MODAL VERBS REPORT

The modal verb "can" is used to express ability, possibility, and to make requests or ask permission, and
can even be used to make an offer or a suggestion. In addition, in its negative form, "can't ", it can be used
to express impossibility or inability.
EJEMPLO:
• Can you come home early today?
• Marian and Louise can jump very high

Can be used to talk about ability and to talk about permissions in the past. It can be used to ask questions,
make requests, suggestions or offers, but in a more polite way. It can also be used to talk about possibility.
Its negative form is "couldn't ".
EJEMPLO:
• Could you pass me the salt, please?
• I could jump very high when I was little.

It is to ask permission in the present tense, to make suggestions, and to talk about possibilities. In its
negative form, "may not " can be used for prohibitions.
EJEMPLO:
• May I go to the toilet, please?
• Mary may not go to your party later.

It is used to express possibility in the present or in the future. Although it talks about events that have a
lower possibility of happening. Its negative form, "might not " is used to talk about possibilities but in a
negative form.
EJEMPLO:
• I heard that tomorrow it might rain.
• Leslie might go to Canada this summer.

It is usually used to make offers, suggestions, to talk about options, and to ask what to do in a situation, but
in a very polite way. Its negative form "shall not " can be used to talk about prohibitions.
EJEMPLO:
• Great, let’s meet later. Shall we say 3 p.m. then?
• You shall not forget to bring your bike.

This is one of the less frequently used English modal verbs, and is usually synonymous with the verb
"would". It is used to express obligation and to give advice.
EJEMPLO:
• It’s raining. You ought to drive carefully when you leave.
• Melina ought to help her sister when she moves to her new house.

The modal verb "must" is the perfect choice to express necessity. It is also used to talk about possibility,
but in a much more accurate way. Its negative form implies prohibition and is "must not " or "mustn't ".
EJEMPLO:
• I must go, I have a doctor’s appointment soon.
• You mustn’t use mom’s tablet without her permission.