15 Modal Verbs

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 Os verbos modais (modal verbs) são 
um tipo especial de verbos auxiliares 
que alteram ou completam o sentido 
do verbo principal. 
 De um modo geral, estes verbos expressam 
ideias como capacidade, obrigação, desejo, 
possibilidade, permissão, proibição, 
dedução, suposição, pedido, vontade, ou, 
ainda, indicam o tom da conversa (formal / 
informal). 
 Os verbos modais (modal verbs) podem ser 
chamados também de modal auxiliaries ou 
apenas modals. 
 May I use your umbrella? (Permissão) 
(Posso usar seu guarda-chuva?) 
 
 He may be in the library. (Possibilidade) 
(Ele pode estar na biblioteca.) 
 
 Sorry, I can not understand what you are saying. 
(Capacidade) 
 (Desculpa, não consigo entender o que você 
 está dizendo.) 
 The students must behave as I say. (Obrigação) 
(Os alunos devem se comportar como eu digo.) 
 
 She must be very busy, since she has three 
children, a job and a house to take care. 
(Suposição) 
 (Ela deve ser muito ocupada, já que tem três 
 filhos, um emprego e uma casa para cuidar.) 
 
 Shall we go for a drink after work? (Convite) 
(Vamos tomar um drinque após o trabalho?) 
 
 Can I leave now? (Permissão - Tom informal) 
(Posso sair agora?) 
 
 Could I leave now? (Permissão - Tom formal) 
(Eu poderia sair agora?) 
 
 She can arrive after dinner. (Possibilidade) 
(Ela pode chegar depois do jantar.) 
 
 She must be at the beauty salon. (Dedução) 
(Ela deve estar no salão de beleza.) 
 
 You should see a dentist. (Conselho) 
(Você devia ir a um dentista.) 
 
1. Os verbos modais não existem na forma 
infinitiva, ou seja, não são precedidos pela 
partícula to (indicação de infinitivo) nem 
seguidos por ela, com exceção de ought to: 
 
 She can play the violin. 
 (Ela sabe tocar violino.) 
 
 You must do the next tasks. 
(Você deve fazer as próximas tarefas.) 
 
 He might come here tomorrow. 
(Ele deve vir aqui amanhã. / Pode ser 
que / Talvez ele venha aqui amanhã.) 
 
 You should see a doctor. You are 
always complaining about headaches. 
(Você devia ir ao médico, pois está 
sempre reclamando de dores de 
cabeça.) 
 
2. Não necessitam de outros verbos 
auxiliares para as formas interrogativas 
e negativas, já que eles próprios são 
auxiliares: 
 
 May I come in? 
 (Posso entrar?) 
 
 Could you do me a favor? 
 (Você poderia me fazer um favor?) 
 
 I could not finish my homework 
yesterday night. 
 (Não consegui terminar minha lição 
 ontem à noite.) 
 
 He can not come. 
 (Ele não pode vir.) 
 
3. Os verbos modais nunca são flexionados, ou 
seja, possuem a mesma forma para todos os 
sujeitos; também não podem ser usados nos 
Progressive / Continuous Tenses e não formam 
passado com -ed: 
 
 She must be late. 
 (Ela deve estar atrasada.) 
 
 I can ski; she can ski; he can ski; we can ski; 
they can ski. 
 
4. Podem ser acompanhados pelo auxiliar be, 
frequentemente seguido de gerúndio, 
expressando tempo presente ou futuro, ou pelo 
auxiliar have seguido de particípio, 
expressando tempo passado: 
 
 He may be studying now. 
 (Ele deve estar estudando agora.) 
 
 Take your umbrella. It may be raining when 
you leave your job. 
(Leve seu guarda-chuva. Pode estar chovendo 
quando você sair do trabalho.) 
 
 
 She must have changed her mind. 
 (Ela deve ter mudado de ideia.) 
 
 You could have told me before. 
 (Você poderia ter me dito antes.) 
 
