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The English modal auxiliary verbs are a subset of the English auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality, properties such as possibility and obligation. [a] They can most easily be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participles or plain forms [b]) and by their lack of the ending ‑(e)s for the third-person singular.
may: That may be a problem. May I stay? – might: The weather might improve. Might I help you? – must: It must be hot outside. Sam must go to school. – shall: This shall not be viewed kindly. You shall not pass. – should: That should be surprising. You should stop that. – will: She will try to lie. – – would: Nothing would ...
Both shall and will may be contracted to -'ll, most commonly in affirmative statements where they follow a subject pronoun. Their negations, shall not and will not, also have contracted forms: shan't and won't (although shan't is rarely used in North America, and is becoming rarer elsewhere too). See English auxiliaries and contractions.
it shall / it will it’s: it has / it is Idunno (informal) I do not know kinda (informal) kind of lemme: let me let’s: let us loven’t (informal) love not (colloquial) ma’am (formal) madam mayn’t: may not may’ve: may have methinks (informal) I think mightn’t: might not might’ve: might have mine’s: mine is mustn’t: must not ...
The English modal verbs consist of the core modals can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, as well as ought (to), had better, and in some uses dare and need. [20] These do not inflect for person or number, [ 20 ] do not occur alone, and do not have infinitive or participle forms (except synonyms, as with be/being/been able (to ...
The first English grammar, Bref Grammar for English by William Bullokar, published in 1586, does not use the term "auxiliary" but says: All other verbs are called verbs-neuters-un-perfect because they require the infinitive mood of another verb to express their signification of meaning perfectly: and be these, may, can, might or mought, could, would, should, must, ought, and sometimes, will ...
May, I recently learned, is National Walking Month. What a grand part of the world we live in to celebrate it. Walking, said the classic Greek physician Hippocrates, is man’s best medicine.
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