Non-modal meaning

Some modal verbs can also be used to express non-modal meaning.

Will and would

Ex.: I knew he would be late (We also use would to express 'future in the past')

Should

We can use should in certain kinds of subordinate clauses, where it has no connotations of obligation or logical deduction:

I'm sorry you should feel that way.

We brought a blanket just in case you should feel cold.

Should can be used after:

• the conjunctions in case and if.

adjectives such as: anxious (that), concerned(that), delighted(that), disappointed(that), eager(that), excited(that), glad(that), happy(that), pleased(that), sorry(that), thrilled(that), worried(that).

• verbs such as: demand(that), insist(that), recommend(that), request(that).

• nouns such as: (the) fact (that), (the) idea (that).

May and might

We can use may and might after whatever, whoever, wherever etc.:

I’ll find him wherever he may (might) go. (or wherever he goes.)

Whoever he may (might) be, I’ll still tell him off if he parks in front of my house! (or Whoever he is.)

Other ways of expressing modal meaning

We can express modal meaning (ability, possibility etc.) through a range of adjectives, nouns and adverbs as well as through modal verbs:

adjectives: It’s possible that he’s just exhausted. (He may just be exhausted...)

nouns: There’s no necessity for anyone to come in tomorrow. (No one has to come...)

adverbs: Perhaps he can’t read and write. (He may not be able to read and write.)

Learners of English sometimes rely largely on adjectives, nouns and adverbs to express modal meaning, and avoid using modal verbs. This can seem laboured and unnatural, particularly in spoken English.

IV. Infinitive and - ing forms of verbs

Key considerations

There are many different contexts where we have to make a choice between an infinitive or -ing form of the verb, and the rules which guide us may seem arbitrary. We need to be wary of focusing on too many of these rules at once; learners usually prefer to have their attention drawn to these, rule by rule over a period of time.

Mistakes in choosing between infinitive and -ing forms rarely lead to serious misunderstandings. However, most learners make a lot of mistakes and they are often penalised for these mistakes in examinations.

Infinitives

What do they look like?

The infinitive is the simplest form of the verb. It is exactly the same as the base form that follows I, you, we and they in the present simple tense of all verbs other than be (e.g. I drink; They believe). We refer to these verbs as infinitives when they are not part of the tense of a verb.

Sometimes the infinitive follows to, and we call this the full infinitive or the infinitive with to, e.g: He wanted me to ask a question.

What do they do?

We use infinitives:

· to add more information to what is expressed in certain verbs, verb + object combinations, adjectives and nouns, or expressions including these.

· to explain the reason for something or its purpose or function.

· as subjects and complements.

· in certain tense forms.

Where do they come in sentences?

· After certain verbs

We can use an infinitive after certain verbs. The following are some common examples:

agree, appear, arrange, attempt, decide, expect, fail, hope, need, offer, promise, refuse, want, wish.

	Verb	Infinitive
I	wanted	to meet	him.
They	hoped	to get	back early.

· After certain verb + object combinations

We can use an infinitive after certain verb + object combinations. The following are some common examples:

advise, allow, ask, cause, encourage, forbid, force, instruct, invite, order, permit, persuade, prefer, recommend, remind, require, teach, tell, tempt, warn.

	Verb	Object	Infinitive
Who	asked	Valentine	to come	to the party?
The police	required	everyone	to stay	in the room.

· After certain adjectives

We can use an infinitive after certain adjectives. Some of the commonest adjectives in this category are those which describe:

- personal feelings or attitude: e.g. anxious, determined, delighted, eager etc.

- aspects of possibility, probability, necessity or ability: e.g. certain, crucial, imperative, likely, possible etc.

	Adjective	Infinitive
I’m	sorry	to be	a nuisance.
Is it	necessary	to make	so much noise?

We sometimes use these adjectives with a phrase beginning for:

Is it possible for everyone?

We also use an infinitive after these phrases:

Is it possible for everyone to be here early tomorrow?

· After too + adjective/much or many + noun

We use an infinitive after too + adjective, too + much/many + noun:

I’m too old to learn new tricks.

There’s too much information to digest.

· After adjective + enough or enough (+ noun)

We use an infinitive after adjective + enough, enough (+ noun):

I'm fit enough to play.

Have you got enough (money) to get home?

· After certain nouns and noun expressions

We can use infinitives after nouns which express something about:

- personal feelings or attitude: e.g. desire, wish etc.

- aspects of possibility, necessity and ability: e.g. ability, capability, possibility, need etc.

	Noun	Infinitive
I have no	desire	to hurt	you.
There’s a great	need	to improve	our service.

