modal verbs

USE MODAL EXPLANATION EXAMPLE NOTES

Can Present I can swim. Cannot, can’t

He could read Couldn’t, could

ABILITY Could Past
when he was 2. not
I will be able to ski (won’t) be able
Be able to All tenses
next month. to
Can I go to the
Can The least polite request
toilet?
Could I borrow your
REQUEST Could Less polite request
pen?
(ask for Present or future
May I have a
permission) May More polite request
sandwich?
Might I ask you to
Might The most polite request
explain that again?
I must help mum at
Must Internal obligation
home. Present or future
OBLIGATION In the UK you have
Have to External obligation to drive on the left Past: had to
side of the road.
LACK OF I don’t have to get Past: didn’t have
Don’t have to Present or future
OBLIGATION up early tomorrow. to
We mustn’t smoke
PROHIBITION Mustn’t Present, past or future
at school.
You should go to
Should Present or future the dentist with your Shouldn’t
toothache.
ADVICE
You ought to go to
Ought to Present or future the doctor with your Ought not to
headache.
I need to go to the
Need to Something is necessary
toilet.
You needn’t do
Needn’t
NECESSITY exercise 2. Present or future
(specific)
Lack of necessity I don’t need to
Don’t need to
wear glasses, my
(habitual) sight is good.
He can’t be at
Can’t Negative home, the lights are
off.
CERTAINTY Present or future
He must be at
Must Positive home, the door is
open.
She could come on
Could Not sure
time.
They may fail the
POSSIBILITY May Unlikely Preset or future.
exam.
It might rain
Might Very unlikely
tomorrow.
 modal perfects
USE MODAL EXPLANATION EXAMPLE
Certainty that
something was true in You must have known I
MUST HAVE +pp the past. was angry, it was so
CERTAINTY or Something probably obvious!
LOGICAL happened in the past.
DEDUCTION I can’t have made a
Certainty that
good impression
CAN’T HAVE +pp something wasn’t true in
because he hasn’t
the past.
phoned me yet.
You could have told me
COULD HAVE +pp
your mum was in hospital.
She may have phoned,
but we don’t know
POSSIBILITY MAY HAVE +pp Past possibility.
because we were in the
garden.
You might have known
MIGHT HAVE +pp
the answer.
Ability to have done
You could have played
ABILITY COULD HAVE +pp something but in fact
better.
you didn’t do it.
Criticism or regret about I was anxious, you should
SHOULD HAVE +pp
something you did have phoned me.
ADVICE or
wrong. You didn’t do I ought to have
RECOMMENDATION
OUGHT TO HAVE +pp something which was a apologized, I had been
good idea. very rude.
We did something
You needn’t have made
although it wasn’t
LACK OF NECESSITY NEEDN’T HAVE +pp so many pancakes,
necessary to be done.
nobody is hungry now.
Unnecesary past action.
Past condition or
situation. Willingness to I would have visited you,
CONDITION WOULD HAVE +pp
do something but in but I forgot your address.
fact you couldn’t do it.
I had better study or I’ll
MODAL EXPRESSION HAD BETTER It expresses a warning.
fail the test.