Modal Forms (Part 4)

“Shall”

A. Shall – future action (British form):

The marketing director shall be replaced by someone from the New York office. Fred shall be there by 8:00.

Negative Forms:

The marketing director shall not be replaced after all. Fred shall not be there. He has a previous obligation.

B. Shall – volunteering/promising (British form):

1. I shall take care of everything for you.

2. I shall make the travel arrangements. There's no need to worry.

Negative Forms:

1. I shall never forget you.

2. I shall never give up the fight for freedom.

C. Shall – inevitability (British form):

1. Man shall explore the distant regions of the universe.

2. We shall overcome oppression.

Negative Forms:

1. Man shall never give up the exploration of the universe.

2. He shall not be held back.

“Should”

A. Should – recommendation advisability:

1. People with high cholesterol should eat low fat foods. (PRESENT)

2. Frank should have eaten low fat foods. That might have prevented his heart attack. (PAST)

3. You really should start eating better. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. Sarah shouldn't smoke so much. It's not good for her health.

2. Sarah shouldn't have smoked so much. That's what caused her health problems.

3. Sarah shouldn't smoke when she visits Martha next week. Martha hates when people smoke in her house.

B. Should – obligation:

1. I should be at work before 9:00.

2. We should return the video before the video rental store closes.

(“Should” can also express something between recommendation and obligation. “Be supposed to” expresses a similar idea and can easily be used in the past or in negative forms.)

NO NEGATIVE FORMS

C. Should – assumption/expectation/probability:

1. Susan should be in New York by now. (PRESENT)

2. Susan should have arrived in New York last week. Let's call her and see what she is up to. (PAST)

3. Susan should be in New York by next week. Her new job starts on Monday. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. Susan shouldn't be in New York yet.

2. Susan shouldn't have arrived in New York until yesterday.

3. Susan shouldn't arrive in New York until next week.

“Will"

A. Will – future action/prediction:

The marketing director will be replaced by someone from the New York office. Fred will be there by 8:00.

Negative Forms:

The marketing director will not be replaced after all. Fred will not be there. He has a previous obligation.

B. Will – volunteering/promising:

1. I will take care of everything for you.

2. I will make the travel arrangements. There's no need to worry.

Negative Forms:

1. I will never forget you.

2. I will never give up the fight for freedom.

See Simple Future!

For more information on “will” and the use of the Simple Future, visit Englishpage.com's Simple Future Page!

“Would”

A. Would – conditional:

1. If I were President, I would cut the cost of education. (PRESENT)

2. If I had been President, I would have cut the cost of education. (PAST)

3. If I were elected President next year, I would cut the cost of education. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. If I were President, I would not raise taxes.

2. If I had been President, I would not have raised taxes.

3. If I were President, I would not sign the tax increase next week.

B. Would – past of will:

1. I said I would help you.

2. He told me he would be here before 8:00.

Negative Forms:

1. I said I wouldn't help you.

2. He told me he would not be here before 8:00.

C. Would – repetition in past:

1. When I was a kid, I would always go to the beach.

2. When he was young, he would always do his homework.

Negative Forms:

1. When I was a kid, I wouldn't go into the water by myself.

2. When he got older, he would never do his homework.

See Conditional Tutorial.

To learn more about the conditional, visit Conditional Tutorial page.

See Would Always.

To learn more about how to express repetition in the past with “would”, visit Would Always page.

“Shall”

A. Shall – future action (British form):

The marketing director shall be replaced by someone from the New York office. Fred shall be there by 8:00.

Negative Forms:

The marketing director shall not be replaced after all. Fred shall not be there. He has a previous obligation.

B. Shall – volunteering/promising (British form):

1. I shall take care of everything for you.

2. I shall make the travel arrangements. There's no need to worry.

Negative Forms:

1. I shall never forget you.

2. I shall never give up the fight for freedom.

C. Shall – inevitability (British form):

1. Man shall explore the distant regions of the universe.

2. We shall overcome oppression.

Negative Forms:

1. Man shall never give up the exploration of the universe.

2. He shall not be held back.

“Should”

A. Should – recommendation advisability:

1. People with high cholesterol should eat low fat foods. (PRESENT)

2. Frank should have eaten low fat foods. That might have prevented his heart attack. (PAST)

3. You really should start eating better. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. Sarah shouldn't smoke so much. It's not good for her health.

2. Sarah shouldn't have smoked so much. That's what caused her health problems.

3. Sarah shouldn't smoke when she visits Martha next week. Martha hates when people smoke in her house.

B. Should – obligation:

1. I should be at work before 9:00.

2. We should return the video before the video rental store closes.

(“Should” can also express something between recommendation and obligation. “Be supposed to” expresses a similar idea and can easily be used in the past or in negative forms.)

NO NEGATIVE FORMS

C. Should – assumption/expectation/probability:

1. Susan should be in New York by now. (PRESENT)

2. Susan should have arrived in New York last week. Let's call her and see what she is up to. (PAST)

3. Susan should be in New York by next week. Her new job starts on Monday. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. Susan shouldn't be in New York yet.

2. Susan shouldn't have arrived in New York until yesterday.

3. Susan shouldn't arrive in New York until next week.

“Will"

A. Will – future action/prediction:

The marketing director will be replaced by someone from the New York office. Fred will be there by 8:00.

Negative Forms:

The marketing director will not be replaced after all. Fred will not be there. He has a previous obligation.

B. Will – volunteering/promising:

1. I will take care of everything for you.

2. I will make the travel arrangements. There's no need to worry.

Negative Forms:

1. I will never forget you.

2. I will never give up the fight for freedom.

See Simple Future!

For more information on “will” and the use of the Simple Future, visit Englishpage.com's Simple Future Page!

“Would”

A. Would – conditional:

1. If I were President, I would cut the cost of education. (PRESENT)

2. If I had been President, I would have cut the cost of education. (PAST)

3. If I were elected President next year, I would cut the cost of education. (FUTURE)

Negative Forms:

1. If I were President, I would not raise taxes.

2. If I had been President, I would not have raised taxes.

3. If I were President, I would not sign the tax increase next week.

B. Would – past of will:

1. I said I would help you.

2. He told me he would be here before 8:00.

Negative Forms:

1. I said I wouldn't help you.

2. He told me he would not be here before 8:00.

C. Would – repetition in past:

1. When I was a kid, I would always go to the beach.

2. When he was young, he would always do his homework.

Negative Forms:

1. When I was a kid, I wouldn't go into the water by myself.

2. When he got older, he would never do his homework.

See Conditional Tutorial.

To learn more about the conditional, visit Conditional Tutorial page.

See Would Always.

To learn more about how to express repetition in the past with “would”, visit Would Always page.