A modal verb is

•an auxiliary verb;

•comes before another verb and adds to the meaning of that verb;

•cannot function as a main verb in a sentence;

•used to express intention, necessity, obligation, offer, permission,

possibility, prohibition, question, request, suggestion.
 will / would

 can / could

 may/ might

 shall/ should

 ought to

 must

 have to

 need
When using modals (except for “have to” it
is important to remember the following rules:
 A modal always has the same form. There is no –s ending, no –ing or
–ed forms.
e.g. Paul can speak English fluently.

 Only the base form of the verb follows a modal.

e.g. You should learn these rules perfectly well.

 Questions are formed by inverting the modal and the subject.

e.g. Can he play the guitar well?

 Negative are formed by adding not (n’t) after the modal.

e.g. Dina couldn’t come to the party because she was sick.

 Most modals have more that one meaning, depending on the context
they are used.
1. To talk about what you are
able to do
"He is so strong! He can lift
that car!"
"She can't come before four
o'clock."
"Can he teach?"
3. To say that something is
allowed
"He can borrow my book if he needs
it."
"You can't smoke in here".
"You can pay with a credit card."
2. To talk about a general possibility
"The weather here can get really bad."
"These chairs can be folded."
"Such things can happen."
4. To make a request
(this is an informal use, "may" is the
formal version)
"Can you help me with my homework?"
"Can you make some tea?"
"Can you come here, please?"
 As the past form of "can"
"He said he couldn't come so early."
"I couldn't remember who he was."
"They couldn't pass the border."

To make a polite request

"Could you open the window, please?"
"Could you turn up the heat?"
"Could you remind him to call?"

To show possibility ("may" and "might" are stronger)

"She could be with her parents."
"It could take you months to find a new place."
"He could still win, but it's not very likely."
 may / may not
1. To show possibility (it is slightly 1. As a past from of "may“
stronger than "might")
"What he said may be true."
"It may rain."
"You may win the race."
2. To request or give permission
(this is a formal use, "can" is the
informal version)
"You may sit down."
"May I speak?"
"He may not use the car."
might / might not
"The weatherman said it might rain."
"She mentioned that she might come."
"We agreed that it might be dangerous."
2. To show possibility (it is slightly
weaker than "may")
"He might pass the exam, but I wouldn't
count on it."
"We might fail, but let's not think about it."
"I might visit on Saturday."
To show that you have to do something, for example because it is
very important or because it is a rule.
"You must stop the car when the traffic light turns red.“
"You must pay your taxes."

"Must not" (or "mustn't") is used to show you are not allowed to
do something
"You mustn't steal."
"He mustn't talk to his parents like that."
"The fruit of this bush must not be eaten because it is toxic."

To show that something is very logical or very likely to be true

"He left at noon, so he must be there already."
"She is not stupid, so she must have known what she was doing!"
"They must be really rich to live in such a house."
1. To say what is the right thing 2. To give advice or ask for advice
to do.
"You should try the new restaurant down
"You should be helping your mother." the street."
"If he doesn't like the job, he should tell "What should I do? Should I tell him the
it to his boss." truth?"
"If you knew you were going to be so "Should I try to take the exam again?"
late, you should have called."
3. To show that something is likely We use “ought to” to say what is
to be true or that it is expected. the right thing to do ("should" is
the more common word)
"Let's return home, dinner should be ready
by now." "In her condition, she ought to quit
"We should arrive there by twelve o'clock." smoking."
"I should get an e-mail from him soon." "I believe you ought to apologize."
"He was watching TV when he ought to
have been studying."
I must leave now. It is necessary to leave now.
We have to prepare for the test. Otherwise, we will fail.

In many cases, we can choose either must or have to.

e.g. We must/ have to get to the hospital by nine.

However, when the speaker is giving his own feelings, we tend

to use “must”.
e.g. I feel guilty, I must speak to him.