 Do you think she can still be working? 
It's very late. 
 (Você acha que ela pode estar 
 trabalhando ainda? É muito tarde.) 
 
5. Nas orações negativas deve-se 
acrescentar not logo após o verbo 
modal: 
 
 I can not stay here. 
 (Não posso ficar aqui.) 
 
 Passengers must not use their cell 
phones on board airplane. 
(Os passageiros não podem usar 
seus celulares a bordo do avião.) 
 
 You should not talk to your mother loud. 
(Você não deveria falar alto com a sua 
mãe.) 
 
 I could not speak English before going to 
England. 
 (Eu não sabia falar Inglês antes de ir para 
 Inglaterra.) 
 
 It may not rain tonight. 
 (Pode ser que não chova esta noite.) 
 
VERBOS MODAIS FORMA NEGATIVA 
FORMA NEGATIVA 
CONTRAÍDA 
Can Cannot Can't 
May May not ---x--- 
Must Must not Mustn't 
Shall Shall not Shan't 
Will Will not Won't 
Could Could not Couldn't 
Might Might not Mightn't 
Ought to Ought not to Oughtn't to 
Should Should not Shouldn't 
Would Would not Wouldn't 
a. O negativo de can é cannot (sem separar can 
de not), no entanto, a forma negativa mais 
comum de can é a contraída can't: 
 
 You can't (cannot) smoke here. 
 (Você não pode fumar aqui.) 
 
 He can't (cannot) speak Chinese. 
 (Ele não sabe falar Chinês.) 
 
b. Não há forma contraída para 
may not: 
 
 He may not be very rich. 
 (Ele não deve ser muito rico.) 
 
 It may not be true. 
 (Não deve ser verdade.) 
 
6. A forma interrogativa se faz 
colocando o verbo modal antes do 
sujeito, à semelhança dos demais 
auxiliares: 
 
 Shall we go to the movies? 
 (Vamos ao cinema?) 
 
 Ought he to take any medicine? 
 (Ele deveria tomar algum remédio?) 
 
 Shall we order? 
 (Vamos fazer o pedido?) 
 
 Should I wait for you here? 
 (Devo te esperar aqui?) 
 
 Can you speak Italian? I need someone 
to translate this for me. 
(Você sabe falar Italiano? Preciso de 
alguém que traduza isto para mim.) 
 Should they be here when you get 
home? 
 (Eles devem estar aqui quando você 
 chegar em casa?) 
 
 Could you tell me why you didn't 
come to our meeting? 
 (Você poderia me dizer por que não 
 veio à nossa reunião?) 
 
 Will Alice be there? 
 (A Alice estará lá?) 
 
 May I use your pen? 
 (Posso usar sua caneta?) 
 
 Would you like a cup of coffee? 
(Você gostaria de uma xícara de 
café?) 
 
7. Can e could podem ser substituídos por be 
able to (ser capaz de) quando expressam sentido 
de capacidade, habilidade ou possibilidade de 
fazer algo. Diferentemente dos demais modal 
verbs, a expressão be able to se conjuga em 
todos os tempos: 
 
 He is able to play soccer. 
 (Ele sabe jogar futebol.) 
 
 Was she able to buy everything she needed? 
(Ela conseguiu comprar tudo de que precisava?) 
8. Quando can / could expressam sentido de 
permissão para fazer algo, podem ser 
substituídos, também, por be allowed to. 
Diferentemente dos demais modal verbs, a 
expressão be allowed to se conjuga em todos 
os tempos: 
 
 You can't enter this room. 
 = 
 You are not allowed to enter this room. 
 (Você não pode entrar nesta sala) 
 
 My cousins could watch as much tv as they 
wanted. (Meus primos podiam ver televisão o 
quanto eles quisessem) = My cousins were 
allowed to watch as much tv as they wanted. 
 
 Listen, you can't speak during the exam. 
(Escutem, vocês não podem falar durante a 
prova.) = Listen, you are not allowed to 
speak during the exam. 
 
