativized predication.

Ann said she would be late, which she was.

Bill said he would win the match, which he did.
In these examples, the second aux (unless it is do) is the same as the first, but
there are also reduced constructions in which the two auxs may differ.
Ann hoped that we would stay, but unfortunately we couldn’t.

1.1.2. Morphological criteria (=Op). 2. MORPHOLOGICAL CRITERIA.

e. Negative and V contraction. 2e. Negative & V contraction.

The negative word not following an Op can be contracted and

Contractions to the aux:
attached, as an enclitic particle, to the Operator. The resulting negative
aux is spelt with a final –n’t. Every aux, except the am form of the V to be
has a contracted negative form, but two of these, mayn’t & shan’t, are
virtually nonexistent in AmE, while in BrE they are becoming rare.
SUBJ + AUX: AUX IS CONTRACTED Subj contraction.
He is ⇒ He’s Negative contraction.
AUX + NOT: NOT IS CONTRACTED
Is not ⇒ Isn’t
Have ⇒ ‘ ve; is/has ⇒ ‘s; are ⇒ ‘re; am ⇒ ‘m; Will/shall ⇒ ‘ll; would/had ⇒ ‘d
SOME EXCEPTIONS:
Will + not ⇒ won’t [vow change]
Do + not ⇒ don’t /d∂unt/ [diphthongization of the vow]
Ain’t ⇒ Have not, has not, is not, are not, am not.
Mayn’t : It is never used.
Shan’t: Never used in AmE and rarely in BrE
She isn’t [Mostly used] vs. She’s not [seldom used, only in northern BrE]
The above contractions are labeled enclitic contracted auxs. They are always
attached to the preceding word. They naturally cannot occur initially in a Cannot occur initially in
a sentence.
sentence, for instance in Qs, where the Op is inverted to the beginning of the
sentence. Furthermore, when unstressed, they cannot occur when the Op is Cannot occur when the
Op is the only V in the
the only V in the sentence and proceeds an ellipsis (Is he crazy? *Yes, he’s). sentence and proceeds
an ellipsis.
They are more likely to occur in informal style and attached to prons.
is-contraction is more common when the subject is a pron and with the
preceding words there & here.
He’s singing
There’s something on my pocket
?The book’s red [It is not ungrammatical, but infrequently used]

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
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f. Weak Forms. 2f. Weak forms.

Auxs are the only Vs that have weak forms3. I must make clear the Auxs are the only Vs that
have weak forms.
distinction between contractions & a weak form:
Contractions have been neutralized in the spelling, while weak forms cannot
be shown through spelling:
He’s gone [contraction] vs. He must /m∂st/ go [weak form]

g. Defectiveness of nonfinite forms. 2g. Defectiveness of

nonfinite forms.
Auxs lack some non-finite forms: Auxs lack some nonfinite
forms.
1. Be: It’s the only Op that has ALL nonfinite forms.
Be: As Op it has all
I want this to be done by Monday [Inf] nonfinite forms.
You must be crazy [Bare inf]
The house is being painted by now [Progressive]
This has already been studied [-en form]
2. Have: As a main has ALL non-finite forms but as Op it lacks –en form. Have: As Op it lacks the
en-form.
How can that have happened? [bare Inf]
I want you to have read this book by ... [Inf]
Having done the homework, ... [progressive]
*I had had ... [as Op] vs. I have had [as main V].
Do: As Op it lacks all
3. Do: When Op it has zero non-finite forms. nonfinite forms.

1.1.3. Syntactic criteria (=Op). 3. SYNTACTIC CRITERIA.

3h. Pre-adv position.

h. pre-adverb position
Frequently subjuncts, like always or never, and disjuncts, like Subjuncts & disjuncts
follow Ops whereas they
certainly or probably, typically, but not necessarily, follow Ops, whereas precede Main Vs.
they precede Main Vs:
She [never / probably] believed his story. [Precede Main V]
She would [never / probably] believe that story. [Follow Op]
If there is more than one aux, the adv will still generally occur after the After the Op, before the
Aux.
first aux (thus, the Op):
She would probably never have believed his story. [Follow Op & precede aux]

The most important point is that such advs could not occur CANNOT occur after Main
Vs, except for Op to be.
immediately after the main V except for to be (therefore an Op):
*She believed never his story.
She was never a taxpayer.

3
Phonological reduced form which most functional words have when occur in unstressed
position.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
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i. Quantifier position 3i. Pre-adv position.

Quantifiers like all, both and each which modify the subject of the All, both & each may
occur after the Op as an
clause may occur after the Op as an alternative, in many instances, to the alternative to the
predeterminer position.
predeterminer position:
All the boys will be there [predeterminer position] ≈ the boys will all be there.
Both my parents are working [predeterminer position] ≈ My parents are both working.
These quantifiers do not, however, occur after a main V in the same All, both & each do NOT
occur after a main V as
type of construction: an alternative to the
predeterminer position.
All our team played well ≠ *Our team played all well.
Each of us owns a bicycle ≠ *We own each a bicycle

1.1.4. Semantic criteria (≠ Ops). 4. SEMANTIC CRITERIA.

j. Independence of subject. 4j. Independence of Subj.

Compared with most main Vs, Auxs are semantically independent of Auxs are semantically
independent of the
the subject. This is reflected in at least three ways: subject.
1. There is a lack of semantic restrictions between the subject and Lack of semantic
restrictions between the
the aux V. Contrast: subject and the aux V.

[The man / The bus] ought to be here at five.

[The man / *The bus] hopes to be here at five.
Possibility of construction
2. There is the possibility of construction with existential there. with existential there.
[There used / *There hoped] to be a school on the island.

3. Auxs usually admit the change from active to passive voice without Change from active to
passive voice without
change of meaning: change of meaning.

Thousands of people will meet The president will be met by thousands of

=
the president people.
Thousands of people hope to The president hopes to be met by thousands
≠
meet the president of people

1.2. Additional features of Modal auxiliary Vs (≠ Operators) Additional features of modals.

The criteria just discussed (a to j) help to define auxs as a functional

class, but it must be remembered that all of them, except for j., apply to
Ops in general, and therefore apply also to be and sometimes to have as
main Vs. Now I add the following morphological and syntactical criteria
which apply specifically to modal auxs, as distinct from primary Vs have, be
& do.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
9

1.2.1. Morphological characteristics 5. MORPHOLOGICAL CRITERIA.

k. Finite functions only 5k. Finite Fns only.

Modal auxs can only occur as the first Op element of the VP. They They cannot occur in
nonfinite Fns & as a
cannot occur in nonfinite Fns, that is as infinitives or participles and as a consequence of this can
only occur as first V in
consequence of this can only occur as first V in the VP. the VP.

