№3 Subject: The Ukrainian National Academy of Pharmacy. My Future Speciality

There are many institutes in our country. The Ukrainian National Academy of Pharmacy is among them. It was founded in 1921
as the Kharkov Pharmaceutical Institute. In October, 1992 the Institute became the Academy of Pharmacy. Now it plays an important role in the training of specialists. Nowadays the Academy of Pharmacy is the largest centre of education and science in Ukraine. Among the teaching staff there are some academicians, many professors, assistant professors, senior lecturers. Some of them are members of the Academy of Sciences. The teachers deliver lectures, conduct seminars and practical classes. They publish a lot of articles, monographs and text-books for students. The scientists of the Academy carry out great research work. They investigate and synthesize new compounds, create new drugs for treating people.

There are some faculties in the Academy: pharmaceutical faculty, economic and industrial pharmacy faculty. It has also the department where foreign students study. During the period of studies pharmaceutical students study theoretical and special subjects. At the end of each year they have practice in chemist's shops, botanicalstations, pharmaceutical plants and hospitals. Many students are members of scientific societies. They carry out the synthesis of substances and compounds, carry out analyses. The results of their work often find practical application. Students take an active part in social life. There is a wide choice of amateur circles. Students participate in festive concerts, sing, dance and recite poems. There are many sport clubs where students go in for sport.

Pharmaceutical Education in Ukraine

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. The word derives from the Greek: ϕάρμακον (pharmakon), meaning "drug" or "medicine"(the earliest form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek pa-ma-ko, attested in Linear B syllabic script).

The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information. Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize medication use to provide patients with positive health outcomes.

An establishment in which pharmacy (in the first sense) is practiced is called a pharmacy, chemist's or drug store. In the United States and Canada, drug stores commonly sell not only medicines, but also miscellaneous items such as candy (sweets), cosmetics, and magazines, as well as light refreshments or groceries.

The word pharmacy is derived from its root word pharma which was a term used since the 15th–17th centuries. In addition to pharma responsibilities, the pharma offered general medical advice and a range of services that are now performed solely by other specialist practitioners, such as surgery and midwifery. The pharma (as it was referred to) often operated through a retail shop which, in addition to ingredients for medicines, sold tobacco and patent medicines. The pharmas also used many other herbs not listed.

In its investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients, the work of the pharma may be regarded as a precursor of the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology, prior to the formulation of the scientific method.

List Of Pharmacy University In Ukraine

· Lugansk State Medical University

· Crimea State Medical University

· Zaporizhia State Medical University

· Odessa National Medical University

· Ternopil State Medical University

· Sumy State Medical University

· Vinnitsa National Medical University

· Bukovinian State Medical University

· Kharkiv National Medical University

· Donetsk National Medical University 

· Lviv National Medical University

· V N Karazin Kharkiv National University

· Ivano Frankivsk Notational Medical University

· Bogomolets National Medical University

· Dnepropetrovsk State Med Academy

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF PHARMACY

          NUPh HISTORY: STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT, HISTORICAL            REFERENCE

NUPh is one of the oldest and elite higher educational establishments of Europe, centre of pharmaceutical education, which will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2005. Pharmaceutical education takes its rise in 1805, when the first pharmaceutical department has been opened on the basis of the pharmaceutical division of Kharkov Emperor University medical faculty, which became the grounding for the future institute creation. Initiating by the group of famous Kharkiv scientists, the first in Ukraine pharmaceutical institute was opened in Kharkov on September 10th, 1921.

Since 1980 Kharkov pharmaceutical institute is headed by the professor Valentin P. Chernykh, associate-member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor of Chemistry, State prize winner of Ukraine, Honoured scientist and technicbrian of Ukraine, Honoured inventor of Ukraine. High level of achievements of the 80-s to a considerably assisted, that in 1992 Kharkov pharmaceutical institute obtained the status of academy.

On September 18th, 2002 by the Decree of the President of Ukraine Academy got the status of National University of Pharmacy.

The University has the 4th level of accreditation. It is the unique higher educational establishment, which completely covered the needs of pharmaceutical branch in highly gualified professionals.

     NUPh trains Bachelors and Masters in 13 specialities on 10 faculties:

• Pharmacy
• Clinical pharmacy
• Laboratory diagnostics
• Technology of drugs
• Perfumery and cosmetics technology
• Biotechnology
• Economics of enterprises
• Marketing
• Management of organizations
• Quality, standardization, certification
• Analytical quality control
• Drugs manufacturing
• Higher educational institutes pedagogy

              NUPh IS THE CENTER OF PHARMACY SCIENCE

The educational process is provided by 52 departments, where 830 lecturers work, 85% of them have scientific degree. There are 72 Doctors of sciences, about 400 assistant professors and candidates of sciences, 15 academicians and associate-members of National and branch Academies of Sciences of Ukraine, 5 members of the New York Academy of sciences, 14 Honoured scientists and technicians of Ukraine among them.

Scientific staff 72 Doctor of sciences, about 400 assistant professors and candidate of sciences, 15 academicians and associate-members of the National and branch Academies of Sciences, 5 members of New York academy of sciences, 14 honoured scientists and technicians of Ukraine.

Training the scientific professionals for the foreign countries we invite people who wish to continue their scientific researches to the post-graduate study.

Post-graduate training is by contract and is carried in the following specialities:

• 14.03.05 "Pharmacology"
• 15.00.01 "Drugs technology and pharmacy business organization "
• 15.00.02 "Pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacology"

Post-graduate training is conducted during 3 years, full-time (3 years) and part-time (4 years) form of study. After finishing the post-graduate training successfully and scientific thesis defence the Doctor of Pharmacy degree in the field of pharmacy is conferred.

Journals: "Clinical Pharmacy", "News of Pharmacy", ((Organic and pharmaceutical chemistry" are published in the National University of Pharmacy. Publications of these journals are recognised by the highest attestation commission of Ukraine.

               PREPARATORY FACULTY FOR FOREIGN CITIZENS

As experience showed it is difficult for the foreign students to join fully the educational process without language knowledge and the adaptation period. That is why, in 1992 preparatory faculty of the National University of Pharmacy was created. Nowadays the preparatory faculty of the University is one of the largest not only in Kharkov, but also in Ukraine.

For the 12 years of work the preparatory faculty has trained more than 1 500 foreign students from 43 countries for the further study in the higher educational institutes of medical-biological and engineer-technological directions. Every year students from new countries come to study in the University. With the parental love experienced lecturers help the foreign citizens to come through the period of adaptation to the new conditions of life and training in Ukraine, also to obtain Russian language. Besides the language of speciality, the students of the preparatory faculty study chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and other subjects necessary for the further study at any higher educational institute of Ukraine. New modern classrooms and lecture halls of the preparatory faculty are situated nearly the hostels where students live.

Pre-higher education 10 months, graduates have opportunity to continue their education in all higher education establishments of Ukraine, Russia.

FOREIGN STUDENTS TRAINING

Nowadays more than 16 000 students study in the University, among them approximately 100 foreigners. Foreign students are trained since 1965, for these years University has prepared more than 4 000 professionals in the field of pharmacy for 73 countries of the world. In the NUPh foreign citizens can get education in Russian, Ukrainian or English. Duration of study in Russian and Ukrainian is 6 years (the 1st year study at the preparatory faculty). Duration of study in English is 5 years.

RESIDING, LEISURE

Students have the opportunity to live in 5 hostels, which are situated near the academic buildings. The administration of the University managed to make standard rooms into the comfortable rooms that correspond to all European demands.

Students' years are not just for study, all conditions for cultural development of the person were created in the university. Students visit theatres, circus, museums, and travel around Ukraine. They take an active part in the University's cultural educative competitions. Various theatres, museums, sports-grounds and swimming pools meet you with hospitality.

Ukrainian and foreign manufactures' goods are presented in many supermarkets of the city, and visiting Kharkov markets is a holiday for gourmets.

