{"id":91,"date":"2019-04-25T13:24:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T13:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/zyle\/?p=91"},"modified":"2021-03-23T04:57:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-23T04:57:11","slug":"modal-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/verb-tenses\/modal-verbs.htm","title":{"rendered":"Modal verbs – English grammar courses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Modal verbs are a kind of verb that behaves differently than the other verbs. Here are the ways in which they are different:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They never end with an \u201cs\u201d.<\/li>\n
  2. They can change the sentence into a question depending on how you use them.<\/li>\n
  3. They are followed by another verb\u2019s infinitive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Can<\/strong><\/td>\nCould<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    May<\/strong><\/td>\nMight<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Shall<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Will\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Must<\/strong><\/td>\n

    		Should<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Would<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

    <\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Can:<\/h2>\n

    The modal verb \u201ccan\u201d expresses the ability to do something, the possibility that something will happen, permission or, when used in a question, express a request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    I can play football<\/td>\nthis expresses ability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    That can happen<\/td>\nthis expresses possibility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    You can go out!<\/td>\nthis expresses permission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Can you help me?<\/td>\nthis expresses a request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Could:<\/h2>\n

    The modal \u201ccould\u201d is the past of \u201ccan\u201d and it has the same behaviour of \u201ccan\u201d. Sometimes it expresses conditionals (If I had a drive license, I could drive).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    I could play football<\/td>\n\u201ccould\u201d is the same as \u201cwas able\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    If I had a driver\u2019s license, I could drive<\/td>\nthis expresses the conditional<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Could you help me?<\/td>\nthis expresses a request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    May:<\/h2>\n

    The modal verb May expresses a prediction, something that can be true or is used for expressing permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    It may rain<\/td>\nthis is a prediction<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    This news may be true<\/td>\nthis means that something can be true<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    May I tell you something?<\/td>\nasking for permission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Might:<\/h2>\n

    Might means that something has a low possibility of happening. The difference between May and Might is that May has a higher possibility of happening.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    It might rain<\/td>\nthis is a prediction that it\u2019s possible that it could rain<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    This news might be true<\/td>\nthis means that something has a low chance of being true<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Might I tell you something?<\/td>\nasking for permission<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Must & Should:<\/h2>\n

    Must and Should are used to express an obligation, advice or a prohibition. Generally, we use Must for something necessary, and Should for something advisable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    You should see a doctor<\/td>\nthis expresses an advice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    You must see a doctor<\/td>\nthis expresses an obligation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    You should do your homework<\/td>\nthis expresses an advice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    You must do your homework<\/td>\nthis expresses an obligation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    You must not smoke here<\/td>\nthis expresses a prohibition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Will & Would:<\/h2>\n

    Will is used to talk about intent of action towards the future, something that has a probability of happening in the future or for making promises. Would is the past tense of Will and is used to talk about the past, potential ideas and for being polite in proposing action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    I will apply for a job<\/td>\nthis expresses intent of action<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    It will rain soon<\/td>\nthis expresses probability of something happening<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    I will help you<\/td>\nthis expresses a promise<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    I would have wanted to go watch a movie<\/td>\nthis is talking about the past<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    I would like to go out tomorrow<\/td>\nthis expresses a potential idea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Would you help me on this?<\/td>\nthis is a polite request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    Shall:<\/h2>\n

    It\u2019s usually used in a question and it can express an offer or a suggestion.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
    Shall I help you?<\/td>\nan offer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Shall we go to the supermarket?<\/td>\na suggestion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s do some exercises with what we have learned already. Please create 2 sentences each using the words: can, could, may, might, must, should, shall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Modal verbs are a kind of verb that behaves differently than the other verbs. Here are the ways in which they are different: They never end with an \u201cs\u201d. They can change the sentence into a question depending on how you use them. They are followed by another verb\u2019s infinitive.   They are: Can Could … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verb-tenses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/youlearnenglish.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}