Modal Verbs

Click here for all the exercises about modal verbs

Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:

can could may might will

would must shall should ought to

Modals are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.

2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?').
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Probability:
First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something
happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of
deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

For example:

 It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.

 I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.
 This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!

For example:

I am waiting for Julie with another friend, David.

I ask: 'Where is Julie?'
David guesses:

 She must be on the bus. (I'm fairly sure this is a good guess)
 She might come soon. (maybe)
 She could be lost. (maybe)
 She may be in the wrong room. (maybe)
 She can't be at home. (I'm fairly sure this isn't true)
 She'll be at work now. (I am sure)
 She should be at work by now. (I expect her to be there)
 must have + past participle (to talk about the past)

 She must have forgotten about our date.

Put in 'must + infinitive' or 'must + have + past participle':

1) Keiko always does really well on exams. She must study (study) a
lot.

2) That woman drives a very expensive car. She must have (have) a
lot of money.

3) You must practice (practise) a lot before you gave your speech. It
was really good.

4) When Lizzie got home yesterday there were flowers on the table.
Her husband must have bought (buy) them..

5) Where is my purse? I saw it earlier, so it must be (be) in this

room..

6) Sarah couldn't find her glasses. She thought she could

leave (leave) them at her office..

7) It would be (be) cold outside. That man in the street is wearing a

coat.

8) All my plants could be (be) dead! I forgot to water them before I

went on holiday.

9) Susie is so late! She could miss (miss) the train!..

10) There's rubbish all over my garden! A fox may be (be) in the bin.

11) Anna has a huge library in her house. She might

love (love) books.

12) Oh no, I don't have my keys! I must have left (leave) them in the
taxi..
13) When Lucy got home, she found the ice cream had melted.
It have been (be) too hot in the car..

14) If you haven't eaten all day, you may be (be) hungry..

15) Jimmy and Louisa could be (be) very tired. They have a new
baby.

16) It may rain (rain) a lot in the night. There are puddles
everywhere..

17) David might be (be) happy. His girlfriend just agreed to marry
him.

18) What an amazing kitchen you've got! You would

like (like) cooking.

19) John have ate (eat) all the biscuits! There are none left.

20) When I got up this morning, the kitchen was spotless. Lily have
tidies (tidy) it before she went to bed last night.

Complete with must or can’t.

1) Why is that man looking around like that? He must be lost.

2) That woman can’t be a doctor! She looks far too young.

3) John always fails the tests, even though he's clever. He can’t study
enough.

4) The food is really good at that restaurant. They can have a great
chef.

5) Who's that at the door? It must be Susie - she'll still be at work

now..

6) This must be John's house. This house has a red door and it's
number 24, just like he said.
7) Julie must have much money or she would buy a new car. Her old
one is falling apart.

8) He must be at work now, can he? It's nearly midnight.

9) What a lot of lovely flowers you have! You can really like
gardening..

10) David can’t drink a lot of coffee. He's finished two packets
already this week.

11) This must be Jamie's coat. He's tall and this is tiny.

12) Her life can’t be easy. She has four children and very little
money.

13) Where's Lucy? She must be at the library, as she often goes there
at this time..

14) This bill can’t be right! £50 for two cups of coffee!

15) Emma's amazingly good at the piano. She can practise a lot.

16) The car in front is driving so slowly that I think they must be
looking for something..

17) You've already eaten enough for three people! You can’t still be
hungry!.

18) This book must belong to the library. It's certainly not mine.

19) It only takes three hours to fly from London to Sydney?

That can’t be correct!

20) There must be something wrong with the fridge! It's making a
very unusual noise.
Commented [g1]: These are a Little bit more difficult than the
Complete with can could have to must might should other exercises. IF you have troubles when solving them, leave
them and we will solve them together.
1. Ted's flight from Amsterdam took more than 11 hours. He may be exhausted after
such a long flight. He should stay in tonight and get some rest.