9. Geralmente, os modals não se referem a um 
tempo específico: presente, passado ou futuro. 
Para determinar o tempo, acrescentam-se 
auxiliares, como, por exemplo, have seguido 
do particípio passado do verbo principal para 
expressar o passado, ou se utilizam locuções 
adverbiais. Para expressar ações futuras ou 
passadas utilizamos be able to e be allowed to, 
quando possível, pois estas expressões podem 
ser conjugadas em todos os tempos verbais: 
 
 NOT CORRECT: He will can go with us. 
 He will be able to go with us. = CORRECT 
 
 NOT CORRECT: She musted studyvery hard. 
 She must have studied very hard. = CORRECT 
 
 - Will e Shall são exceções. 
 São os únicos modals que indicam 
especificamente o tempo - no caso, futuro. 
 
10. Os modal verbs não podem ser 
usados um após o outro: 
 
 NOT CORRECT: You could should 
talk to me first. 
 
11. Could, em alguns casos, é usado como 
passado de can: 
 
 When I was younger I could play tennis very 
well. 
 (Eu sabia jogar tênis muito bem quando era 
 pequeno.) 
 
 I could speak a little Arabic. 
 (Eu sabia falar um pouco Árabe.) 
 
 
 
EXERCISES 
1. Shopaholics could be sexually frustrated, 
might suffer from lack of self-esteem, or they 
may just have a neurotic reaction to television 
commercials and glossy advertisements. 
– The modals COULD, MIGHT and MAY appear 
in the text to express the idea of: 
 
a) permission. 
b) possibility. 
c) intention. 
d) prohibition. 
e) ability. 
1. Shopaholics could be sexually frustrated, 
might suffer from lack of self-esteem, or they 
may just have a neurotic reaction to television 
commercials and glossy advertisements. 
– The modals COULD, MIGHT and MAY appear 
in the text to express the idea of: 
 
a) permission. 
b) possibility. 
c) intention. 
d) prohibition. 
e) ability. 
2. Research shows that sunscreens may not be 
as effective as hoped at preventing sunburn. 
Users may be spending long hours in the sun 
with a false sense of security. 
– The word MAY expresses the idea of: 
 
a) permission. 
b) prohibition. 
c) possibility. 
d) obligation. 
e) expectation. 
2. Research shows that sunscreens may not be 
as effective as hoped at preventing sunburn. 
Users may be spending long hours in the sun 
with a false sense of security. 
– The word MAY expresses the idea of: 
 
a) permission. 
b) prohibition. 
c) possibility. 
d) obligation. 
e) expectation. 
3. Qual destas expressões corresponde a "ele 
não deveria ter feito isso"? 
 
a) He mustn't have made it; 
b) He shouldn't have done that; 
c) He could not have made it; 
d) He might not have done that; 
e) He cannot have done that. 
3. Qual destas expressões corresponde a "ele 
não deveria ter feito isso"? 
 
a) He mustn't have made it; 
b) He shouldn't have done that; 
c) He could not have made it; 
d) He might not have done that; 
e) He cannot have done that. 
4. Janet: Look, our boat is sinking! 
 Peter: Oh, dear! Can you swim? 
 Janet: Yes, but we won't have to, there's a life 
 boat on board. 
– In the above dialogue, the verbs CAN and 
HAVE TO express respectively ______ and _____. 
 
a) ability – obligation 
b) permission – prohibition 
c) possibility – prohibition 
d) permission – possibility 
e) ability – necessity 
4. Janet: Look, our boat is sinking! 
 Peter: Oh, dear! Can you swim? 
 Janet: Yes, but we won't have to, there's a life 
 boat on board. 
– In the above dialogue, the verbs CAN and 
HAVE TO express respectively ______ and _____. 
 
a) ability – obligation 
b) permission – prohibition 
c) possibility – prohibition 
d) permission – possibility 
e) ability – necessity 
5. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
We ______ hurry. The bus leaves in 10 minutes. 
 
