2.5.6: Continuous Modal Verbs

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Don Bissonnette
South Seattle Community College

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Continuous Modal Verbs

All the modals can be used in the continuous (progressive) tense when they stress the idea that something is in progress (happening) at present (or in the future with "will"). They emphasize the action's being in progress at the time when the person is speaking.

As with all of the continuous tenses, the idea of the "ing" is to emphasize the action of the verb and its being in progress; the function of the modal is to influence the meaning of the verb.

The form of continuous modals is:

The modal + be + the verb + ing

Examples:

1. It might be raining in Japan right now.

2. You should be paying attention to me now and not thinking about your girlfriend.

3. It's 3:00 a.m. right now, so my sister must be sleeping.

4. At 7:00 p.m. tomorrow evening, I will be eating dinner with my family.

5. If today were Saturday, I could be working in my garden now.

6. I definitely won't be correcting homework papers on Saturday evening.

7. My wife may be working in her office now.

8. We will be taking an exam on Monday morning at 11:00 A.M.

9. My sons are in school now, so they must be listening to their teachers.

10. My son might be sleeping right now because he is in Japan.