- published: 21 May 2015
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In the English language, a modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb. The key way to identify a modal verb is by its defectiveness (they have neither participles nor infinitives). In addition, modal verbs do not take the inflection -s or -es in the third person singular, unlike other verbs.
The modal verbs in English are as follows, paired as present and preterite forms.
Note that use of the preterite forms does not necessarily refer to past time.
The following have also been categorized by some as modal verbs:
Note that dare and need are much more commonly used as non-modal verbs, taking -s in the third person singular and having an infinitive and past and present participles. Further, some authors do not mention had better and explicitly reject ought (to) on the grounds that the main verb infinitive is required to include the particle to.
The following are not modal verbs although they have some similar characteristics:
If a verb is preceded by multiple auxiliary verbs including a modal, as in "it could have been eaten," the modal will always appear before the other auxiliary verbs. A verb or auxiliary verb following a modal always appears in its basic form (for example, "could have gone" instead of "could had gone" or "could has gone", and "He could walk" rather than "he could walks").
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