a) can 
b) must 
c) do 
d) did 
e) would 
5. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
We ______ hurry. The bus leaves in 10 minutes. 
 
a) can 
b) must 
c) do 
d) did 
e) would 
6. Assinale a tradução correta da frase entre 
aspas apresentada no diálogo a seguir: 
- "Can you tell me how to get there?" 
- Of course I can. 
 
a) Você pode me dizer como se consegue isso lá? 
b) Quem pode me contar como se faz isso? 
c) Você pode me ensinar o caminho? 
d) Como se pode ir de lá para cá? 
e) Você consegue atravessar para o outro lado? 
6. Assinale a tradução correta da frase entre 
aspas apresentada no diálogo a seguir: 
- "Can you tell me how to get there?" 
- Of course I can. 
 
a) Você pode me dizer como se consegue isso lá? 
b) Quem pode me contar como se faz isso? 
c) Você pode me ensinar o caminho? 
d) Como se pode ir de lá para cá? 
e) Você consegue atravessar para o outro lado? 
7. Assinale a versão correta da frase entre aspas: 
 "Não posso comprar um carro novo.“ 
 
a) I shouldn't be thinking of a new car. 
b) I can't afford a new car. 
c) I can't buy anything new. 
d) If it is new, I don't want it. 
e) Who needs a new car anyway? 
7. Assinale a versão correta da frase entre aspas: 
 "Não posso comprar um carro novo.“ 
 
a) I shouldn't be thinking of a new car. 
b) I can't afford a new car. 
c) I can't buy anything new. 
d) If it is new, I don't want it. 
e) Who needs a new car anyway? 
8. Assinale a letra correspondente à alternativa 
que preenche corretamente a lacuna da frase 
apresentada: 
Bob, __________ you do me a real favor? 
 
a) have 
b) could 
c) must 
d) ought 
e) should 
8. Assinale a letra correspondente à alternativa 
que preenche corretamente a lacuna da frase 
apresentada: 
Bob, __________ you do me a real favor? 
 
a) have 
b) could 
c) must 
d) ought 
e) should 
9. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
Doctors and dentists should always __________ 
with their training. 
 
a) continued 
b) continue 
c) continuing 
d) will continued 
e) have continue 
9. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
Doctors and dentists should always __________ 
with their training. 
 
a) continued 
b) continue 
c) continuing 
d) will continued 
e) have continue 
10. The word CAN in "Loneliness itself is hard 
to define. People aren't always lonely when 
they're alone, but they CAN feel lonely when 
surrounded by other people" expresses: 
 
a) obligation. 
b) necessity. 
c) permission. 
d) possibility. 
e) intention. 
10. The word CAN in "Loneliness itself is hard 
to define. People aren't always lonely when 
they're alone, but they CAN feel lonely when 
surrounded by other people" expresses: 
 
a) obligation. 
b) necessity. 
c) permission. 
d) possibility. 
e) intention. 
11. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
Could I __________ earlier tomorrow? 
 
a) to leave 
b) leave 
c) leaves 
d) left 
e) leaving 
11. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
Could I __________ earlier tomorrow? 
 
a) to leave 
b) leave 
c) leaves 
d) left 
e) leaving 
12. I should get my hair cut. 
– 'Should' means: 
 
a) would. 
b) had to. 
c) ought to. 
d) might. 
e) may. 
12. I should get my hair cut. 
– 'Should' means: 
 
a) would. 
b) had to. 
c) ought to. 
d) might. 
e) may. 
13. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
I'm sorry the train was late and I ________ arrive 
earlier. 
 
a) couldn't 
b) ought not 
c) don't 
d) mustn't 
e) wouldn't 
13. Assinale a alternativa correta: 
I'm sorry the train was late and I ________ arrive 
earlier. 
 
a) couldn't 
b) ought not 
c) don't 
d) mustn't 
e) wouldn't 
14. Indicate the alternative that best completes 
the following sentence: 
"He might have done it." So, __________. 
 