Modal aux V Primary Vs Full V Primary Vs have the full range

* to may To be To eat of nonfinite forms, but not all
* (is) maying (is) being (is) eating
* (has) mayed (has) been (has) eaten of these forms can be used in
auxiliary position. For Be all three nonfinite forms can be auxs (be, being, Be: be, being, been.
been); Have has no –ed participle in aux function (have, having); “dummy” aux Have: Have, having.

do, like the modal auxs, can only occur as an operator & its nonfinite forms Do: do.

are constructed only as a main V.

5l. No 3rd pers inflection.

l. No 3rd person inflection.
Modal auxs are not inflected in the 3rd person sing of the present
tense, so they have no –s form:
She must write. She likes to write.
In contrast, primary Vs do have an –s form, but it is irregular (See section2.)

1.2.2. syntactic characteristics. 6. SINTACTIC CRITERIA.

m. Construction with the bare infinitive 6m. Construction w/bare Inf.

Modal auxs are normally followed by the infinitive, which is bare Modal auxs are normally
followed by the bare inf.
(the base for of the V alone) except with used and usually ought, Vs which for
this reason, as well as others, are somewhat marginal to the class of modals Except for: used, ought.

(see section 4.1.)

You will be asked questions You ought to comb your hair.

6n. Two modals cannot

n. Modal auxs cannot occur together in a sentence. occur together in a
Since Modals don’t have non-finite forms (thus, they don’t have sentence.
bare inf) & they must be followed by a bare infinitive, then, two modals
cannot occur one after the other.
*I can may go to the Party. [Except in some Northern non-standard dialects]

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
10

o. Modal auxs are the 1st element in the main clause of an unreal 6o. Modal auxs are the
st
1 element in the main
conditional clause: clause of an unreal
Modals are the Only Vs that can appear as the 1st element in the conditional clause.

main clause within an unreal conditional clause.

We could have a party, if they showed up.
We would have loved it, if he had come.
MAIN CLAUSE SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

UNREAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSE

THE PRIMARY VS BE, HAVE, DO.

2. The primary Vs be, have & Do.
Having discussed auxiliary verb criteria, I will now consider the special
morphological and syntactic characteristics of Vs which can function as
auxiliaries: first the primary and second the modal Vs.

2.1. Be To Be.
The V to be is a main V (with a copula function) Main V: Copula.
Ann is happy girl.
But be can also has two auxiliary functions: (a) as an aspect auxiliary, Aux V: two Fns.

Ann is learning Spanish. ASPECT.

And (b) as a passive auxiliary,

PASSIVE.
Ann was awarded a prize.
To be is unique in having a full set of both finite and nonfinite Has a full set of both
finite and nonfinite
forms in auxiliary function; It is also unique in having as many as eight forms in auxiliary
function.
different forms:
Nonnegative Uncontracted negative Contracted negative Eight diff forms.
Base Be
1st pers sing Am; ‘m Am not; ‘m not (aren’t)
Present

3rd pers sing Is; ‘s Is not; ‘s not Isn’t

2nd pers, 1st / 3rd pers pl Are; ‘re Are not; ‘re not Aren’t
1st/3rd pers sing Was Was not Wasn’t
Past

2nd pers & 1st/3rd pers pl Were Were not Weren’t

-ing form Being Not being
-ed participle Been Not been

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxxiliares y modale
es: Formas y fun
nciones
11

2.2. Have To
T Have.
Have
e functionss both as
a an au
uxiliary an
nd as a main V. As an Aux V: ASPEECT.

uxiliary fo
au ect, have
or perfecttive aspe e combiness with an –ed particciple to
form comple
ex VP:
I hav
ve finished. Whatt has she bou
ught?
As a main V, it normallyy takes a direct
d obj and has various
v me
eanings
Main V: + DO
O.
su
uch as poss
session: I have no mooney.

2.2.1. Have
e as main verb.
When
n used as a main V with
w STAT
TIVE ning, have
mean e shows syyntactic Have:
H Stative meaning.

va
ariation in
n that no s with do
ot only combines
c d -supporrt in fo
orming Used with do-support
d ...
esp AME (but also
co
onstructio
ons with an
a Op, commonn in BrE
nowadayys)
We don’t
d have any
a money. Do yo
ou have a lig
ghter?
4
Bu
ut also ac
cts as an operator
o in constrructions such
s as: …or withou
ut do-supportt.
Esp in FO
ORMAL BRE.
We haven’t
h any money Have
e you a lighte
ter?
Th
here is also ormal hav
o the info ve got wh
hich although perfec
ctive in fo
orm is Informal have got.
Esp in In
nFORMAL BRE.
no
onperfecttive in me
eaning an
nd is frequ
uently prefferred (essp en BrE)) as an
o stative have
altternative to h :
John has couragee = John has
as got courag
ge
Me o have as
eanings of s a stative
e V: Meanings off have as a
Stative V.
POSS
SESSION:
POSSESSION.
We [((a)haven’t / (b)haven’t
’t got / (c)do
on’t have] any
a butter
RELATTIONSHIP: SHIP.
RELATIONS
[(a)Have
H you / (b)
( have you
u got / (c)Do
o you have] any brother
ers?
HEALLTH: HEALTH.
I [(a))haven’t / (b
b)haven’t got
g / (c)don’t have] a headache
he anyy longer.

Off these alte

ernatives, (a)
( is esp
p formal BrE;
B (b) is esp info
ormal BrE
E & (c)
is AmE (and
d also com
mmon in BrE nowa
adays).

Have:
H Dynamiic meaning.
In dy
ynamic senses, su
uch as “re
eceive”, “ttake”, “exp
perience” and in
= Receive, take
e, experience
idiioms with an eventivve object (Have
H breakfa eakfast), ha
fast = eat bre ave (both in AmE Used with do-support
d ...
mally has do-suppo
& BrE) norm ort, and have
ha got iss not posssible.
Have got iss NOT possible.
Doess she have coffee
c with her
h breakfastt?
Did you
y have a good
g time in
n Japan? [=exxperienced]

4
T tradition
The nal construc
ction in BrE

Iván Matella
anes’ Notes
 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
12

2.3. Do To Do.

Do, like be and have, can be both an auxiliary and a main V. As an aux,
do has no nonfinite forms, but only present and past forms.

2.3.1. Do-support Dummy-do:

The term do-support applies to the use of do as an “empty” or

“dummy” operator in conditions where the construction requires an operator,
Occurs when there is no
but when there is no semantic reason for any other Op to be present. semantic reason for any
other Op to be present.
All uses of do as an aux come under this heading. The main ones are:
1. In indicative clauses forming the negation with not, where the V Forms negation with not.

is simple present or simple past: She doesn’t want to say

2. In Qs or other constructions involving subj-Op inversion, where Subj-Op inversion: Qs.

the V is the simple present or the past tense, including tag Qs &
initial negative elements:
Did he stay late? I don’t like him, do you?
Never did he think the book would be finished so soon
3. In emphatic constructions where the V is simple present/past: Emphatic construction.

They DO want me to come.

