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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.
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 ...
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 ...
Although the consequence in first conditional sentences is usually expressed using the will (or shall) future (usually the simple future, though future progressive, future perfect and future perfect progressive are used as appropriate), other variations are also possible – it may take the form of an imperative, it may use another modal verb ...
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 ...
It may refer to a distinct verb form that expresses the conditional set of circumstances proper in the dependent clause or protasis (e.g. in Turkish or Azerbaijani), or which expresses the hypothetical state of affairs or uncertain event contingent to it in the independent clause or apodosis, or both (e.g. in Hungarian or Finnish).
§ Future changes to conditional, also referred to as future-in-the-past (i.e. will/shall changes to would/should): "The match will end in a draw." → He predicted that the match would end in a draw. The modals can and may change to their preterite forms could and might : "We may attend." → She told us that they might attend.
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