When the speaker is reporting facts rather than expressing his

own feelings, we tend to use “have to”:
e.g. I have to visit the dentist today.
 Tense Positive Form Example
Future Simple will have to We will have to go there by all means.
Present Simple have/ has to He has to be there on time.
Past Simple had to I had to stay late at work yesterday.

Tense Negative Form Example

Future Simple will not /won’t He will not have to do all this work!
have to
Present Simple does not- He does not have to leave yet.
doesn’t / do
not – don’t have
to
Past Simple did not/ didn’t He did not have to go to work yesterday.
have to
Will your parents have to leave on Monday?
Does he have to get up so early?
Did they have to go to work on holiday?

What will the students have to do on Monday?

Why does he have to clean the territory?
How did he have to drive in England?

Who will have to work tomorrow?

Who has to finish doing the Project?
Who had to take care of the children?
To say something is forbidden / prohibited / not allowed, we use “mustn’t”

e.g. You mustn’t smoke in public places. – Smoking in public places is forbidden.
“Mustn’t” does not mean the same as don’t have to.
Compare the sentences:

You mustn’t go out in the interval. (You are not allowed to smoke)
You don’t have to go out in the interval. ( it isn’t necessary…)
“Needn’t” means the same as “not have to”. We use “needn’t” to mean
there is no necessity to do something.

Compare the sentences:

e.g. You needn’t arrive before 9 o’clock. Nobody will be there before then.
(it isn’t necessary)
You mustn’t arrive before 9 o clock. They are preparing a surprise for you.
(You are not allowed to)
 We use “must” to say that something is obvious or that we are sure about it.

e.g. You must be tired. You have been working all day long. (I’m sure that…)
There are no lights on. They must be sleeping. (Obviously…)

Compare two sentences:

e.g. They must sleep. (They haven’t slept all right. It is necessary for them
to sleep.)
They must be sleeping. (They are obviously sleeping. That’s why they are
not answering the phone.)

We use will when we are completely certain about something.

E.g. Lisa left the house two hours ago. She will be at work by now.
We use “must have+V3 to say that we are sure of something in the past.
e.g. I called you yesterday, but you didn’t answer. You must have gone out.
(You have obviously gone out.)
We use “should” to say that something is probably true or will
probably happen.

E.g. Lior should be at home by now. (He is probably at home…)

Remember: We use “must” when we are more certain about something

happening.
e.g. It is 11 o’clock. Daniel should be at the university right now.
( a strong probability)
It is 11 o’clock. Daniel must be at the university right now. ( a very strong
probability, almost a certainty.)
We use the modals “may”, “might”, “could” to express a weak degree
of certainty.

e.g. There is the phone. It may be Shelly.

I might visit my relatives in the USA in summer.

We use can’t and couldn’t to say that something is definitely not true
or unlikely to be true.

e.g. This story can’t / couldn’t be true. (I’m sure it’s not true)
 e.g. You should do more exercise.
She shouldn’t work so hard.
Should we do all this work?
We can use “ought to” instead of “should”.
e.g. You ought to practice more if you want to succeed.
Positive Negative Past Negative
should shouldn’t should have + V3 shouldn’t have +V3
ought to oughtn’t to ought to have + V3 oughtn’t to have + V3

Often “should” and “ought to” are used to show that something is not
what we expect, and needs to be changed.
e.g. Why does this cost so much? It should/ ought to cost less.
We use should have or ought to have + V3 to express regret or to say
that someone did the wrong thing.
e.g. You shouldn’t have said that . It sounded insulting.
The phrasal modal “had better” has a similar meaning to “should” (it is
advisable that…). The contracted form “ ‘d better” is mostly commonly used.
e.g. I want to be home in the afternoon. I’d better go now or I’ll be late.
“Had better” is often stronger than “should”; it can sound like a threat.
e.g. You’d better study harder for the test or you’ll fail.
The negative of “had better” is “had better not”.
e.g. You’d better not speak to me like that.
Remember! The form is always “had better” but it does not refer to
the past. It refers only to the present and future.
e.g. You’d better go.= You should go.

