MODAL VERBS
English Grammar Presentation
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF MODAL
VERBS
Which modal auxiliaries do you know?
CAN | COULD
Expresses ability or Past ability or polite request.
permission. Example:
Example: When I was younger, I could run
She can swim very well. for miles.
SHOULD | SHALL/WILL
Advice or expectation. Expresses future intention or
Example: You should see obligation.
a doctor. Example:
I shall return by noon.
NEED | DARE
Necessity or lack of obligation. Expresses challenge or courage.
Example: Example:
You need to study harder. He dared to speak the truth.
MAY| MIGHT| MUST
Formal permission Strong necessity or
Expresses a lower
or possibility. certainty.
probability than "may".
Example: Example:
Example:
You may leave You must wear a
She might be late to the
early today. seatbelt.
meeting.
MODAL VERBS
They are used to express, for example, degrees of
certainty, ability, willingness, or permission.
Modal verbs always convey how an action is
considered.
In English, modal verbs cannot be conjugated in
all tenses.
It is, therefore, important to know how to replace
them in certain circumstances
How to Conjugate Modal Verbs in English?
In English, modal verbs are mainly used in the present tense.
They do not take an -s in the third-person singular.
Example: He must do what he is told.
The auxiliary "do" is not needed for negative and
interrogative forms.
Examples: Teachers cannot know if all students are
engaged. Home educators needn’t focus on a whole class.
Modal verbs are always followed by the base form of a verb
(infinitive without "to").
Example: Spending so much time together can end up feeling
repetitive
CAN | COULD
Alternative: to be able to
"CAN" is used in the present simple. The phrase to be able to can be conjugated in all tenses
(present, past, and future).
Examples: They can send in samples of the child’s work. They will be able to have feedback.
In the simple past, both "COULD" and "WAS/WERE ABLE TO" can be used.
"COULD" is used when talking about long-term abilities and with verbs like feel, hear, see, smell,
taste, remember, understand.
Example: The child could remember his first day at school.
"WAS/WERE ABLE TO" is used for specific moments in the past.
Example: Was Max able to do his homework yesterday?
SHOULD | OUGHT TO
"SHOULD/OUGHT TO" is used for giving advice, making
suggestions, or stating whether an idea is good or not.
Example: Visits should be compulsory for parents who
choose to educate their children at home.
To express a past suggestion or regret, we use SHOULD +
have + past participle.
Example: Educators should have discussed the situation.
Alternative form: be allowed to
COULD| MAY| MIGHT| MUST
"COULD" is more polite than "CAN".
"MAY" is generally used with "I" and
"we" in interrogative sentences.
"COULD" is used in if-clauses and the
"CAN" and "MAY" (but not
simple past.
"COULD") are used to grant
Examples:
permission.
Example: Max, you can/may take
Max could take a break if he wanted
a break from your studies.
to. Max could/was allowed to leave
early yesterday.
BE ALLOWED TO can be conjugated in all tenses.
Example: Max will be allowed to choose which topics to study.
MODAL
ALTERNATIVE FORM
MUST HAVE TO
MUSTN’T BE NOT ALLOWED TO
NEED NOT DON’T HAVE TO
BE SUPPOSED TO / BE
SHOULD/OUGHT TO
EXPECTED TO
Translate into French
Some home educators might want
alternative lifestyles.
Teachers cannot afford to respond each
time a kid disengages.
Home became a place where I ought to be
working.
Parents must pay a fine for truancy.
Translate into English
1. Les parents ont le droit de refuser une
visite à domicile.
2. Les parents ne sont pas obligés de suivre le
curriculum.
3. Ceci devrait être obligatoire.
4. Certains enfants peuvent apprendre à lire
très tôt.
Class 4: WILL, WOULD, Probability in the Past
Back to Your Team Work!
HOMEWORK: Read Text 4 and make
sure you remember the key
information from all texts.
