Modal Verbs of Ability

When we talk about ability, we mean two things.

First, we mean general ability. This is something that once you have learned
you can do any time you want, like being able to read or swim or speak a
language, for example.

The other kind of ability is specific ability. This mean something that you can
or can't do in one particular situation. For example, being able to lift something
heavy, or find somewhere you are looking for.

Present:
Can / can't (for both general and specific ability)

 I can play the piano.

 She can speak English.
 He can't drive – he's too tired.
 We can't come now.

Past:
Could / couldn't (for general ability)

 I could read when I was four.

 She could speak French when she was a child, but now she has forgotten it.
 He couldn't dance at all until he took lessons.
 My grandfather couldn't swim.

Was able to / couldn't (for specific ability)

 When the computer crashed yesterday, I was able to fix it. (not 'I could fix it')
 She was able to pass the exam, even though she hadn't studied much. (Not 'she
could pass')
 He called us because he couldn't find the house.
 I couldn't open the window.

Could + have + past participle (an ability someone had in the past, but
didn't use)

 I could have played the piano well but I didn't practise enough.
 We could have come earlier.
 She could have studied law, but she preferred to become a secretary.

Future:
will / won't be able to (general ability)
 At the end of the course, you will be able to make your own website.
 He won't be able to speak Japanese in a week! It will take months.

can / can't (specific ability)

 I can help you tomorrow

 I can't come to the party

Modal Verbs of Ability

Modal verbs can do many things in English, which is why they are so
common. This lesson shows you how to use modal verbs of ability,
including can and could.

If you think you are ready now, try the modal verbs of ability exercise or
the modal verbs of ablity exercise 2. Here is the lesson:

Modal Verbs of Ability

Three modal verbs show ability in English:

 Can
 Could
 Be Able To

Here are some examples:

Present

 I can play the guitar.

 She can speak German.
 Mike can swim well.

You can see “can” is always followed by a base verb. It does not mater what
the subject is. We say “I can”, “she can”, “they can”, etc. The same is true for
“could” in the past.

Past
  I could sing very well when I was young.
 She could read when she was 4 years old.

Future

 I will be able to drive a car in 2 years.

 He will be able to buy a house next year.

“Able to” is used with many other verb tenses. Take a look at these examples:

 I have been able to visit many countries in my life.

 She used to be able to dance the Tango.
 Mike will have been able to finish by tomorrow.

Negatives

Negatives are formed by using “not”.

 I can not play piano.

 She can’t play piano.

 She could not finish her homework last night.

 They couldn’t finish their homework last night.

 I will not be able to go to the party tonight.

 Susan won’t be able to go to the party tonight.

You should notice the contractions: can’t, couldn’t, and won’t be able to. They
are very common, especially in speaking.

Questions

You can form questions by changing the order of the words.

 Can you drive a car?

 Could he swim?
 Will Doug be able to bring his boots?

Notice that “will be able to” is separated when used in a question:

 Will he be able to finish on time?

 Now you can see how to use modal verbs of ability. Do you think you are
ready for the tests? Try these:

Modal Verbs of Obligation

Click here for all the exercises about modal verbs

We can use have to + infinitive, must + infinitive and should +

infinitive to express obligation (something you have to do).

Present Positive Negative

have to / strong obligation (possibly no obligation

don't have to from outside)
I don't have to work on
Children have to go to school. Sundays.

(sometimes 'have got to')

You don't have to eat anything

you don't like.

must / mustn't strong obligation (possibly negative obligation

based on the speaker's
opinion) You mustn't smoke here.

I must study today.

should / mild negative obligation or

mild obligation or advice
shouldn't advice
You should save some money.
You shouldn't smoke so much.

Be careful about the difference between mustn't and don't have to!
Mustn't means it's not allowed, or it's a bad idea:

 You mustn't eat so much chocolate, you'll be sick

Don't have to means you don't need to do something, but it's fine if you want to
do it:

 I don't have to get up early at the weekend (of course, if I want to get up early,
that's fine, but I can stay in bed if I want).
Past Positive Negative

had to / didn't obligation in the past no obligation in the past

have to
I had to wear a school uniform We didn't have to go to school
when I was a child. on Saturdays.

must* changes to 'had to' -

should have + a past action which didn't

a past action which didn't
pp / shouldn't happen: the advice / regret is
happen: the advice / regret is
have + pp too late
too late
You should have gone to bed
You shouldn't have taken that
earlier, now you have missed
job., it was a bad idea.
the train.

