Caractéristiques des modaux 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) ils peuvent être suivis: a„

He must work more.

b„

He must be working now.

c„

He should have worked more.

d„

He might have been working yesterday.

e„

It must be done.

f„

The trousers must have been sold.

Il - DEUX TYPES DE MODALITE

(a) She must be married. (b)) She must marry. (c) She may come tonight

I’m practically sure she's married ; She is obliged to marry. peut signifier

(c1)Perhaps she will come. (c2) She is allowed to come.

En (a) et en (c1),

Ce premier type de modalité relève du domaine de la probabilité ou de l'éventualité. A partir de ce qu'il sait, l'énonciateur évalue les chances de réalisation de la relation. Autrement dit, il déclare que la relation entre le sujet et le verbe est: certaine (........../ ...........) - très probable (........... 1........... )- possible (........... ) vraisemblable (........... ) - éventuelle (........... I .........../..............) - impossible (........... ) Tandis qu'en (b) et en (c2), Ce deuxième type de modalité indique les possibilités d'action Dans ce type de modalité, le locuteur indique que le sujet a ou n'a pas: la possibilité physique ou théorique d'agir (........... ) - la permission d'agir (.........../...........) - l'obligation d'agir (.........../...........) - la volonté d'agir (........... ) – ou le locuteur donne un conseil Le locuteur peut également déplorer que I' action n'ait pas pu se faire: regret ou reproche (........../ .............../ .............)

Probabilité/Eventualité ou Possibilité d’agir ? Exercices d’application Exercice 1 Reliez chaque phrase de la colonne de gauche à la phrase de !a colonne de droite qui la complète de façon appropriée, puis indiquez quel type de modalité la phrase met en jeu (Probabilité/Eventualité = PE ou Possibilité d'agir =PA). .... 1) John must play cricket today, a) he has taken his bat. …. 2) John must be la in cricket today , b) we won't win without him. .... 3) Cathy must be at the supermarket, c) there's nothing to eat for tonight. …. 4) Cathy must go to the supermarket, d she is nowhere in the house. e) I saw his car in the hospital car park .... 5) The doctor can't have gone home early today, f) he is too busy. .... 6) The doctor can't go home early today, .... 7) Ann may come with us if she likes, g) I am not against it. …. 8) Ann may be coming with us, h) she hasn't made up her mind yet. .... 9) The windows are clean, i) someone must clean them. j) someone must have cleaned them …. 10) The windows are dirty someone must have cleaned them. Exercice 2 Dans les paires de phrases suivantes, le même modal est employé pour exprimer soit que l'énonciateur n'est pas certain (Probabilité/Eventualité = PE), soit qu'il exerce une pression sur le sujet grammatical pour le pousser à agir ( Possibilité d'agir = PA). Indiquez pour chaque phrase de quel type est !e modal. 1a) You're going swimming in the middle of winter; you must be mad!(...... ) 1b)He must see the doctor for a blood test and check up.(...... ) 2a) You should read the paper: there's an interesting article about autism;(...... ) 2b) The paper should be on the sofa; I was reading il when you came in.(......) 3a) In a hundred years cars may run on hydrogen taken from the sea.(...... ) 3b) May I have a word with you, Mr Allen?(...... ) 4a) What you might do is phone me to let me know when you are coming.(...... ) 4b) The Meteorological Office has announced that il might snow tomorrow.(...... )

III - VALEURS DES MODAUX A - Avertissement : Un même modal peut avoir plusieurs valeurs. Par exemple will peut avoir: a) He will be 30 next month b) If he comes, I will stay c) He will talk nonsense!. B – Tableau récapitulatif Chaque modal ci-dessous fonctionne selon les deux types de modalité. La partie supérieure du tableau correspond à ce qui relève de la probabilité et l’éventualité, à des degrés divers (PE). La partie inférieure du tableau rassemble les valeurs des modaux indiquant les possibilités d’action (PA). TABLEAU RECAPITULATIF DES MODAUX + DIFFERENTES VALEURS

FORTE MUST

SHALL

Probabilité Prédiction forte (portant sur événement présent ou passé)