4. In reduced clauses, where do acts as a dummy Op preceding Ellipsis.

ellipsis of a predicator: Mary reads books faster than I do.

5. Auxs do not need do-support, since they themselves perform the Cannot occur 2
auxs together.
function of Ops. Do don’t precede other auxs:*She does must come

2.3.2. Do as main V Do as a main V:

When used as a main V, do has the full range of forms, including the It has the full
range of forms.
doing and done.
As a main V, do can combine with a pron obj (it, this/that, what,
Act as a pro-form
nothing/anything/…) to act as a pro-predication referring to some referring to some
unspecified action/s.
unspecified action or actions.
I have been meaning to mend the radio, but I haven’t done it yet.
- A: I’m throwing these books away. – B: Why are you doing that?
- A: What have you done with my pen? – B: I’ve put it in the desk.

Apart from these uses as a pro-form, the main V do has also a wide range of Wide range of uses &
meanings as Trans V.
uses as a transitive V:
Who does your car? Fred Archer. [=SERVICE, MAINTAIN]
She’s done some really good essays. [=WRITE]

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
13

3. Modal Auxiliaries. MODAL AUXS.

NONNEGATIVE UNCONTRACTED NEGATIVE CONTRACTED NEGATIVE

Can Cannot Can’t
Could Could not Couldn’t
May May not ? mayn’t [BrE]
Might Might not Mightn’t
Shall Shall not ? shan’t [BrE]
Should Should not Shouldn’t
Will Wil not Won’t
‘ll ‘ll not ---
Would Would not Wouldn’t
‘d ‘d not ---

3.1. Meanings of the modal Vs Meanings of the modal Vs:

Like other terms used in analyzing meaning in the complex VP, such as Modal Vs show Modality.
mood and aspect, modality has been used in various senses. As its most
Modality: The speakers’
general, modality may be defined as the speakers’ attitude or option attitude or option about
what s/he are saying.
about what s/he are saying.
In the Modal Vs, the attitudes or opinions just mentioned can be divided
into two types:
(a) Those such as “permission”, “obligation” & “volition” which involve Intrinsic Modality:
Human control over
some kind of intrinsic human control over events, and events → PERMISSION,
OBLIGATION, VOLITION (=wish)
(b) Those such as “possibility”, “necessity” and “prediction”, which do Extrinsic Modality:
Human judgment of
not primarily involve human control of events, but do typically what is or is not likely
to happen→ POSSIBILITY,
involve human judgment of what is or is not likely to happen. NECESSITY, PREDICTION.

These two kind, between which there is a gradient, may be termed

INTRINSIC and EXTRINSIC modality respectively. One important observation Each of the Modals have
both intrinsic and extrinsic
of modals is that each one of them has both intrinsic and extrinsic uses.
uses, for instance, may can have either the meaning of “permission” –
Intrinsic- (May I open the window) or of “possibility” –Extrinsic- (He may be right).
However, there are areas of overlap and neutrality btw the intrinsic and There are areas of
overlap btw intrinsic &
extrinsic senses of a modal: In I’ll see you tomorrow, the will can be said to extrinsic senses.

combine both volition and prediction. This, together with other circumstances,
scan show that this is one of the most complicated areas of English. That is
why I will give a brief outline of the semantics of the modals here.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

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14

MEANINGS OF THE MODALS.

Group 1 Group 2
INTRINSIC
Be allowed to PERMISSION Permission given by the speaker Must: Self-obligation. OBLIGATION Self obligation,
Have (got) to: External obligation. but diff from

INTRINSIC
must.
Can / could May / Might
Must & Have (got) to Should
b
ROOT POSSIBILITY POSSIBILITY, EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY Need (nonassertive) Ought to.
be able to construction ABILITYa Committed Noncommitted

EXTRINSIC
EXTRINSIC
Must: EPISTEMIC/ROOT NECESSITY
(Aux)Need: negative & Qs
Group 3 forms of must in ROOT SENSE NECESSITY TENTATIVE SUPPORT
INTRINSIC
nd Have (got) to: +emphatic than must
1.Willingness= polite request (2 P)
st
VOLITION
2.Intention= (1 P) (choice, will) 2=Intention use of will (+Formal)
nd rd
3.Insistence= (2 3 P). In Qs→Obligation & suggestion

a
Will / would Shall (rare & restricted) → The “ability” meaning of can is considered
1. Future specific predicSn. extrinsic, even though ability typically involves
2. Pres predicSn ≈ epistemic-must PREDICTION 1. =future use of will (+formal). human control over an action. “Ability” is best
(future)
3. Habitual timeless predicSn.
EXTRINSIC considered a special case of possibility.
b
→ See section 4.1.1.

3.1.1. Can / Could Can / could:

Three major meanings of these modals may be distinguished:
(a) POSSIBILITY (esp in Qs and negatives)
ROOT POSSIBILITY:
[1] Even experts drivers can make mistakes Paraphrased by it is
[2] Her performance was the best that could be hoped for. possible + Inf clause.

In this sense, can is generally paraphrased by it is possible followed

by an infinitive clause.
[1] It is possible for event experts drivers to make mistakes.

(b) ABILITY: ABILITY:

Paraphrased by be
Can you remember where they live?
able to construction.
I could swim all the way across the lake. [=(It was possible for me / I was able to) swim…]
For the ability sense, can/could may be paraphrased by use of be
able to construction, or in some cases by know how to. However,
the same meaning can also be approximately captured by the be
possible construction.
(c) PERMISSION: PERMISSION:
Paraphrased by be
Can we borrow these books from the library? allowed to.
In those days only men could vote in elections.
In this sense, can/could is less formal than may, which has been favored
by prescriptive tradition. It is possible to paraphrase can in this sense
as be allowed to. Are we allowed to borrow these books from the library?

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
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15

3.1.2. May / Might

May / Might:
(a) POSSIBILITY: EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY:
We may never succeed [=It is possible that we will never succeed] Paraphrase by it is
possible + that-clause.
You may be right. [It is possible that you are right = (Perhaps/Possibly) you are right]
As the examples show, the most common meaning of may is
different from the possibility sense of can. To paraphrase may,
we use it is possible followed by a that-clause. May in this sense
my also be paraphrased by perhaps or possibly.
Denotes the
This meaning of may is termed EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY, as it denotes possibility of a given
proposition’s being or
the possibility of a given proposition’s being or becoming true. It becoming true. It
expresses the
speaker’s degree of
expresses the speaker’s degree of commitment to the truth of the commitment to the
truth of the possibility.
possibility. Might can be used as a alternative to may, and indeed it is
preferred as a modal of epistemic possibility.
In interrogative and in aux negation, epistemic possibility may is
normally replaced by can.
Less commonly, in formal English, may/might is used in the Also as ROOT
POSSIBILITY, but less
same possibility sense as can/could: ROOT POSSIBILITY. common.

