Search results for 'tag:Modal verbs tag:Pronouns' matching tags 'Modal verbs' and 'Pronouns'

Re: ''Should I not respect you?'' and ''Shouldn't I respect you?''

Bokeh — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:05:47 GMT

Jackson6612 wrote:
In grammar, a clause that is in the interrogative has its subject following do, be, have, or a modal verb.

The pronoun goes in the first possible position after do, be, have, or a modal verb. In a case where that verb is part of a contraction the first possible position is obviously after the whole contraction.

Re: Adverbs of frequency

CalifJim — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:01:45 GMT

Argh! The adverb question again!
Have you gone through this one yet? Post:258302

Here's a new take on the subject. If it doesn't appeal to you, toss it in the trash!

Safe and typical practice: Use contracted forms wherever possible. Then place the adverb of frequency after the first contraction -- or after uncontracted not. Place sometimes at the beginning: certainly for a negative sentence, but also good for an affirmative. Note: rarely and seldom (and never, of course) have negative polarity already, so don't use in a negative sentence. And don't prepose them unless you want to struggle with the inversions, as Amy points out.

[I'm, you're, he's, she's, we're, they're] (not) [usually / always / often] ...
[I've, you've, he's, she's, we've, they've] [sometimes / usually / always / often / rarely / seldom / never] ...
[I'll, you'll, he'll, she'll, we'll, they'll] [sometimes / usually / always / often / rarely / seldom / never] ...
[I'd, you'd, he'd, she'd, we'd, they'd] [sometimes / usually/ always / often /rarely / seldom / never] ...
[I, you, we, they] [don't / didn't / haven't / won't / wouldn't / shouldn't / can't / ...] [usually / always / often] ...
[he, she] isn't [usually / always / often] ...
[I, he, she] wasn't [usually / always / often] ...
[you, we, they] [aren't / weren't] [usually / always / often] ...

If no contractions, place after the modal verb.

[I, you, he, she, we, they] [can / could / may / might / will / would / ...] [sometimes / usually / always / often / rarely / seldom / never] ...

No contractions? No modals? Just subject followed by a non-modal verb? Place the adverb of frequency between them.

[I, you, he, she, we, they] [sometimes / usually / always / often / rarely / seldom / never] [go / do / like / want / think / ...]

Not using subject pronouns? Using nouns instead? The order doesn't change.

The boys aren't [usually / always / often] ready on time.
The Browns don't [usually / always / often] eat in restaurants.
Fred has (Fred's) [usually / always / often / rarely / seldom / never] recovered from a cold in a week.

CJ

Re: Subject - verb and pronoun agreement.

CalifJim — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 05:09:30 GMT

The article you quote is about the relationship between car and its.

Every car must have its brakes tested.

The article is not about subject-verb agreement. But since you ask, there are two grammatical facts to consider:

1. The modals (can, will, must, ...) do not change form in the third person present.
2. Only the base form of a verb can be used after a modal.

have is not a modal verb. has is singular; have is plural (in the third person, present tense):
Every car has wheels. The car has wheels.
All cars have wheels. The cars have wheels.

must is a modal verb. must is both singular and plural:
Every car must be counted. The car must be counted.
All cars must be counted. The cars must be counted.

must is a modal verb. If have is used after must, it can only be in the form have (the base form), never has.

Every car must have wheels. The car must have wheels.
All cars must have wheels. The cars must have wheels.

Therefore,
Every car must have its brakes tested. (must has is wrong!)
Every car has been tested. (has is singular, has is not placed after must.)

CJ

Re: about "should"

TimKowal — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 05:57:52 GMT

I'll paste from the New Oxford, but I can't really sum it up any shorter or more understandably myself. Basically, there are some kind of weird and antiquated rules, and they are largely disregarded modernly.