We also use infinitives after certain other nouns:

He made an attempt to escape.

The nouns we follow with infinitives are restricted in number, and often follow them with infinitives only in set expressions (e.g. I have no wish to…; make an attempt to....).

· After a direct object

(the direct objects in the examples which follow are: the drill, something and a more substantial table)

We use infinitives to explain the reason for something, or to answer the question ‘why?’:

He borrowed the drill to put up more shelves.

In this case we can also use in order to, e.g. in order to put up more shelves.

We also use the infinitive to explain the purpose or function of something:

I think it must be something to eat.

I need a more substantial table to work at.

When we define something’s intrinsic function, we often use for …-ing instead of an infinitive:

A corkscrew is a thing for opening wine bottles.

· After ‘question words’ in indirect questions

We often use infinitives after question words such as how, what, when, where, who, which, why, whether:

I don’t know how to respond.

She hasn’t decided whether to stay in or not.

We only use the infinitive after question words when the main verb and the verb in the infinitive have the same subject. We can say I don’t know how to respond because I am the person who will respond. We can’t say: I don’t know how you to respond.

We also use the infinitive in expressions which imply a question word:

I don’t know the way to respond. (I don’t know how to respond.)

I don’t know the right person to ask. (I don’t know who to ask.)

· Subjects and complements

We can use an infinitive as the subject of a clause when it refers to an activity:

To eat would be stupid if you are still planning to swim.

To travel hopefully is better than to arrive.

Although this use is perfectly correct, we often prefer not to begin sentences with an infinitive, particularly in more casual, spoken contexts.

We frequently begin the sentence with it instead. In this case the infinitive is part of the complement:

It would be stupid to drink anything if you are planning to drive home.

We use an infinitive as a complement in expressions like the following:

Your best bet is to wait.

We can also use an infinitive as a complement in pseudo-cleft sentences:

What you need is to relax.

· After an auxiliary verb in tense forms

We generally refer to the ‘going to future’ (He’s going to cry) as though to were attached to going. We also refer to ‘used to for past habits and states’ (I used to have a lot of dreams) as though to were attached to used.

In both cases, we can also think of the verb that follows going or used as an infinitive:

I’m going to see her tomorrow.

Doctors used to make more home calls.

-ing forms

What do they look like?

-ing forms are words that end in -ing like drinking, eating, laughing.

What do they do?

We use -ing forms:

· to add information to what is expressed in certain verbs and verb + object combinations.

· when we want to use a verb after a preposition.

· as subjects and complements.

· to list activities.

· to add information to what is expressed in a clause.

· in continuous tenses.

Where do they come in sentences?

· After certain verbs

We can use an -ing form after certain verbs. The following are some common examples:

avoid, bear, consider, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, imagine, involve, mention, mind, miss, practise, resent, risk, postpone, stand:

He enjoys looking around antique shops.

The journey involves changing trains several times.

We can also use an -ing form after many multiword verbs, e.g. give up, look forward to, put off, put up with:

I look forward to hearing from you.

· After certain verb + object combinations

We sometimes use an object between the verb and the –ing form:

Do you mind me smoking?

In informal speech, as in these examples, we use words and egressions like me, him, Mike, the team. In more formal contexts (e.g. academic writing) we sometimes choose possessive forms before the -ing form - words and expressions like my, his, Mike’s, the team’s.:

No one minded the ambassador 's request ing a state reception.

· After prepositions

When we use a verb after a preposition, this has to be an -ing form:

Is she still interested in dancing?

On coming into the room, she immediately noticed the uneasy atmosphere.

· Subjects and complements

We usually use an -ing form when we want to make an activity the subject of a clause:

Grumbling is a waste of time.

Lying is sure to get you into trouble.

(This is more common than use of an infinitive)

We can also use an -ing form as a complement in pseudo-cleft sentences:

What really gets on my nerves is singing out of tune.

· Items in lists of activities

The following example is taken from a list of school regulations:

The following are completely forbidden on school premises:

• spitting

• pushing and shoving

• running in the corridors

• shouting

· Additional information

We often use an –ing form to add different kinds of information to the information in a main clause:

He walked out of the room smiling.

He made his fortune playing bridge.

In formal contexts (particularly written) we often ‘reduce’ the form of continuous tenses by leaving out the subject of the clause and the form of the verb to be:

(Printed notice in a hospital ward)

Wear protective clothing when [you are] emptying bins.

· Gerunds and present participles

For most practical purposes we consider -ing forms of the verb as one grammatical class. However, they are sometimes considered as two separate classes (different in function but not in form): gerunds and present participles.

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