All English verbs (except for modals and other defective verbs which do not have gerunds or participles) make the inflected form in -ing regularly.
For more details and other similar cases, see the relevant sections of English modal verbs.
English does not have an inflective (morphological) conditional mood, except in as much as the modal verbs could, might, should and would may in some contexts be regarded as conditional forms of can, may, shall and will respectively.
It is also possible for the auxiliary would to be replaced by the modals should, could or might to express appropriate modality in addition to conditionality.
For details of the usage of the modal contractions, see the relevant sections of English modal verbs.
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the modal verbs, used in a variety of meanings, principally relating to modality.
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Their uses are detailed at English modal verbs, and tables summarizing their principal meaning contributions can be found in the articles Modal verb and Auxiliary verb.
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The verb ought is sometimes excluded from the class of auxiliaries (specifically the modal auxiliaries) on the grounds that, unlike the principal modals, it requires the to-infinitive rather than the bare infinitive.
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For details about the verbs classed as modal auxiliaries, see English modal verbs.
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the principal modal verbs can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would;
Modal verbs can also be used, such as "will" used as above in future constructions and "would" in conditional constructions.
Also, would may be replaced by another appropriate modal: could, should, might.
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Otherwise, the condition clause in a first conditional pattern is not normally formed with a modal verb, other than can.
The English modal verbs consist of the core modals can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, as well as ought (to), had better, and in some uses dare and need.
There are also a few anomalous cases: the verbs be and go, which demonstrate suppletion; the verb do; and the defective modal verbs.
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The modal verbs, which are defective verbs – they have only a present indicative form and (in some cases) a preterite, lacking nonfinite forms (infinitives, participles, gerunds), imperatives, and subjunctives (although some uses of the preterites are sometimes identified as subjunctives).
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Apart from the modal verbs, which are irregular in that they do not take an -s in the third person (see above), the only verbs with irregular present tense forms are be, do, have and say (and prefixed forms of these, such as undo and gainsay, which conjugate in the same way as the basic forms).
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There are a few exceptions: the verb be has irregular forms throughout the present tense; the verbs have, do and say have irregular -es forms; and certain defective verbs (such as the modal auxiliaries) lack most inflection.
The English modal verbs do not have present subjunctive forms, except for synonyms such as be able to as a subjunctive corresponding to the indicative modal can.
English has a number of modal verbs which generally do not inflect (most of them are surviving preterite-present verbs), and so have only a single form, used as a finite verb with subjects of all persons and numbers.
In addition, the verb forms used for the future tense can also be used to express other types of meaning; English again provides examples of this (see English modal verbs for the various meanings that both will and shall can have besides simply expressing futurity).
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In many cases, an auxiliary verb is used, as in English, where futurity is often indicated by the modal auxiliary will (or shall).
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It is possible to use would in its capacity as the past tense of the future marker will (see English modal verbs and future-in-the-past); for example: "The match started at midday but would not end until the evening."
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The will/shall future consists of the modal verb will or shall together with the bare infinitive of the main verb, as in "He will win easily" or "I shall do it when time permits".
The perfect infinitive can further be governed by modal verbs to express various meanings, mostly combining modality with past reference: "I should have eaten" etc.
The bare infinitive is used as complement of the dummy auxiliary do, most modal auxiliary verbs, verbs of perception such as see, watch and hear (after a direct object), and the verbs of permission or causation make, bid, let, and have (also after a direct object).
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This applies to the modal verbs (can, must, etc.), as well as certain related auxiliaries such as the had of had better and the used of used to.
More details of the usage of should, would and other related auxiliaries can be found in the article on English modal verbs.
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Because of this, like the other modal verbs, they do not take the usual -s in Modern English's third-person singular present; we say she shall and he will – not *she shalls, and not *he wills (except in the rare sense of "to will" being a synonym of "to want" or "to write into a will").
The modal verbs (can, must, etc.) have only a single form, with no addition of -s for the third person singular.
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