I have to go

Modal verbs: obligations, statements

When talking about things that need to be done (obligations), we use ‘have to’ or ‘must’:

She must stay in bed until her back is better.
George has to go to New York on business.

The verb ‘must‘ expresses stronger obligation or obligation important for a speaker.

The verb ‘have to‘ expresses an obligation due to circumstances or outside factors (e.g. laws, agreements, other people’s orders, etc.).

I must stop smoking. (I really need to)
I have to stop smoking. (doctor’s orders)

We form positive statements with ‘must’ like this:

subject + must + the verb (base form without ‘to’):

Singular

Plural

I must go

You must go

He/she/it must go

We must go

You must go

They must go

I must call my sister this evening.
All visitors must go to the reception first.

We form positive statements with ‘have to’ like this:

subject + have/has to + the verb (base form):

Singular

Plural

I have to go

You have to go

He/she/it has to go

We have to go

You have to go

They have to go

We have to wait here for a taxi.
Mary has to start work at 8am.

4.4 Modal verbs: suggestions and advice

To offer suggestions and give advice in English we can use ‘could’, ‘should’, ‘ought to’, ‘had better’.

‘Should’ is used when the speaker wants to make a strong suggestion:

The sun is shining bright, so you should wear a cap.

You look pale. I don’t think you should go to school today.

The road is wet. You shouldn’t drive too fast.

In more formal situations you can use ‘ought to’ instead of ‘should’, but this modal verb is not used in negative statements and questions:

You ought to (should) wear a scarf. It’s very cold outside.

They ought to hurry, their train is leaving.

Jane ought to visit that castle, it’s great!

If you want to give an important piece of advice or recommendation (that can have a negative consequence if not followed), use ‘had better’:

You had better (You‘d better) leave for work, it’s 8 o’clock already.

We‘d better go that way, we’ll save about 10 minutes.

He’d better park his car correctly or he will get fined.

Note: Had better is a strong expression. We use it if we think there will be negative results if someone does not do what is suggested.

‘Could’ is not as strong as ‘should’ and is normally used to give a mild advice or to suggest a solution to some problem:

– I hate my old jeans!

– Well, you could buy a new pair.

If they need more space, they could look for a bigger house.

Jack moves to Canada next month. He could learn to play hockey there.

Could I have a drink?

Modal verbs: permission, requests and offers

Modal verbs ‘can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to politely ask for permission, to make a request, and to offer help to someone.

We often use the modal verb ‘can’ to ask for permission or to make a request:

Can I have some cookies? – Yes, you can.
Can I borrow your pen, please? – Sure!
Can I use your bathroom? – Of course!

In more formal situations, like talking to your boss or a stranger, you can use ‘could’ instead of ‘can’:

Excuse me, could I sit here, please? – I’m sorry, but you can’t. This seat is taken.
Could I have your attention, sir? – Sure.
Could you tell me the way to the town center, please? – Of course, it’s straight ahead.

‘May I…’ can also be used in formal situations:

May I make an appointment for Tuesday? – Yes, you may.
May I begin? – Of course.
May I have a glass of water? – Sure, here you are.

Note: We can give someone permission with the words ‘can’ or ‘may’, or we can say ‘yes’, ‘of course’ or ‘sure.’

‘Can’ and ‘may’ can also be used to offer help. ‘May’ is used in more formal situations:

Can I help you carry those bags? – Yes, please.
Can I get you a drink? – No, thank you.
May I take your coat? – Of course.

Sometimes we can use ‘shall’ to see if someone wants you to do something. This verb is not typical for US English:

That backpack looks heavy. Shall I carry it for you? (Do you want me to?)
Yes, please.

Shall I open the window? (Do you want me to?)
Good idea, it’s too hot in here.

Dogs can swim

Modal verbs: ability

Can is a modal verb that describes what someone is able to do. It is used in different forms to describe past and present abilities.

Peter can cook Italian food.

In positive statements we put can between the subject and the main verb in its base form:

I can ride a bicycle.
They can help you with building your house.