ADMISSION COMMITTEE

The admission committee for foreigners works all year around. The foreign applicants' admission begins from August 15th up to November 15th of the current year. To enter the National University of Pharmacy foreign citizen should present the following documents:

• Original of the certificate on complete general secondary education with mention of the studied subjects and obtained marks, translated and certified by a notary;
• a certificate of having no human immunodeficiency virus;
• a medical certificate certified by the public authority of Health of the country of departure and issued at the latest two months before departure to Ukraine;
• a medical insurance policy (to be issued in Ukraine);
• a copy of the birth certificate and its translation certified by a notary;
• 6 photos 6x4 cm;
• a return ticket with an opened date during one year.

My Future Profession

It is a well-recognized fact that the pharma profession and society are complementary to each other as both are dependant on each other for their development. Pharmacy because of its professional nature has been restricted to specific segments of the society since its inception in India. In spite of the fact that it is a noble profession related directly to healthcare and lives of people, it has not been able to develop an image considered significant and highly influential from societal point of view. It is not so that no efforts and steps have been taken in this direction but the root cause may be non-continuous and occasional nature of the movement.

 Various pharmaceutical professional bodies like IPA, APTI, IPGA, IPHA etc. have been playing a pivotal role in establishing and extending the beneficial impact of pharmacy field among various segments of society. Still it is not enough and the authors feel that there is an immense need to rethink and redirect the efforts and attempts, which are currently in progress to make the society aware about the salient aspects of pharma profession affecting the society directly or indirectly.

Pharmacist In The Society: Traditional Vs. Modern Role

Pharmacy profession is in its transitional state. The health care delivery pattern has been completely transformed and has acquired an all-together different image what we have been observing traditionally .The present of Pharmacy does not lie merely in dispensing of medication but in the provision of relevant drug information and drug therapy recommendation to the people in the society. 

Over a period of time, the pharmacy profession has greatly changed from one focused on managing the production and dispensing of drugs to one primarily concerned with the safe, effective and appropriate use of medication and enhanced pharmacy services to patients. The ‘ High Technological Advancement’ and ‘Information Explosion’ have significantly raised the knowledge & quality level and consequently the pharmacists are now ready to shoulder bigger responsibilities with appreciable sense of sincerity and dedication. The role of pharmacists is now no longer fixed and rigid one but has been continuously changing and redefining its meaning and significance in the changing scenario and that’s why the bond between a pharmacist and society is becoming stronger day by day and acquiring new dimensions.

Pharmacists in the Society: Rationale behind influential Role

The pharmacy profession has been able to make a room for it in the present day society. There are numerous reasons, which are responsible for greater impact and penetration of pharmacists into the societal network irrespective of the geographical boundaries.  Whether it is a metro city or a remotely located rural area, pharmacists are everywhere discharging their duties to serve the humanity. The factors responsible for the influential role of pharmacist in the society may be summarized as below:

Thrust on Pharmaceutical Care to Patients:

Pharmacists have begun to concentrate on patient care specifically after pharmaceutical care had been mandated as patient centered practice model for pharmacy, many pharmacists have found themselves challenged by a paradigm shift in their daily practices from the product to the patient. Pharmaceutical care addresses the patient’s drug-related needs comprehensively through a scheduled outline of tasks, in which the practitioner makes sure that the drug therapy is appropriately indicated, effective, safe, and convenient Shifting from a dispensing focus to a patient focus has beenparticularly challenging which includes offering expandedpatient counseling, immunizations, and medication-dependentdisease management for persons with certain chronic conditions.The pharmacists are now covering a wide rangeof clinical and management functions like tracking adverse drugeffects, participating in programs to reduce medication errors,monitoring patients’ compliance with medication use, andconducting medication management programs.

Redesigning the Medication-Use System:

The pharmacists have taken in to consideration the need to "reengineerthe medication use system" to reduce preventable drug therapy–relatedadverse outcomes; to identify well-functioning models and todevelop strategies to evaluate and implement additional models;and to encourage inter-professional collaboration. The task is not so easy and they may come across certain kind of problems like lack of patientmedical information, patient confidentiality concerns, limitedprofessional communication, multiple approved formularies etc.

Continuing professional development (CPD):

Today’s pharmacist believes that professional attitude is an indispensable tool to make the pharmacy profession as significant for the society. A pharmacist must maintain his or her competence and effectiveness by keeping up to date with changes in pharmacy practice and with relevant knowledge and technology. This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has been able to bring the society nearer to the pharmacists when there comes a question about the welfare of the society.

Adherence to Pharmaceutical Code of Ethics:

Sticking to the ethical rules has helped a lot to establish the pharmacy profession as a noble one among the society and the pharmacists are advocating the adherence to pharmaceutical code of ethics more strongly and loudly in the present scenario.

Pharmacist: Authentic Source of Pharmaceutical Information:

The information pharmacists play vital role in providing relevant and up-to-date drug information to the people as and when required by the society.

Pharmacists- Adopting New Concepts:

The changing global scenario has prompted the pharmacists to adopt new concepts for the welfare of the society. Such concepts include Antibiotic pharmacist, Retail pharmacist, Academic pharmacist, Pharmaceutical journalist etc.

Societal Network: Penetration Enhancement By Pharmacists

The need of the hour is that the reflection of the extra-ordinarily good work being performed by the pharma professionals should reach to the common man and every segment of the society should realize, experience and recognize the beneficial implications of such efforts for the well being of the society.  Significant strategies and alternatives may be:

(i)Frequent organization of exhibitions and pharmacy fairs for the general public.

(ii)More discussions, talks, seminars and symposia may be organized covering topics directly catering the need of the society.

(iii) Each and every mass-movement/ societal mission launched by pharma professionals should be adequately and appropriately publicized and advertised so that the rest of the society may also participate and contribute in them.

(iv) National Pharmacy Weeks (NPWs) should be celebrated with more enthusiasm focusing the societal issues.

(v)New Pharmaceutical Information centers (PICs) should be established throughout the nation to impart information about significant pharmaceutical activities to the society.

Conclusion:

The pharmacy profession is emerging and proving as the backbone of the society as far as health aspects are concerned. Pharmacists are establishing new standards of pharmaceutical care and redefining their role towards the society. The impact and influence of pharmacy profession has never been recognized and identified so significantly as it is on today. The entire credit goes to pharmacists who are now more aware and concerned for the welfare of the society adopting modern concepts and professional attitude but not at the cost of the pharmaceutical ethics and thus have been able to penetrate the society maintaining the traditional sanctity of pharmacy profession. 

Modal Verbs

Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:

can	could	may	might	will
would	must	shall	should	ought to

Modals are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.
2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?')
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to')

Probability:

First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

For example:

• It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.
• I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.
• This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!

Ability

We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability. For example:

• She can speak six languages.
• My grandfather could play golf very well
• I can't drive

Obligation and Advice

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary or unnecessary, or to give advice.
For example:

Children must do their homework.

• We have to wear a uniform at work.
• You should stop smoking.

Permission

We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission. We also use modal verbs to say something is not allowed.
For example:

• Could I leave early today, please?
• You may not use the car tonight.
• Can we swim in the lake?

Habits

We can use 'will' and 'would' to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did in the past.
For example:

• When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.
• John will always be late!

All the auxiliary verbs except be, do and have are called modals. Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals only exist in their helping form; they cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence.

Be, do, and have also differ from the other auxiliaries in that they can also serve as ordinary verbs in a given sentence.

