modal auxiliary

modal auxiliary
Gram. any of the group of English auxiliary verbs, including can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, and must, that are used with the base form of another verb to express distinctions of mood.
[1930-35]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • modal auxiliary — n. an auxiliary verb that is used with another verb to indicate its mood, as can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would: it has no special form in the third person singular and no present or past participle [ the modal auxiliary …   English World dictionary

  • modal auxiliary — mo dal aux*il iar*y(Gram.), n. Any one of the auxiliary verbs of English, such as can, may, will, shall, must, might, could, would, or should, which are used together with the infinitive form of another verb to express distinctions of mood[2],… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • modal auxiliary — noun an auxiliary verb (such as can or will ) that is used to express modality • Syn: ↑modal auxiliary verb, ↑modal verb, ↑modal • Hypernyms: ↑auxiliary verb * * * noun : a verb or a grammatical form resembling a verb …   Useful english dictionary

  • modal auxiliary — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms modal auxiliary : singular modal auxiliary plural modal auxiliaries linguistics a modal verb …   English dictionary

  • modal auxiliary — modal aux iliary n a modal verb …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • modal auxiliary — modal aux iliary noun count LINGUISTICS a MODAL VERB …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • modal auxiliary verb — noun an auxiliary verb (such as can or will ) that is used to express modality • Syn: ↑modal auxiliary, ↑modal verb, ↑modal • Hypernyms: ↑auxiliary verb * * * modal [ˈm …   Useful english dictionary

  • modal auxiliary — noun Date: circa 1904 an auxiliary verb (as can, must, might, may) that is characteristically used with a verb of predication and expresses a modal modification and that in English differs formally from other verbs in lacking s and ing forms …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • modal auxiliary — noun (C) a modal verb …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • modal auxiliary — helping verb, auxiliary verb …   English contemporary dictionary

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