* Remember 'must have done' is a modal verb of deduction or

speculation, not obligation in the past. For example: Julie must have left.
Her coat's not here. See modals of probabilty for more information.

 MORE GRAMMAR LESSONS AND TESTS

Improve your English grammar with more lessons and exercises.

Click on the links below to learn and practice.

 Adjectives
 Articles
 Conditionals
 Countable and Uncountable Nouns
 Gerunds and Infinitives
 Modal Verbs
 Passive Voice
 Prepositions
 Pronouns
 Questions
 Rather and Prefer
 Subject Verb Agreement
 Used To
 Verb Tenses
Learn the use of Modal verbs in the daily life
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express ideas like ability, permission, possibility,
and necessity. Many modal verbs have more than one meaning. The word ‘modal’ is related
to ‘mood’. On the IELTS, there are often questions where you have to choose the right modal
verb according to the context of the sentence.

The following information explains the form of the different modals:

Form

Modals are important for politeness!

Offers = Can I…? / Could you…? / Would you like…?

We use these modals when we make an offer to help someone or suggest doing something.

 Can I help you carry your bags?

 Would you like to join us for a drink?
Requests = Can I…? / Could I…? / Can you…? / Would you…? / Could you…?

We use these modals when we ask someone if it’s OK to do something or if we ask

someone to do something for us.

Could I borrow your tablet for a moment?

Would you explain the procedure to me, please?

Polite suggestions = You could…/ we could… / I think we should…

These modals are used to make suggestions in a diplomatic way.

 You could take a shuttle bus to the airport – it’s less expensive.
 I think we should postpone the meeting.

Permission = Can I…? / May I…? / You can / you may

These modals are usually used in the first person singular when you ask for permission
or authorization to do something. The response is generally in the second person when
you are given permission (or not!).

Can I / May I leave the meeting early?

Yes, you can.

Modals: certainty, ability, advice, obligation, possibility

Certainty = Will / won’t

These modals are what could be considered the first conditional, like saying ‘If there’s too
much traffic, I won’t catch my train.’

There’s too much traffic, I won’t catch my plane…

To express uncertainty in the future, we use may not or might not

May not and might not are about the same as may or might. If we say ‘It might rain’ or ‘It
might not rain’, there’s a 50-50 chance in both cases that it will rain!!

 We may not / might not recruit anymore people in the coming months.

Ability = Can/can’t, could/couldn’t (past), be able to

These modals express your ability to do something and you can substitute the expression ‘be
able to’ for ‘can’ or ‘could’. Of course, you need to conjugate the verb ‘be’ if it’s in the
present, past or future. In fact, you can put ‘be able to’ into any tense (example: present
perfect – I haven’t been able to reach her today).
  I can’t read this, I never learned Spanish.
 I couldn’t tell him because he was out of the office.
 I won’t be able to attend the meeting as I’ll be on vacation.

Advice = should/shouldn’t/ought to

The modal ‘should’ is the most common for giving advice and recommendations. ‘Ought to’
can be used in the negative form (ought not to), but is generally not used in the interrogative
form.

 You should talk to your manager if there’s a problem.

 You shouldn’t interrupt him while his making his presentation.
 They ought to give her more training in English.

Obligation = Must, have to

To speak about obligation, you can use both of these modals. However, ‘must’ cannot be
conjugated in the past and future, so it only has a present or near future meaning.

 You must pay your taxes before April 15th.

 You have to save the data before you close the application.

“Must” in the past and the future

To express obligation in the past, future or other tense, you need to use ‘have to’ and
conjugate the verb ‘have’ in the tense you are using.

 I had to leave the meeting early because it was starting to snow.

 I will have to see him when he gets back.
 He has had to move three times in the past 6 months.

