Modal

USING THE MODAL VERBS

Modal verbs, or modal verbs, are those verbs in English that help a sentence have a better

Verbs
meaning thanks to their function. You can use them when you want to give another meaning to a
sentence. For example, if you want to ask permission to speak or to know if they could come
looking for you.
So these verbs that serve as auxiliary verbs, seek to give a specific meaning to certain actions.

1. Can
This verb can have different translations,
depending on its context, but the most
common are you can, can, I can, I know, you
know, you know. An example of this we see in
the following sentences:
Forgive me, can you tell me what time is?
Excuse me, can you tell me what time it is?
I can cook pizza.
He can't speak of my nervousness
3. May
Their translations are may, may, may or may .
It is used as follows:
May I speak now?
We may go to the college tomorrow.
We may go to college tomorrow.
4. Might
2. Could
This verb (past tense of “can”) can be
translated as could or could . Likewise, it
establishes possibility as we could. Some
examples:
We could meet up today.
We could meet today.
Could you call your mom, please?
Could you call your mom, please?
4. Might
It is also a variation or synonym of the verb
"may", and its use will vary in context. Essentially,
your translations are maybe, could, or could .
He might come tonight.
He may come tonight.
You might as well try to open and get in the car
You could try to open it and get in the car
5. Will 6. Would
It is used to express something that we should It is translated in multiple ways to arrange or
do, wait, etc. in a future time. Its translation will comment on a recurring behavior in the past,
depend a lot on the context and the verb. But, and ask someone to take an action. It is used as
for example, it can be translated as: follows:
You will find it. Would you please close our windows?
You'll find it. Could you please close our windows?
We will listen to the next time. When I was in Spain, I would speak Spanish.
We will listen next time. When I was in Spain, I spoke Spanish.
Will you marry me? I would like you to know the truth.

7. Must 8. Shall
Its literal translation would be I need or I have It is not a very common modal verb due to its
what. However, it will depend a lot on the verb formalism. Its translation is identical to that of
that accompanies since it can involve the verb Will. Let's see how it is applied:
assumptions, as you can see here:
We shall dance together soon, my lady.
You must be joking.
We'll dance together soon, miss.
You must be kidding.
Maybe, she must have done something. 10. Ought to
Maybe she should have done something. This is a synonym for the modal verb Should, and
its translation is the same. Here's an example:
9. Should
I ought to practice more piano.
The most common translation for this modal You should practice the piano more.
verb is should or should . Some examples of how
it is used:
You should listen to me. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/modal-verbs
You should listen to me. https://espanol.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/verbos-modales
 Exercis
1) ________ you swim when you were 10?
Could

couldn't es
2) We _______ get to the meeting on time yesterday, because the train was delayed by one hour.

3) He ________ arrive at the party on time, even after missing the train, so he was very
pleased.
was able to
4) He's amazing, he _______ speak five languages, including Chinese.
can
5) I ________ drive a car until I was 34. Then I moved to the countryside, so I had to learn..
couldn't
6) I looked everywhere for my glasses but I ________ find them anywhere.
couldn't
7) I searched for your house for ages. luckily I ________ find it in the end.
was able to
8) She's seven years old, but she _______ read yet. Her parents are getting her extra lessons.
can't
9) I read the book three times, but I ________ understand it.
couldn't
10) James ________ speak Japanese when he lived in Japan, but he's forgotten most of it now.
could