Modal

Will,shall show highest possibility, “shall” is used for promises,

“We shall make sure I t doesn’t happen”

And orders “Citizens shall be fined on offence”

while “will” is used for willingness

“I will help you”

,prediction - “Stock market will crash tomorrrow”

and intention “I won’t stay long”.

Both will and would are used for offers but would is politer. “Would you please come?”

May and might for possibility and request, “may” shows more possibility and “might” shows more
formal request but both are formal. May is also used in exclamatory. “I may go to the evening to
buy the tickets” “He might dance”

“May I come in, teacher?” “I might go if he comes.” “May you live long!”

Can and could shows ability , “able to do something”, while can shows you are able now, could
shows you were able back then - “Khushiv cannot swim now but he could swim 5 years back.”

Can also says something is possible, “you can get cramps if you run fast.”

Can is also with see,hear,feel and remember “I can feel his emotions” “I can see his back”

Could is also used with see,hear,feel,remember and recognize but in past – “I could recognize him
from a mile when he used to come.”

“Must” is used to stay when it is strongly necessary or a strong opinion, “Should” and “ought”
also show opinion and the right thing but not as strongly as “must”. In “must” the reason is usually
written.

“You must not smoke in the hospital as it causes …” “Children should be hardworking”

“Need not” is when…. You need not do that, -- “You need not do the laundary, the dhobi is here”
“You need not clean the room, the maid is present”. If “lest” then “should”

“used to” and “would” talks about habits of past. “I used to do this in the afternoon” “I would play
with him in the street.” But the book says “used to” so you write “used to”.

Dare means “how did you even try!”, “How dare you to speak like that” –“How did you even try to
speak like that”. Must - 99

Will - 95

Would - 90

Should - 80

Can - 75

Could – 71, may – 70, might – 25

Must – most powerful

Ought – more powerful

Should – less powerful

Tips

If it is question – “____ you ___, please?” which contains “you” and “please” then most probably it is
“would”.

“would” is also used in imaginary.

If it shows ability then “can” -sakta hu, and if can is not written in options then round off to to
nearest probability which is could and may.

“Can” is for informal permission and also if to you can make arrangements, or get something “I ___
get that for you” ans. “I can get that for you.”

To know if “may” or “can” is used in informal that try to replace it by “70% chance” and try to see if
“may” fits. In the sentence “It is cloudy today. It ___- rain”, here rain is 70% chance as it cloudy, so
“may”

“May” is used for “I” “we” and formal places like theatre – “The audience may take their seats”

If “should” is not there then “must” and “ought” are also not used as these are brothers and sisters.

If it has “like”, “have” and an offer then would like “would you have some coffee”

If it is a question – “___I _____, please” which contains “I” then it is “may”

If it is “Thankfully I ___ reach on time” them it is “could”

If “if” is given then most probably “may”

In indirect “might” “could” “would” is used.

If it is a threat or command than “shall”, If it is

If it is “if” and then present simple and a comma ‘,’ then future is used,

Both “may” and “will” can be used in that case. Remember “may” and “will” are both brother and
sisters of probability it is just that “will” shows 80% probability and “may” shows 60-70%.

If a specification is given in opinions like “staff _____ be present at their desk by 2 pm” then “must”.

In the line “There are many dresses on display. You ______ (may/might/shall) buy any.”, if you are
thinking of writing shall then stop, get some help. Try to replace “shall” by “will” and see if it makes
sense. Here you have about 70% chance of buying so use “may”.

Remember in future prediction “will” is used like “One day, we will get the technology to fly.”

If a logical conclusion then, “must”

If it is “so that” in example so fill “may”.

If a reason is given for a possibility then “must”, if less chance is given then “may” and if very very
less chances then “might”

In “may I know your name” you use may because the person is unknown to you.

In theoretical possibility, “can” is used.

Practice

1. Everyone __ obey the law. (must/should)

Ans. Must

2. __ you guide me to the nearest station? (can/might)

Ans. Can(because might is for very less probability and can is a more common usage. In
informal. Would can also be used but it is more formal)
3. Our guests (shall/should) be here any minute.
Ans. Guests are not instructed or told to be here, and “will’” can also be used so “shall”

1. Madam (could/may) you repeat what you said?

Ans. Could