Not necessary = Don’t have to/ don’t need to/needn’t

For the negative of ‘have to’, simply conjugate ‘have’ in the negative form. You can also use
the verb ‘need’ either as a regular verb or as a modal auxiliary.

 You don’t have to write the report in English.

 You don’t need to go there as they will come here.
 You needn’t bother replying; they never read their messages.

Not allowed = Mustn’t, can’t

The negative form of ‘must’ does NOT have the same meaning as the negative form of ‘have
to’. ‘Mustn’t’ means something is forbidden or not authorized. It’s a very strong term. ‘Can’t’
is another possibility.

 You mustn’t smoke in front of the building as it gives a bad image of the company.
 You can’t enter the building without an ID card.
Possibility /speculation = May, might, could, may not, might not, must, can’t

We use these modals to express the idea of possibility or to speculate about something that’s
happening or has happened.

 We could have problems with the new strategy. (We don’t know for sure.)
 We might not obtain the contract. (It’s possible, but we aren’t sure.)
 There may be a strike next week. (There’s a possibility, but it’s not sure.)
 There’s a lot of noise in the next office. They must be having a party. (We suppose
there’s a party.)
 There’s a charge of $70 000 for one computer on this invoice! It can’t be right! (We
suppose there’s a mistake.)

Speculation in the past = may, might, must, can’t, couldn’t + have done, have been
done or have been doing

 She bought the shares when they were inexpensive and sold them at their highest
value, so she must have made a lot of money. (We suppose she made money at that
time.)
 I don’t know why Mr. Brandon wasn’t at the meeting. He might have been delayed in
traffic. (We suppose he had a problem at that time.)
 You couldn’t have seen Ms. Jamison at the concert, because she was out of town at
the time. (It wasn’t possible that you saw her at that time.)

Modal verbs of obligation

Modal verbs part 2 - obligation :
must, have to, should and ought to
There are two types of modal verbs of obligation ;

 those that primarily express a firm obligation or necessity - must and have to
 those that express a recommendation or moral obligation - should and ought to

Firm obligation, etc. - must and have to

The verb must only exists in the simple present and present perfect forms.
While the present form can express obligation, necessity, certainty or strong probability,
the present perfect forms only express a strongly felt opinion or supposition.

All persons Present Present perfect

Affirmative must must have

 Negative must not, mustn't must not have, mustn't have

If other tenses are required, the speaker or writer must use forms of the synonymous modal
verb "have to" . This modal auxiliary has all normal tenses, including progressive or
continuous forms; these are not common, but need to be used in some cases.

Present
Principal tenses Present Past Future
perfect

has to, has had to

Affirmative: had to will have to
have to have had to

does not
have to,
did not
do not have has not had to
have to will not have to
Negative; to , have not had
didn't have won't have to
doesn't have to
to *
to
don't have to

am having to has been was having

Progressive or is having to, having to to will be having
continuous are having have been were to
to having to having to

* The form "had not to" is sometimes used, but it is generally considered to be archaic.

Got to :
In spoken English, and in the present form only, have to is often substantiated by the
word got;
For example an alternative to I have to is I've got to.
For more on this, see Get and got

Examples of must and have to being used to express :

a. Firm obligation or necessity
b. Certainty or strong probability.
c. Must have only : supposition

a1) You must see a doctor at once !

a2) I have to be at school tomorrow at 8 a.m. I have an exam !
a21) I've got to be at school tomorrow at .....
a3) You mustn't touch that plate, it's too hot.
a4) I had to see a doctor, because I felt very sick.
a5) I had to break the window ! I lost my key !
a6) The manager isn't here, he's had to go to Washington on urgent business.
a7) Tomorrow the President will have to open Parliament.
a8) She's having to move because she can't stand the noise.
a9) I'm having to take out this detonator very slowly, to avoid an explosion.
a10) Oh you're so kind! You didn't have to do it as well as that !

b1) He must be over eighty, he was born in 1930.

b2) If my brother's not in London, he has to be in New York.
b3) I've got all the right answers, I must be one of the winners !
b4) If I remember correctly, it has to be here.

c1) I can't find my laptop, I must have left it in the train.

c2) If they're out, they mustn't have heard the news.
Attention !
Take care to distinguish correctly between "had to" and "must have"
They had to go to London
= They were obliged to go to London
They must have gone to Chicago
= In my opinion, they have certainly gone to Chicago.
► Other uses of the verb have: see the verb to have.

