Bagaimana Penggunaan Modals dalam Bahasa Inggris (will, would, can, could,...)

Modals (or modal auxiliaries) yang umum dipakai dalam Bahasa Inggris ialah : will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, ought to, dan must.


Modals tersebut selalu dipakai dengan kata kerja lain dan menerangkan atau menambah arti pada kata kerja itu.

PENGENALAN

Bila kata akan mendahului kata kerja belajar, berarti kegiatan belajar belum dilaksanakan.

Contoh
Dalam Bahasa Indonesia : Dia akan belajar.
Dalam Bahasa Inggris : She will study.

Keterangan
Modal will (akan) menunjukkan kegiatan yang belum dilksanakan atau situasi di waktu yang akan datang.

Contoh lain 
Dia akan minum susu.
She will drink milk.

Perhatikan lagi
Bila kata bisa mendahului kata kerja lari, ini menunjukkan kemampuan.

Contoh 
Dalam Bahasa Indonesia : Dia bisa lari.
Dalam Bahasa Inggris : She can run. 

Keterangan
Modal can (bisa, dapat, mampu) menunjukkan kemampuan.

Contoh lain
Burung bisa terbang.
Birds can fly.

PENGGUNAAN

1. WILL

Will dipakai untuk menunjukkan kegiatan atau situasi di waktu yang akan datang.
Contoh
The class will start tomorrow.
The lecture will begin on monday.

Keterangan
Keterangan waktu on monday (pada hari senin) belum jelas, tapi karena ada will (akan) tentu kegiatan itu akan terjadi di waktu yang akan datang.

Modal will (akan), bisa diganti be going to (akan).

Will sering menggambarkan janji (promise) atau tekad (determination).

Contoh
I will come in time (promise).
(Saya akan datang pada waktunya).

I will do my best (determination). 
(Saya akan berusaha keras).

Will kadang dipakai dalam bentuk tanya berarti memerintah dengan sopan (polite request) dan mengundang (invitation).

Contoh
Will all of you be quiet, please? (polite request)
(Tak keberatankah anda semua diam?)

Will you come to my party tonight? (invitation)
(Akankah anda datang ke pesta saya nanti malam?)

Keterangan
Will you bisa berarti please.

Contoh
Will you keep silent?
Please keep silent.

2. WOULD

Would bisa dipakai sebagai bentuk lampau dan will.

Contoh
He says that he will come.
He said that he would come yesterday.

Keterangan
Would merupakan bentuk lampau dari will kalau kata kerja dan Main Clause nya dalam bentuk past tense (said).

Would bisa menggantikan will dalam polite request dan invitation.

Contoh
Will all of you be quiet, please?
Would all of you be quiet, please?

Will you come to my party tonight?
Would you come to my party tonight?

Keterangan
Pemakaian would lebih sopan dari will.

Would kadang menggambarkan kejadian yang berulang-ulang secara teratur di waktu lampau (an action that was repeated in the past).

Contoh
When I was a child, my mother would read me a story every night before bed.

Keterangan
Would di sini used to.

When I was a child, my mother used to read me a story every night before bed.

Bila would disertai kata like menyatakan keinginan (desire).

Contoh 
I would like a spoon of honey.
She would like to join us.
What whould you like to read?

Keterangan
Kata would like (ingin) bisa diganti dengan want (ingin).

I want a spoon of honey.
She wants to join us.
What do you want to read?

Bila would disertai kata rather menyatakan pilihan (preference).

Contoh
I would rather eat ice cream than drink milk.
(Saya lebih suka makan es krim daripada minum susu).

She would rather see a movie than watch TV.
(Ia lebih suka nonton film daripada nonton TV).

Keterangan

Kata would rather...than (lebih suka...daripada).
Bisa diganti prefer...to (lebih suka...daripada)

Contoh
I prefer eating ice cream to drinking milk.
She prefers seeing a movie to watching TV. 

Tambahan
Penggunaan WOULD YOU MIND

1. Untuk minta ijin (asking permission).
Would you mind if I smoked here ?
                                PAST

Keterangan
Would you mind if  I smoked here ?
(or may I smoke here ?)
(Bolehkah saya merokok di sini ?)

2. Untuk menyuruh orang lain melakukan sesuatu.
(asking someone else to do something)

Contoh
Would you mind smoking outside?

3. CAN

Can menunjukkan kemampuan (abiity)

Contoh
I can swim (saya bisa berenang)
Can you drive a car ? (Bisakah anda mengemudi mobil ?)

Keterangan
Modal can (bisa) bisa diganti be able to (bisa).

Contoh 
I can swim
I am able to swim

Can you drive a car?
Are you able to drive a car? 

Can kadang menunjukkan ijin (permission)

Contoh
We can smoke here. (Kita boleh merokok di sini).
Can I smoke in your room?
(Bolehkah saya merokok di kamar anda?)

4. COULD

Could dipakai sebagai bentuk lampau dari can, menunjukkan kemampuan di waktu lampau.