The modal verbs are:-

CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD

Modal	Example	Uses
Can	They can control their own budgets. We can’t fix it. Can I smoke here? Can you help me?	Ability / Possibility Inability / Impossibility Asking for permission Request
Could	Could I borrow your dictionary? Could you say it again more slowly? We could try to fix it ourselves. I think we could have another Gulf War. He gave up his old job so he could work for us.	Asking for permission. Request Suggestion Future possibility Ability in the past
May	May I have another cup of coffee? China may become a major economic power.	Asking for permission Future possibility
Might	We'd better phone tomorrow, they might be eating their dinner now. They might give us a 10% discount.	Present possibility Future possibility
Must	We must say good-bye now. They mustn’t disrupt the work more than necessary.	Necessity / Obligation Prohibition
Ought to	We ought to employ a professional writer.	Saying what’s right or correct
Shall (More common in the UK than the US)	Shall I help you with your luggage? Shall we say 2.30 then? Shall I do that or will you?	Offer Suggestion Asking what to do
Should	We should sort out this problem at once. I think we should check everything again. Profits should increase next year.	Saying what’s right or correct Recommending action Uncertain prediction
Will	I can’t see any taxis so I’ll walk. I'll do that for you if you like. I’ll get back to you first thing on Monday. Profits will increase next year.	Instant decisions Offer Promise Certain prediction
Would	Would you mind if I brought a colleague with me? Would you pass the salt please? Would you mind waiting a moment? "Would three o`clock suit you?" - "That’d be fine." Would you like to play golf this Friday? "Would you prefer tea or coffee?" - "I’d like tea please."	Asking for permission Request Request Making arrangements Invitation Preferences

!Note The modal auxiliary verbs are always followed by the base form.

The verb used to, which is explained here, can also be used like a modal verb.

The present progressive tense takes the form be + V ing.

The form of be is determined by the subject of the sentence.

He is singing.

She is listening.

They are sleeping.

I am going home.

In English, the present progressive is used to indicate actions happening at the time of speaking, or right now.

Jake is speaking to his mother right now.

Please keep quiet. The baby is sleeping.

The present progressive can also be used to indicate actions occurring over a period of time which includes the present.

I'm taking five classes at the university.

Grace is working at a chemical factory.

What are you doing these days?

The present progressive is sometimes used to indicate ongoing, developing, imminent or future actions.

Ongoing

Don't bother Mr. Grumpy while he is watching the football game.

Developing

I'm beginning to like this place!

Imminent

A: Honey, where are you?

B: I'm coming. Just let me put on my shoes.

Future (Note the presence of future time words.)

A: Are you going to the concert this weekend?

B: I wish I could, but I'm meeting an important client from Oklahoma.

Some non-action verbs do not occur in the present progressive tense. The simple present is sufficient.

Present Continuous

 [am/is/are + present participle]

Examples: You are watching TV. Are you watching TV? You are not watching TV.

Complete List of Present Continuous Forms

USE 1 Now

Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now.

Examples:

• You are learning English now.
• You are not swimming now.
• Are you sleeping?
• I am sitting.
• I am not standing.
• Is he sitting or standing?
• They are reading their books.
• They are not watching television.
• What are you doing?
• Why aren't you doing your homework?

USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.

Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)

• I am studying to become a doctor.
• I am not studying to become a dentist.
• I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
• I am not reading any books right now.
• Are you working on any special projects at work?
• Aren't you teaching at the university now?

USE 3 Near Future

Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not happen in the near future.

Examples:

• I am meeting some friends after work.
• I am not going to the party tonight.
• Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
• Isn't he coming with us tonight?

USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She is always coming to class late.
• He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
• I don't like them because they are always complaining.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Present.

Examples: She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct

• She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You are still watching TV.
• Are you still watching TV?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Right now, Tom is writing the letter. Active
• Right now, the letter is being written by Tom. Passive

Use

1. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the present:

• for something that is happening at the moment of speaking:

I’m just leaving work. I’ll be home in an hour.
Please be quiet. The children are sleeping.

• for something which is happening before and after a given time:

At eight o’clock we are usually having breakfast.
When I get home the children are doing their homework.

• for something which we think is temporary:

Michael is at university. He’s studying history.
I’m working in London for the next two weeks.

• for something which is new and contrasts with a previous state:

These days most people are using email instead of writing letters.
What sort of clothes are teenagers wearing nowadays? What sort of music are they listening to?

• to show that something is changing, growing or developing:

The children are growing quickly.
The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.

• for something which happens again and again:

It’s always raining in London.
They are always arguing.
George is great. He’s always laughing.

Note: We normally use always with this use.

2. We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future:

• for something which has been arranged or planned:

Mary is going to a new school next term.
What are you doing next week?

3. We can use the present continuous to talk about the past:

• When we are telling a story: 

• When we are summarising the story from a book, film or play etc.:

Forming the present continuous tense

This tense is formed using two components: the verb BE (in the present tense), and the -ING form of a verb. Here are the rules, using the example verb “sing”:

Subject	BE	-ING form
I	am	singing
You	are	singing
He	is	singing
She	is	singing
It	is	singing
We	are	singing
They	are	singing

2. How to make the -ING form

With many verbs, you can simply add -ING to the end of the verb. However, with some verbs, you need to change the ending a little. Here are the rules:

Verb ending in...	How to make the -ING form	Examples
one vowel + one consonant	Double the consonant, then add -ING	swim - swimming hit - hitting get - getting
one vowel + one consonant + E	Remove E, then add -ING	come - coming lose - losing live - living
[anything else]	Add -ING	say - saying go - going walk - walking

Past Continuous Form

[was/were + present participle]

Examples:

• You were studying when she called.
• Were you studying when she called?
• You were not studying when she called.

Complete List of Past Continuous Forms

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  B: I was snowboarding.

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
  I started eating at 6 PM.
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 4 Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.

Example:

• When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

While vs. When

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Examples:

• I was studying when she called.
• While I was studying, she called.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Past.

Examples:

• Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
• Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples: You were just studying when she called.

• Were you just studying when she called?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. Active
• The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. Passive

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.
past	present	future
8pm
At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

• I was working at 10pm last night.
• They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
• What were you doing at 10pm last night?
• What were you doing when he arrived?
• She was cooking when I telephoned her.
• We were having dinner when it started to rain.
• Ram went home early because it was snowing.

Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses.

We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:

" James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.

In the following example, we have two actions:

1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense

2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense

past	present	future
Long action.
I was watching TV at 8pm. 8pm You telephoned at 8pm.
Short action.

We can join these two actions with when:

• I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)

We use:

• when + short action (simple past tense)
• while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

	I was walking past the car	when	it exploded.
When	the car exploded		I was walking past it.
	The car exploded	while	I was walking past it.
While	I was walking past the car		it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

• "Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.
• "Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

Exceptions in Spelling

Exceptions in spelling when adding ing	Example
final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed)	come – coming (but: agree – agreeing)
after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled	sit – sitting
l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English)	travel – travelling
final ie becomes y	lie – lying

Use of Past Progressive

• puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past

Example: He was playing football.

• two actions happening at the same time (in the past)

Example: While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.

• action going on at a certain time in the past

Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

Use

1. Duration in the past

2. Interrupted actions in progress

3. Actions in progress at the same time in the past

4. Irritation

5. Polite question

USE 1: Duration in the past

We use the Past Continuous to talk about actions or situations that lasted for some time in the past, and whose duration time is unknown or unimportant.

• I was watching TV yesterday in the evening.
• She was sleeping on the couch.
• The dog was barking.

USE 2: Interrupted actions in progress

The Past Continuous is often used when one action in progress is interruped by another action in the past. The Past simple is used in such sentences. We usually use when or while to link these two sentences.

Sentence in Past Continuous		+		WHEN	+		Sentence in Past Simple
e.g. I was singing							e.g. my wife came home
WHEN/WHILE	+		Sentence in Past Continuous			+		Sentence in Past Simple
			e.g. I was					e.g. my wife came home

• was talking with James when the telephone rang.
• While Angelica was playing tennis, the plane crashed.
• When Bob was painting windows, it started raining.

When I was jogging, someone stopped me and asked what time it was.

Explanation

In this cartoon, you can see a man who says: "When I was jogging someone stopped me and asked what time it was.".