PROBABILITE / EVENTUALITE

FAIBLE

SHOULD WILL

WOULD

CAN

COULD

MAY

MIGHT

Probabilité atténuée

Conditionnel

Probabilité moyenne / neutre / à caractère général

Eventualité

Eventualité

Eventualité

Probabilité forte (phrases affirmatives) ou

ou Tendance (phrases affirmatives)

ou

ou

Conditionnel

Conditionnel

Tendance Caractéristique Comportement prévisible

POSSIBILITE (OU NON) D’AGIR (PA) MUST Obligation ou Interdiction

SHALL

SHOULD WILL

Obligation (avec menace sous jacente)

Conseil / Suggestion

WOULD

COULD

MAY

Capacité (contexte passé)

Permission

ou

ou

Interdiction (may not)

Possibilité (can’t = impossibilité) ou

Possibilité dans le passé (couldn’t = impossibilité

ou

Permission

ou

Suggestion

ou

Regret (modal + present perfect)

Promesse (à la 1 ère personne)

Volonté (contexte passé)

CAN Capacité (can’t = incapacité)

ou

Volonté

ou Regret (modal + present perfect)

Interdiction (can’t)

ou Conseil / Suggestion

MIGHT Regret (modal + present perfect) ou Conseil / Suggestion ou Permission (seulement discours indirect)

Probabilité/Eventualité ou Possibilité d’agir ? Exercices d’application Exercice 4 Retrouvez dans le tableau le type et la valeur du modal, indiquez-les dans les 2ème et 3ème colonnes, puis proposez une traduction dans la 4ème colonne, selon le modèle ci-dessous: Enoncé en anglais Type Valeur Traduction MUST He must be in love. He must have stolen the money. You must tell me everything. You mustn't walk on the grass. WILL

@ A letter from America? That will be from Aunt Agatha. She's late; she will have gone to the pub with her friends. "I will survive!" She will try to seduce all the boys. You will marry him. A frightened dog will sometimes bite. SHALL

@ Shall we go out tonight? Ireland shall be free. You shall marry him. Pupils shall stay in the classroom during breaks. I shall phone you as soon as I arrive at the station. WOULD

@

I would buy a Porsche if I had enough money. Suppose we went to Wimbledon, we would not get in I’m sure. I have forgotten the key. You would! He would leave all the doors open. It infuriated me.

SHOULD She should make friends easily, she is open-minded. They should be getting near the airports by now. You shouldn't drive so fast. He should have told me.

@

He should be there when the Minister arrives. He should be there when the Minister arrives. CAN Winters can be cold in Paris. I can come tomorrow, everything is arranged. From my room I can see the church. You can't have seen him in London, I know he was in Paris then. You can use my phone if you like. You can't smoke in this room. MAY He may arrive late. (Il is possible that he will arrive late) You may take a seat. Cameras may not be used in the museum. COULD That could be true. He could have been trying to get away from the police. I could speak German when I was a little boy. I could have come yesterday. Why didn't you ask me? We could play bridge. MIGHT He might still be waiting. He said he might be delayed. I asked him if I might smoke and he said I might not. You might have told me.

Exercice 5 Dans les phrases suivantes, examinez le modal et le contexte dans lequel il apparaît puis dites s'il exprime: le degré de certitude du locuteur sur un fait passé ou sur un fait présent / la capacité ou l'incapacité l la possibilité dans le passé / la permission l l'obligation l la suggestion l ce qui serait normal. (Reportez vos réponses dans le tableau.) 1- Your publisher must be constantly shouting at you! - 2- Before the arrival of Europeans in North America, there must have been about 200 separate languages spoken by tribal peoples populating the New World. - 3- Elephants must be preserved; they are in danger of becoming extinct. - 4- It should be possible to predict earthquakes. - 5- Governments should take adequate measures. - 6He should have waited a bit longer instead of going away. - 7- The hot summer of 1988 may have been caused by the greenhouse effect. - 8- Man may be overheating the world. - 9- If you find this decision unacceptable, you can always protest. - 10- Specialists could be inclined to exaggerate the importance of their own subject. - 11- He found it difficult to find a house he could afford. - 12- It was silly of you to forget your keys; you could have spent the night waiting at the door. - 13- The past century's global warming might be the consequence of solar activity. - 14- The police think he might have been drunk. - 15- If you had the right qualifications, you could apply for the job.- 16- Sorry we aren't coming: we can't find a baby sitter. - 17- He can't have said that he knows me; we've never met. - 18- They must be working in the garden; they're not in the house. Probabilité Possibilité d’action Probabilité présent passé