“Had better” is a phrasal MODAL and therefore always followed by

a BASE FORM.

Questions of “had better” are usually expressed with “should”. Only

NEGATIVE questions are possible with “had better”.
e.g. Should you call me later? BUT: Hadn’t you better go to bed now? It is really late.
OR Shouldn’t you go to bed now? It is really late.
 We use “can”, “could” or would when asking for something or asking
someone to do something.
e.g. Could you turn off the radio?
Would you please help me with the project?

We use “can”, “could”, or “may” when asking permission to do something.

“May” is rather formal.
e.g. May I come in?
Can I use your pen?
When talking about permission, we use “can” or “be allowed to”.
e.g. According to the law, you are not allowed to smoke in public places.
When reporting/ talking about permission in the past, we use “could”
or “ was / were allowed to.”
e.g. I couldn’t stay out late when I was a child.
 We can use “can” and “could’ to talk about ability in the present and
in the past.
e.g. She can speak English fluently.
Dan couldn’t read when he was 3 years old.

For ability in the future, we use “can’ or “will be able to”.

e.g. Don’t worry. I will be able to deal with this problem.

We use “be able to”:

With other auxiliary verbs.
e.g. If you leave earlier, I will be able to come
with you.
We use can or could with verbs of
perception, such as see, hear,
understand.
e.g. Sorry, I can’t understand you.
When we mean “managed to”, “succeeded in”.
e.g. Fortunately, we were able to overcome this trouble.
To be unable= to be not able
e.g. My mother says that she is unable / is not able to be
home on time.
Modal Verb Usage Example

ability I can do several things at the same time.

can when something is possible Miracles can happen.

permission You can go now.
informal requests Can you come for a minute?
past form of "can" She said she could pay for us as well.

could polite requests Could you move your bag, please?

possibility It could be that he missed the train.

possibility It may rain tomorrow.
may ask or give
May I speak?
permission (formal)

past form of "may" He said he might change his mind.

might
possibility This might fail.
you have to do it You must obey the law
must it's very logical or very likely to
They left so early, they must be home by now.
happen
must not/
you are not allowed to do it You mustn't smoke in here.
mustn't
Modal verb Usage Example
future for "I" and "we" I shall see him tomorrow.
shall questions and suggestions for "I"
Let's continue, shall we?
and "we"
the right thing to do She should call the police.
- What should I do?
advice
should - You should stop thinking about it.
what is likely or
We should be back by midnight.
expected to happen
future action or states
Prices will go up next summer.
will (not plans)
promises and intentions It's alright, I'll pick it up.
past form of "will" He told me he would come.
What would you do
imagined situations
if you were him?
- Would you please sit down?
would for polite requests, offers and - Would you like some tea?
invitations - We are meeting with Sarah next Saturday, would you
like to come along?
to say what you
I would like a piece of cake.
want to do or have
ought to the right thing to do You ought to apologize.
 Situation Modal Verb Example
requests
may May I sit down?
(formal)
requests
can Can I sit down?
(informal)
requests
could Could I sit down?
(polite)
requests Would you mind if I sit
would
(polite) down?
permission
may You may sit down.
(formal)
permission
can You can sit down.
(informal)
obligation You must tell the
must
(full) police the truth.
obligation You should tell
should
(partial) your friends the truth.
obligation (partial) You ought to tell
ought to
(less common) your friends the truth.
 Situation Modal Verb Example
logical conclusions He left an hour ago, so he must be there
must
(stronger than "should") already.
logical conclusions He left half an hour ago, I believe he should
should
(weaker than "must") be there already.
possibility
can It can rain sometimes.
(general)
possibility
It could rain, but it is not very common in this
(weaker than could
part of the country.
"may" and "might")
possibility
might It's not very cloudy yet, but it might rain.
(weaker than "may")
possibility
may It starts getting cloudy – it may rain soon.
(stronger than "might")
future actions/states/intentions will Look at the sky! It will rain soon.