Modal verbs

Learn about modal verbs and their different meanings and do the exercises to practise using them.

Level: beginner

The modal verbs are:

can
may
must
shall
will

could
might

should
would

We use modals to show if we believe something is certain, possible or impossible:

My keys must be in the car.
It might rain tomorrow.
That can't be Peter's coat. It's too small.

We also use them to do things like talk about ability, ask permission, and make requests and offers:

I can't swim.
May I ask a question?
Could I have some tea, please?
Would you like some help?

Modal verbs: MultipleChoice_MTYzNDI=

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Hell,
In reading 19th century prose, I have often come across a strange usage of "would". Take for instance the following sentence: "Even on a small scale, how often will it happen that the term best corresponding to a new world in the original will be one that in our language is already old and worn out, so that the translator, would he show the work's contribution to the development of the language, will be forced to introduce foreign content into the passage, deviating into the realm of imitation!" Am I right to think of "would he show" to mean "if he wants to show"? Also, under what subtopic in modals can I find more about this usage?

Hi Ahmed Nidal,

Yes, that's right. The meaning of "would" here is the desire to do something, and this meaning is rarely used today. The conditional meaning ("if") comes from the subject/modal inversion, rather than from "would".

It is meaning 2.8 on this Wiktionary page. I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Thank you Jonathan. Much appreciated.
Ahmed

Hello Sir,
"We may have to live with the coronavirus."
1. In this sentence 'have' is main verb or it is modal verb(have to)
2. Can we place two modal verbs (may & have to) together
3. Further, 'to' is attached to 'have'(have to) or it is attached to 'live'(to live)

Hello Mordhvaj,

The main verb in this sentence is 'live'.

'May' is a modal verb. 'Have to' is sometimes called a semi-modal verb in that it has some elements of modality but not others. The wikipedia page for modal verbs describes it thus:

...there are numerous other verbs that can be viewed as modal verbs insofar as they clearly express modality in the same way that the verbs in this list do, e.g. appear, have to, seem etc. In the strict sense, though, these other verbs do not qualify as modal verbs in English because they do not allow subject-auxiliary inversion, nor do they allow negation with not. Verbs such as be able to and be about to allow subject-auxiliary inversion and do not require do-support in negatives but these are rarely classified as modal verbs because they inflect and are a modal construction involving the verb to be which itself is not a modal verb. If, however, one defines modal verb entirely in terms of meaning contribution, then these other verbs would also be modals and so the list here would have to be greatly expanded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_verb

It is possible to use a modal verb before 'have to', but it is not possible to use 'have to' before a modal verb. Thus, 'we may have to...' is fine, but *'we have to may...'* is incorrect.

We describe the form as have to + verb rather than have + to verb. The 'to' is still included when the verb is omitted:

We need to leave for the party.

Is it really important I go?

Yes, you have to. No complaining!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir,
I feel honoured to have my question answered by you. Point by point you have cleared each and every doubt of mine.
I have always been a big fan of your answers. It is almost a miracle to have one's answer 'succinct' and 'detailed' simultaneously; and you are a wizard who can do that miracle.
Thanks🌹

Hello Mordhvaj,

It's nice of you to say so. We're a small team here but we try our best!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, thanks for the grammar. I have a question in relation to adverbs of frequency, and modal verbs. These two sentences:
They could never divide us.
They never could divide us.
Which one is grammatically correct? Also are there some situations you could use the second one, and it would be correct? Thanks.

Hi Howard Manzi,

Thanks for your question :) They are both grammatically correct. The typical position is as in sentence 1, between the modal verb and the main verb. Sentence 2 is grammatical too, but the position of "never" seems to make it more emphatic than in sentence 1. Somebody may say this if they really want to emphasise "never".

"Never" can also be emphasised by putting it as the first word in the sentence (this also needs an inversion of subject and modal verb): Never could they divide us.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Thanks. I appreciate it.

Hello,

"May" has PERMISSION meaning also "Might" has?

I found this following question on this web page.

->I know you're busy, but MIGHT I ask you a quick question?
(and right answer of meaning is PERMISSION)

I understood that "MIGHT" doesn't have PERMISSION meaning. So I am confused..

Thank you.

Hello Jiwon LEE,

As is explained on our 'may' and 'might' page, 'might' can be used to ask for permission in a very polite way.

This use is quite rare in ordinary speaking and many grammars don't even mention it. 'may' and 'can' are far more commonly used.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Jonathan,
I would like to ask for your help and hope you're available to answer me this time.

If someone gives me a present,
I might say :

(A) How could you have known it was my birthday today ?

[1] Does the use of "could have known" in this sentence express surprise about how he could know that today is my birthday ? Or
[2] Is it a conditional sentence with the implied if clause that is not mentioned ? For example :

(B) How could you have known....if my mother had not told you ?
(No surprise is conveyed here)

[3] If we can use this pattern to express surprise, can we say this sentence ?

(C) I don't know how the thief could have known the key code, but he did (= I'm surprised how he got to know the key code).

[4] To express surprise in examples (A) and (C), can we change "could have" to "can have" ?

