English tenses › Modal verbs
Modal verbs
Modal verbs (can, could, should, must, might, may, would) are not a tense. They add meaning to the main verb: ability, advice, obligation, possibility, politeness.
Form
When to use it
Ability
can, could
She can speak four languages.
Advice
should, ought to
You should try the pastries here.
Obligation
must, have to
You must wear a helmet.
Possibility
might, may, could
It might rain later.
Requests and politeness
can, could, would
Could you help me?
Examples
- I can’t hear you.
- You should get some rest.
- We might be late.
- Would you like some tea?
- He must be tired.
- May I come in?
Common mistake
She cans swim. · You must to go.
She can swim. · You must go.
Modal verbs never take -s and are followed by the base form without to.
Modal verbs or Future Simple?
Will is also a modal verb, but Tense Lens shows it as Future Simple because it is the main way to talk about the future. More about Future Simple.
Hear it in videos
See it in real speech. Paste any YouTube link into Tense Lens and every tense in the video is highlighted as it is spoken, with a map of where each one appears.