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I have no clue how you stumbled upon this post. If you Googled “modal auxiliaries,” please call up a friend and discuss what might be the underlying problem. On the off-chance that you are looking for a last-ditch effort to understand what a modal verb is before an exam and are hoping this blog post can help, I shall ramble a bit about these verbs.
If you think too hard about anything, this “anything” can become extremely complicated. There are many terms for the moment when a concept that was originally a mundane aspect of existence becomes one of the many gateways to the deeper mysteries of the universe. We shall refer to this as a “trip.”
At this point, you should prepare for a trip.
There’s a mental “trip” in the above sentence… No, it is not the phrase “at this point” that concerns us. And “you” is very obvious, nothing trippy there. “Prepare” is a verb that is understandable. We’ve already defined “trip.” Indefinite articles are just a way to be polite and we’ve already had enough of prepositions for a while. What is going to blow our minds is the only component not mentioned…..the word……”should.”
First, go grab a beer or glass of wine. Non alcoholics, something relaxing, avoid caffeine. You won’t need it. First, trust me and assume that the word “should” is a verb. (This assumption has started a chain reaction in your mind. You are now remembering descriptions of verbs that resemble something like this. Please only watch the first 30 seconds of this or you will have the urge to slam your head on something harder than a pillow). Action, doing, etc… Verbs are easy to understand. (At this point you are thinking, “Oh jeez….how the heck do I should?”)
“I remember the concept of helping verbs from school, not all verbs have to be active, some verbs just serve to clarify the main verb.” Another word for “helping” in this case is auxiliary…at least that part of the term modal auxiliary is defined. But what about the modal part? As you will see, these types of auxiliary verbs are more “active” than one might expect. Can, should, might, must….these are modal auxiliaries. And what are they doing when you use them?
This next sentence is the key to understanding what modal verbs are “doing.” Based on an insanely large amount of underlying knowledge there is a range of possibilities that some other thing is actually the case.
The modal verbs help narrow down that range of possibilities between the two italicized items in the previous sentence. Just plug in some content in place of the italicized parts of the sentence to see how a modal verb is functioning. Here is an example to show what is actually happening when you use a modal auxiliary, in this case “must.”
You must be having trouble understanding this post.
Based on a lot of knowledge such as my awareness in my lack of ability to discuss this concept and the general human attention span there is a range of possibilities that you are having trouble understanding this post. The word “must” narrows down the range of possibilities and helps define the relationship between the other two highlighted things. Based on assumed information, you must be having trouble….no more “range of possibilities” needed.
Two things left to do. First, you can check your understanding by using the three part formula to see how modal verbs function in any sentence you create using can, should, may, etc. Secondly, always try to stay aware of the many things that are actually occurring anytime you use a modal verb. In this way, you will slowly drive yourself insane. Sorry, but I must go!
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