The negative form of can becomes ‘can not’ or contracted ‘cannot’ (‘can’t’):

Jeffrey cannot play the piano.
She can’t go with us because she’s sick.

Questions with can are formed by swapping the subject and the modal verb:

Can Jane play tennis?
Can he drive a car?

Ability in the past

To talk about ability in the past we use could, which is the past form of can. The negative form of could is ‘could not (couldn’t)’.

I can’t dance rumba now (present ability), but I could when I was younger (past ability).
When I was a student I could party all night before an exam.
I couldn’t go to that restaurant because it was too expensive.
When Emily was eight she could play the violin.

Ability in the future

We don’t use can to describe future ability. Instead, we use ‘will be able to’:

Peter can play the accordion quite well (present ability). In a year or two he will be able to give concerts (future ability).
Next Sunday I will be able to see the new fountains in the park.

Negative statements about future ability are formed using ‘won’t be able to’ or ‘will be unable to’:

If you don’t study well, you won’t be able to find a good job.
Sorry, I’ll be unable to call him at 2 PM. I’ll be in a meeting at that time.

You should eat more vegetables!

Modal verbs: overview

Modal verbs are very common and useful in English. We use them to talk about ability, permission, obligation, requests, offers, suggestions and more.

Meaning	Examples
Ability	I *can* play football. Tom *couldn’t* visit us because he was tired.
Permission	You *may* have more ice-cream if you like. *Could* I leave early today?
Requests	*Can* / *Could* you bring me that book? *Would* you call John and invite him, please?
Offers	I’ll buy the meat for the barbecue. *Shall* I carry some of your bags?
Suggestions and advice	You *should* / *ought to* go to the dentist. We *could* try that new Italian restaurant.
Obligation	You *have to* drive on the left in the UK. You *must*n’t be late for work.
Making deductions	There is someone at the door. It *could* / *might* / *may be* Nick, I don’t know. It *can’t* be Mary because she is on vacation.

Modal verbs in English don’t add an ‘s’ for he/she/it. They are always followed by the main verb in the base form:

Subject	Modal verb	Base form of the verb	Rest of the sentence
I (you, he, she, it, we, they)	*can*	dance	very well.

Negative statements with modal verbs are formed by adding ‘not‘ after the modal verb:

You should not (shouldn’t) eat so much meat – it’s bad for you.
Jack can not (can’t) play tennis, but he likes playing football.

Questions with modal verbs are usually formed by swapping the subject and modal verb:

They should visit Egypt.
Why should they visit Egypt?

You may come in.
May I come in?

Tiffany can meet her friends tonight.
Can Tiffany meet her friends tonight?

Note: With ‘ought to’ (=should) and ‘have to’ (=must) we use ‘to’ before the base form of the verb.

You ought to learn how to drive.
I have to read a lot to become a good student.

3.11 Future in the Past

There are several constructions that are used to describe thoughts about the future that someone had at some point in the past. These constructions are known as the Future in the Past:

I was going to have a party, but nobody could come.

Tom always knew he would be a good student.

Mary was very happy on Saturday morning. She was visiting her friends that evening.

The Future in the Past can be used to describe an earlier prediction with the help of ‘was / were going to’.

‘Going to’ is used to talk about the future from the present moment:

The traffic is awful! I think (present view) I‘m going to be late.

‘Was/were going to’ is used to talk about the future from some point in the past:

I thought (past view) I was going to be late, but I’m right on time.

Mike was going to buy a new shirt, but he couldn’t find one.

Sorry I interrupted. Were you going to say something?

The Future in the Past can be used to describe a future event or action with the help of ‘would’.

‘Will’ is used to talk about the future from the present moment:

I think (present view) I will finish my work today. It shouldn’t take too long.

‘Would’ is used to talk about the future from some point in the past:

I thought (past view) I would finish my work today, but there was still a lot left to do.

Michael was told that his car would be fixed by 5 o’clock.

Did you ever think you would become a pilot?

The Future in the Past can also be used to talk about an arranged future event from a time in the past.

In such statements we use the Past Continuous:

Jenny was very nervous on Monday morning. She was taking her English test that afternoon (arranged future event in the past).

