Modal Verbs
English has the modal verbs can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, and also (depending on classification adopted) ought (to), dare, need, had (better), used (to). These do not add -s for the third-person singular, and they do not form infinitives or participles; the only inflection they undergo is that to a certain extent could, might, should and would function as preterites (past tenses) of can, may, shall and will respectively.
A modal verb can serve as the finite verb introducing a verb catena, as in he might have been injured then. These generally express some form of modality (possibility, obligation, etc.), although will and would (and sometimes shall and should) can serve – among their other uses – to express future time reference and conditional mood, as described elsewhere on this page.
For details of the uses of modal verbs, see English modal verbs.
Read more about this topic: Pluperfect Progressive
Famous quotes containing the word verbs:
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