English modal verbs

Modals or modal verbs are those special verbs that do not follow the conventional rules in English and hence behave in an irregular manner. They are very different from the normal verbs (Regular & Irregular Verbs). They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. Modal verb are usually followed by an infinitive without ‘to’. There are 10 common modal verbs in the English language: can, could, may, might, will, would, must, shall, should and ought to.

Modal verbs can be very useful in communications as they express functions such as permission, obligation, prohibition, ability, lack of necessity, probability, possibility and advice. Let’s see some of them in detail:

-      Modals can be used to describe that something is probable or possible. For example:  ‘It is rainy today; it must be cold outside’ which means that as it is rainy today; it is probably cold outside.

-      Skills and abilities can be described by ‘can’ and ‘could’. For example: ‘I can swim.’

-       ‘Must’ is used for something that is necessary and ‘should’ is used to suggest that something is advisable. For example: ‘You must finish the work tomorrow, else you’ll be finished’ and ‘You shouldn’t talk rudely.’

-       ‘Can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example: ‘Can I go to the picnic?’

-       ‘Will’ and ‘would’ are used to talk about habits, routines and preferences. For example: ‘I used to be talkative as a kid.’