Verbos Modales Los verbos modales realizan una funcin similar a la de los verbos auxiliares.

Dan informacin adicional sobre el verbo que los sigue y se utilizan para indicar posibilidad, probabilidad, certeza, deduccin, capacidad, consejo, obligacin, prohibicin, permiso, hacer peticiones, ofrecimientos, sugerencias, etc. Son verbos modales: can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will y would. Los verbos modales tienen algunas caractersticas que los diferencian de los verbos normales: 1. Los modales van seguidos siempre de un verbo en infinitivo: She must leave in a few minutes. I think it will look rather nice. Things might have been so different. People may be watching. She ought to go straight back to England. My sister can't drive yet. You could be right. Shall we go out for a meal tonight? You should study harder. Would you finish this for me? 2. Los modales slo tienen una forma. No aaden '-s' a la tercera persona del singular del presente y no tienen formas acabadas en '- ing' o en '-ed'. Tampoco tienen infinitivo. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm sure he can do it. 3. Los verbos modales no necesitan el auxiliar DO para la forma negativa ni para las preguntas. Para la forma negativa de un modal simplemente aadimos NOT o una palabra negativa inmediatamente detrs del modal. You must not worry. I can never remember his name. 'Can + not' se escribe siembre como una palabra, 'cannot'. I cannot go back. = I can't go back. En ingls hablado o escrito informal 'not' se contrae en '-n't' y se aade al modal: could not -> couldn't We couldn't leave the farm. should not -> shouldn't You shouldn't talk like that. must not -> mustn't You mustn't talk about Ron like that. would not -> wouldn't I wouldn't do it if I were you. Las siguientes formas contractas son irregulares: shall not -> shan't I shan't let you go. will not -> won't Won't you change your mind? cannot -> can't We can't stop now. 'Might not' y 'ought not' se contraen a veces en 'mightn't' y 'oughtn't'. Sin embargo, es muy raro que 'may not' aparezca como 'mayn't' en ingls moderno. Para hacer una pregunta, se pone el modal delante del sujeto. Could you give me an example? Will you be coming in later? Shall I shut the door? 4. La mayora de los verbos modales no se pueden utilizar en tiempos de pasado o futuro. Por ejemplo, no podemos decir *She will can come with me. Tampoco es correcto *We musted study a lot. Cuando nos referimos al pasado, utilizamos un modal seguido de 'have' y un participio pasado: They may have seen the film - Puede que hayan visto la pelcula 5. Los modales no indican normalmente el tiempo en que ocurre algo. Sin embargo, 'shall' y 'will' indican a menudo un hecho o una situacin futura. I shall do what you suggested. He will not return for many hours. 6. En ingls hablado y en ingls escrito informal, 'shall' y 'will' se utilizan en forma contracta como 'll. 'Would' se contrae en 'd. I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you'll agree. Mary said she'd love to stay. 'Shall', 'will' y 'would' no se contraen cuando van al final de una oracin. Paul said he would come, and I hope he will. ATENCIN: La forma contracta del auxiliar 'had' es tambin 'd.

I'd heard it many times. = I had heard it many times. 7. 'Could' se utiliza como pasado de 'can' para expresar habilidad. 'Would' se utiliza en estilo indirecto como reporting verb de 'will' para expresar futuro. When I was young, I could run for miles. I will see my mother tomorrow --> He said that he would see his mother the next day. 8. Nunca se usan dos modales juntos. Por ejemplo, no se puede decir *"He will can come". En su lugar se puede utilizar BE ABLE TO: "He will be able to come". De la misma forma, tampoco podemos decir *"I will must go". Pero podemos utilizar HAVE TO: "I will have to go". 9. Los modales se pueden utilizar en question tags : You won't tell her, will you? She can drive, can't she?

Gerundios e infinitivos Here is a brief review of the differences between gerunds and infinitives. Gerunds are formed with ING: Infinitives are formed with TO: Gerunds and infinitives can do several jobs: Both gerunds and infinitives can be the subject of a sentence:: Writing in English is difficult. To write in English is difficult. walking, talking, thinking, listening to walk, to talk, to think, to listen

Both gerunds and infinitives can be the object of a verb::

I like writing in English. I like to write in English. But... Only gerunds can be the object of a preposition:: We are talking about writing in English.

It is often difficult to know when to use a gerund and when to use an infinitive. These guidelines may help you:

Gerunds are often used when actions are real, concrete or completed:: I stopped smoking. (The smoking was real and happened until I stopped.) Infinitives are often used when actions are unreal, abstract, or future:: I stopped to smoke. (I was doing something else, and I stopped; the smoking had not happened yet.)

Preposiciones que se usan con el gerundio

about (How about ...?) after apart from as well as because of before besides by for from in in addition to inspite of instead of on without

(Cmo sera...?) despus aparte tanto como por antes aparte en para de en plus a pesar de en vez de sobre sin

En ingls se usa el gerundio despus de las preposiciones y en espaol no se usa el gerundio en este caso, sino el infinitivo Antes de leer significa en ingls "before reading