I would really appreciate your explanation. Thank you.

Best regards,

Hello melvinthio,

(A) is grammatically correct, but in the situation you describe in [1], a more natural statement would be 'How did you know it was my birthday today?'. Both (A) and my suggestion could certainly express surprise, though they don't necessarily do so. Even if you thought the gift giver was giving you the present for a different reason, I still don't think they'd use a sentence with 'could have known' here.

Your analysis of (B) in [2] sounds correct to me, though I don't think the grammar tells us anything about surprise. It could express simple curiosity, though it certainly can also be used to express surprise.

Similar to (A), a more natural way of saying (C) is 'I don't know how the thief knew ...' (assuming we can see evidence of the thief knowing this), but (C) is also possible here. I'd understand it to express some degree of surprise, but I don't think it has anything to do with the grammar, but rather the situation.

I think the difference between the two situations is that in (A), we see the action with our own eyes -- we've seen the person giving the gift or somehow know it came from them. In contrast, in (C), we see the result of the thief's actions -- an open safe -- but haven't seen the thief open it. It also more possible for another person to discover our birthday than it is for a thief to open a safe (at least to my mind).

As for [4], no, 'could have' better expresses the idea of an unlikely possibility. Perhaps 'can have' would be possible in some unusual situations, but in most cases and certainly in the way I've imagined them now, it wouldn't work.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hii,
I am Manish. One of my teachers told me modal are ( be and Have ) Be has 3 forms BE =1. Is/am/ are
2. Was/ were
3. Been
You are a teacher.
I am a student.
You were a child 10 years ago.
I was a child too.

Have = possession
I have a car.= I have got a car.

Was he right?

Hello Manish,

Modal verbs are verbs like should, can, could, might, will etc.

'Be' and 'have' are not modal verbs. They are normal verbs but can also be used as auxiliary verbs to form questions and other forms.

Base form - be ~ have

First form (present) - am/is/are ~ have/has

Second form (past) - was/were ~ had

Third form (past participle) - been ~ had

For possession, have and have got are alternatives.

You can read more about the verb 'be' on this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/the-verb-be

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can I use articles with collective noun ? (a,an,the)

Hi Sagir1,

Yes, you can :) If you have any questions about it, you can post them on our Articles page.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi everyone, is the following sentence correct?
I can English.

When can it be accepted?
Thank you so much!

Hello mivu,

No, I'm afraid 'I can English' is not correct in any context I can think of.

It's possible to say 'I can' or 'I can do' in a short answer, but the direct object of the verb is omitted in short answers.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hey there
Well, every modal verb will be followed by another verb, which is missing in that statement. It might be the verb "to speak".
I can SPEAK English.

Hello. I have a question.
Why is WOULD considered a modal verb? As I understand, WOULD has no meaning as the other modals verbs. It has a function, which is to make the sentence conditional. And if it is considered, why the other auxiliaries are not? Thank you very much for your help.

Hello MRamos,

'would' actually has a number of uses beyond its use in second conditional structures -- for example, it can be used to make polite requests, or to talk about frequent past events. In older styles of English, it was also used to express desires, though this is almost never heard these days.

In general, modal verbs add different kinds of meaning to a statement -- for example, certainty, possibility or obligation. I'd suggest having a look at our Modal verbs page, where you can see more on this, and you might also find the Cambridge Dictionary Grammar's page on Modal verbs and modality useful.

Hope this helps.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

I couldn't have explained it better. Amazing!

Please explain the difference between the two sentences and provide some details about the structure and meaning. 1.Do you mind me being here while you’re working? 2.Do you mind my being here while you’re working?

Hello Mussorie,

There is no difference in meaning here. In this and similar constructions you can use either the object pronoun or the possessive adjective with the -ing form. Both are in common use and are acceptable but I think the form with the object pronoun (me) is more informal and less likely to be used in formal contexts.

You can read a brief discussion of the topic here:

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/515247/my-ing-possessive-form-ing-vs-me-ing-object-form-ing

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Please explain the difference. 1.I phoned at six o'clock. I knew he would have got home by then. 2.I phoned at six o'clock. I knew he had got home by then. And one more question regarding the usage of "will have" in the context of looking back from the present. 1.it is 6:00 clock. The match will have started. Why don't we use would instead of will here? Because it seems like the activity of the match started in the past from the present, then it should be would, right. Please explain to me the details of the question.

Hello Mussorie,

In both 1 and 2, you are reporting that the thing you imagined has been confirmed, but the verb form in 1 suggests that someone else was doubting your supposition.

In the other sentence, 'will have started' is used because the time reference point is the present time (6:00). We use 'would' to speak about the future from the perspective of the past, but the time reference point here is present. The beginning of the match in the past is suggested, but not stated.

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi team, I want to know one more thing. I am trying to learn 'reduced adjective clauses' and I am confused about one thing. Can I reduce the clause containing modal verbs(can, will, may, might, etc.) ? İf it is yes, is it a common? I want to give an example sentences can I say The man who can fix your roof is my friend. =The man fixing your roof is my friend. Thank you and best wishes!