Incapacité

Capacité

Regret

Obligation

Suggestion

Ce qui serait normal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Exercice 6 Indiquez la valeur des modaux MAY et MIGHT dans les énoncés suivants. 1- "She's nearly eighty; she may not be strong enough to go through the operation," the doctor said. a) interdiction b) éventualité 2- Excuse me, Sir. May I leave at four this afternoon? a) éventualité b) demande de permission 3- l've had enough of going to the same place every summer; we might go to Spain for a change. a) suggestion b) reproche c) passé de discours direct 4- You might have told me you'd found a job! a) suggestion b) reproche c) permission/passé de discours direct 5- Sorry, son. You may have passed your driving test but l'm not buying you a car right now. Take your exams first! a) éventualité b) permission c) expression de la concession 6- l've invited some friends around; you may already have met some of them at my birthday party last year. a) éventualité b) permission c) expression du but 7- Let's go to the country for the weekend; the boss said I might have Monday off next week. a) suggestion b) reproche c) permission/passé de discours direct 8- He might have helped you if you'd dared to ask him. a) suggestion b) reproche c) éventualité dans le passé 9- Your wife told me you might be having a drink with some friends at the club. What are you celebrating? a) éventualité b) suggestion c) reproche 10- You may be right after all. Who knows? a) éventualité b) permission c) reproche

Exercice 7 Traduisez à l'aide des modaux may ou might et indiquez la valeur du modal. 1- Puis-je utiliser votre téléphone? - 2- Tu aurais pu me dire que tu avais des problèmes! - 3- II a peut-être emporté ce dossier (=file) pour l'étudier chez lui. - 4- Pourquoi perdre du temps à faire la cuisine? On ferait aussi bien d'aller manger au restaurant ce soir, qu'en penses -tu? - 5- Quel dommage! Nous ne savions pas que vous aimiez les courses de chevaux. Vous auriez pu venir voir le derby d'Epsom avec nous le week-end dernier. Exercice 8 Reliez chaque élément de la colonne de gauche à l'élém ent de la colonne de droite qui convient. 1- If Alan gave up smoking a) he'd feel fit. 2- If he took some exercise b) he'd stop feeling tired. 3- If he went on a diet c) he'd enjoy life more. 4- If he slept longer nights d) he'd stop coughing. 5- If he didn't drink so much e) his face wouldn't look so puffy. Que représente ‘d ? ............ Quelle est la valeur du modal? ........................ Exercice 9 Les phrases suivantes rapportent les circonstances d'un accident de la route. Enoncez les conditions qui auraient pu l'éviter. Exemple: He didn't use his indicators. That's why I didn't see he was turning. If he had used his indicators, I would have seen he was turning. 1- His headlights weren't on. That's why I was taken by surprise. - 2- I didn't see him. That's why I pulled out. - 3- He didn't look in his rear-view mirror, which explains why he didn't see me. - 4- The Ford Escort was so close behind me that the driver was unable to stop. - 5- I wanted to overtake the Austin, which explains why I was so close behind it. Exercice 10 Complétez les phrases suivantes en utilisant can(‘t), could(n't) ou must(n't) et indiquez pour chaque phrase la valeur du modal utilisé. 1- He had such an accent that I ............... understand a single word.(............ ) -2- ............... we leave our bags here while we have lunch?(............) - 3- If you don't want to drive, you ............... always go by train.(............) - 4- It's really a good film. You ............... go and see it.(............ ) - 5- Tim's a very good pianist though he ............... read music.(............) - 6- Windsor Castle was interesting, but we ............... take photos, which was a pity.(............ ) - 7- I really ............... go to the hairdresser's! my hair looks a mess.(............) – 8- The matter is highly confidential; you ............... tell the others.(............ ) IV - LES MODAUX ET LES TEMPS DU PASSE Le passé a deux fonctions en anglais: 1- She came yesterday = fonction 2- If she came I would be very surprised = fonction De la même manière, quand un modal est utilisé au passé, ce peut être pour les mêmes raisons: (1) Margaret said she would come could might Contexte: (2) If she came, I would be surprised Contexte:

