Modal Verbs

auxiliary or helping verbs

Modal verbs help qualify a verb by saying what a person can, may, should, or must do, as well as what might happen. The grammar used with modal verbs can be confusing at times. Generally speaking, modal verbs act like auxiliary verbs in that they are used together with a main verb.

subject + modal* + base form of the verb

I can speak English.

He should do his homework tonight.

She must feed her children.

It might rain.

*you don't conjugate modal auxiliary verbs

CAN = ability

For example:

I can swim, but I can’t dive.
He can speak five languages.

NOTE: There are two ways to write CAN in the negative form: can't and cannot.

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I can swim.

I am able to swim.

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I cannot dive.

I don't know how to dive.

I am not a good diver.

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He can speak 5 languages.

He has the ability to speak 5 languages. He speaks Pashto, Farsi, Hebrew, French and Hindi.

COULD = past ability

For example:

I could speak Spanish when I was little, but I have forgotten most of it.

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He could ride a bike when he was two years old.

He is now 19. He can still ride a bike.

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We could visit our grandma every day when we were young.

My grandmother is no longer alive so we cannot visit her any more.

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When he lived in London in 2002, he could take the tube every day.

He doesn't live in London now. He lives in Montreal.

NOTE: The tube is what people in London call their underground metro system

CAN, COULD, MAY, WOULD = asking permission/making a polite request

For example:

May I please take a piece of candy? No, you may not! It's almost time for supper.

Could I borrow a pen? Of course, here is a pen you can borrow for class.

Can I call you Rebecca or should I call you Ms. Peters?

Would you please hand me the stapler?

NOTE: We use can to ask for permission in spoken English, but some teachers will tell you it's very informal.

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Would you happen to know the time? I forgot my watch.

A very polite way to ask: "What time is it?"

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Could I borrow a pen?

Do you have a pen I could borrow. I forgot mine. I only have pencils.

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Can I call you David?

No, you cannot. I am your teacher and I prefer to be more formal. Please call me Mr. Schreier.

SHOULD = giving advice, making a suggestion or recommendation

Should is used to give advice and to make recommendations. It is also used to express obligation and expectation.

Recommendation: When you go to London, you should go to the theatre.
Advice: You should try to focus more on your writing skills.

You shouldn't watch TV and do you homework at the same time. It's too distracting.

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She should do more exercise. She's out of shape.

She cannot run for more than 30 seconds. She needs to do more exercise to increase her cardio.

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We should report the accident to the police.

Reporting a car accident is a legal obligation. Many people don't do it, but they should!

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You shouldn't smoke because it's bad for your health.

I recommend that you quit smoking. It's not healthy.

My advice to you is to stop smoking. It's not good for you.

MUST = an obligation or a necessity

We use must to talk about obligations. Often, when we use must, the authority for the obligation comes from the person who is speaking.

For example: You must study if you want to pass your class.

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You must get more sleep. You should go to bed early tonight.

You need more sleep to function.

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She must practice her English if she wants to improve.

Don't be shy. Everyone must practice to get better.

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He must not have any more candy today. He'll cry, but you must ignore him.

The child wants more candy, but he ate some this afternoon. He shouldn't have more.

MAY, MIGHT, MUST and CAN = guessing, inferring

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Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Modal Verbs