Modal verbs: want must should have to can - Co …

1 Modal verbs: want , must , should , have to, can What are the Modal verbs in Czech and what do they mean in English? How do they conjugate and how are they used? Modal verbs express desire, ability, necessity , obligation, and permission. They are followed by the infinitive of another verb . Chci hr t fotbal, ale nem nem m m . I want to play soccer but can't: I don't have a ball. Co m m d lat v takov trapn situaci? What should I do in such an awkward situation? Nesm te tady kou it. You're not allowed to smoke here. Um hr t na n jak hudebn n stroj? Do you know how to play a musical instrument? Mus me j t na n kup. We have to go shopping. M l bys mluvit hlasit ji. You should speak louder. Czech Modal verbs include cht t ( want ), moct (can, be able to), um t (know how to), muset ( must , have to), m t ( should ), sm t (be allowed to) along with some other Modal phrases. Many Modal verbs have irregular conjugations that must be memorized.

2 Desire: cht t The verb cht t means to want . j chci my chceme ty chce vy chcete Past tense: cht l, cht la, cht li, cht ly on/ona chce oni/ony cht j . The verb is often used in the conditional mood (cht l bych, cht l bys ) to profile politeness or hypotheticality of desire; in this usage, it is often translated as would like to. Odbor i cht j nav it mzdy. Union workers want to raise wages. P t rok bych cht la jet to New Yorku. Next year I would like to go to New York. Co chce d lat, a bude velk ? What do you want to do when you're grown up? Nechci b t s m, chci b t s tebou. I don't want to be alone, I want to be with you. To jsme necht li riskovat. We didn't want to risk it. A related construction in Czech is the verbal phrase cht t se, which takes a dative subject and means feel like doing something. Chce se mi spat. I feel like sleeping. Necht lo by se ti j t taky? Would you feel like going too? Necht lo se nam j t dom.

3 We didn't feel like going home. 1. Ability or possibility: moct (moci). The verb moct (moci in formal Czech) means to be able to, can. j m u (mohu) my m eme ty m e vy m ete Past tense: mohl, mohla, mohli, mohly on/ona m e oni/ony m ou (mohou). The alternate forms mohu and mohou occur in very formal Czech. When this verb is used in the conditional for politeness, it often translates as could. M u se zeptat? Can I ask a question? Nemohla bys mi pomoct? Couldn't you help me? Mohli jsme i vyhr t. We could even win. Mohu sportovat v t hotenstv ? Can I exercise during pregnancy? Holka a kluk m ou b t p tel . A girl and a boy can be friends. Another way to express ability or possibility is with the Modal phrase d se (it is possible to ). This phrase, like all Modal verbs, is followed by an infinitive. Ned se nic d lat. There's nothing that can be done. To se prost ned d lat! That's just impossible! Knowing how to: um t The verb um t means to know how to.

4 J um m my um me ty um vy um te Past tense: um l, um la, um li, um ly on/ona um oni/ony um j . This verb differs from moct in that it expresses skill or mental ability while moct is physical ability. Neum m hr t tenis means that I don't know how to play it while Nem u hr t tenis means that I cannot do so for some reason (I'm hurt, I don't have time, I don't have a racket ). Sentences with um t are often translated into English by can. Rusky um m t, ale mluv m m lo. I can (know how to) read Russian, but I only speak it a little. Um j psi zp vat? Can dogs sing? Um te esky? Do you know how to speak Czech? 2. Necessity: muset The verb muset means must , have to. j mus m my mus me ty mus vy mus te Past tense: musel, musela, museli, musely on/ona mus oni/ony mus /musej . The necessity evoked by muset is dictated by an external force or authority: there is often no choice but to comply or there is an ethical imperative to do something.

5 Romov musej dostat anci. The Roma must have a chance. To mus v d t. You have to know this. Mus me si pom hat. We have to help each other. Musel jsi zavolat sanitku? Did you have to call an ambulance? Obligation: m t The verb m t means to have , but it can be used modally and followed by an infinitive to indicate obligation. The Modal meaning is should , ought to, have to. It differs from muset in that the obligation is more attenuated or less external and more internal. In its Modal usage and its have usage, m t has exactly the same conjugation. In its Modal usage, it often occurs in the conditional (m l bych, m l bys ). Co bych m l v d t? What should I know? Co m me d lat? What should we do? M si naj t jin ho. You should find someone else. Permission: sm t The verb sm t means to be allowed to; its opposite (to be prohibited) is nesm t. j sm m my sm me ty sm vy sm te Past tense: sm l, sm la, sm li, sm ly on/ona sm oni/ony sm j.

6 English doesn't have a good equivalent for the economic and efficient sm t, and translations vary. Sm m tady kou it? Can I smoke here? (Am I allowed to smoke here?). Nesm li jsme si sednout. We weren't permitted to sit down. To se nesm a pes to v ! That is not allowed and the dog knows it! 3. Kritizovat smite, ale bez n davek. You can criticize, but without insults. Aspect and modals All Modal verbs are imperfective only. They thus have only imperfective futures (budu, bude , bude plus Modal infinitive). ekl ti n kdo, kdy bude moct j t dom ? Did anyone tell you when you'll be able to go home? Jsem estn , asi budu cht t kandidovat. I'm honest so I'll probably want to be a candidate. Od t doby se u nebudeme muset b t. From then on we'll no longer have to be afraid. Examples of usage Below are examples of usage of the Modal verbs. Where is the Modal verbal and what do the sentences mean? 1. A budeme spolu v ichni telepaticky komunikovat, u nebudeme muset skr vat sv my lenky.

7 2. Um la jsi u dob e portugalsky, kdy jsi tam jela? 3. Nechce se mi j t do pr ce. 4. f nechce odstoupit. 5. Mus me v dycky odporovat zlu. 6. Nem li byste tomu v it. 7. Na Balk n nemaj elekt inu, musej topit d evem. 8. Kdy se st hnu mp3 z webu, m u j t do v zen ? 9. N s pes smrd : co s n m m me d lat? 10. Co m m d lat, kdy nem u spat? 11. Doma sm te m t est rostlin marihuany, za v ce budete potrest ni. 12. J jsem r d, e se nebudu muset u it cel d jiny esk ho jazyka, proto e to by m nejsp zabilo. 13. Studenti pak byli l n , necht lo se jim mluvit anglicky. 14. M te si naj t tr nera. 15. V dycky jsem se o sebe um la postarat. 16. Cht la bych v s poprosit o pomoc. 17. Douf me, e nebudeme muset st vkovat v bec. 18. Bez l sky se ned t. 19. ivot je velk jevi t , na kter m mus hr t. 20. Co e i nev d ale m li by! 4.