• Why is the Past Continuous used this example? Click on the button labled "event 1". You can see that the man is jogging. This is a continuous action. Suddenly, another man stops him and asks what time it is. This is "event 2". Notice that the action of jogging is interrupted by event 2. This is why the use of Past Continuous is correct here.

USE 3: Actions in progress at the same time

We also use this tense to talk about two or more activities happening at the same. We usually use when or while to link the two sentences.

1.

Sentence in Past Continuous	+	WHEN/WHILE	+	Sentence in Past Continuous
e.g. I was singing				e.g. She was cooking

2.

WHEN/WHILE	+	Sentence in Past Continuous	+	Sentence in Past Continuous
		e.g. I was singing		e.g. She was cooking

• I was watching TV and Barbara was reading a book.
• The family was eating the dinner and talking.
• When Bob was painting windows, Mary was working in the kitchen.

If we want to ask a polite question, we can use the Past Continuous.

• I was wondering if you could open the window.
• I was thinking you might help me with this problem.

Even though the sentences have a Past Continuous form, they refer to the present moment. Their meaning is similar to the "could you" sentences, but they are more polite.

USE 5: Irritation

Remember that you can also express irritation over somebody or something in the past. She was always coming late for dinner!

Form

To form a sentence in the Past Continuous, you need:

1. The proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to be" in the past form

2. The Present Participle of your verb (verb + ing)

1. Auxiliary verb "to be"

The past form of the auxiliary verb "to be" is:

1. For the first and third person singular: "was"

2. For all others: "were"

• She was always coming late for dinner!
• You were always coming late for dinner!

2. The Present Participle

The present participle is of a verb is a verb form that appears with the present tenses. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the verb.

• talk + ing = talking
• be + ing = being

There are exceptions.

Declarative Sentences

Subject	+	WAS/WERE	+	Verb + ING
e.g. he, she, a dog, etc.				e.g. walking, going, taking, etc.

	Examples	Use (click to read)
	At 3 PM, I was having lunch.	1
	They were talking about her when she walked into the room.	2
	While Kenneth was cleaning the living room, Sam was washing the dishes.	3
	We were all thinking about our holidays.	2

Future Continuous

Future Continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing." Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.

FORM Future Continuous with "Will"

[will be + present participle]

Examples: You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.

• Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
• You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.

FORM Future Continuous with "Be Going To "

[am/is/are + going to be + present participle]

Examples:

• You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
• Are you going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
• You are not going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.

REMEMBER: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the Future Continuous with little difference in meaning.

Complete List of Future Continuous Forms

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Future

Use the Future Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight.
• I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives.
• I am going to be staying at the Madison Hotel, if anything happens and you need to contact me.
• He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when she arrives.

Notice in the examples above that the interruptions (marked in italics) are in Simple Present rather than Simple Future. This is because the interruptions are in tim clauses, and you cannot use future tenses in time clauses.

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption in the Future

In USE 1, described above, the Future Continuous is interrupted by a short action in the future. In addition to using short actions as interruptions, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner.
  I will be in the process of eating dinner.
• At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert.
  We will be in the process of driving through the desert.

REMEMBER

In the Simple Future, a specific time is used to show the time an action will begin or end. In the Future Continuous, a specific time interrupts the action.

Examples:

• Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to eat dinner.
  I am going to start eating at 6 PM.
• Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner.
  I am going to start earlier and I will be in the process of eating dinner at 6 PM.

USE 3 Parallel Actions in the Future

When you use the Future Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions will be happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I am going to be studying and he is going to be making dinner.
• Tonight, they will be eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
• While Ellen is reading, Tim will be watching television.
  Notice "is reading" because of the time clause containing "while." USE 4
• In English, we often use a series of Parallel Actions to describe atmosphere at a specific point in the future.

Example:

• When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating. Some will be dancing. Others are going to be talking. A few people will be eating pizza, and several people are going to be drinking beer. They always do the same thing.

REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses

Like all future tenses, the Future Continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Future Continuous, Present Continuous is used.

Examples:

• While I am going to be finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Not Correct
• While I am finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Correct

AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Future Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Future.

Examples:

• Jane will be being at my house when you arrive. Not Correct
• Jane will be at my house when you arrive. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You will still be waiting for her when her plane arrives.
• Will you still be waiting for her when her plane arrives?

• You are still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives.
• Are you still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives?ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes. Active
• At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John. Passive

• At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes. Active
• At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John. Passive

NOTE: Passive forms of the Future Continuous are not common.

Future Continuous Tense

I will be singing

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		present participle
		will		be		base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		be	working	at 10am.
+	You	will		be	lying	on a beach tomorrow.
-	She	will	not	be	using	the car.
-	We	will	not	be	having	dinner at home.
?	Will	you		be	playing	football?
?	Will	they		be	watching	TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
past	present	future
4pm
		At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

• I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
• They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
• What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
• What will you be doing when I arrive?
• She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
• We'll be having dinner when the film starts.
• Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

1. How to make the Future Continuous Tense?

The Future Continuous is made with the future form of the verb "to be" (I will be, you will be, he/she/it will be, we will be, you will be, they will be) + the '-ing' form of the main verb. The '-ing' form of the verb is called the Present Participle.

Future Continuous (Progressive) Tense

Affirmative (Positive) Form

Negative Form

Question Form

I

will

be

reading

I

will

not

be

reading

Will

I

be

reading?

You

will

be

reading

You

will

not

be

reading

Will

you

be

reading?

He

will

be

reading

He

will

not

be

reading

Will

he

be

reading?

She

will

be

reading

She

will

not

be

reading

Will

she

be

reading?

It

will

be

reading

It

will

not

be

reading

Will

it

be

reading?

We

will

be

reading

We

will

not

be

reading

Will

we

be

reading?

You

will

be

reading

You

will

not

be

reading

Will

you

be

reading?

They

will

be

reading

They

will

not

be

reading

Will

they

be

reading?

Contracted forms:

I will = I'll he/she/it will = he'll/she'll/it'll you will = you'll
I will not  = I won't  he/she/it will not = he won't/she won't/it won't       you will not  = you won't   we will = we'll they will   = they'll  
we will not  = we won't  they will not = they won't 
Examples:  1. I'll be watching TV.   3. They'll be having a lunch.

She won't be swimming at the pool.   4. Will you be waiting for me?

2. Using the Future Continuous Tense.

 The most common use of the Future Continuous Tense is to describe an activity that will occur in the future and continue for a certain period of time. We can specify the time when the activity is going to take place:

Examples:  1. Tom will be attending the conference next month.

   2. They'll be shopping all afternoon.

   3. I'll be working late at the office tonight.

   4. We'll be flying over the Atlantic Ocean for three hours.

   5. Tonight at 11 p.m, we will be dancing at the party.

 The Future Continuous is also used when we talk about an activity that will continue over a period of time from now into the future (an activity in progress that started at the present moment or at some time around the present moment):

Examples:  1. They'll be studying until 5 o'clock.

   2. She'll be playing tennis until she gets tired.

   3. Susan will be waiting for the bus 10 more minutes.

 We can use the Future Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted by a shorter action in the future (in this case the shorter action in the future is expressed with Present Simple):

Examples:  1. I'll be making dinner when he arrives tonight.

   2. She'll be playing the piano when her parents come home.

 We can also use the Future Continuous to project ourselves into the future and see something happening:

Examples:  1. You'll recognize me when you get there. I'll be wearing jeans and a white

   t-shirt. I'll be sitting at a table at the corner and reading a newspaper.

   2. This time tomorrow I'll be having dinner at one of the New York's finest

restaurants.

 The Future Continuous is used to talk about what we believe or guess is happening at the moment of speaking (1, 2) or will be happening at a particular time in the future (3):

Examples:  1. Don't call him now, he'll be doing his homework.

