Modals - English Grammar

1) can
Use

Examples

ability to do sth. in the present (substitute form:

to be able to)

I can speak English.

permission to do sth. in the present (substitute

form: to be allowed to)

Can I go to the cinema?

request

Can you wait a moment, please?

offer

I can lend you my car till tomorrow.

suggestion

Can we visit Grandma at the weekend?

possibility

It can get very hot in Arizona.

2) could
Use

Examples

ability to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to

be able to)

I could speak English.

permission to do sth. in the past (substitute form:

I could go to the cinema.
to be allowed to)
polite question *

Could I go to the cinema, please?

polite request *

Could you wait a moment, please?

polite offer *

I could lend you my car till tomorrow.

polite suggestion *

Could we visit Grandma at the weekend?

possibility *

It could get very hot in Montana.

3) may
Use

Examples

possibility

It may rain today.

permission to do sth. in the present (substitute

form: to be allowed to)

May I go to the cinema?

polite suggestion

May I help you?

4) might
Use

Examples

possibility (less possible than may) *

It might rain today.

hesitant offer *

Might I help you?

5) must

Use

Examples

force, necessity

I must go to the supermarket today.

possibility

You must be tired.

advice, recommendation

You must see the new film with Brad Pitt.

6) must not/may not

Use

Examples

prohibition

You mustn't work on dad's computer.

You may not work on dad's computer.

7) need not
Use

Examples

not necessary

I needn't go to the supermarket, we're going to

the restaurant tonight.

8) ought to
Use

Examples

advice

You ought to drive carefully in bad weather.

obligation

You ought to switch off the light when you

leave the room.

9) shall
instead of will in the 1st person
Use

Examples

suggestion

Shall I carry your bag?

10) should
Use

Examples

advice

You should drive carefully in bad weather.

obligation

You should switch off the light when you leave

the room.

11) will
Use

Examples

wish, request, demand, order (less polite than

would)

Will you please shut the door?

prediction, assumption

I think it will rain on Friday.

promise

I will stop smoking.

spontaneous decision

Can somebody drive me to the station? - I will.

habits

She's strange, she'll sit for hours without talking.

12) would
Use

Examples

wish, request (more polite than will)

Would you shut the door, please?

habits in the past

Sometimes he would bring me some flowers.

* no past forms - future forms

Modal Verbs
Click here for all the exercises about modal verbs
Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:
can

could

may

might

will

would

must

shall

should

ought to

Modals are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.

2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?')
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to')

Probability:
First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something
happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or
'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.
For example:

It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.

I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.

This bill can't be right. 200 for two cups of coffee!

Click here to find out more about probability

Ability
We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability.
For example:

She can speak six languages.

My grandfather could play golf very well

I can't drive

Click here to find out more about ability

Obligation and Advice

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary or
unnecessary, or to give advice.
For example:

Children must do their homework.

We have to wear a uniform at work.

You should stop smoking.

Click here to find out more about obligation

Permission
We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission. We also use
modal verbs to say something is not allowed.
For example:

Could I leave early today, please?

You may not use the car tonight.

Can we swim in the lake?

Habits
We can use 'will' and 'would' to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did in the past.
For example:

When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.

John will always be late!

Modal Verbs of Probability

Click here for all the exercises about modal verbs
We can use these modal verbs (also called modals of deduction, speculation or
certainty) when we want to make a guess about something. We choose the verb
depending on how sure we are.

1: Talking about the present:

must / might / could / may / can't

must + infinitive

might / might not + infinitive

could / could not + infinitive

may / may not + infinitive

cant + infinitive

For example:
I am waiting for Julie with another friend, David.
I ask: 'Where is Julie?'
David guesses:

She must be on the bus. (I'm fairly sure this is a good guess)

She might come soon. (maybe)

She could be lost. (maybe)

She may be in the wrong room. (maybe)

She cant be at home. (I'm fairly sure this isn't true)

Notice that the opposite of must is cant in this case.

Will / won't
We use will and wont when we are very sure:
Shell be at work now.

Should / shouldnt
Should and shouldn't are used to make an assumption about what is probably true, if
everything is as we expect:

They should be there by now.

It shouldnt take long to drive here.

This use of should isnt usually used for negative events, instead use will:
The underground will be very busy now (not: 'should be').

Can
Can is used for something that is generally possible, something we know sometimes
happens:

Prices can be high in London.

Can is not used to talk about specific possibilities:

He could be on the bus (not: 'can be').

2: Using modal verbs to talk about the past:

must / might / could / may / can't + have + past
participle
(Click here to review how to make the past participle)

must have + past participle

might / might not have + past participle

could / couldnt have + past participle

may / may not have + past participle

cant have + past participle

For example:
You: Where was Julie last night?
David:

She must have forgotten about our date.

She might have worked late.

She could have taken the wrong bus.

She may have felt ill.

She cant have stayed at home.

Will / wont + have + past participle

Will and won't / will not + have + past participle are used for past certainty (compare
with present use of 'will' above):

The parcel will have arrived before now.

Should + have + past participle

Should + have + past participle can be used to make an assumption about something
that has probably happened, if everything is as we expect (compare with present sue of
'should' above):

The train should have left by now

Could
We can use could to talk about a general possibility in the past (compare with the use of
'can' above):

Prices could be high in the sixteenth century.

This is not used to talk about specific possibilites in the past:

He could have been working late (not: 'could be', which is present)