Modal verbs a modal verb

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!
  

Past modals

The past modals 'could have + past participle', 'should have + past participle' and 'would have + past participle' can be confusing. I explain about them here.

Comparison with other Germanic languages[edit]

The English modal verbs share many features and often etymology with modal verbs in other Germanic languages.

The table below lists some modal verbs with common roots in the West Germanic languages English, German, Dutch, Low Saxon, West Frisian and Afrikaans, the North Germanic languages Danish, Swedish and Faroese, and the extinct East Germanic Gothic language. This list comprises cognates, which evolved from old Germanic modal auxiliaries. It does not attempt to be complete for any one of the modern languages, as some verbs have lost or gained modal character later in separate languages. (English modal auxiliary verb provides an exhaustive list of modal verbs in English, and German verb#Modal verbs provides a list for German, with translations. Dutch verbs#Irregular verbs gives conjugations for some Dutch modals.)

Words in the same row of the table below share the same etymological root. Because of semantic drift, however, words in the same row may no longer be proper translations of each other. For instance, the English and German verbs will are completely different in meaning, and the German one has nothing to do with constructing the future tense. These words are false friends.

In (modern) English, Afrikaans, Danish, and Swedish, the plural and singular forms are identical. For German, Dutch, Low Saxon, West Frisian, Faroese and Gothic, both a (not the) plural and a singular form of the verb are shown. Forms within parentheses are obsolete, rare, and/or mainly dialectal in the modern languages.