Hello Nevı,

No, I'm afraid that doesn't work. Normally the verb forms in reduced relative clauses replace non-modal verbs, usually in the present continuous, present simple or past simple.

Best wishes,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

You've been really helpful.I really appreciate it.

Hello I have a couple question please..! what the deference between these sentences: The car wouldn't start this morning The car didn't start this morning & also what is the exactly meaning of the sentence Reddington wouldn't tell us who abducted him THANK YOU SO MUCH..!!

Hello Hemam,

'would' (and 'wouldn't') can be used to express unwillingness, in other words, the idea that someone or something doesn't want to do something. So in the first sentence, the idea is that the car didn't want to start. Most people don't actually believe that a car has desires, but sometimes when we feel we are unlucky, we speak this way to show the feeling of being unlucky. Other than this, these two sentences mean the same thing.

The sentence about Reddington could mean that we think he would never tell us this in any circumstance (here 'would' refers to hypothetical situations) or, if it's speaking about the past, it could mean that Redding refused to tell us. Which meaning it has depends on the context.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

THANK YOU SO MUCH..

Hello. Which modal is correct to use in the following sentence? - He will help you if you ask him, but I am not sure. - He might help you if you ask him, but I am not sure. Thank you.

Hi Ahmed Imam,

Might is the correct option. Might means there is some uncertainty about whether he will help you or not, and we know that the speaker is uncertain since he/she says 'I am not sure'.

Will doesn't fit here, because it means the speaker is certain.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. Which modal is correct and formal in the following sentence? 1- You have to phone him now. It’s very urgent. 2- You must phone him now. It’s very urgent. Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

Both sentences look fine to me and I don't see any difference in formality. Without any context there's no way to say which would be more suitable.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi teacher Peter, I have 2 questions about in this sentence. "Donations to charities can be offset against tax." 1)Could we add agent(like by sth.)?Could you give an example 2)Here,can we say directly "Donations to charities can offset against tax." If so,why we don't say in active voice obviously ?

Hi Nuro,

1) Yes, you could add a phrase with by to the sentence:

Donations to charities can be offset against tax by both private individuals and companies.

2) Active voice does not work here as the donations are the object of the verb offset. The person paying tax offsets the donations.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. Please, could you tell me which modal is suitable in the following sentence. Why? - Do you know if we have to have a visa to visit North Korea? - Do you know if we must have a visa to visit North Korea? Thanks for your great efforts.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

I think have to is the most likely choice here as the question is about an external rule rather than a self-imposed obligation.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi team I have questions, 1-"Tina gave me a shopping list so that I wouldn't forget anything." In this sentence, can we say " ...so that I didn't forget anything."? what's the difference 2 of them?

Hi Nuro,

Both forms are possible here. If you imagine what Tina said then both don't forget and won't forget are possible:

I'll give you a shopping list so you won't forget anything.

I'll give you a shopping list so you don't forget anything.

It may seem strange to use the present simple (don't forget) with future meaning here, especially when 'will' is used in the first clause, but there are certain contexts in which this is possible: in sentences like the one above and after the phrase 'in case', for example.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks teacher, I have been thinking this strange situation that you mentioned for 4 days. I mean why we use simple present or modals instead of will to future events?Can you explain more detail? I am soo confused:(

Hello again Nuro,

It's actually a common feature of English. Remember that English does not have a grammatical future tense, but rather uses different grammatical structures to express future time: present forms (simple and continuous), modal verbs (including 'will'), going to and even past forms (for hypothetical futures).

You can read more about expressing future time on this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/talking-about-the-future

And you can read about verbs used in time clauses here:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verbs-in-time-clauses-and-if-clauses

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello. Can we use "hasn't got to" instead of "doesn't have to" to express lack of necessity? Also, in questions, can we use "has she got to" instead of "Does she have to"? Is the following sentence correct? - She hasn't got to do all this work today because she can do it next morning. Thank you

Hi Ahmed Imam,

Yes! It is possible to use hasn't got to for this meaning, and your sentence is correct. But, hasn't got to is less commonly used than doesn't have to.

In questions, that's right - we can use Has she got to ... instead of Does she have to ... .

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello! I have a question, what happens with : make ( obligation) and must or musn't ( obligation) are the same? thanks!

Hello meylin,

They're similar but a bit different. You can read a bit more about 'must' and 'mustn't' in the Obligations section of our Suggestions and obligations page, but basically they express the idea that it is necessary to do something ('must', e.g. 'You must wear a mask on the bus') or that it is necessary not to do something ('mustn't', e.g. 'You mustn't be late'). Notice that it's not clear whether we actually do the action that is considered necessary (or not necessary) -- the rule is that we wear a mask on the bus, but maybe we don't actually do that.

A sentence with causative 'make' is similar in that it expresses obligation, but it also shows that the action was performed. For example, 'I must do my homework' means I need to do my homework, but it doesn't mean that I did it. But 'My father makes me do my homework' clearly shows that I do my homework.

Does that help?

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team