   2. I don't want to disturb them. Im sure they'll be cleaning their house at the moment.

   3. Please, don't come at 9 o'clock. She'll be sleeping at that time.

 We can also use the Future Continuous to talk about things that we expect to happen in the usual course of events (the event is certain and will happen naturally):
Examples:  1. I will be seeing Ann tomorrow at the office. (we work together)

 2. We will be meeting Mike at the festival this weekend.   The Future Continuous is also used for predictions or expected trends in the future:
Example:  By 2030, most people in Africa will be living in urban areas.

 Sometimes we can use the Future Continuous to make polite enquiries, when we wish to know what somebody's plans are:
Examples:  1. Will you be coming with me to the concert tonight?

   2. Will you be going to the next meeting in December?

Participle is a word used to add extra meaning to the sentence.

Examples:
1. Hearing the noise, the boy woke up.
Here, the boy woke up is a fact. But why did he wake up?
He woke up because he heard the noise.
In order to add extra meaning to the sentence, the phrase hearing the noise has been added.
The word hearing is formed from the verb hear and governs an object.
The word hearing qualifies the noun boy as an Adjective does.
The word hearing, therefore, partakes of the nature of both a verb and an Adjective and is called PARTICIPLE.
It may be called a Verbal Adjective. The word, which partakes of the nature of both a verb and an Adjective, is called PARTICIPLE
 I saw an elephant carrying a pack of Vegetables on its back.
In this sentence, the word ‘carrying’ qualifies the noun elephant. So ‘carrying’ is a participle. Here as well as in the above sentence, the participles are in the continuous forms (hearing & carrying) of their verbs (hear & carry).
This type of participle is called PRESENT PARTICIPLE.
 Being the eldest son, John had to shoulder all the responsibilities of his family after his father died. In this sentence, the word ‘being’ qualifies the pronoun ‘John’. That is a Present Participle.. Driven by hunger, He stole a piece of bread.
In this sentence, the word ‘driven’ qualifies the noun ‘he’. You see that the word is not in the Present Participle form.
This type of participle is called PAST PARTICIPLE.
 Deceived by his friends, he lost all his properties.
In this sentence also the word ‘deceived’ is a Past Participle.
 Having elected him President, the people gave him the royal support.
In this different sentence the phrase ‘having elected’ qualifies the noun ‘people’.
But this phrase is neither Present participle nor Past Participle.
This phrase indicates an action which came to an end in the near past.
This type of participle is called PERFECT PARTICIPLE.
 Having come of age, John entered into partnership with his father.
In this sentence, the phrase ‘having come’ is a Perfect Participle.
So, there are three types of Participles.
A. Present Participle
B. Past Participle
C. Perfect Participle
Let us see few more examples in each of these three participles.
A.Present Participle:
Examples:
• Going up the stairs, the boy fell down.
• Working all day, I was fatigued.
• Not knowing my way, I asked the Policeman.
• Mounting his horse, the bandit rode off.
• Seeing the Sunshine, I threw open the window.
B.Past Participle:
Examples:
• Encouraged by his wife, he persevered.
• Enchanted by the whole scene, I lingered on my voyage.
• We saw few trees laden with fruits.
• Blinded by smog, we lost our way.
• Experienced for a decade, I prepared the manual in a minute.
C.Perfect Participle:
Examples:
• Having failed in the first attempt, he made no further attempts.
• Having lost my certificates, I applied for the duplicates.
• Having gained the truth, He remained calm.

The functions of Participle I

The main functions of Participle I are the attribute and the adverbial modifier.

· Participle I as an attribute

· In this function Participle I Indefinite Active is very common, Participle I Indefinite Passive occurs and Participle I Perfect is never used either in the Active or in the Passive form.

· He advised me to speak to the man supervising the works.

· Participle I Indefinite Passive is but seldom used as an attribute because it has to compete with Participle II in this function and it is used in those cases only where the action is represented as a process going on at some particular moment.

· The documents being typed now must be sent to Switzerland urgently.

· When the meaning is passive Participle II is used.

· All the buildings damaged during the war were soon restored.

· Participle I as an adverbial modifier

o Participle I can be used as an adverbial modifier of time.

Doing his study she found a note under his desk.

The conjunction when and while can be used here when the actions are simultaneous.

When crossing a street be careful.

Note: The participle of the verb to be is never used as an adverbial modifier of time.

Every time I come to Moscow I always try to get a ticket to the Sovremenik theater.

When (he was) a child he was not fond of noisy active games.

An adverbial clause of time of ordinary or special type can be used here.

o Participle I can be used as an adverbial modifier of cause.

Having a richer completion she looked younger than her sister.

Note: Participle I in this function is often translated by an adverbial clause.

Having rich parents she could afford to spend a summer holiday in Europe.

o Participle I can be used as an adverbial modifier of comparison with the conjunctions as if, as though (как будто, как если бы).

She raised her hand as if trying to stop him.

o Participle I can be used as an adverbial modifier of manner or attendant circumstances.

She worked in the garden singing merely.

· Participle I can be used as a predicative (the nominal part of the compound nominal predicate).

The effect of his words was terrifying.

· Participle I can be used as parenthesis (вводное слово).

Frankly speaking, I am not delighted with his choice.

· Participle I is used in the Objective Participial construction.

When used in the Objective Participial construction Participle I performs the function of part of a complex object.

I saw him crossing the street.

· Participle I is used in the Subjective Participial construction.

When used in the Subjective Participial construction Participle I performs the function of part of the compound verbal modal predicate of special type.

He was heard pacing his room upstairs at night.

English modal verbs

The modal verbs of English are a small class of auxiliary verbs used mostly to express modality (properties such as possibility, obligation, etc.). They can be distinguished from other verbs by their defectiveness (they do not have participle or infinitive forms) and by the fact that they do not take the ending -(e)s in the third-person singular.

The principal English modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will and would. Certain other verbs are sometimes, but not always, classed as modals; these include ought, had better, and (in certain uses) dare and need. Verbs which share some but not all of the characteristics of the principal modals are sometimes called "semimodals".

Modal verbs and their features

The verbs customarily classed as modals in English have the following properties:

• They do not inflect, except insofar as some of them come in present–past (present–preterite) pairs. They do not add the ending -(e)s in the third-person singular (the present-tense modals therefore follow the preterite-present paradigm).
• They are defective: they are not used as infinitives or participles (except occasionally in non-standard English; see Double modals below), nor as imperatives, nor (in the standard way) as subjunctives.
• They function as auxiliary verbs: they modify the meaning of another verb, which they govern. This verb generally appears as a bare infinitive, although in some definitions a modal verb can also govern the to-infinitive (as in the case of ought).
• They have the syntactic properties associated with auxiliary verbs in English, principally that they can undergo subject–auxiliary inversion (in questions, for example) and can be negated by the appending of not after the verb.

The following verbs have all of the above properties, and can be classed as the principal modal verbs of English. They are listed here in present–preterite pairs where applicable:

• can and could
• may and might
• shall and should
• will and would
• must (no preterite; see etymology below)

Note that the preterite forms are not necessarily used to refer to past time, and in some cases they are near synonyms to the present forms. Note that most of these so-called preterite forms are most often used in the subjunctive mood in the present tense. The auxiliary verbs may and let are also used often in the subjunctive mood. Famous examples of these are "May The Force be with you," and "Let God bless you with good." These are both sentences that express some uncertainty, hence they are subjunctive sentences.

The verbs listed below mostly share the above features, but with certain differences. They are sometimes, but not always, categorized as modal verbs.^[1] They may also be called "semimodals".

