An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village, when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna.
The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied that it only took a little while. The American then asked why the man didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.
The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, have a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor."
The American scoffed. "I am a Princeton MBA. I can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. And instead of selling your catch to a middleperson, you would sell directly to the processing plant, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, the processing and the distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then San Fransisco., and eventually New York City, where you will run your growing enterprise."
The fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take?"
To which the American replied, "Fifteen or twenty years."
"Then what?"
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."
An auxiliary verb is used with another verb to indicate the mood of the latter. Examples of modal auxiliary verbs are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will and would. You can add more to this list. We call them "modals" because they tell us about the 'mode' of the main verb in the sentence: possibility, obligation, etc. And, of course, they're auxiliary with respect to the main verb. They help the main verb express itself.
In this day and age, we tend to wonder whether to say 'fisherman'… or something else. We no longer say fireman but firefighter, not postman but post-carrier, etc. What if the person fishing is a woman? Drop any suggestions in the comment space below.
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