During the fall, many rare birds may be observed on the northern coasts of the island
(b) PERMISSION:
PERMISSION:
You may borrow my bike if you wish + formal & -common, but
Might I ask whether you are using the typewriter? can substitute can.
As a permission aux, may is more formal and less common than can,
which can be substituted for it. However, may is particularly
Usually associated with
associated with permission given by the speaker. permission given by
the speaker.
You may leave when you like [= I permit you to leave …]
You can leave when you like [= You are permitted to leave …]
Might is used as a more tentative, and thus polite, variant of may.

3.1.3. Must. Must:

(a) (LOGICAL) NECESSITY:

[1a] There must be some mistake.
The Smiths must have a lot of money. [Because they have a large house, a big car …]
She must be asleep = She can’t be awake
The logical necessity meaning of must is parallel to the use of may in the EPISTEMIC NECESSITY:
The speaker judges the
epistemic possibility sense. In fact, it may be called EPISTEMIC NECESSITY, preposition expressed by
the clause to be
since it implies that the speaker judges the preposition expressed by necessarily true, or at
least to have a high
likelihood of being true.
Iván Matellanes’ Notes
 Tema 20:
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16

the clause to be necessarily true, or at least to have a high

likelihood of being true. “Epistemic” must cannot normally be used in
interrogative or negative clauses, so, the negative of can fills the gap.
There is also a ROOT NECESSITY meaning of must, which can be ROOT NECESSITY:
Can be paraphrased by It
paraphrased as it is [essential / necessary] for … is essential for ….
[2a]To be healthy, a plant must receive a good supply of both sunshine and moisture

(b) OBLIGATION or COMPULSION.

[3a]You must be back by ten o’clock. OBLIGATION:
[4a] We must all share our skills and knowledge. [self-obligation] It suggests that the
speaker is exercising
In these examples, there is the implication, to a greater or lesser extend, his authority. Self-
obligation.
that the speaker is supporting a certain form of behavior. Thus,
must, unlike have (got) to, typically suggests that the speaker is
exercising his authority; Self-obligation.

3.1.4. Need, have (got) to Need, have (got) to:

The close relation btw must and the quasi-modals need, have (got)
(Aux) Need: Form Qs &
to & have to deserves comment at this point. Need (aux) is used (esp in BrE) negative of must in the
ROOT SENSE.
as the negative and Qs forms of must in ROOT SENSE.
Have (got) to can also be substituted for must with little or no
difference in meaning. Compare:
(a) (LOCAL) NECESSITY:
NECESSITY:
[1b] There has (got) to be some mistake. + emphatic than must.
[2b] To be healthy, a plant has to receive a good supply of both sunshine & moisture.

Have (got) to is rather more emphatic than must, and is found

chiefly in AmE.
(b) OBLIGATION or COMPULSION. OBLIGATION:
Obligation by external
[3b] You have (got) to be back by ten o’clock. [Parent to a son]
forces.
[4b] We have all got to share our skills & our knowledge

Have (got) to is often felt to be more impersonal than must, in that it tends
to lack the implication the speaker is in authority. So, where must implies self-
obligation, have (got) to implies obligation by external forces.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
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3.1.5. Ought to & should Ought to & should:

Although different from must and have (got) to, these Vs express the
same modalities of necessity and obligation. The contrast lays in not
expressing the speaker’s confidence in the occurrence of the event or
state described.
(a) TENTATIVE INFERENCE: TENTATIVE SUPPOSITION:
Speaker does not know if
The mountains [should / ought to] be visible from here. his statement is true, but
tentatively concludes that
The term which best seems to characterize the “noncommitted necessity” it is.

is tentative supposition. That is, the speaker does not know if his
statement is true, but tentatively concludes that it is true, on the
basis of whatever he knows. Apart from that, should and ought to Can refer to
future time.
frequently refer to the future time.
The job [should / ought to] be finished by next Monday
(b) OBLIGATION: OBLIGATION:
As must, imply self-
You [should / ought to] do as he says
obligation, but don’t
The floor [should / ought to] be washed at least once a week. imply that the speaker
has confidence that
Like must [=obligation], should & ought to generally imply the the recommendation
will be carried out.
speaker’s authority, but unlike must, they do not imply that the
speaker has confidence that the recommendation will be
carried out.

3.1.6. Will & would Will & would:

(a) PREDICTION:
PREDICTION:
Under the heading of prediction, three related uses of will/would are to
be distinguished:
(a1) The common future predictive sense of will implies that the future Future predictive: future
event/state will result from
the fulfillment of certain
event/state will result from the fulfillment of certain future conditions. future conditions.
Take this medicine. You will feel better in an hour or so.
(a2) The present predictive sense of will, quite rare, is similar in Present predictive:
similar in meaning to
meaning to epistemic-must. epistemic-must.
That will be the postman. [On hearing the doorbell ring]
(a3) The habitual predictive meaning often occurs in conditional Habitual predictive:
conditional sentences, or
sentences, or in timeless statements: in timeless statements.
If litmus paper is dipped in acid, it will turn red. Oil will float on water.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxxiliares y modale
es: Formas y fun
nciones
18

In past tense narrratives, would

w in this
t sense is a pop
pular mea
ans of
describing habitu
ual behav
vior.
VOLLITION:
(b) VOLITTION: Thre
ee main sub-sense
es may allso be disstinguished
d. The
volitio e of willl extends from the
onal range e “weak volition”
v o
of (b1)
Willin
ngness, to
o the “stro
ong volition
n” of (b3) Insistence
I e.
WEAK
VOLITION.
(b1) Willlingness: Meaning common
c in
n polite req d offers (2nnd pers).
quests and Willingness ss: common in n
polite requessts and offers
Will / Would 5 you
y help me to
t address these
th letter? (2nd pers).

(b2) Inte
ention on the part of aker (1st pe
o the spea erson). n the part of
Intention on
the speaker (1st Pers).
I willl write as soo
oon as I can

(b3) Ins
sistence: This some
ewhat rare use im
mplies dettermination on Insistence Implies
determinatioon on the part
STRONG the parrt of the subject referentt. The auxx is alwayys stresse
ed and of the subjecct. Aux is
VOLITION. stressed and d cannot be
acted. In this case,, would express
cannot be contra e pa
ast time, rather contracted.

than tenttativeness or politene

ess.
You WILL
W do as you
y are told.

3.1.7. Shalll all (1st Person):

Sha
Shalll is in Pressent-day En
nglish a ra
ather rare aux and only two
o uses,
oth in the
bo e 1st pers, are generrally curre
ent.
(a) PREDICTION (w// 1st pers subjs):
s PREDICTION: Shall is a
substitute fo or the FUTURE
Shall is a substitutte for the future
f se of will in
us i formal style. Esp
pecially USE of will in formal style.

in BrE, prescriptiv
p ds will ass a future aux with the 1st
ve traditiion forbid
BrE Prescription
P of
pers, butt this presccription is old-fashion
o ned. st
will ass 1 pers.

