LoginModals
Explore advanced uses of modal verbs in various grammatical structures. Comprehensive explanations, exercises, and a quiz.
What Are 'Modals'?
'Modals' (also called modal verbs or modal auxiliary verbs) are special verbs that come before the main verb and modify its meaning. Modals serve a wide variety of communicative functions, such as expressing probability, ability, obligation, willingness, and habituality, as well as giving advice and permission.
Modal Verbs in English
The following is a list of modal verbs in English along with their most common uses.
Can → Ability or permission
Could → Past ability or polite requests
Shall → Suggestions or future intentions
Should → Advice or assumption
Will → Future certainty or willingness
Would → Hypothetical situations or polite offers
May → Permission or possibility
Might → Permission or possibility
Must → Strong obligation or necessity
Modal Verbs: Characteristics
English modal verbs share a number of grammatical features that distinguish them from other types of verbs. We will consider each of these peculiarities in turn.
Conjugation
Modal verbs only have a fixed form and do not change to indicate tense, aspect, or agreement with the subject. This means that modal verbs are not affected by the rules of adding -s, -ing, or -ed, which are used for conjugating main verbs in English. Check out the examples:
Nikolai must have been here. (Not 'Nikolai musted be here.')
I will swim in this pool. (Not 'I willing swim in this pool.')
She shall ride at dawn. (Not 'She shalls ride at dawn.')
Can They Stand Alone?
Modal verbs do not function as the main verb of a sentence, and they require another verb to complete the meaning of a sentence. The main verb follows the modal and must be in its base form to create a complete verb phrase. For example:
I might walk to my house, if it doesn't rain.
Without the main verb the sentence doesn't make sense: 'I might to my house, if doesn't rain'.
I can drive trucks and it is fun.
She would like to drink a cup of coffee.
You should wash your hands every time you enter the house.
Negation
To create the negative form of a modal verb, you can simply add 'not' after the modal verb.
Alina cannot get out of her room.
If I were you I wouldn't marry Damon.
You must not smoke here, look at the no-smoking sign!
Tip!
Sometimes contracting negative modal verbs leads to a change in the overall appearance of the verb. For example:
He won't travel to Italy.
Here in this example, 'won't' is the contracted form of 'will not'.
I shan't drink alcohol at all.
'Shan't' is the contracted negative form of 'shall not.' However, it is not commonly used.
Forming Questions
When forming a question using a modal verb, the modal verb undergoes inversion and moves before the subject of the sentence.
In wh- questions, an interrogative word such as 'what', 'where', 'when', 'why', 'who', or 'how' is used at the beginning of the sentence followed by the modal verb and the subject. Here are some examples:
Should I accept his proposal?
May I go out?
When will you arrive to the station?
What would you do, if you were me?
Forming Tag Questions
Modal verbs can also appear in tag questions. Tag questions using modal verbs are formed without the main verb. If the main sentence is affirmative, the modal in the tag question must be negative, and if the main sentence is negative, the tag question must be affirmative. A comma is used before the modal in tag questions. Take a look at the examples:
He can speak Italian, can't he?
Not 'He can speak Italian, can he?'
They wouldn't follow us, would they?
You cannot be more patient, can you?
I shouldn't call him, should I?
Modal Verbs vs. Auxiliary Verbs
Modals are a special kind of auxiliary verbs. That is why they are also called modal auxiliary verbs. However, the two groups of verbs have distinct properties and serve different purposes.
For example:
It will have been made.
'Have' and 'been' are auxiliary verbs. It is possible to have more than one auxiliary verb in a sentence, but only one modal is allowed (will).
When a sentence contains both auxiliary verbs and modal verbs, the modal is used for negation and interrogation. Look:
I will be walking there. → Will you be walking there?
She should not have done that.
Review
Modal verbs precede the main verb to give more information about the function of a verb. These verbs are used to express probability, possibility, ability, obligation, advice, permission, prohibition, lack of necessity, and habits. English modal verbs are:
can
could
may
might
must
will
would
shall
should
Quiz:
Match each modal verb with its correct function.
Which sentence has the correct negative form of a modal verb?
You must not enter this room.
She don't can swim well.
They might not to go outside.
We willn't attend the meeting.
Sort the words to form a question using a modal verb.
Choose True or False for each statement about the characteristics of modals.
Modal verbs are conjugated with -s in the third person singular. | |
Two modal verbs can be used together in a single clause. | |
Modal verbs can function as the main verb in a sentence | |
The negative form of "will" is "won't." |
Which sentence correctly uses a modal verb?
She cans speak French fluently.
You should to apologize.
She must finish her work.
Willn't you stay for dinner?
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