• The verb ought differs from the principal modals only in that it governs a to-infinitive rather than a bare infinitive (compare he should go with he ought to go).
• The verbs dare and need can be used as modals, often in the negative (Dare he fight?; You dare not do that.; You need not go.), although they are more commonly found in constructions where they appear as ordinary inflected verbs (He dares to fight; You don't need to go). There is also a dialect verb, nearly obsolete but sometimes heard in Appalachia and the Deep South of the United States: darest, which means "dare not", as in "You darest do that."
• The verb had in the expression had better behaves like a modal verb, hence had better (considered as a compound verb) is sometimes classed as a modal or semimodal.
• The verb used in the expression used to (do something) can behave as a modal, but is more often used with do-support than with auxiliary-verb syntax: Did she use to do it? and She didn't use to do it are more common than Used she to do it? and She used not (usedn't) to do it.

Other English auxiliaries appear in a variety of inflected forms and are not regarded as modal verbs. These are:

• be, used as an auxiliary in passive voice and continuous aspect constructions; it follows auxiliary-verb syntax even when used as a copula, and in auxiliary-like formations such as be going to, is to and be about to;
• have, used as an auxiliary in perfect aspect constructions, including the idiom have got (to); it is also used in have to, which has modal meaning, but here (as when denoting possession) have only rarely follows auxiliary-verb syntax (see also must below);
• do; see do-support.

For more general information about English verb inflection and auxiliary usage, see English verbs and English clause syntax. For details of the uses of the particular modals, see Usage of specific verbs below.

Etymology

The modals can and could are from Old English can(n) and cuþ, which were respectively present and preterite forms of the verb cunnan ("to be able"), The silent l in the spelling of could results from analogy with would and should.

Similarly, may and might are from Old English mæg and meahte, respectively present and preterite forms of magan ("may, to be able"); shall and should are from sceal and sceolde, respectively present and preterite forms of sculan ("to owe, be obliged"); and will and would are from wille and wolde, respectively present and preterite forms of willan ("to wish, want").

The aforementioned Old English verbs cunnan, magan, sculan and willan followed the preterite-present paradigm (or in the case of willan, a similar but irregular paradigm), which explains the absence of the ending -s in the third person on the present forms can, may, shall and will. (The original Old English forms given above were first and third person singular forms; their descendant forms became generalized to all persons and numbers.)

The verb must comes from Old English moste, part of the verb motan ("to be able to, be obliged to"). This was another preterite-present verb, of which moste was in fact the preterite (the present form mot gave rise to mote, which was used as a modal verb in Early Modern English; but must has now lost its past connotations and has replaced mote). Similarly, ought was originally a past form – it derives from ahte, preterite of agan ("to own"), another Old English preterite-present verb, whose present tense form ah has given the modern (regular) verb owe (and ought was formerly used as a past tense of owe).

The verb dare also originates from a preterite-present verb, durran ("to dare"), specifically its present tense dear(r), although in its non-modal uses in Modern English it is conjugated regularly. However need comes from the regular Old English verb neodian (meaning "to be necessary") – the alternative third person form need (in place of needs), which has become the norm in modal uses, became common in the 16th century.

Syntax

A modal verb serves as an auxiliary to another verb, which appears in infinitive form (the bare infinitive, or the to-infinitive in the cases of ought and used as discussed above). Examples: You must escape; This may be difficult.

The verb governed by the modal may be another auxiliary (necessarily one that can appear in infinitive form – this includes be and have, but not another modal, except in the non-standard cases described below under Double modals). Hence a modal may introduce a chain (technically catena) of verb forms, in which the other auxiliaries express properties such as aspect and voice, as in He must have been given a new job.

Modals can appear in tag questions and other elliptical sentences without the governed verb being expressed: ...can he?; I mustn't.; Would they?

Like other auxiliaries, modal verbs are negated by the addition of the word not after them. (The modification of meaning may not always correspond to simple negation, as in the case of must not.) The modal can combines with not to form the single word cannot. Most of the modals have contracted negated forms in n't which are commonly used in informal English: can't, mustn't, won't (from will), etc.

Again like other auxiliaries, modal verbs undergo inversion with their subject, in forming questions and in the other cases described in the article on subject–auxiliary inversion: Could you do this?; On no account may you enter. When there is negation, the contraction with n't may undergo inversion as an auxiliary in its own right: Why can't I come in? (or: Why can I not come in?).

More information on these topics can be found at English clause syntax.

Past forms

The preterite (past) forms given above (could, might, should and, would, corresponding to can, may, shall and will, respectively) do not always simply modify the meaning of the modal to give it past time reference. The only one regularly used as an ordinary past tense is could, when referring to ability: I could swim may serve as a past form of I can swim.

All the preterites are used as past equivalents for the corresponding present modals in indirect speech and similar clauses requiring the rules of sequence of tenses to be applied. For example, in 1960 it might have been said that People think that we will all be driving hovercars by the year 2000, whereas at a later date it might be reported that In 1960, people thought we would all be driving hovercars by the year 2000.

This "future-in-the-past" usage of would can also occur in independent sentences: I moved to Green Gables in 1930; I would live there for the next ten years.

In many cases, in order to give modals past reference, they are used together with a "perfect infinitive", namely the auxiliary have and a past participle, as in I should have asked her; You may have seen me. Sometimes these expressions are limited in meaning; for example, must have can only refer to certainty, whereas past obligation is expressed by an alternative phrase such as had to (see Replacements for defective forms below).

Conditional sentences

The preterite forms of modals are used in counterfactual conditional sentences, in the apodosis (then-clause). The modal would (sometimes should as a first-person alternative) is used to produce the conditional construction which is typically used in clauses of this type: If you loved me, you would support me. It can be replaced by could (meaning "would be able to") and might (meaning "would possibly") as appropriate.

When the clause has past time reference, the construction with the modal plus perfect infinitive (see above) is used: If they (had) wanted to do it, they would (could/might) have done it by now. (The would have done construction is called the conditional perfect.)

The protasis (if-clause) of such a sentence typically contains the past tense of a verb (or the past perfect construction, in the case of past time reference), without any modal. The modal could may be used here in its role as the past tense of can (if I could speak French). However all the modal preterites can be used in such clauses with certain types of hypothetical future reference: if I should lose or should I lose (equivalent to if I lose); if you would/might/could stop doing that (usually used as a form of request).

Sentences with the verb wish (and expressions of wish using if only...) follow similar patterns to the if-clauses referred to above, when they have counterfactual present or past reference. When they express a desired event in the near future, the modal would is used: I wish you would visit me; If only he would give me a sign.

For more information see English conditional sentences and English subjunctive.

Replacements for defective forms

As noted above, English modal verbs are defective in that they do not have infinitive, participle, imperative or (standard) subjunctive forms, and in some cases past forms. However in many cases there exist equivalent expressions that carry the same meaning as the modal, and can be used to supply the missing forms. In particular:

• The modals can and could, in their meanings expressing ability, can be replaced by am/is/are able to and was/were able to. Additional forms can thus be supplied: the infinitive (to) be able to, the subjunctive and (rarely) imperative be able to, and the participles being able to and been able to.
• The modal must in most meanings can be replaced by have/has to. This supplies the past and past participle form had to, and other forms (to) have to, having to.
• When will or shall expresses the future, the expression am/is/are going to has similar meaning. This can supply other forms: was/were going to, (to) be going to, being/been going to.
• The modals should and ought to might be replaced by am/is/are supposed to, thus supplying the forms was/were supposed to, (to) be supposed to, being/been supposed to.

Contractions and reduced pronunciation

As already mentioned, most of the modals in combination with not form commonly used contractions: can't, won't, etc. Some of the modals also have contracted forms themselves:

• The verb will is often contracted to 'll; the same contraction may also represent shall.
• The verb would (or should, when used as a first-person equivalent of would) is often contracted to 'd.
• The had of had better is also often contracted to 'd. (The same contraction is also used for other cases of had as an auxiliary.)

Certain of the modals generally have a weak pronunciation when they are not stressed or otherwise prominent; for example, can is usually pronounced /kǝn/. The same applies to certain words following modals, particularly auxiliary have: a combination like should have is normally reduced to /ʃʊd(h)ǝv/ or just /ʃʊdǝ/ "shoulda". Also ought to can become /ɔːtǝ/ "oughta". See Weak and stron forms in English.

