English Modal Verb – Eduma English

Summary

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs used to express abilities, possibilities, permissions, obligations or suggestions. They are used with the base form of another verb (without “to”) and do not change form based on the subject.

In-depth Explanation

Modal verbs modify the main verb to indicate the mood or attitude of the speaker towards the action. Here is the structure for affirmative sentences:

[Subject] + [modal verb] + [main verb]

Modal verbs are not conjugated. That means they remain the same even when the subject changes. So, for example, the modal verb could is used each of these sentences:

You could go to school early today.

He could go to school early today.

Jennifer and Mark could go to school early today.

We could go to school early today.

Common Modal Verbs

Here are the most common modal verbs with their usage and examples.

Modal Verb	Usage	Examples
Can	To talk about ability or permission.	Ability: She can speak French fluently. Permission: You can leave now.
Could	To talk about past ability, permission, possibility or to make polite requests.	Past ability: I could run fast when I was young. Request: Could you help me?
May	To talk about permission (politely) or possibility.	Permission: May I go to the bathroom? Possibility: It may rain tomorrow.
Might	To talk about a small possibility.	We might visit grandma this weekend.
Must	To talk about necessity or strong obligation.	You must wear a seatbelt in the car.
Should	To give advice or recommendations.	You should eat more vegetables.
Will	To talk about future actions or intentions.	I will call you tomorrow.
Would	To talk about imaginary situations or polite offers.	Imaginary: If I had more money, I would buy a house. Offer: Would you like some tea?

Negative Forms of Modal Verbs

To make modal verbs negative, add not after the modal verb. Note that in speech and informal writing, contractions are usually used. For example:

Can → cannot → can’t

You can’t go to school if you’re sick.

Could → could not → couldn’t

I couldn’t find any apples at the store.

Should → should not → shouldn’t

She shouldn’t worry so much about the future.

Will → will not → won’t

We won’t be gone for long.

Questions with Modal Verbs

To form questions with modal verbs, put the modal verb before the subject:

[Modal verb] + [subject] + [main verb]…?

For example:

Can he swim?

Would you like more pasta?

Should I bring anything to the party?