Recommendation or moral obligation - should and ought to

The verb should only exists in the simple present, and present perfect forms
Forms of should

All persons Present Present perfect

Affirmative should should have

Negatve should not, shouldn't should not have, shouldn't have

The verb ought to only exists in simple present and present perfect forms
Forms of ought to

All persons Present Present perfect

Affirmative ought to ought to have

ought not to, oughtn't

Negative ought not to have, oughtn't to have
to

Should and ought to are more or less synonymous

Examples:
a1) You should stop smoking ( = You ought to stop smoking.)
a2) It's raining hard, the children ought to come indoors.
a3) I didn't know you were married ! You ought to have told me !
a4) If you'd wanted to succeed, you should have worked harder at school.
a5) This pullover's got holes in it, I should get a new one.
a6) This pullover's got holes in it, I ought to get a new one.
a7) That's awful ! You really oughtn't to have done that, you know !

English Grammar: Modals of Obligation

When we talk about obligation in English, we can use “must”, “have to”, “need to” and
“can’t”.

To say something is necessary

Must
We use “must” to talk about obligations. Often, when we use “must”, the authority for
the obligation comes from the person who is speaking.

Examples:

“You must do your homework every night.” (Because I say you must!)

“I must stop smoking!” (Because I think it’s a good idea to stop.)

Remember that “must” is a modal auxiliary verb. This means that it doesn’t change its
ending (I must, he must, etc) and that it’s followed by the infinitive without ‘to’.
(“You must phone me” not “You must to phone me”.)
For more information on modal auxiliary verbs, see our page on ability.
Have to
We can also use “have to” to talk about rules and regulations. The authority for the
obligation doesn’t come from the person who is speaking. Perhaps the rule is a
general law or obligation.

“In England you have to pay tax.”

“We have to check everyone’s ID.”

“Have to” is a normal verb. Use “do” or “does” to make a question, and “don’t” or
“doesn’t” to make a negative.

“Do you have to vote in an election?”

“He doesn’t have to wear a uniform to school.”
Have got to
“Have got to” is common in British English and is stronger than “have to”.

“I have got to fill in this form. The deadline is tomorrow.”

“She has got to study hard to pass the exam.”

To make the question and negative form, use “have”, “has”, “haven’t” and “hasn’t”:

“Have you got to leave early tomorrow?”

Need to
We use “need to” to talk about what is necessary.

Examples:

“You need to go to the hairdresser’s. Your hair is very long.”

“She needs to go to the doctor. She gets headaches every day.”

“Need to” is like “have to”: use do / does to make questions:

“Do you need to pass an exam to get into university?”

“Does she need to get a job?”

To say something isn’t an obligation

To say there is no obligation, use “don’t / doesn’t have to” or “don’t / doesn’t need to”.

Examples:

“You don’t have to bring food on the trip.”

“She doesn’t have to work in the evening.”

“I don’t need to pay now. I can pay later.”

“They don’t need to speak English in their job.”

Typical grammar mistake! Be careful when you use “don’t have to”. It does not mean
the same as “mustn’t” – see below.
To say something is forbidden

To say that there is an obligation not to do something, use “mustn’t”.

“You mustn’t play here – it’s dangerous!”
“He mustn’t eat peanuts. He’s allergic to nuts.”

We can also use “can’t”:

“You can’t go out tonight. You’ve got homework.”

Other expressions

be allowed to
“We’re allowed to take an hour for lunch.”
“We aren’t allowed to leave early.”
“Are you allowed to use the internet at work?

should
Should is a weak obligation, and we use it to give advice.

“You should study hard so you can pass the exam.”

“He should see a doctor.”

The negative form is “shouldn’t”:

“You shouldn’t smoke. It’s bad for your health.”

How to Make Requests and Offers in

English
Learn these common ways for making requests and offers so that you sound polite.