a) he was permitted to do it. 
b) we don't know whether he did it or not. 
c) he didn't do it. 
d) he did it. 
e) he wasn't able to do it. 
14. Indicate the alternative that best completes 
the following sentence: 
"He might have done it." So, __________. 
 
a) he was permitted to do it. 
b) we don't know whether he did it or not. 
c) he didn't do it. 
d) he did it. 
e) he wasn't able to do it. 
15. Theword CAN in "consumers can start 
questioning advertising" expresses: 
 
a) obligation. 
b) probability. 
c) permission. 
d) intention. 
e) ability. 
15. The word CAN in "consumers can start 
questioning advertising" expresses: 
 
a) obligation. 
b) probability. 
c) permission. 
d) intention. 
e) ability. 
16. I would like to find an agency or agencies 
that might be interested in using the images 
for textbooks, calendars or postcards. 
– A forma verbal MIGHT BE exprime: 
 
a) necessidade. 
b) certeza. 
c) probabilidade. 
d) condição. 
e) obrigação. 
16. I would like to find an agency or agencies 
that might be interested in using the images 
for textbooks, calendars or postcards. 
– A forma verbal MIGHT BE exprime: 
 
a) necessidade. 
b) certeza. 
c) probabilidade. 
d) condição. 
e) obrigação. 
17. Fill in the following sentence correctly: 
In my opinion, Marla __________ study harder. 
She__________ be approved, but she __________ 
improve. 
 
a) can – could – ought 
b) should – can –must 
c) ought to – should – can 
d) should –must – cannot 
e) ought – can – must 
17. Fill in the following sentence correctly: 
In my opinion, Marla __________ study harder. 
She__________ be approved, but she __________ 
improve. 
 
a) can – could – ought 
b) should – can –must 
c) ought to – should – can 
d) should –must – cannot 
e) ought – can – must 
18. Match the columns below. Then mark the option which provides the 
correct order of the second column: 
 
Coluna I 
(1) Shall I switch off 
(2) Could I carry 
(3) Can I take 
(4) I'll help 
(5) Would you like 
 
Coluna II 
( ) you do the washing up. 
( ) your coat? 
( ) those bags for you? 
( ) something to drink? 
( ) the lights? 
 
– The option that shows the correct order of the second column is: 
a) 4 – 3 – 2 – 5 – 1 
b) 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 4 
c) 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 5 
d) 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 5 
e) 5 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 1 
18. Match the columns below. Then mark the option which provides the 
correct order of the second column: 
 
Coluna I 
(1) Shall I switch off 
(2) Could I carry 
(3) Can I take 
(4) I'll help 
(5) Would you like 
 
Coluna II 
( ) you do the washing up. 
( ) your coat? 
( ) those bags for you? 
( ) something to drink? 
( ) the lights? 
 
– The option that shows the correct order of the second column is: 
a) 4 – 3 – 2 – 5 – 1 
b) 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 4 
c) 4 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 5 
d) 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 5 
e) 5 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 1 
19. In which of the statements does the 
modal MUST express necessity? 
 
a) There's somebody in the other office. It 
must be my boss! 
b) You mustn't smoke here! 
c) She must be a very good student. She 
always gets A's. 
d) I must go right now! 
e) Who must he be? There are lots of people 
around him! 
19. In which of the statements does the 
modal MUST express necessity? 
 
a) There's somebody in the other office. It 
must be my boss! 
b) You mustn't smoke here! 
c) She must be a very good student. She 
always gets A's. 
d) I must go right now! 
e) Who must he be? There are lots of people 
around him! 
20. Look how wet the ground is. It 
__________ last night. 
 
a) might be sunny 
b) must have rained 
c) should have been warm 
d) may be snowing 
e) ought to dry 
20. Look how wet the ground is. It 
__________ last night. 
 
a) might be sunny 
b) must have rained 
c) should have been warm 
d) may be snowing 
e) ought to dry