Les deux fonctions du passé. Exercice d’application Exercice 11 Identifiez fous les prétérits dans les phrases suivantes et demandez-vous si ces formes font référence au passé ou à l'hypothétique. Soulignez les indices. 1- I lived in the country until I was fourteen. - 2- When I was a kid we always spent the summer at the seaside. - 3- Eleven already! It's high time you went home. - 4- Suppose we went to London for Easter. - 5I rang the bell and I waited for someone to open the door. -- 6- If you rang the bell, someone might hear you and open the door. - 7- You look as if you were going to cry. - 8- I slipped on the stairs last night. - 9- If I had the money, l'd buy a CD player. - 10- I'd rather you came tomorrow. V - AUTRES FAÇONS D'EXPRIMER LA MODALITE

@ A - Contraintes grammaticales

@

She had to leave. (passé) If she had to leave, I would be sorry. (hypothèse / condition)

@

Elle pourra venir. (........................ impossible) II se pourrait quelle puisse venir. (........................ impossible) Elle devra lire ce livre. (........................ impossible) B - Contraintes et/ou nuances sémantiques

@

a) Have to

@ I have to see her, before Christmas because I’ll be abroad next year. I really must write to my grandmother before Christmas, I haven't seen her for ages. Attention! Dans les phrases négatives, have to n'a pas le même sens que must: mustn't exprime ....................., alors que don't have to exprime .................................... - You don’t have to (= You needn’t) read the whole book for tomorrow. - You mustn’t read that book, it’s not for children.

b) Ought to

You should write your second novel as quickly as possible. A novel ought to have a beginning and a middle and an ending. c) Autres expressions Expression

Sens

Modal le cas échéant

be able to be allowed to be bound to be likely to be going to be about to had better would rather used to be used to + V-ing

Autres façons d’exprimer la modalité. Exercices d’application Exercice 12 Complétez les phrases suivantes avec MUST ou HAVE TO au présent, passé ou futur. 1 - Notice in a picture gallery : 'Camera, sticks and umbrellas ........................... be left at the desk. 2 - He sees very badly; he ............................... wear glasses all the time. 3 - You ............................. read this book. It's really excellent. 4 - The children ................................ play in the streets till their mothers get home from work. 5 - She felt ill and .....:........................ leave early. 6 - Mr Pitt ........................... cook his own meals. His wife is away. 7 - I hadn't enough money and .............................. pay by cheque. 8 - She ................................. leave home at eight every morning at present. 9 - Employer: 'You ................................. come to work in time.' 10 - Father to small son : 'You ................................. do what Mummy says.' 11 - She ................................. learn how to drive when her iocal railway station closes. 12 - Railway notice : 'Passengers .............................. cross the line by the footbridge.' 13 - Farmers ........................... get up early. 14 - I got lost and ........................... ask a policeman the way. 15 - If you buy that television set you .................................... buy a licence for it.