Accorrding to the opinion

o pollss, I [will / sh
hall] win quiite easy.
(b) VOLITTION (w/1st
s
pers subjjs): VOLITION: INTTENTIONAL
SENSE, shall is a formal
Again, in
n the INTEN
NTIONAL SENSE
S , sha
all is a formal alte
ernative tto will alternative to
t will.

after the 1st pers.

We [will
w / shall] uphold the wishes of ou
ur people
s containing shall, it moves towards
In Qs t ob
bligationa
al meanin
ng and W/Qs → Obligations
& suggesstions.
making suggestio
on about shared
s actiivities (≠ will
w )
Shalll I deliver th
he goods to your
y home ad
ddress? [Do you want mee to…?] [Obligation]
Shalll we go to thhe theater? [Making sugggestions]

5
e
expresses te
entativenesss or politene
ess

Iván Matella
anes’ Notes
 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
19

3.2. The past tense form of the modals: Could, might, would & Past tense of modal Vs:
should
3.2.1. “Past time” in reported speech. Past tense in indirect speech
The past tense modals are used quite regularly as past time
equivalents in indirect speech constructions.
You can do as you wish → She said that we could do as we wish

3.2.2. “Past time” in other constructions Past tense in other constructions

Outside indirect speech contexts, the behavior of the past tense forms
are less predictable. Could and would act as past time equivalents of can Could/would: Correspond
to past can / will
and will. However, might & should do not act as the past time Might/should: Does not
Correspond to past may /
equivalents of may & shall. shall

Hypothetical/unreal condition
3.2.3. Hypothetical meaning.
The past tense modals can be used in the hypothetical (or unreal)
sense of the past tense. Compare:
[1] If the United can win the game, they may become league champions.
[2] If the United could win the game, they might become league champions.

Sentence [2], unlike [1], expresses a present unreal condition, that is, it Present unreal condition:
Past Modal.
conveys the speaker’s expectations that the United will not win the
game. For Past hypothetical meaning, we have to add the perfective. Past unreal condition:
Past Modal + perfective.
If the United could have won win the game, they might have become champions.
With the EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY of might, it is the meaning of the following
Might: following
predication, rather than the modal itself, that is interpreted hypothetically. predicate is interpreted
hypothetically.
They might have become champions [=It is possible that they would have …]

Tentativeness or politeness.
3.2.4. Tentativeness or politeness: could, might & should.
The past tense form simply adds a note of tentativeness or politeness:
(a) Tentative PERMISSION (in polite requests) Tentative permission.
Could=might
[Could / Might] I see your driving license?

(b) Tentative VOLITION (in polite requests) Would you lend me a dollar? Tentative Volition.
Would

(c) Tentative POSSIBILITY Tentative Possibility.

(c1) In expressing tentative opinion, both could & might express the
Epistemic possibility:
EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY associated with may. Of course, I [could/might] be wrong Could=Might.

(c2) In polite directives / requests: Could you please open the door? Polite request: Could.

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxxiliares y modale
es: Formas y fun
nciones
20

3.2.5. “Moo
od marke
ers”: would & shou
uld. Mood markers:
m shou
uld & would.
Underr this last heading of
o “mood markers” I consider special ca
ases of
wo
would and should in
n which th
hese moda
als have nothing
n t do witth the
to
co odals will
ognate mo ll & shall.
(a) Wou
uld / Shoul
uld as a ma
arker of HYPOTHETIC
H NG:
CAL MEANIN Hypothetical
H m
meaning.

Would (and
( some ould -1st peers subj-) may
etimes shou m expre
ess hypoth
hetical Would may express
hypothetical meaning in
meaning
g in main clauses of
o conditional senttences. conditional clauses.
c
[1] Iff you press that
th bottom, the engine would
w stop.
[2] Iff there were an accident,
t, we [would
d / should] have
h reported
ed.
Althou
ugh the conditiona
c al senten
nce, as in
n [1] or [2], is the
e most
typical context in h al would/
i which hypothetica /should occurs,
o the
ere are
many otther conte
exts in which they
y are apprropriately
y used.
[3] Don’t
D bother to
t read all th
hese papers. It would ta
ake too long.
In such sentences,
s there is often
o mplicit if…. For instan
an im nce, [3] co
ould be
expanded
d: It would ng if you did (try to read them all).
d take too lon

(b) Shou
uld as a marker
m of “PUTATIVE MEANING6”: Putative
P mean
ning.
In this usse, should
d + Infiniitive is offten equiv
valent to the mandative
Should + Inff = mandative
e
subjunc
ctive (main
n verb ma
akes some
e sort of demand).
d I using s
In should, Subjunctive (main V
makes some e sort of
the speakker enterta
ains, as it were,
w some “putative
e” world re
ecognizing that demand).

w exist or come into existtence.

it may well
I insis
isted that he should stayy = I insisted ay 7.
d that he sta
e should is more co
Putative ommon in
n BrE tha
an in AmE (where th
hey use
the mandative su
ubjunctive
e).

VS OF INTERME
EDIATE FN.
4.. Vs of intermediate Fu
unction
n
Now, I will exa
amine Vs whose sta
atus is in some deg
gree interm
mediate
be
etween auxxs and ma
ain Vs. The
ese form a set of ca
ategories which m
may be
ro
oughly pla
aced on a gradientt between
n modal auxs
a at on
ne end, an
nd full
Vs
s at the other.
o I will
w try to distinguish
d these diffe
erent classses thankss to the
criiteria used to define auxs, Op & modals.

6
Supposed/asssumed mean
S ning
7
M
Mandative su
ubjunctive

Iván Matella
anes’ Notes
 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxxiliares y modale
es: Formas y fun
nciones
21

(One VP) (0
0) CENTRAL MODALS Can, could, maay, might, sha
C all, should, willll, would, must
st
(1
1) MARGINALL MODALS D
Dare, need, ouught to, used tot
(2
2) MODAL IDIIOMS H better, wo
Had ould rather, BEE to, HAVE got to
t …
HAVE to, BE ab
bout to, BE ablble to, BE boun nd to, BE goingng to,
(3
3) SEMI-AUXIILIARIES B obliged to, BE
BE B supposed to,to BE willing to
o…
(4
4) CATENATIV VES APPEAR to, HAPPPEN to, SEEM to
o, GET + -ed-V, KEEP + -ing-V
wo VP)
(Tw (5
5) MAIN VERB B+ HOPE + to-Inf, BEGIN + -ing
Noonfinite clausse

