conjugating modal verbs

Question

In past continuous, "speak" looks like this:I was speaking.How about "should"?

GPY · Accepted Answer

You can say "I should have been speaking", for example. Is that what you mean?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Here are the present and past forms:

I should speak
I should be speaking

I should have spoken
I should have been speaking

CalifJim · Answer

iasadih... past continuous ... How about "should"?

The form "should", like all modal verbs, is invariable, so there is no past continuous form for "should". The closest you can come to a past form is "should have" (with a past participle).

CJ

Iasadih · Answer

I guess yes, TY. And how about can in future?

Is it "will be able to", or "can", as in

"You can do it tomorrow"

or either?

Does grammar regulate that, or is it subject to convention only?

Iasadih · Answer

@CJ

I see. So this also answers one part of my second post.

Apparently, grammar focuses on the forms and not on what they stand for.

CalifJim · Answer

iasadihApparently, grammar focuses on the forms and not on what they stand for.

Yes, when it comes to the names of the tenses. Terms like 'infinitive', 'present continuous', 'past simple', and 'present perfect continuous' don't apply to modal verbs, the most of important of which are these nine:

can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must. ('shall' is not used much.)

These don't act like other verbs, so you can't have forms like "to could", "were mighting", "have musted". They don't exist in English.

Most of these verbs can place a situation in present time or future time.

Most of them can place a situation in past time by adding 'have', e.g., should have, might have.
This is, of course, completely different from other verbs, most of which place a situation in the past by adding -ed.

CJ

conjugating modal verbs

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