Modals. Revision 2024

MODALS

The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings:

Modal	Meaning	Example
can	to express ability	I can speak a little Russian.
can	to request permission	Can I open the window?
may	to express possibility	I may be home late.
may	to request permission	May I sit down, please?
must	to express obligation	I must go now.
must	to express strong belief	She must be over 90 years old.
should	to give advice	You should stop smoking.
would	to request or offer	Would you like a cup of tea?
would	in if-sentences	If I were you, I would say sorry.

Modal verbs are unlike other verbs. They do not change their form (spelling) and they have no infinitive or participle (past/present). The modals must and can need substitute verbs to express obligation or ability in the different tenses. Here are some examples:

Past simple	Sorry I'm late. I had to finish my math test.
Present perfect	She's had to return to Korea at short notice.
Future	You'll have to work hard if you want to pass the exams.
Infinitive	I don't want to have to go.

Past simple	I couldn't/wasn't able to walk until I was 3 years old.
Present perfect	I haven't been able to solve this problem. Can you help?
Future	I'm not sure if I will be able to come to your party.
Infinitive	I would love to be able to play the piano.

Modals are auxiliary verbs. They do not need an additional auxiliary in negatives or questions. For example: Must I come? (Do I must come?), or: He shouldn't smoke (He doesn't should smoke).

Important: The explanations and examples on this page are just an introduction to this extensive and complex area of English grammar. Students of English who want to learn more should consult a good reference work, such as Swan's Practical English Usage.

Do a quiz on modal verbs.

Modal Verbs

Modal Verbs 

MODALS PPT 

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/es/english-grammar/verbs/modal-verbs

Here is a list of modals with examples:

Modal Verb	Expressing	Example
must	Strong obligation	You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.
	logical conclusion / Certainty	He must be very tired. He's been working all day long.
must not	prohibition	You must not smoke in the hospital.
can	ability	I can swim.
	permission	Can I use your phone please?
	possibility	Smoking can cause cancer.
could	ability in the past	When I was younger I could run fast.
	polite permission	Excuse me, could I just say something?
	possibility	It could rain tomorrow!
may	permission	May I use your phone please?
	possibility, probability	It may rain tomorrow!
might	polite permission	Might I suggest an idea?
	possibility, probability	I might go on holiday to Australia next year.
need not	lack of necessity/absence of obligation	I need not buy tomatoes. There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.
should ought to	50 % obligation	I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.
	advice	You should / ought to revise your lessons
	logical conclusion	He should / ought to be very tired. He's been working all day long.
had better	advice	You 'd better revise your lessons

Remember

Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without "to", also called the bare infinitive.

Examples:

• You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.
• You should see to the doctor.
• There are a lot of tomatoes in the fridge. You need not buy any.

Grammar Exercise - Modals

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Do the exercise on modal verbs and click on the button to check your answers

(Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on modal verbs )

Choose the right modal verb

1. There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge. You                               mustn't               needn't               may not               should not              buy any.
2. It's a hospital. You                               mustn't               needn't               may not               don't have to              smoke.
3. He had been working for more than 11 hours. He                               must               need               had better               mustn't                be tired after such hard work. He                               may               should               must               had better              prefer to get some rest.
4. I                               could               might               can               must              speak Arabic fluently when I was a child and we lived in Morocco. But after we moved back to Canada, I had very little exposure to the language and forgot almost everything I knew as a child. Now, I                               may               can               must               need              just say a few things in the language.
5. The teacher said we                               can               needn't               must               should              read this book for our own pleasure as it is optional. But we                               could               need               needn't               mustn't              read it if we don't want to.
6.                               May               Need               Must               Can              you stand on your head for more than a minute? No, I                               may not               needn't               can't              .
7. If you want to learn to speak English fluently, you                               could               need               needn't               mustn't              to work hard.
8. Take an umbrella. It                               need               should               mustn't               might              rain later.
9. You                               shouldn't               need               needn't               may not              leave small objects lying around . Such objects                               must               need               may               mustn't              be swallowed by children.
10. People                               couldn't               needn't               mustn't               may not              walk on grass.
11. Drivers                               could               must               may              stop when the traffic lights are red.
12.                               May               Must               Should               Will              I ask a question? Yes, of course.
13. You                               couldn't               needn't               mustn't               may not               take your umbrella. It is not raining.
14.                               Can               Need               Should               May              you speak Italian? No, I                               shouldn't               mustn't               may not               can't              .

Related pages:

• Modals
• Present and past of modals
• Exercise on modals
• Exercise on modals in the past
• Exercise on modals: mustn't or needn't
• Exercise on the meaning of modals
• Must and have to
• Shall and will

 

Modal verbs exercises

• Quiz 1

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• Quiz 2

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• Quiz 3

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• Quiz 4