Contoh
He told me he could run fast when he was young.

Keterangan
Could merupakan bentuk lampau dari can kalau kata kerja dalam Main Clause nya past tense (told).

Contoh lain
I am asking him whether he can come with us tomorrow.
I asked him whether he could come with us tomorrow.

Keterangan
Modal could (bisa) bisa diganti be able to (bisa).

Contoh
He could run fast when he was young.
He was able to run fast when he was young.

Could bisa menggantikan can, untuk minta ijin yang lebih sopan (a more polite way of asking permission)

Contoh
Can we come in, Miss?
Could we come in, Miss?

Tambahan
Dalam meminta ijin, pada dasarnya Could you--? dan Would you--? sama. Perbedaannya kecil sekali.

Could you pass the salt?
(or Do you want to pass the salt please, and is it possible for you to do that?)

Would you pass the salt?
(or Do you want to pass the salt please?)

Could menggambarkan kemungkinan yang belum diputuskan (a possibility that has not been decided)

Contoh
I could call you in the morning or in the afternoon. (Saya mungkin menelpon Anda di pagi hari atau sore hari). 

Could juga bisa menunjukkan kemungkinan kecil (possibility that is not too likely).

Contoh
She often goes shopping, but she could be at home now. (Ia sering berbelanja, namun ia mungkin juga di rumah).

5. MAY

May menunjukkan ijin (permission).

Contoh
You may smoke in my room.
(Anda boleh merokok di kamar saya).

May I borrow your suitcase?
(Bolehkah saya meminjam koper anda ?)

Keterangan
may = can = boleh

Bandingkan
You may borrow five dollars from me. (FORMAL)
You can borrow five bucks from me. (INFORMAL)

May berarti mungkin

Contoh
He may be at home this moment.
(Ia mungkin di rumah saat ini).

They may die tomorrow.
(Mereka mungkin tewas besok).

6. MIGHT

Might dipakai bentuk lampau dari may.

Contoh
I think that he may be sick
I thought that he might be sick

Might bisa menggantikan may yang berarti mungkin.

Contoh
Budi may need our help.
Budi might need our help.

Keterangan
Might menunjukkan kemungkinan yang lebih kecil.

Bandingkan 
He rarely goes out. He may be at home.
He often goes out. He might be at home.

7. SHALL

Shall dipakai untuk menunjukkan kegiatan atau situasi di waktu yang akan datang.

Contoh 
I shall swim tomorrow
We shall try it again next week.

Keterangan
Shall dipakai hanya untuk I dan we.
pemakaian will lebih umum dari shall.
I will try, lebih umum dari I shall try.
I will try dan I shall try bisa disingkat I'll try.

Shall kadang menunjukkan tekad atau kemauan yang kuat (strong determination)

Contoh
She shall do as you wish 
(Ia akan melakukan apa saja yang kau mau).

Shall dalam kalimat tanya berarti minta saran (advice) atau persetujuan (agreement)

Contoh
What shall I do first ? - ADVICE
(Apa yang harus saya kerjakan terlebih dahulu?)
Shall I open the window ? - AGREEMENT
(Perlukah saya membuka jendela ?)

8. SHOULD

Should berarti kewajiban (obligation) atau saran (advisibility).

Contoh
We should obey our parents - OBLIGATION.
(Kita wajib mematuhi orang tua kita)

You're sick. You should see a doctor - ADVISIBILITY
(Kau sakit, kau seharusnya pergi ke dokter).

Keterangan
Untuk saran, disamping should bisa memakai had better dan why don't you...

Contoh
You're sick. You should see a doctor. - FORMAL
You're sick. You had better see a doctor. - STRONGER
You're sick. Why don't you see a doctor? - INFORMAL

Should berarti kemungkinan besar (strong probability)

Contoh
He went home two hours ago; he should be at home now. (Ia pulang dua jam yang lalu; ia kemungkinan besar berada di rumah sekarang).


Should berarti kemungkinan yang belum jadi kenyataan (pobablity that has not come true)

Contoh
It's already 2:00. He should be here now, but he hasn't come (Sekarang sudah pukul 2:00. Ia semestinya di sini sekarang, namun ia belum datang).

9. OUGHT TO
Ought to sama persis dengan should yang berarti saran.

Contoh
You should enjoy your life.
You ought to enjoy your life.

You should not read this newspaper.
You ought not to read this newspaper.

Should we wait for them ?
Ought we to wait for them ?

10. MUST

Must menyatakan keharusan (necessity)

Contoh
My father is sick. I must stay at home.
(Ayah sakit. Saya harus tinggal di rumah).

Keterangan
Modal must (harus), bisa diganti have to (harus) dan have got to (harus).

Bandingkan 
The meeting is very important. I Must come on time.
The meeting is very important. I have to come in time. 
The meeting is important. I have got to come in time.

Must juga menyatakan kesimpulan (deduction)

Contoh
Almost everyone knows him. He must be popular. (Hampir setiap orang kenal dia. Ia tentunya terkenal).