should
modal verb (3RD SING. should)
1 used to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness, typically when criticizing someone's actions: he should have been careful | I think we should trust our people more | you shouldn't have gone.
n
indicating a desirable or expected state: by now pupils should be able to read with a large degree of independence.
n
used to give or ask advice or suggestions: you should go back to bed | what should I wear?
n
(I should) used to give advice: I should hold out if I were you.
2 used to indicate what is probable: Â£348 m should be enough to buy him out | the bus should arrive in a few minutes.
3 formal expressing the conditional mood:
n
(in the first person) indicating the consequence of an imagined event: if I were to obey my first impulse, I should spend my days writing letters.
n
referring to a possible event or situation: if you should change your mind, I'll be at the hotel | should anyone arrive late, admission is likely to be refused.
4 used in a clause with âthatâ after a main clause describing feelings: it is astonishing that we should find violence here.
5 used in a clause with âthatâ expressing purpose: in order that training should be effective it must be planned systematically.
6 (in the first person) expressing a polite request or acceptance: I should like some more, if I may | we should be grateful for your advice.
7 (in the first person) expressing a conjecture or hope: he'll have a sore head, I should imagine | âIt won't happen again.â âI should hope not.â
8 used to emphasize to a listener how striking an event is or was: you should have seen Marge's face.
n
(who/what should ââ but) emphasizing how surprising an event was: I was in this shop when who should I see across the street but Tobias.

ORIGIN Old English sceolde: past of SHALL.
USAGE:
As with shall and will, there is confusion about when to use should and would. The traditional rule is that should is used with first person pronouns (I and we), as in I said I should be late, and would is used with second and third persons (you, he, she, it, they), as in you didn't say you would be late. In practice, would is normally used instead of should in reported speech and conditional clauses: I said I would be late; if we had known we would have invited her. In spoken and informal contexts the issue rarely arises, since the distinction is obscured by the use of the contracted forms I'd, we'd, etc.

In modern English, uses of should are dominated by the senses relating to obligation (for which would cannot be substituted), as in you should go out more often, and for related emphatic uses, as in you should have seen her face!

Re: Ummmm sorry MrP but I'm still confused about the second one

MrPedantic — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 02:54:01 GMT

That's ok, JK. Yes, you could say:

'Businesses try to maximise their profits.'

I'm not sure how you'd add 'economist' to that, though.

{My, your, their, our, his, her, its} are possessive determiners. These act like adjectives: 'my book', etc.

{mine, yours, theirs, ours, his, hers, its} are possessive pronouns. These act like nouns: 'Whose is that book?' 'It's mine.'

You use possessive determiners when you need to specify who owns an object. If ownership has been established, you can use other determiners:

'I opened my grammar book. The book was blue, with black letters on the cover. "This is a strange book," I thought, as I opened it. "You can't read it unless you already know what it says."

At that moment my brother came in. His grammar book was red, with yellow stripes. The two books lay side by side on the table. My book was more stylish than my brother's book; but his book had more interesting examples of modal verbs.'

I've put the determiners in bold. As you can see, once ownership has been established, other determiners can be used, till we need to distinguish again ('his grammar book was red...).

MrP

Need/dare

hanuman_2000 — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:53:00 GMT

Sir,

Some times "need' function as modal verb;some times as verb.

1.HE needs to go.

Here "needs" function as verb so we can use "to go".

2.HE need go.

Here "need" is function as "modal verb".(IS it OK?)

But with Pronoun "I",if I say

I need to go.

I need go.

How can I distinguish such problems.

Same is true with "dare".

Please do clear my doubts.

Thanks.

Re: Modal verb Used to, understood?

MrPedantic — Sat, 13 Nov 2004 02:33:00 GMT

Hello Eladio

I would distinguish between only 3 forms. Your extra forms relate to different
tenses, rather than changes in the structure. There are some tenses you've
omitted, too: 'I'm getting used to', for instance.

Here's how I'd divide them:

1. Your first form: [used to + infinitive/implied infinitive]

Auxiliary transitive verb for a habitual action in the past that has not
continued into the present.

'I used to play chess every Friday night.'

2. Your second and third forms [to be used to + gerund/noun/pronoun]

Adjectival use, meaning 'to be accustomed to'.

'He isn't used to hard work.'

3. Your fourth and fifth forms [to get used to + gerund/noun/pronoun]

Adjectival use, meaning 'to become accustomed to'.

'I'm getting used to working late.'

I would say that only the first form is modal; the others are adjectival. Other
readers may have other views though.

MrP