Do you know how and when to use modal verbs in English? What do they consist of and what are they for? The use of modal verbs is undoubted of great importance to writing and speaking properly in English. Without them, the English language would indeed be much more difficult.


Now, there are many people who get confused with modal verbs and try to conjugate them or put them in certain verb tenses. This is something that is absolutely wrong in English and that we have to correct when speaking.


To find out how good you are at using, you can ask us for a level test in English so you can see your knowledge of the subject.


If you stay with us, we are going to tell you some things you should know about modal verbs.



What are modal verbs in English?


Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that will never function as the main verb. That is, they are verbs that must always accompany another verb.


This does not happen with some modal auxiliary verbs such as the verb to be, to do, or to have, since these can be used independently, without accompanying another verb.


There are different types of modal verbs: some express modality, others possibility, necessity, or even the future, and the conditional.


A rule that must be taken into account with this type of verb is that they are not conjugated and do not have the "to" in front as in the infinitives. For example, the verb can is used as-is and means power. If we want to say "can" in the past tense, we cannot express it using the same verb, we must use the formula be able to, which means "to be able to".

What are the modal verbs in English?

Next, we are going to see the modal verbs in English and some examples that may be useful to you.


Will


The modal verb "will" expresses the will to do something and is generally used to form the future.


For example: “Claudia will visit her father next month” (Claudia will visit her father next month).


Shall


We also use it to form the future, although shall has a much more formal character. You can see it in the following example:


"Where shall we meet?" (Where will we meet?).


should


The word should is a modal verb of obligation, which in Spanish we could translate as "deber".


For example, "I should wash the dishes."


Ought to


The modal verb “ought to” is not very common, but it has the same meaning as “should”. Although it is not so popular, it is also important that you learn it in case you ever hear it or it appears in an exam.


It is important to know that, like other modal verbs, "s" does not arrive in the third person singular.


In addition to using this verb to indicate duty, it is also used to express an assumption or possibility. For example: "He ought to be at home"


May


The modal verb “may” indicates possibility, it is stronger than “might”, or in other words, it is more likely to happen. "It may snow this weekend." We also use it to ask questions where we ask for instructions, such as: "May I do this?" ("I can do this?").


mighty


Might is a modal verb that also indicates possibility, but it is less strong than "may". That is, when we use might, we generally imply that it is less likely to occur. For example: "They might be at home." The person, by using this verb, indicates less security or being less sure if this is true or not.


We also use might to formally request permission, especially in the UK: “Might I use your computer?” (Can I use your computer?). Might also be used to make suggestions, even if we are not sure if they will listen to us or not: “You might visit the British Museum in London”.


Must


The modal verb “must” is a verb that has a similar meaning to “should” and “ought to”, but it is stronger. That is, it indicates a more resounding obligation than if we use one of the other two verbs. Surely, you will have heard many times the expression: "This is a must".


What comes to imply that when we say "must", we are saying that something is "essential" or "mandatory", that we have the obligation to do it.


For example: "My dad must stay at home tonight."


would


Finally, we have the modal verb “would”, which is what we use to form the conditional in English. It indicates precisely that: condition. For example: "If I had money, I would travel around the world."


We hope that this post has helped you to get to know modal verbs in English a little better. If you still have doubts, we invite you to attend our English classes in Barcelona, ​​where you will be able to learn the language better in a very fun, intuitive, and practical way.