Gabriel had been cleaning the room all day. His mother was arriving that evening.

We had to go to bed because we were flying early the next morning.

3.10 Future Perfect Continuous

The Future Perfect Continuous is normally used to predict the length of an activity — as if looking back at such activity from some finished time in the future:

By July, Cindy will have been working in this office for a year (‘for a year’ is an imagined finished time in the future, but Cindy will continue her work after it).

To make the Future Perfect Continuous, use:

Will have been + the ‘-ing’ form of the verb.

Singular

Plural

I will have been doing

You’ll have been doing

He/she/it’ll have been doing

We’ll have been doing

You’ll have been doing

They’ll have been doing

By the time I arrive home, I will have been driving for six hours.

By this time next month, I’ll have been studying English for a year.

Melissa will have been cooking all day long before the wedding cake is ready.

3.9 Future Perfect

The Future Perfect is used to talk about an event or action that will be finished before a certain event or time in future:

They will have built the house (the house will be ready) by February (‘by’ here means ‘before’).

To make the Future Perfect, use:

Will have + the past participle form of the verb.

Singular

Plural

I will have (I’ll have) finished

You’ll have finished

He/she/it will have finished

We’ll have finished

You’ll have finished

They’ll have finished

Jack will have read all his books by next month.

The next time you see me, I’ll have had a haircut.

We are late! The play will have started by the time we get to the stadium.

3.8 Future Continuous

The Future Continuous is used to describe an event or action that will be in progress at a given time in the future.

This event or action will start before the given time and may continue after it.

Right now Daniel is working in a cafe (Present Continuous).

In 3 years’ time he hopes he will be running his own restaurant (Future Continuous).

To make the Future Continuous, use:

will be + the “-ing” form of the verb

Singular

Plural

I will (I’ll) be waiting

You’ll be waiting

He/she/it’ll be waiting

We’ll be waiting

You’ll be waiting

They’ll be waiting

This time next week I’ll be walking in the parks of Versailles.

Tom will be starting school in September.

The Future Continuous is also used in neutral questions — to ask for information, but not to make a request.

Consider the following examples:

Neutral question	Request
*Will* you be passing by the new grocery store? They have a wide selection of tea on sale.	*Will* you pass by the new grocery store, please? We’ve run out of tea.
*Will* you *be attending* the meeting this afternoon? Several interesting speakers are expected.	*Will* you *attend* the meeting this afternoon, please? They’ll discuss the topics of your interest.

The Future Continuous can sometimes be formed with ‘going to’ instead of ‘will’, but this is less common:

I‘m going to be studying all day long.

Do you want to go to a concert tonight? My wife’s going to be performing.

Shall we have lunch together on Friday? Peter and Jessica are going to be visiting our city.

She is leaving for Paris tomorrow

Present Continuous with future meaning

We use the Present Continuous to talk about pre-arranged future actions or events.

We use time markers (tomorrow, at six o’clock, on Friday, etc.), to show that the actions or events will take place at a definite time in the future.

Jane is working at the moment (Present Continuous refers to present activity) but in the evening she is playing tennis (Present Continuous refers to planned activity in future).

To make the Present Continuous with future meaning, we use the verb to be (am/is/are) + the “-ing” (Gerund) form of the verb and add a time marker.

I’m staying at home tonight.
She isn’t working on Thursday.
We’re meeting at two o’clock.
John and Samantha are getting married tomorrow.

We form the negative by adding ‘not’ to either the full form or short (contracted) form.

We’re not having a meeting this afternoon.
=We aren’t having a meeting this afternoon.
=We are not having a meeting this afternoon.
I’m not coming to the party tonight.
= I am not coming to the party tonight.

Note: We can often use ‘going to’ instead of the Present Continuous to indicate future meaning.

Nick’s spending time with his family tonight.
= Nick’s going to spend time with his family tonight.

To form a question, we rearrange the word order, placing the verb ‘be’ before the subject.

Are you going to the concert tomorrow?
Is your mom joining us for dinner next week?