Exercice 13 Exprimez la capacité ou l'incapacité, la permission ou l'absence de permission, l'obligation ou l'absence d'obligation en utilisant be able to, be allowed to ou have to à la forme qui convient. 1- The poor man didn't speak a word of English, so he ............... understand what was happening. 2- I went to the bank at lunchtime, I ............... cash a cheque. - 3- The girls knew they ............... wear make-up at school. - 4- I hope we ............... do something to help him. - 5- He's very worried the authorities ............... him to stay here. - 6- They ............... return if they apologize. - 7- Bob ............... wear glasses if he is short-sighted. - 8- When I opened my eyes after the operation I realized I ............... see. - 9- If I ............... do it myself, I wouldn't have asked you to help. - 10They ............... go out; as a result they jumped over the wall and went to a disco. Exercice 14 Faites huit phrases en complétant les amorces données dans ta liste A par les éléments de la liste B. Recopiez les phrases ainsi obtenues et indiquez la valeur de l'expression utilisée. A l'd rather / l'd better / You'd better / Would you rather / Hadn't you better B 1- earn more money or have more free time? - 2- keep an eye on the children or they'll get into mischief. - 3- go for long walks in the country; it relaxes me more. - 4- go to bed early: I have to get up at 5:00 tomorrow. - 5- drive or be a passenger? - 6- stop for petrol now? The next filling station is 30 miles from here. - 7- slow down, the road might be slippery. Exercice 15 Associez chaque élément de la liste A à l'élément de la liste B qui lui correspond pour former une phrase puis complétez chaque phrase à l'aide de used to ou de would. Recopiez les phrases ainsi obtenues et indiquez la valeur de l'expression utilisée. A 1- Sheridan ... play for Ireland. - 2- As a saxophonist - 3- Every, time they met - 4- The traffic ... be far worse - 5- We ; be friends _ 6- Whenever his wife invited a friend for a chat and a cup of coffee - 7- Everyday on his day to the station - 8- I never ... fasten my seat-belt. B a) they ... have heated arguments about politics. - b) until the day when I skidded on ice and was knocked by the shock. - c) before the construction of a new bypass. - d) before he was transferred. - e) he ... go to the pub. - f) he ... buy a paper to read on the train. - g) until he became too big-headed. - h) he ... practise for at least three hours a day. C - Le cas de NEED et DARE Dare (=

) et need (=

- soit comme des .....................(1) - soit comme des ........................(2) . Dans le cas (1), How dare you come? You needn't come. He need never know. Dans le cas (2), He needs to improve. He dared to come!

) se comportent

D - Exprimer la modalité à l'aide d'un adverbe Modaux

Adverbes équivalents That is certainly Henry over there! = John very probably told his father everything; he always does = They are likely to come by car = Maybe it’s only my imagination! = Perhaps l'm wrong = Fred is possibly the most awful person I know = Il seems unlikely that they are in. = Surely you're not going out like that! =

Exprimer la modalité à l’aide d’un adverbe. Exercice d’application Exercice 16 Dans les phrases suivantes, la modalité est exprimée par des adverbes. Reformulez ces phrases en employant les auxiliaires modaux qui conviennent pour que le sens ne change pas. 1- She very probably forgot to tell him. - 2- Jane is unlikely to invite me at her parents' house. - 3Surely you didn't know or you would have told me. -4- Dr Wilson was certainly one of those overworked GPs. - 5- Things are very likely to be different soon. - 6- Mario is unmistakably of Portuguese descent. Exercices récapitulatifs Exercice 17 Choisissez l'expression qui paraphrase le plus fidèlement l'énoncé contenant un modal. 1- Please, I really want the job, give me a chance to show you what I can do. a) ... what l'm allowed to do. b) ... what l'm capable of doing, c) ...what I do from time to time d) ... what l'm used to doing

2- I couldn't spend so much time writing books if I didn't have full support from my wife. a) My spending so much time writing books is only possible because I have full support from my wife. b) My wife disapproves of my spending so much time writing books. c) It's nearly impossible for me to spend a lot of time writing books because I don't have full support from my wife. d) My wife never helps me and it has become impossible for me to work.

3- The judge said to the prosecutor: "You may resume where you stopped." a) Perhaps you're going to resume where you stopp ed. b) You have the permission to resume where you stopped. c) Why not resume where you stopped? d) I order you to resume where you stopped.

4- Don't forget, son. You must be polite. a) The speaker says that his son is probably polite. b) The speaker says that maybe his son is polite. c)The speaker orders his son to be polite. d) The speaker says that his son is always polite.

5- You should discuss it with your wife before resigning: a) It's absolutely necessary that you discuss...b) Perhaps you're going to discuss...c) Don't tell your wife! d) Take m y advice: discuss it with your wife.

6- There's no need to ring him to break him the news. He should already have heard about it by now: his mum can't keep a secret. a) It's a pity he has heard about it. b) Il would be a good thing for him to hear about it. c) it's not sure but he has certainly heard about it. d) He has not heard about it.