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Modal Verbs

The document discusses modal verbs and how they are used in the English language. It covers modal verbs for expressing ability, obligation, prohibition, advice, permission, and possibility. Key points include that modal verbs are always followed by an infinitive without "to" and do not require an auxiliary verb in questions and negatives. Common modal verbs covered are can, could, must, should, have to, need to, may, and might.

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Karina Gestion Autonomo
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25 views18 pages

Modal Verbs

The document discusses modal verbs and how they are used in the English language. It covers modal verbs for expressing ability, obligation, prohibition, advice, permission, and possibility. Key points include that modal verbs are always followed by an infinitive without "to" and do not require an auxiliary verb in questions and negatives. Common modal verbs covered are can, could, must, should, have to, need to, may, and might.

Uploaded by

Karina Gestion Autonomo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MODAL VERBS

BASIC A2
●ONLY USED IN PRESENT TENSE
●FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVE
WITHOUT “TO” (CAN SPEAK,
MODAL
SHOULD VISIT, ETC.)
VERBS
●THEY DO NOT NEED AN AUXILIARY
VERB IN NEGATIVE SENTENCES
AND QUESTIONS.
GIVING ●You should invite Fiona.
ADVICE - ●You shouldn’t invite Fiona.
SHOULD / ●Should I invite Fiona?
SHOULDN’T ●Yes, you should./ No, you shouldn’t.
●You could do more exercise.
OTHER
WAYS TO ●With imperatives: Wash the dishes. / Don’t be
noisy.
GIVE
● With have to (stronger): You have to study
ADVICE harder.
EXPRESSING
OBLIGATIO ●You must be punctual.
N - MUST
●The students have to wear a uniform.
●Do the students have to wear a uniform?
HAVE TO - Yes, they do. / No, they don’t.
OBLIGATIO
N ●You’ll have to take the next train.

●I had to wear a tie when I worked for a bank.


●I need to wear a mask at work.

NEED TO -
●Little children don’t need to wear a face mask.
OBLIGATIO
N
●Does everyone need to wear a mask to stay
safe?
EXPRESSING
LACK OF
●You don’t have to finish the report by
OBLIGATIO Wednesday.
N WITH ●Lisa doesn’t have to start work at 8am.
DON’T
HAVE TO
●You can’t park here.
EXPRESSNG
PROHIBITIO ●You mustn’t use your phone in class.
N
●You mustn’t smoke in hospitals.
IMPORTANT
IMPORTANT
EXPRESSING
●You can park here.
PERMISSION
●I can play the piano.
EXPRESSING
ABILITY ●I can’t speak Japanese.
AND
POSSIBILITY ●Can you cook paella?
- present
●Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.
●I could play the piano when I was twelve.

EXPRESSING
●I couldn’t speak Japanese although I lived in
ABILITY Tokyo.
AND
POSSIBILITY ●Could your grandfather cook paella?
- past
●Yes, he could. / No, he couldn’t.
● I am able to meet you anytime next week.

EXPRESSING ● I wasn’t able to swim when I was a child.


ABILITY –
be able to ● Will you be able to pick me up at the airport?
Yes, I will. / No, I won’t.
●You know we use the modal verb “can” in
questions to ask for permission:
Can I go to the toilet, please?
-Yes, you can. / - No, you can’t.

ASKING FOR
●But if you want to be more formal you can also
PERMISSION use “could” or “may”:
-Could I go to the toilet, please?
-May I go to the toilet, please?
● We have studied modal verbs to talk about ability and possibility
(can, could)
● We have studied modal verbs to talk about obligation (must)
● We have studied modal verbs to talk about prohibition (mustn’t,
Modal verbs - can’t)
● We have studied modal verb to give advice (should)
revision
● ALL MODAL VERBS ARE FOLLOWED BY AN INFITINITVE
WITHOUT TO. For example:
You must behave at school.
We should pay attention to punctuation.
● When describing a picture, we learnt that we can use “could” to talk
about a possibility.
People are wearing summer clothes, so it could be a warm day.
May and might
to talk about
possibility ● But we can also use the modal verbs “may” and “might” when the
possibility is more remote.
The woman is holding a map, so she may/might be a tourist.

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