4.1. Margiinal Moda

als 1. Marginal Modals.
M

4.1.1. Dare
e and need
d. Dare
D / Need.
Dare
e & Needd can be constructted eitherr as a ma
ain V or, under Can be eithe
er a main V orr
a Modal Auxx.
resstricted co
onditions, as
a Modal auxiliary
y (without nonfinite forms
f & th
he bare
Inf). The auxx construcction with dare
d & Nee
eed is rarer in AmE th
han in BrE,, where
it is also quiite rare.
The modal
m co
onstructio
on is restricted to nonasse
ertive contexts Modal cons struction:
Nonassertive e contexts
(negative & interrogative clause
es, clauses containing semi-n
negative w
words – (negative, interrogative &
semi-negativve words.
ha
ardly, only
ly-),
*I da
are do it No on
ne dare preedict the resu
ults.
wh
hereas the
e main V is more
e common
n in asse
ertive contexts (p
positive Modal cons struction:
Assertive co
ontexts.
se
entences)
He needed
ne to esscape
Modal forms of need norm
mally referr to immed
diate nec
cessity. Th
hey are Modal cons struction:
Need: Imme ediate
on. Daren
oftten used to ask for or give permissio
p n’t is often used to say that necessity, assk give
permission.
so
omebody iss afraid of something
s .
You needn’t
n payy for that pho
one call.
I darren’t look.

4.1.2. Ough
ht to
Oug
ght to.
After the modal aux oug nitive with to 8,
ght, we offten use the infin
Form: used it w/to-Inf,
wh
hich makess it differen
nt from the odal auxs. The to-inff is not u
e other mo used in not used in Qs-tags.
Q
Qs
s-tags. In
n meaning milar to that of should
g, it is sim s , as I have a
already
Meaning: similar to that
exxplained. of should.

I reallly ought to
o phone Mothher = I reallyy should pho
hone Mother
We ought
o to wake
ke Helen, oug
ghtn’t we?

8
Y
Young speake
ers are incre ng ought witthout to-Inf
easingly usin f in nonasserrtive contex
xts.

Iván Matella
anes’ Notes
 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxiliares y modales: Formas y funciones
22

4.1.3. Used to Used to.

Used to denotes a habit or a state that existed in the past, and is
Denotes a habit/state
therefore semantically not so much a modal aux, as an aux of tense and that existed in the past.
It is an aux of tense &
aspect. It always takes the to-Inf and only occurs in the past tense. aspect.

I used to be interested in bird-watching.

2. Modal Idioms.
4.2. Modal Idioms: had better, would rather, HAVE got to, BE to.
All this modal idioms begin with an aux V and are followed by an Begin w/an aux V & are
followed by an infinitive.
infinitive (sometimes preceded by to):
We had better leave soon. They’ve got to leave immediately.
I’d rather not say anything. The conference is to take place in Athens.
None of them has non-finite forms. So, they are absolutely not as main Vs. None non-finite forms.

However, they are not entirely like auxs, since they do not behave as Ops.
1st element works as Op.
It is normally the first word alone which acts a Op.
We had not better leave soon. Have they got to leave immediately?
Had better & would
However, had better & would rather have two kinds of negations. First, rather have two kinds
of negation.
there is a negation where not follows the whole expression. Second, not Not follows the
st whole expression.
follows the 1 word (second instance contexts, where an early statement is
being changed). Not follows the
st
1 word.
I’d rather not stay here alone.
Wouldn’t you rather live in the country? No, I would not.
On the other hand, HAVE got to and BE to are more like main Vs in HAVE got to & BE to
have an –s form &
that they have an –s form and normal present/past contrast, though had present/past contrast.

got to is extremely rare.

It is a sign of the “in-between” status of modal idioms that either “in-btw” status: either
the whole idiom or just
the 2nd word may be
the whole idiom or just the 2nd word may be “erased” before ellipsis of erased before ellipsis
of the predication.
the predication. With would rather, however, the “rather ” is not often used.
We had better leave soon. Yes, [we’d better / we had]
Would you rather buy this one? Yes, I [would / ?would rather] Exception: Would rather.

4.2.1. The meanings of the modal idioms

(a) Had better = “advisability” =obligational meaning of ought to/should
(b) Would rather = “would prefer to” = Volitional meaning.
(c) HAVE got to = “obligation, logical necessity” ≈ semi-aux have to
(d) BE to = “futurity: plan, destiny”

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 Tema 20:
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23

4.3. Semi-Auxiliaries: be going to … 3. Semi-Auxs.

The semi-auxs consist of a set of V idioms which express modal or Primary V + V/N/Pp/Adv:
Express modal or
aspectual meaning and which are introduced by one of the primary Vs. aspectual meaning.

HAVE to, BE about to, BE able to, BE bound to, BE going to, BE obliged to, BE supposed to, BE willing to …

The boundaries of this category are not clear. I will first of all deal with the
semi auxs introduced by BE.
BE semi-auxs:
All these constructions satisfy the first nine criteria for aux Vs (a-i). Satisfy the a-i criteria for
st Aux Vs: BE + V/N/Pp/Adv
However this follows from the fact that the 1 word of a semi aux is the V
to be. By the interpretation of the Op criteria (a-i) auxs can be described as
aux-like. They also resemble auxs in permitting synonymous passives and Aux: Allow synonymous
passives & there-
there-constructions (j. subject independence) constructions.

Brazil is going to win the World Cup ≈ The World Cup is going to be won by Brazil
However, in one respect they are much closer to main V. They have MainV: Have non-finite
forms, combine w/auxs.
nonfinite forms, & can occur in combination with preceding auxs. Two
or more semi-auxs can in fact occur in a sentence.
James will be obliged to resign
Someone is going to have to complain.
HAVE semi-aux: Have to

Have to is the only semi-aux beginning with Have rather than be, but its
inclusion in this category is justified by its occurrence in the full range Occurrence of all his non-
finite forms ≠ Have got to.
of non-finite forms, a respect in which it differs from have (got) to.
I may have to leave early (*I may have got to leave early) [Modal construction]
People are having to boil their drink water during this emergency. [progressive]
The administration has had to make unpopular decisions. [perfective]
Have to needs do-support in AmE (as if it were a mainV), and it is the Do-support: AmE and
very common in BrE.
dominant construction in BrE (the Op construction is smwhat old-fashioned).
Have to ≈ must:
In meaning, have to is similar to must, and can stand in for must in (past)must → had to.
past constructions where must cannot occur.
This days you must work hard = In those days you had to work hard. [=“OBLIGATION”] Meaning: Obligation
There must be some solution = There had to be some solution. [=”LOGICAL NECESSITY”] & logical necessity.

