We would like to apologize for the unexpected three-day unavailability of Jose Carillo's English Forum.
Joe,
What is your stance on the shall/will should/would argument?
For my stance on the modals, I'm simply presenting this excerpt from Chapter 39 – "The Grammar of Doubt and Uncertainty” of
English Plain and Simple, the first book in my English-usage trilogy:
The most common of the modal verbs are these ten ever-handy fixtures of the English language: “can,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “must,” “should,” “ought to,” “shall,” “will,” and “would.” Up close, you will see that they are actually fully metamorphosed forms of one another.
At their most basic, these modals play the following unique roles:
(1) “Can” indicates current ability, in the same sense as “able to.” Example: “I
can improve my English if I want to.” Here, “can” works with an operative verb, “improve,” to create that sense.
(2) “Could” indicates an ability sometime in the past. Example: “I told him that I
could dance all night if I wanted to.” Here, “could” works with the operative verb “dance” to create that sense.
(3) “May” indicates a weak possibility, or asks for and gives permission. Examples (possibility): “Evelyn
may be qualified for the job.” (permission) “
May I see your work?” “Yes, you may.”
(4) “Might” indicates a stronger possibility than “may.” Example: “Patricia
might be a better choice for the job.”
(5) “Must” indicates an obligation or necessity, or, in the present tense, a certainty. Examples (obligation): “You
must come to our branch to get the bonus points.” (certainty) “There’s light in the bedroom. Jessica
must still be awake.”
(6) “Should” indicates an advice or an obligation of a somewhat lesser degree than “must,” or a degree of certainty of a somewhat lesser degree than “must.” Examples (advice): “You
should pick up your sister from the airport.” (obligation) “I
should get a cellphone for my son.” (certainty) “The moon has risen. Jennifer
should be out of the house by now.”
(7) “Ought to” indicates an obligation of a degree somewhat more than “should” and somewhat less than “must.” Example: “You
ought to read our brochure before making that trip.”
(8 ) “Shall” indicates a suggestion, option, or intention to do something. Examples (suggestion, option): “
Shall we go now?” (intention) “We
shall march to the enemy’s camp and fight them.”
(9) “Will” indicates a willingness to do something in the present. Examples: “
Will she like the idea?” “I wonder if she
will want to go with me.”
(10) “Would” indicates a past or present willingness to do something, or an invitation to do something. Examples: (past willingness) “I asked her if she
would dance with me.” (present willingness) “Ask her if she
would like to go.” (invitation) “
Would you care for a cup of tea?”
These modals work not only in the affirmative but also in the negative sense. To form their negative equivalents, we pair off the adverb “no” with the modal, except with “should,” “must,” and “ought to.” See how modals calibrate negativeness: “She
cannot understand why he left all of a sudden.” “May I drive the car? No, you
may not.” In the case of “should,” “must,” and “ought to,” they cannot work with “not” either to form the negative. They pair off with the phrase “don’t have to” or “need not” instead. It is, for instance, wrong to say, “I must get a visa to visit Rome, but I
must not get one for Hong Kong.” The correct ways: “I must get a visa to visit Rome, but I
don’t have to get one for Hong Kong.” “I
need not get a visa for Hong Kong.”
By now, you must have already noticed that modals differ from ordinary verbs in surprising ways. Unlike the typical verb, which takes distinct forms depending on the tense, a modal has a single, unchanging form, and never ends in -s, even in sentences in the third person singular. You can say “Lolita sings beautifully,” but it will be ridiculous to say, “Lolita
cans play the guitar as well.” Note, too, that except for “could,” which can serve as the past tense of “can,” the modal forms do not work in the past tense. Such are the strange ways of modals, no doubt making them the most infuriatingly fascinating part of speech of the English language.
