verbos en ingles

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT / IES FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO

MODAL VERBS
Los Verbos Modales
MODAL

EXAMPLES

USES

CAN

He can find any street in London.
You can take a taxi.
Can you take me toVictoria Station?

Ability
Suggestion
Request

BE ABLE TO

He is able to find any street in London.

Ability

That story can´t be true.

Certainty that something is
impossible

COULD

Icould play tennis when I was younger.
Could you take me to Victoria Station?.
You could take a taxi.

Ability
Request
Suggestion

MAY

It may be quicker to travel by train.
May I come in?.Possibility
Formal request

MIGHT

It might be quicker to travel by train.

Possibility

MUST

You must be back at 10 o´clock.
Look at the snow. It must be cold outside.

ObligationCertainty that something is true

HAVE TO

You have to be back at 10 o´clock.

Obligation

NEED TO

You need to study a lot.

Obligation

NEEDN´T

You needn´t have a university degree.Lack of obligation

MUSTN´T

You mustn´t drive without a licence.

Prohibition

DON´T HAVE TO

You don´t have to call a taxi.

Lack of obligation

SHOULD

You should drive morecarefully

Opinion / Advice

OUGHT TO

You ought to drive more carefully

Opinion / Advice

CAN´T

CARACTERÍSTICAS DE ESTOS VERBOS:
No llevan -s en la tercera persona del singular del presentesimple.
No necesitan -do o -does para formar la negativa ni la interrogativa.
Nunca llevan infinitivo con to detrás, excepto be able to, need to, have to y ought to..
No tienen infinitivo,participio ni tiempos compuestos.
NOTA: Los verbos have to y need to también se consideran “verbos semimodales” porque no
cumplen todas las características propias de los verbos modales.

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ENGLISHDEPARTMENT / IES FRANCISCO DE QUEVEDO

CAN / BE ABLE TO
CAN se auxilia de be able to en los tiempos de que carece, y tiene muchos usos:
a) Para expresar habilidad o capacidad: “saber”, “poder”.
b)...