Vèb modal yo : can, should, must ak have to

Vèb modal yo pèmèt ou eksprime pa sèlman sa ki te pase, men tou sa ki posib, nesesè, pèmèt oswa swetab. Yo pa anpil, e yo tout gen menm gramè. Yo koresponn apeprè ak kapab, dwe ak fòk an kreyòl, men koresponn lan pa egzat, sitou pou negasyon an.

Gramè jeneral

Tout vèb modal fonksyone menm jan :

• Yo pa janm pran -s nan twazyèm moun : She can swim. (pa janm « cans »)
• Yo swiv ak fòm debaz vèb la, san to : You should go. (pa janm « should to go »)
• Negasyon ak kesyon pa bezwen do : Can you help? / I can't come.

Sèl eksepsyon an se have to, ki konpòte l tankou yon vèb òdinè : She has to go. Does she have to go?

Kapasite : can / could

• I can speak three languages. (prezan)
• I could swim when I was five. (kapasite nan tan pase)

Kreyòl la di « Mwen konn naje » ak konn (konnen kijan), men an angle ou di I can swim ; ou pa sèvi ak know pou yon kapasite : ❌ I know swim.

Pou yon reyisit presi e ponktyèl nan tan pase, ou bezwen was/were able to oswa managed to :

• ❌ The exam was hard but I could pass.
• ✅ The exam was hard but I was able to pass.

Could dekri kapasite an jeneral ; yon ka presi ki reyisi vre mande yon lòt fòm.

Pèmisyon : can / may

• Can I borrow your pen? (komen, chak jou)
• May I borrow your pen? (fòmèl e pwoli)

Demann ak òf èd

Fonksyon	Soti nan mwens fòmèl rive nan pi fòmèl
mande moun ou ap pale avè l la yon bagay	Can you…? · Could you…? · Would you mind…?
mande yon bagay pou tèt ou	Can I…? · Could I…? · May I…?
ofri èd	Shall I…? · Would you like me to…?

Konsèy : should / ought to

• You should see a doctor.
• You shouldn't work so late.

Should se mo òdinè a pou bay yon konsèy : pwòch, san mete presyon. Ought to vle di menm bagay la, men li parèt mwens souvan e li sonnen yon ti jan pi fòmèl. Yon konsèy ki pi ensistan : You'd better see a doctor. (li fè konprann ke sinon, ap gen konsekans) Kreyòl ou ta dwe (kondisyonèl dwe) koresponn ak should, pa ak must (ou dwe).

Obligasyon : must oswa have to

Se egzakteman distenksyon sa a ki pi brouye moun.

	Sans	Egzanp
must	Pwòp otorite moun k ap pale a, oswa yon santiman fò	I must call my mother — I keep forgetting.
have to	Yon règ ekstèn oswa yon sikonstans	I have to wear a uniform at work.

Nan pratik, have to pi souvan nan lang chak jou a. Sèvi ak must pou règ ou enpoze tèt ou, ak nan anons ekri : Passengers must not smoke.

Remake tou ke must pa gen fòm pase ni fòm lavni — se have to ki kouvri yo : I had to work late. · I'll have to ask.

Pèlen negasyon an

Isit la, de vèb sa yo separe nèt — e prèske tout moun twonpe yo :

• You mustn't park here. → sa entèdi.
• You don't have to park here. → sa pa obligatwa (ou ka fè l si ou vle).

Mustn't se yon entèdiksyon. Don't have to se absans obligasyon. Yo prèske opoze. Kreyòl la fè diferans lan ak pa dwe (entèdiksyon) ak pa oblije / pa bezwen (pa gen obligasyon) ; difikilte a se jwenn vèb angle a, e moun souvan di ❌ You don't must park here oswa ❌ You no must park here, paske nan kreyòl pa vini devan vèb la. Needn't konpòte l tankou don't have to : You needn't wait.

Posibilite : might / may / could

• It might rain later. (posib, san presizyon)
• She could be at home. (posib)

Nan nivo B1, twa a eksprime yon degre ensètitid ki trè pwòch.

Modal pou fè sipozisyon : degre sètitid ou

Menm mo yo ranpli yon dezyèm fonksyon — yo montre degre sètitid ou sou yon bagay k ap pase kounye a.

Modal	Sètitid	Egzanp
must	prèske sèten wi	He must be tired — he's been up since five.
might / may / could	posib	She might be in a meeting.
can't	prèske sèten non	That can't be right — I checked it twice.

Remake : kontrè must sipozisyon an se can't, pa mustn't.

Epi menm bagay la, men pou pase a

Ajoute have + patisip pou konstwi yon sipozisyon sou pase a :

• He must have missed the train.
• She might have forgotten.
• You can't have seen him — he's abroad.
• I should have asked first. (regrè pou yon bagay ki pase)

Yon sèl fòm, de fonksyon — must se swa yon obligasyon (you must wear a helmet), swa yon sipozisyon (he must be exhausted). Se sèlman kontèks la ki fè diferans : li sitiyasyon an, pa mo a.

De fonksyon yo nan menm konvèsasyon

A : Do I have to book in advance?

B : You don't have to, but you should — it can get busy.

A : It's Tuesday. It can't be that bad, surely?

B : You'd be surprised. They must have had a review somewhere.

Have to ak should — obligasyon ak konsèy ; can't ak must have — sipozisyon.

Mete sa ou fèk li a nan epreuve

Tès ki anba a pale de distenksyon ki vrèman bay erè — sitou mustn't ak don't have to.