Making requests – asking someone to do something for you

These are the three most common ways for making requests:

“Could you open the door for me, please?”

“Would you mind opening the door for me, please?”
“Can you open the door for me, please?’
Speaking tip: could and can are followed by the verb without to. (See our page
on modal auxiliary verbs for more grammar information.)
Would you mind is followed by the verb and -ing.

Making requests – asking if you can do something

Here are the four most common ways for making requests (when you want to do
something):

“Can I use your computer, please?”

“Could I borrow some money from you, please?”
“Do you mind if I turn up the heating?”
“Would you mind if I turned up the heating?”

Speaking tip: Could is more polite that can.

Do you mind if…” is followed by the verb in the present tense, but would you
mind if… is followed by the verb in the past tense.
When you’re using these two sentences, don’t use please. It’s already polite enough!

Offering to do something for another person

You can make an offer using a phrase like Can I… ?, Shall I… ?, Would you like
me to… ?
For example:

“Can I help you?”

“Shall I open the window for you?”

“Would you like another coffee?”

“Would you like me to answer the phone?”

“I’ll do the photocopying, if you like.”

Shall, can and will are followed by the verb without to.
Shall is particularly British English and is more formal than can. Would you like… is
followed either by a noun, or by an object pronoun and the verb with to.
Responding to offers

These English dialogues show you ways to accept or reject offers made to you.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes please. I’d like to know what time the train leaves.”
“Can I help you?”
“No thanks, I’m just looking.” (In a shop.)
“Shall I open the window for you?”
“Yes please. That would be very kind of you.”
“Would you like another coffee?”
“No thanks.” Or, “No thank you.”
“Would you like another coffee?”
“Yes please, that would be lovely.” Or, “Yes please, I’d love one.”
“Would you like me to answer the phone?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.” Or, “If you could.”
(Don’t answer “Yes, I would”, as this sounds like you expect someone to do it for
you.)
“I’ll do the photocopying, if you like.”
“It’s OK, I can do it.” Or, “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.
“Or, “Thank you, that would be great.”

Modal Verbs of Possibility

Several modal verbs show possibility, including might, may, could, and must.
This modal verbs for possibility lesson shows you how to use them all correctly
in English. You can find links to the exercises at the bottom of the page.

Modal Verbs for Possibility Structure

Modal Verb + Base Verb

May/Might/Could/Must + Base Verb

Examples:

 I may eat dinner at 7:00 pm.

 She might work late tonight.
 They must be tired.

May

May shows possibility in the present or the future.

 Present: Where are my keys? They may be in the car.

 Future: I may go to the party tonight.

May is formal and is often found in writing, like this example:

 Side effects of this medication may include upset stomach and fever.

Might

Possibility in the present or future.

 Where are my keys? They might be in the car.

 I might go to the party tonight.

Might is less formal than may, and is more common in conversation

Could
Something is possible in the present or future.

Present: Where are my keys? They could be in the car.

Future: We could go to the party tonight.

Could shows options, or possibility.

Must

Certainty, or the belief of certainty, from the speaker.

Certain:

 Everyone is wearing a jacket. It must be cold.

Belief of certainty:

 He was running for 2 hours. He must be tired. (Although it seems obvious,

it is not a fact that the runner is tired.)

Have to

Certainty, or the belief of certainty, from the speaker.

Certain:

 Everyone is wearing a jacket. It has to be cold.

Belief of certainty:

 He was running for 2 hours. He has to be tired. (Although it seems obvious,

it is not a fact that the runner is tired.)

Have to is much less formal than must, and is common in conversation.

Past Possibility

May, might, and could are all used to show possibility in the past.

Modal Verb + Have + Past Participle

 He might have brought the cake.

 She may have gone home early.
 They could have worked late.
Must can be used in the same way to show certainty in the past.

 He must have won the game.

Might Not vs. Could Not

Although might and could express possibility in a similar way, the negative
forms of might and could are different.

Might not shows that something probably is not true.

 These books might not be the teachers.

Might not shows that something probably will not happen in the future.

 I might not go to the party tonight.

Could not shows that something is impossible.

 This could not be the only book available.

 She could not know who my friend is. They have never met.