Although have got to has the same meanings of “obligation” & “logical Have to ≈ have got to:
Have to → habitual
necessity” as have to has, has got to tends not to have habitual meaning w/dynamic Vs
meaning & when combined w/a dynamic V, it tends to refer to the future. Have got to → Future
meaning w/dynamic Vs.
Jim has got to check the heat every 12 hours. [Jim’s duties in the future]
Jim has to check the heat every 12 hours. [HABITUAL ACTION; Jim’s present duties]

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Tema 20:
Los verbos auxxiliares y modale
es: Formas y fun
nciones
24

4.4. Caten
native Vs
s 4. Catenative Vs
s.

The te
erm caten
native V will
w be use
ed to denote Vs in su
uch constrructions Have to ≈ must:
m
(past)must → had to.
ass appear to
o, come to,, fail to, geet to, happ
pen to, man
nage to, seeem to, ten
end to &
Have meaning related to
tu
urn to follow
wed by the
e infinitive. Such Vs have mea
anings re
elated to a
aspect odality.
aspect & mo

orr modality
y, but are nearer to
o the main V consttructions than are semi-
au
uxs, patterrning entire
ely like main
m Vs in taking do
o-supportt. Main Vs: Do
o-support.
Sam didn’t [appe
ear / come] to realize th
he importancce of the prob
blem.
Mo
ost of them do, how
wever, res
semble aux
a constrructions in satisfyin
ng the Auxs: Indep pendence of
subject criterion.
“in
ndepende
ence of su
ubject” crriterion (jj).
Sam [failed / see
eemed] to reealized the The imp
mportance of the
t problem [failed
=
ortance of thee problem.
impor / seem
med] to be reealized by Saam

4.5 Meanin
ng of ma
arginal au
uxiliaries
s.

TEMPORAL & MODAL

ASPECTUAL Nec
cessity Obligatio
on Po
ossibility,
Permis
ssion
Past (com
mmitted) (committe
ed) ability
Neeed (to) Need (to)
o)
Haave to Have too
Havee got to Have got tot Be allow
wed to
Used to Be
B able to
Be bound
bo to Be bound to Be permiitted to
Be ceertain to n to
Be certain
Be sure
s to Be sure to
t
Future (Nonco
ommitted) (Noncommittted) Volition Othe
er
Be going to
Bee willing to Dare ((to)
Be to Oug ght to Ought to
Woould rather Tend d to
Be about to Be liikely to Be likely to
t
Woould sooner Be liab
ble to
Be due to Be sup
pposed to Be supposeed to
Be
e going to Happeen to
B destined to
Be

Bibliogra
aphy.
Edittorial MAD
Swaan, Practical Engnglish usage.
Quiirk, R. et al., A comprehensive
c grammar of thee English languaage.
http
p://puska.indexx.hu/upload/Grammar2_2000-M May-%207-13:37 7:05.doc

3. Modal
M auxs
http
p://www.ceafinn
ney.com/subjun
nctive/excerpts.html

Iván Matella
anes’ Notes
 Topic 20
0: Brief summ
mary
25
Brief sum
mmary: Los verbos auxiiliares y modalees: Formas y funnciones
1- VS IN AUXILLIARY FUNCCTION: the Vs I will describe in the next section are capable of functioning a
as auxiliary or “helping”
“ Vs. Th
hese
are
e the primary Vs V be, have & do, and the Modal M Vs can, may, will, sha all, could, mighht, would, sho ould & must. Since
S they can only
function as auxiliarries (auxs), the modal Vs will ge
enerally be refe
erred to as Modaal Auxs.
- Criteria fo
or auxiliary Function:
A. Op in negation with not:: In formingg negative finite
e clauses, the pa
article not is added after the firrst Op (This can
nnot not occur with
w full Vs)
→ You must
m not smokee → You are no ot smoking
♦ With
W non-finite cla auses, the negaation can be useed without the help of an Op → I prefer not to go
Auxs as Op

B. Invers
sion of subj-Op p: 1st Op can co
ome before the subject NP in Yes/No
Y & Wh-Qss → The boy is s singing ⇒ Is thhe boy singing?
C. Emph hatic positive: Ops
O can carry thet nuclear strress to express that the sentence is positive ra ather than negattive → I AM a go ood girl.
D. Post-vverbal Ellipsis: Ops can be ussed to avoid reppetitions → Is he
h sick? Yes, he h is
♦ So or + Operator → Ann will stay, & so will Jay
o / Neither / No ♦ Predicatiion fronting → Bill Said she would
w be late, & late she Was.
♦ Op
perator + too / either → Ann will J will too.
w stay late & Jay ♦ Relativized predication n → Ann said sh he’d be late, whiich she was
E. Negattive and V conttraction: The word
w not followin
ng an Op can be e contracted. Th
he resulting neg gative aux is speelt with a final –n’t.
Morphological

♦ Su
ubject contractio
on: He’s ♦ Negative con ntraction: Isn’t ♦ Exception d∂unt/, ain’t,
mayn’t; *I shan’t;; won’t, don’t /d
ns: *I amn’t; *I m
OPERATORS

F. Weak forms: Auxs arre the only Vs th

hat have weak forms
f → He mu ust /m∂st/ go
G. Defec
ctiveness of noonfinite forms: Auxs lack some e non-finite formms
♦ To
o Be: As Op it has
h all nonfinite forms. ♦ To
o Have: As Op it lacks the en--form. ♦ To Do: When Op itt has zero non-ffinite forms.
H. Pre-ad
dv position: Su ubjuncts & disjuncts follow Opss whereas they precede
p Main VsV → She would d [never / probably] believe th hat story.
syntax

I. Quantifier position: All,

A both & each h may occur afteer the Op as an alternative to th er position → the
he predetermine e boys will all be
b there
J. Indepe
endence of Subj: Auxs are se emantically inde ependent of the subject
Semantic

♦ La
ack of semantic restrictions betw ween the subjecct and the aux V.V
♦ Po
ossibility of consstruction with exxistential there.
♦ Au
uxs usually adm mit the change frrom active to pa assive voice with
hout change of meaning
K. Finite
e Fns only: They cannot occur in nonfinite Fnss, that is as infin ples → *To mayy → *is maying → *(has) mayed
nitives or particip d
♦ Be e: be, being, been. ♦ Have: Have, having. ♦ Do: do
MODAL AUXS

rd
d
L. No 3 pers inflection n: Modal auxs are
a not inflectedd in the 3rd persson sing of the present
p tense
M. Construction w/bare e Inf: Modal auxxs are normally followed by thee bare inf → You u will be asked
d questions
♦ exxcept with used ught → You oug
d and usually ou ght to comb yo our hair
N. Two modals
m cannott occur togethe er in a sentencee bc Modals don’t have non-fin nite forms.
st
O. Moda al auxs are the 1 element in the t main claus se of an unreal conditional cla ause → We wo ould have lovedd it, if he had co
ome.
2- THE PRIMARRY VS BE, HAVE AND DO.
2a - Be: can bee a main V or beehave as an Op p with two auxilliary functions.
♦ Progressive aspect auxiliary
a → Ann n is learning Spaanish ♦ Pa y → Ann was a
assive auxiliary awarded a prize.
♦ To be iss unique in having a full set off both finite and y function; It is also unique in having
d nonfinite forms in auxiliary h as manyy as
eight diffe
erent forms: Be, am, is, are, was,
w were, beingg, been.
2b - Have functtions both as ann Op and as a main
m V.
♦ As an Op
O for perfectiv ve aspect, have e combines with h an –ed particip plex VP → I hav
ple to form comp ve finished
♦ As a maain V, it normally takes a directt obj and has va
arious meanings s such as posse → Have
ession (→ I have no money), relationship (→
you any brothers?)
b or hea
alth (→ I haven n’t a headache)) [Stative meaning: with or without – - dummy-do]
2c - Do can be both an Op andd a main V.
♦¸As an aux,
a do has no nonfinite forms, but only pres
sent and past forms.
f
♦ The terrm do-support applies to the use
u of do as an “empty” or “dummy” operato or in conditions w
where the consttruction requiress an Op (A,
B, C & D above), but when there is no semantic reason for any otherr Op to be pres
sent

