4.109 USAGE NOTE

You sometimes use a modal on its own, without a following verb. You do this when you are repeating a modal. For example, if someone says 'I expect Margaret will come tonight', you can say 'I hope she will', meaning 'I hope she will come'.

• 'I must go.' --- 'I suppose you must.'
• 'You should have become an archaeologist.' --- 'You're dead right, I should.'
• If you can't do it, we'll find someone who can.

You can also omit the verb following a modal when this verb has just been used without a modal, or with a different modal. For example, if someone says 'George has failed his exam', you can say 'I thought he would', meaning 'I thought he would fail his exam'.

• You learned to deal with each other. We never will.
• They had come to believe that it not only must go on for ever but that it should.

However you cannot omit the verb 'be' after a modal when you have just used it without a modal. For example, if someone says 'Is he a teacher?', you cannot say 'I think he might'. You must say 'I think he might be'.

• Linguistics is not yet a science and perhaps never will be.
• The Board's methods are not as stringent as they could be.
• Relations between the two countries have not been as smooth as they might have been.

The feature of language in which you omit certain words to avoid repeating them is called ellipsis. For more information about ellipsis in verb groups see paragraphs 9.49 to 9.69.