Usage of specific verbs

Can and could

The modal verb can expresses possibility in either a dynamic, deontic or epistemic sense, that is, in terms of innate ability, permissibility, or possible circumstance. For example:

• I can speak English means "I am able to speak English" or "I know how to speak English".
• You can smoke here means "you may (are permitted to) smoke here" (in formal English may or might is sometimes considered more correct than can or could in these senses).
• There can be strong rivalry between siblings means that such rivalry is possible.

The preterite form could is used as the past tense or conditional form of can in the above meanings (see Past forms above). It is also used to express possible circumstance: We could be in trouble here. It is preferable to use could, may or might rather than can when expressing possible circumstance in a particular situation (as opposed to the general case, as in the "rivalry" example above, where can or may is used).

Both can and could can be used to make requests: Can/could you pass me the cheese? means "Please pass me the cheese" (where could indicates greater politeness).

It is common to use can with verbs of perception such as see, hear, etc., as in I can see a tree. Aspectual distinctions can be made, such as I could see it (ongoing state) vs. I saw it (event). See can see.

The use of could with the perfect infinitive expresses past ability or possibility, either in some counterfactual circumstance (I could have told him if I had seen him), or in some real circumstance where the act in question was not in fact realized: I could have told him yesterday (but in fact I didn't). The use of can with the perfect infinitive, can have..., is a rarer alternative to may have... (for the negative see below).

The negation of can is the single word cannot, only occasionally written separately as can not. Though cannot is preferred (as can not is potentially ambiguous), its irregularity (all other uncontracted verbal negations use at least two words) sometimes causes those unfamiliar with the nuances of English spelling to use the separated form. Its contracted form is can't (pronounced /kɑːnt/ in RP and some other dialects). The negation of could is the regular could not, contracted to couldn't.

The negative forms reverse the meaning of the modal (to express inability, impermissibility or impossibliity). This differs from the case with may or might used to express possibility: it can't be true has a different meaning than it may not be true. Thus can't (or cannot) is often used to express disbelief in the possibility of something, as must expresses belief in the certainty of something. When the circumstance in question refers to the past, the form with the perfect infinitive is used: he can't (cannot) have done it means "I believe it impossible that he did it" (compare he must have done it).

Occasionally not is applied to the infinitive rather than to the modal (stress would then be applied to make the meaning clear): I could not do that, but I'm going to do it anyway.

May and might

The verb may expresses possibility in either an epistemic or deontic sense, that is, in terms of possible circumstance or permissibility. For example:

• The mouse may be dead means that it is possible that the mouse is dead.
• You may leave the room means that the listener is permitted to leave the room.

In expressing possible circumstance, may can have future as well as present reference (he may arrive means that it is possible that he will arrive; I may go to the mall means that I am considering going to the mall).

The preterite form might is used as a synonym for may when expressing possible circumstance (as can could – see above). It is sometimes said that might and could express a greater degree of doubt than may. For uses of might in conditional sentences, and as a past equivalent to may in such contexts as indirect speech, see Past forms above.

May (or might) can also express irrelevance in spite of certain or likely truth: He may be taller than I am, but he is certainly not stronger could mean "While it is (or may be) true that he is taller than I am, that does not make a difference, as he is certainly not stronger."

May can indicate presently given permission for present or future actions: You may go now. Might used in this way is milder: You might go now if you feel like it. Similarly May I use your phone? is a request for permission (might would be more hesitant or polite).

A less common use of may is to express wishes, as in May you live long and happy (see also English subjunctive).

When used with the perfect infinitive, may have indicates uncertainty about a past circumstance, whereas might have can have that meaning, but it can also refer to possibilities that did not occur but could have in other circumstances (see also conditional sentences above).

• She may have eaten the cake (the speaker does not know whether she ate cake).
• She might have eaten cake (this means either the same as the above, or else means that she did not eat cake but that it was or would have been possible for her to eat cake).

Note that the above perfect forms refer to possibility, not permission (although the second sense of might have might sometimes imply permission).

The negated form of may is may not; this does not have a common contraction (mayn't is obsolete). The negation of might is might not; this is sometimes contracted to mightn't, mostly in tag questions and in other questions expressing doubt (Mightn't I come in if I took my boots off?).

The meaning of the negated form depends on the usage of the modal. When possibility is indicated, the negation effectively applies to the main verb rather than the modal: That may/might not be means "That may/might not-be", i.e. "That may fail to be true". But when permission is being expressed, the negation applies to the modal or entire verb phrase: You may not go now means "You are not permitted to go now" (except in rare cases where not and the main verb are both stressed to indicate that they go together: You may go or not go, whichever you wish).

Shall and should

Main article: Shall and will

The verb shall is used in some (particularly formal) varieties of English in place of will, indicating futurity, when the subject is first person (I shall, we shall).

With second- and third-person subjects, shall indicates an order, command or prophecy: Cinderella, you shall go to the ball! It is often used in writing laws and specifications: Those convicted of violating this law shall be imprisoned for a term of not less than three years; The electronics assembly shall be able to operate within a normal temperature range.

Shall is sometimes used in questions (in the first, or possibly third, person) to ask for advice or confirmation of a suggestion: Shall I read now?; What shall we wear?

Should is sometimes used as a first-person equivalent for would (in its conditional and "future-in-the-past" uses), in the same way that shall can replace will. Should is also used to form a replacement for the present subjunctive in some varieties of English, and also in some conditional sentences with hypothetical future reference – see English subjunctive and English conditional sentences.

Should is often used to describe an expected or recommended behavior or circumstance. It can be used to give advice or to describe normative behavior, though without such strong obligatory force as must or have to. Thus You should never lie describes a social or ethical norm. It can also express what will happen according to theory or expectations: This should work. In these uses it is equivalent to ought to.

Both shall and should can be used with the perfect infinitive (shall/should have (done)) in their role as first-person equivalents of will and would (thus to form future perfect or conditional perfect structures). Also shall have may express an order with perfect aspect (you shall have finished your duties by nine o'clock). When should is used in this way it usually expresses something which would have been expected, or normatively required, at some time in the past, but which did not in fact happen (or is not known to have happened): I should have done that yesterday ("it would have been expedient, or expected of me, to do that yesterday").

The negative forms are shall not and should not, contracted to shan't and shouldn't. The negation effectively applies to the main verb rather than the auxiliary: you should not do this implies not merely that there is no need to do it, but that there is a need not to do it.

Will and would

The modal will is often used to express futurity (The next meeting will be held on Thursday). Since this is an expression of time rather than modality, constructions with will (or sometimes shall; see above and at shall and will) are often referred to as the future tense of English, and forms like will do, will be doing, will have done and will have been doing are often called the simple future, future progressive (or future continuous), future perfect, and future perfect progressive (continuous). With first-person subjects (I, we), in varieties where shall is used for simple expression of futurity, the use of will indicates particular willingness or determination.

Future events are also sometimes referred to using the present tense (see Uses of English verb forms), or using the going to construction.

Will as a modal also has a number of different uses:

• It can express habitual aspect; for example, he will make mistakes may mean that he frequently makes mistakes (here the word will is usually stressed somewhat, and often expresses annoyance).
• It can express strong probability with present time reference, as in That will be John at the door.
• It can be used to give an order, as in You will do it right now.

The preterite form would is used in some conditional sentences, and as a past form of future will as described above under Past forms. (It is sometimes replaced by should in the first person in the same way that will is replaced by shall.) Other uses of would include:

• Expression of politeness, as in I would like... (for "I want") and Would you (be so kind as to) do this? (for "Please do this").
• Expression of habitual aspect in past time, as in Back then, I would eat early and would walk to school.

Both will and would can be used with the perfect infinitive (will have, would have), either to form the future perfect and conditional perfect forms already referred to, or to express perfect aspect in their other meanings (e.g. there will have been an arrest order, expressing strong probability).