3- M-ODAL AUXXS:
Meaning of the Moda
al Auxs : Moda al Vs show Mod dality
3a ♦ Modalitty may be definned as the spea akers’ attitude oro option abou
ut what s/he are e saying. In the
e Modal Vs, the attitudes or opin
nions just
mentioned d can be divided
d into two typess:
(a) INTRINSIC
N MODALLITY involve somme kind of intrinsic human (b
b) EXTRINSIC MODALITY
O typically involve human judgment of what
w is
conttrol over events → PERMISSION, OBLIGATION & VOLITION
V . o is not likely to happen → POS
or SSIBILITY, SUPPO
OSITION & PREDIC CTION.
Each modal
m has both intrinsic and exttrinsic uses
3b - Group 1: Can/could andd may/might
Can/could
d May/might
♦ ROOT POSSIBILITY: gen nerally paraphraased by it is po
ossible + inf ♦ EPISTEMIC POSSIBILITY me eans that the sppeaker judges th he
clause. proposition expressed
e by the
e clause to be necessarily
n true,, or highly
→ Expertss drivers can make
m mistakes = It is possible for experts likelihood. Paaraphrase as itt is possible + that-clause, pe erhaps or
drivers to
o make mistakess possibly. → We may neverr succeed
♦ PERMIS SSION: less forma al than may, wh
hich has been fa avored by ♦ PERMISSION: May is more e formal and les ss common tha an can.
prescriptivve tradition. Parraphrase as bee allowed to. particularly associated with p
permission giv ven by the spea aker
→ Can we borrow these books from the library? → You may leave
l when you u like [= I permit you to leave …]
…
♦ ABILITYY: paraphrased by use of be ab ble to construcction or know
how to. → Can you reme ember where thhey live?

Iván Matellanes’ Notes

 Topic 20: Brief summary
26
3c - Group 2: Must/Have (got) to/Need and Should/ought to
Must Have (got) to Should/ought to
♦ EPISTEMIC SUPPOSITION implies that the ♦ EPISTEMIC SUPPOSITION: Have (got) ♦ TENTATIVE SUPPOSITION: the speaker does not
speaker judges the preposition expressed by to is rather more emphatic than know if his statement is true, but tentatively
the clause to be necessarily true, or highly must, and is found chiefly in AmE → concludes that it is true → The job [should /
likelihood. → There must be some mistake. There has (got) to be some mistake ought to] be finished by next Monday
♦ OBLIGATION: the speaker is exercising his ♦ OBLIGATION: more impersonal than ♦ OBLIGATION: As must, imply self-obligation, but
authority; Self-obligation → We must all share must & implies obligation by don’t imply that the speaker has confidence that
our skills and knowledge external forces the recommendation will be carried out.
→ You [should / ought to] do as he says
Committed Non-committed
3d - Group 3: will/would and shall
Will/ would Shall
♦ PREDICTION: ♦ PREDICTION: Shall
__Future prediction:→Take the medicine. You will feel better then. is a substitute for
__Present predictive → That will be the postman [hearing a ring] the future use of will
__Habitual predictive meaning: conditional, or in timeless in formal style
statements → Oil will float on water
♦ VOLITION: from the weak to strong volition. ♦ VOLITION: in the
nd
__Willingness: common in polite requests and offers (2 pers) intentional sense,
→ Will you help me with this? shall is a formal
st
__Intention on the part of the speaker (1 Pers) → I will write as alternative to will
st
soon as I can. after the 1 pers
__Insistence: Implies determination on the part of the subject
→ You will do what I said.

3e - Past tense form of the modals: could, might, would &

should
♦ Past time equivalents in indirect speech constructions.
♦ In other constructions: Could and would act as past time
equivalents of can and will. However, might & should do
not act as the past time equivalents of may & shall.
♦ Past tense modals can be used in the hypothetical (or
unreal) sense of the past tense. → If the United could win
the game, they might become league champions expresses a
present unreal condition, that is, it conveys the speaker’s
expectations that the United will not win the game.
♦ The past tense form simply adds a note of tentativeness or politeness: Tentative permission (could,might), volition (would) &
possibility (could, might).
CENTRAL
4- VS OF INTERMEDIATE FN: Vs whose status is in some degree intermediate between auxs and main Vs. MODALS
4a - Marginal Modals: Dare, need, ought to, used to
Dare/Need: Nonassertive Contexts.
♦ Dare & need. Need: Immediate necessity, ask give permission Assertive contexts
→ You needn’t pay for that phone call
MARGINAL
♦ Ought to In meaning, it is similar to should used with the infinitive with to MODALS

Denotes a habit/state that existed in the past

♦ Used to used with the infinitive with to
→ I used to be interested in bird watching.

4b - Modal Idioms: had better, would rather, HAVE got to, BE to

They do not behave as Ops MODAL
Non of them has nonfinite forms IDIOMS
→ Have they got to leave immediately?

4c - Semi-Auxiliaries: consist of a set of V idioms which express modal or aspectual meaning and which are introduced by
one of the primary Vs → HAVE to, BE about to, BE able to, BE bound to, BE going to, BE obliged to, BE supposed to, BE willing to …
They have nonfinite forms, & can occur in
♦ BE semiAuxs: Satisfy criteria (a-i) for aux Vs combination with preceding auxs
SEMI-AUXS
→ James will be obliged to resign
♦ HAVE semi-Aux:
In meaning, have to is similar to must, and can Occurrence in the full range of non-finite
Have to is the only
stand in for must in past constructions where forms → The administration has had to make
one beginning with
must cannot occur. unpopular decisions
4d Have rather than be.

- Catenative Vs will be used to denote Vs in such constructions as appear to, come to, fail to, get to, happen to, manage to,
seem to, tend to & turn to followed by the infinitive.
Such Vs have meanings related to aspect or Take do-support → Sam didn’t [appear / come] CATENATIVE
modality, to realize the importance of the problem. VS

AUX / MODAL CONSTRUCTION MAIN V CONSTRUCTION MAIN VS

Iván Matellanes’ Notes