Modal verbs and their meaning

What are modal verbs?

Modals (also called modal verbs, modal
auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries) are
special verbs which behave irregularly in
English. They are different from normal
verbs like "work, play, visit..." They give
additional information about
the function of the main verb that follows
it. They have a great variety
of communicative functions.

Here are some characteristics of modal

verbs:

 They never change their form. You can't add

"s", "ed", "ing"...
 They are always followed by an infinitive
without "to" (e.i. the bare infinitive.)
 They are used to indicate modality allow speakers to express certainty, possibility,
willingness, obligation, necessity, ability

List of modal verbs

Here is a list of modal verbs:

can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must

The verbs or expressions dare, ought to, had better, and need not behave like
modal auxiliaries to a large extent and my be added to the above list

Use of modal verbs:

Modal verbs are used to express functions such as:

1. Permission
2. Ability
3. Obligation
4. Prohibition
5. Lack of necessity
6. Advice
7. possibility
8. probability

Examples of modal verbs

Here is a list of modals with examples:

Modal Verb Expressing Example

Strong obligation You must stop when the traffic lights

must
turn red.
 logical conclusion / He must be very tired. He's been
Certainty working all day long.

must not prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital.

ability I can swim.

can permission Can I use your phone please?

possibility Smoking can cause cancer.

ability in the past When I was younger I could run fast.

could polite permission Excuse me, could I just say something?

possibility It could rain tomorrow!

permission May I use your phone please?

may
possibility, probability It may rain tomorrow!

polite permission Might I suggest an idea?

might possibility, probability I might go on holiday to Australia next
year.

lack of necessity/absence of I need not buy tomatoes. There are

need not
obligation plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.

50 % obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a

terrible headache.

should/ought advice You should / ought to revise your

to 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.

Choose the right modal verb

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

Answer key:

Choose the correct answer (mustn't or needn't)

1. Nancy needn't go to bed early; tomorrow is her day off.

2. You mustn't smoke on buses. It's forbidden.
3. You needn't do it now; you can finish it later.
4. Students mustn't use their mobile phones during the lessons.
5. You needn't buy any meat. There is plenty of it in the fridge.
6. You needn't bring a suim suit. I can lend you one.
7. It's a secret. You mustn't tell anybody.
8. You needn't do the washing up; we have a dishwasher.
9. You really mustn't be late again.
10. You mustn't drink at all if you plan to drive.

Choose the correct answer (mustn't or needn't)

1. Nancy go to bed early; tomorrow is her day off.

2. You smoke on buses. It's forbidden.
3. You do it now; you can finish it later.
4. Students use their mobile phones during the lessons.
5. You buy any meat. There is plenty of it in the fridge.
6. You bring a suim suit. I can lend you one.
7. It's a secret. You tell anybody.
8. You do the washing up; we have a dishwasher.
9. You really be late again.
10. You drink at all if you plan to drive.
Modals in the Present and Past

Modals in the present and past

Generally speaking modals in the past have the following form:

 modal + have + past participle

Example:

 Present:
You should see a doctor.
 Past:
You should have seen a doctor

Except for modals that express obligation,ability and lack of necessity:

 Obligation:
Present = I must / have to work hard. -- Past = I had to work hard.
 Ability:
Present = I can run fast. -- Past = I could run fast when I was young.
 Lack of necessity:
Present = You don't have to / needn't take your umbrella. -- Past = You didn't have
to / didn't need to take your umbrella.

Modals in the Present Modals in the Past

Obligation You must / have to stop when the You had to stop.
traffic lights are red.

Advice You should see a doctor. You should have seen a doctor

Prohibition You mustn't smoke here. You mustn't have

smoked there.

Ability I can run fast. I could run fast. now I am old.

Certainty He has a Rolls Royce. He must be very He must have been rich. He had
rich. a big house and an expensive
He can't be American. His English is car.
terrible. He can't have written that
poem. He was illiterate.

Permission Can I go out? She could drive her father's car

when she was only 15.

Possibility It may / can / could / might rain. It's I guess it may / can / could /
cloudy. might have been Lacy on the
phone.

Lack of You don't have to / needn't buy any You didn't have to / didn't
necessity tomatoes. There are plenty in the need to buy tomatoes.
fridge.
Choose the correct answer

1. He French. His French is terrible.

2. The kids are calm today. They tired.
3. Although Leila was very hungry, she didn't eat very much.
She the food.
4. The phone is ringing. It Mary. She promised she would call.
5. John had a terrible accident. He when the traffic lights were
red.
6. I don't know why she got so many bad grades. She lazy
studying.
7. I didn't know you needed help. You me.
8. I am so tired. I need some rest. I think I a week off.
9. He so fast when he was young.
10. Nancy on holidy. I have just met her in the street.

Answer key
the correct answer

1. He can't be French. French. His French is terrible.

2. The kids are calm today. They must be tired.
3. Although Leila was very hungry, she didn't eat very much. She couldn't have liked
the food.
4. The phone is ringing. It must be Mary. She promised she would call.
5. John had a terrible accident. He had to stop when the traffic lights were red.
6. I don't know why she got so many bad grades. She might have been lazy
studying.
7. I didn't know you needed help. You should have told me.
8. I am so tired. I need some rest. I think I should take a week off.
9. He could run so fast when he was young.
10. Nancy can't have gone on holidy. I have just met her in the street.