The negated forms are will not (contracted to won't) and would not (contracted to wouldn't). In the modal meanings of will the negation is effectively applied to the main verb phrase and not to the modality (e.g. when expressing an order, you will not do it expresses an order not to do it, rather than just the absence of an order to do it). For contracted forms of will and would themselves, see Contractions and reduced pronunciation above.

Must

The modal must expresses obligation or necessity: You must use this form; We must try to escape. It can also express a confident assumption (the epistemic rather than deontic use), such as in It must be here somewhere.

An alternative to must is the expression have to (in the present tense sometimes have got to), which is often more idiomatic in informal English when referring to obligation. This also provides other forms in which must is defective (see Replacements for defective forms above) and enables simple negation (see below).

When used with the perfect infinitive (i.e. with have and the past participle), must expresses only assumption: Sue must have left means that the speaker confidently assumes that Sue has left. To express obligation or necessity in the past, had to or some other synonym must be used.

The formal negation of must is must not (contracted to mustn't). However the negation effectively applies to the main verb, not the modality: You must not do this means that you are required not to do it, not just that you are not required to do it. To express the lack of requirement or obligation, the negative of have to or need (see below) can be used: You don't have to do it; You needn't do it.

The above negative forms are not usually used in the sense of confident assumption; here it is common to use can't to express confidence that something is not the case (as in It can't be here or, with the perfect, Sue can't have left).

Mustn't can nonetheless be used as a simple negative of must in tag questions and other questions expressing doubt: We must do it, mustn't we? Mustn't he be in the operating room by this stage?

Ought to and had better

Ought is used with meanings similar to those of should expressing expectation or requirement. The principal grammatical difference is that ought is used with the to-infinitive rather than the bare infinitive, hence we should go is equivalent to we ought to go. Because of this difference of syntax, ought is sometimes excluded from the class of modal verbs, or is classed as a semimodal.

The reduced pronunciation of ought to (see Contractions and reduced pronunciation above) is sometimes given the eye dialect spelling oughta.

Ought can be used with perfect infinitives in the same way as should (but again with the insertion of to): you ought to have done that earlier.

The negated form is ought not or oughtn't, equivalent in meaning to shouldn't (but again used with to).

The expression had better has similar meaning to should and ought when expressing recommended or expedient behavior: I had better get down to work (it can also be used to give instructions with the implication of a threat: you had better give me the money or else). The had of this expression is similar to a modal: it governs the bare infinitive, it is defective in that it is not replaceable by any other form of the verb have, and it behaves syntactically as an auxiliary verb. For this reason the expression had better, considered as a kind of compound verb, is sometimes classed along with the modals or as a semimodal.

The had of had better can be contracted to 'd, or in some informal usage (especially American) can be omitted. The expression can be used with a perfect infinitive: you'd better have finished that report by tomorrow. There is a negative form hadn't better, used mainly in questions: Hadn't we better start now? It is more common for the infinitive to be negated by means of not after better: You'd better not do that (meaning that you are strongly advised not to do that).

Dare and need

The verbs dare and need can be used both as modals and as ordinary conjugated (non-modal) verbs. As non-modal verbs they can take a to-infinitive as their complement (I dared to answer her; He needs to clean that), although dare may also take a bare infinitive (He didn't dare go). In their uses as modals they govern a bare infinitive, and are usually restricted to questions and negative sentences.

Examples of the modal use of dare, followed by equivalents using non-modal dare where appropriate:

• Dare he do it? ("Does he dare to do it?")
• I daren't (or dare not) try ("I don't dare to try")
• How dare you!; How dare he! (idiomatic expressions of outrage)
• I dare say (another idiomatic expression, here exceptionally without negation or question syntax)

The modal use of need is close in meaning to must expressing necessity or obligation. The negated form need not (needn't) differs in meaning from must not, however; it expresses lack of necessity, whereas must not expresses prohibition. Examples:

• Need I continue? ("Do I need to continue? Must I continue?")
• You needn't water the grass ("You don't have to water the grass"; compare the different meaning of You mustn't water...)

Modal need can also be used with the perfect infinitive: Need I have done that? It is most commonly used here in the negative, to denote that something that was done was (from the present perspective) not in fact necessary: You needn't have left that tip.

Used to

The verbal expression used to expresses past states or past habitual actions, usually with the implication that they are no longer so. It is followed by the infinitive (that is, the full expression consists of the verb used plus the to-infinitive). Thus the statement I used to go to college means that the speaker formerly habitually went to college, and normally implies that this is no longer the case.

Used to may be classed among the modals or semimodals on the ground that it is invariant and defective in form like the other modals, and can follow auxiliary-verb syntax: it is possible to form questions like Used he to come here? and negatives like He used not (rarely usedn't) to come here. More common, however, (though not the most formal style) is the syntax that treats used as a past tense of an ordinary verb, and forms questions and negatives using did: Did he use to come here? He didn't use to come here.

Note the difference in pronunciation between the ordinary verb use /juz/ and its past form used /juzd/ (as in scissors are used to cut paper), and the verb forms described here: /just/ and (when supported by did) /jus/.

The verbal use of used to should not be confused with the adjectival use of the same expression, meaning "familiar with", as in I am used to this, we must get used to the cold. When the adjectival form is followed by a verb, the gerund is used: I am used to going to college in the mornings. (The pronunciation of the adjectival used in this expression is also /just/.)

Double modals

In formal standard English usage, more than one modal verb is not used consecutively, as modals are followed by an infinitive, which they themselves lack. They can only be combined with non-modal constructions that have a modal function, such as have to, which in spite of its function is not a modal verb. Thus, might have to is acceptable, but might must is not, even though must and have to can normally be used interchangeably.

A greater variety of double modals appears in some regional dialects. In Southern American English, for example, phrases such as might could or ought to should are sometimes used in conversation. The double modal may sometimes be redundant, as in "I ought to should do something about it", where ought to and should are synonymous and either one could be removed from the sentence. In other double modals, the two modal verbs convey different meanings, such as "I might could do something about it tomorrow", where could indicates the ability to do something and might shows uncertainty about that ability.

These kinds of double modal phrases are not regarded as standard, although a combination of a modal with a modal-like construction may be used instead. "I might could do something about it" is more often expressed as "I might be able to do something about it", which is considered more standard. Similarly used to could, which appears for example in country singer Bill Carlisle's 1951 song "Too Old to Cut the Mustard":

I used to could jump just like a deer,

But now I need a new landing gear.

I used to could jump a picket fence,

But now I'm lucky if I jump an inch.

is usually expressed as used to be able to. Double modals can also be avoided by replacing one of the modal verbs with an appropriate adverb, such as using probably could or might possibly in place of might could.

Double modals also occur in the closely related Germanic language Scots.

Comparison with other Germanic languages

Many English modals have cognates in other Germanic languages, albeit with different meanings in some cases. Unlike the English modals, however, these verbs are not generally defective; they can inflect, and have forms such as infinitives, participles and future tenses (for example using the auxiliary werden in German). Examples of such cognates include:

• in German: müssen ("to have to"), können ("to be able to"), sollen, cognates of must, can and shall respectively. For the verbs can and may, when used in the sense of giving permission as opposed to the ability to do something, they are equivalent in meaning to the German modal verb dürfen (to be allowed to) rather than können. For example, können wir singen? and dürfen wir singen? can both mean can we sing?, although the first literally means do we have the ability to/can we sing? while the second means do we have permission to/may we sing? German also has two more modal verbs, wollen (to want to do something) and mögen (to like to do something), whose English equivalents are technically not modal verbs (for example wir wollen singen and wir mögen singen are, respectively we want to sing and we like to sing, requiring a construction using the to-infinitive).

• in Dutch: mogen, moeten, kunnen, zouden, cognates of may, must, can and should.
• in Danish: måtte, kunne, ville, skulle, cognates of may/must, can, will, shall.