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When using modal verbs, the following particularities need to be taken into account: What are the special rules to consider when using modal verbs?
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“I had to close the window because Peter had a cold.”.“Mike was supposed to go to the doctor’s yesterday.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ to have to’ or ‘ to be supposed to’:.“You should get some rest you look tired.”.“They had always wanted to travel the world, but then they retired and moved to South Africa.”.“Sam wanted to help you, but he didn’t know how.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ to want to’:.“I would stay longer, but I have to go to work.”.“Our trip to Australia will be very expensive.”.“They didn’t have to bring any money as they were invited.”.“We don’t have to watch the movie till the end.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ not to have to’:.“You needn’t do that just because of me.”.“You will not be allowed to feed any animals in the park.”.“We arrived too late, so we were not allowed to enter anymore.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ not to be allowed to’:.“You may not park in front of the building.”.“You will have to show your passport at the airport.”.“Peter had to go home early last night.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ to have to’:.“I had an accident, and now I must go to the police.”.“I don’t know if I will be allowed to go to the concert.”.“Mobile phones are not allowed to be used in the meeting room.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ to be allowed to’:.Attention: ‘ could’ and ‘ to be able to’ have a slight difference in meaning for details, have a look at this explanation.“Will I be able to borrow your car when I have my driver’s license?”.“I’m not sure if I will be able to come to the party.”.substitute form or paraphrase with ‘ to be able to’:.“I can speak French, but I can’t speak Greek.”.English modal verbs are commonly employed to express the following characteristics and meanings:.Now, compare the following possibilities in terms of appearance in example sentences (an overview can be found under verb forms of modal verbs): For details about the use of the present tense, take a look at modal verbs in present simple. Since modal verbs can usually only appear in few tenses and not in combination with other modal verbs in a clause, they all have a substitute form, which is then used in such cases. Due to their subjective meaning, they are an essential part of the English language and are used very frequently. They express modality and thus denote desires, abilities, obligations, or possibilities. Modal verbs are a subgroup of auxiliary verbs.
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