You mustn’t talk about Ron like this.
Perhaps I oughtn’t to confess this.
He oughtn’t turn away from those who have supported him. (American)
Shall not, will not, and cannot are shortened to shan’t, won’t, and can’t. May not is not shortened at all.
I shan’t get much work done tonight.
He won’t be finished for at least another half an hour.
I can’t go with you.
questions
5.103 Questions are formed by putting the modal in front of the subject. In the case of ought to, you put ought in front of the subject and to after it.
Could you give me an example?
Ought we to tell someone about it?
Mightn’t it be better to leave things as they are?
Why could they not leave her alone?
Must we explain everything we do in such detail?
question tags
5.104 Modals are used in question tags.
They can’t all be right, can they?
You won’t tell anyone, will you?
With a negative tag, the shortened form of the negative is used.
It would be handy, wouldn’t it?
It’ll give you time to think about it, won’t it?
Question tags are explained in paragraphs 5.15 to 5.19.
contractions
5.105 In spoken English, when will and would are used after a pronoun, they are often shortened to -’ll and -’d and added to the pronoun.
I hope you’ll agree.
She’ll be all right.
They’d both call each other horrible names.
If I went back on the train, it’d be better.
Will and would cannot be shortened like this when they are used on their own, without a following verb. For example, you can say Paul said he would come, and I hope he will, but you cannot say Paul said he would come, and I hope he’ll.
5.106 You sometimes use a modal on its own, without a following verb. You do this when you are repeating a modal. For example, if someone says I expect Margaret will come tonight, you can say I hope she will, meaning I hope she will come.
‘I must go.’ – ‘I suppose you must.’
‘You should have become an archaeologist.’ – ‘You’re dead right, I should.’
If you can’t do it, we’ll find someone who can.
You also omit the verb following a modal when this verb has just been used without a modal, or with a different modal. For example, if someone says George has failed his exam, you can say I thought he would, meaning I thought he would fail his exam.
I love him and I always will.
They had come to believe that it not only must go on for ever but that it should.
However you cannot omit the verb be after a modal when you have just used it without a modal. For example, if someone says Is he a teacher?, you cannot say I think he might. You must say I think he might be.
Weather forecasts aren’t very reliable and never will be.
The Board’s methods are not as stringent as they could be.
Relations between the two countries have not been as smooth as they might have been.
For more information on leaving out words in verb phrases see paragraphs 10.60 to 10.81.
Referring to time
5.107 Modals do not usually show whether you are talking about the past, the present, or the future. Usually you indicate this in other ways, for example by putting an auxiliary verb and a participle after the modal. Sometimes the general context makes it clear whether you are talking about a past, present, or future event or situation.
the future: shall and will
5.108 Shall and will are exceptions to this.
Shall always indicates that you are talking about a future event or situation.
I shall do what you suggested.
Eventually we shall find a solution.
Will usually shows that you are talking about a future event or situation.
The farmer will feel more responsible towards his workers.
He will not return for many hours.
However, will is sometimes used to talk about present situations.
You will not feel much love for him at the moment.
This use of will is described in paragraph 5.121.
5.109 Could and would are sometimes described as past tense forms of can and will. However, this is true in only a few minor ways. These are explained in the following paragraphs.
ability in the past: could
5.110 Could can be regarded as the past tense of can if you are simply talking about the ability of a person or thing to do something.
For example, if you are talking about a living person, you can say He can speak Russian and Finnish. If you are talking about a dead person, you can say He could speak Russian and Finnish.
For a fuller explanation of these uses see paragraphs 5.116 to 5.118.
reported speech
5.111 Could and would are sometimes used in place of can and will when you are reporting what someone has said.
For example, if your friend has said I can come, you might report this as He said that he could come. Similarly, if he has said, I will come, you might report this as He said that he would come.
For a full explanation of reported speech see Chapter 7.
things that happened regularly in the past: would
5.112 Would is used to talk about something that happened regularly in the past, but no longer happens.