2. If you want to get a better feeling for how the city is laid out, you must walk
downtown and explore the waterfront.

3. Hiking the trail to the peak could be dangerous if you are not well prepared for
dramatic weather changes. You must research the route a little more before you
attempt the ascent.

4. When you have a small child in the house, you shouldn’t leave small objects lying
around. Such objects might be swallowed, causing serious injury or even death.

5. Dave: Can you hold your breath for more than a minute?
Nathan: No, I can't.

6. Jenny's engagement ring is enormous! It must have cost a fortune.

7. Please make sure to water my plants while I am gone. If they don't get enough
water, they may die.

8. I could speak Arabic fluently when I was a child and we lived in Egypt. But after we
moved back to Canada, I had very little exposure to the language and forgot almost
everything I knew as a child. Now, I can just say a few things in the language.

9. The book is optional. My professor said we should read it if we needed extra credit.
But we may not read it if we don't want do.

10. Leo: Where is the spatula? It could be in this drawer but it's not here.
Nancy: I just did a load of dishes last night and they're still in the dish washer.
It may be in there.

11. You should take your umbrella along with you today. The weather forecaster on
the news said there's a storm north of here and it may rain later on this afternoon.

12. Can we pull over at the next rest stop? I really must use the bathroom and I don't
know if I might hold it until we get to Chicago.

13. Oh no! Frank's wallet is lying on the coffee table. He would have left it here last
night.

14. Ned: May I borrow your lighter for a minute?

Stephen: Sure, no problem. Actually, you may keep it if you want to. I've given up
smoking.

15. I can’t believe she said that to Megan! She could’t insult her cooking in front of
everyone at the party last night. She could have just said she was full or had some
salad if she didn't like the meal.

16. Do you - chew with your mouth open like that? Geez, it's making me sick watching
you eat that piece of pizza.

17. Mrs. Scarlett's body was found in the lounge just moments ago, and it's still warm!
Nobody has left the mansion this evening, so the killer may be someone in this room.
It could be any one of us!!!
18. Ted: I don't know why Denise started crying when I mentioned the wedding.
Pamela: It must have been what you said about her brother. Or, perhaps she is just
nervous. After all, the big day is tomorrow.

19. Do you always say the first thing that pops into your head? Should you think once
in a while before you speak?

20. I was reading the book last night before I went to bed. I never took it out of this
room. It may be lying around here somewhere. Where might it be?

Ability
We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability.

For example:

 She can speak six languages. (present)

 My grandfather could play golf very well. (past)
 I can't drive. (present)
 At the end of the course, you will be able to make your own website.
(future)

Put in 'can', 'can't', 'could' or 'couldn't'. If none of these is

possible use 'be able to' in the correct tense.
1) Can you swim when you were 10?.

2) We could not get to the meeting on time yesterday, because the train was
delayed by one hour..

3) He can arrive at the party on time, even after missing the train, so he was
very pleased.

4) He's amazing, he can speak five languages, including Chinese..

5) I could drive a car until I was 34. Then I moved to the countryside, so I had
to learn...

6) I looked everywhere for my glasses but I couldn’t find them anywhere..

7) I searched for your house for ages. luckily I could find it in the end.

8) She's seven years old, but she can read yet. Her parents are getting her extra
lessons.
9) I read the book three times, but I cann’t understand it..

10) James could speak Japanese when he lived in Japan, but he's forgotten most
of it now.

11) I couldn’t understand the chapter we had to read for homework. It was so
difficult..

12) I cann’t lift this box - it's too heavy! Would you help me?

13) Lucy can make it to our meeting after all. She's stuck in traffic.

14) John can play tennis really well. He's champion of his club..

15) Unfortunately, I really cann’t sing at all. No-one in my family is musical

either...

16) When the car broke down I was really pleased because I could solve the
problem.

17) Julian can play excellent golf when he was only ten..

18) My grandmother can use a computer until last month. Since then she's been
taking lessons at the library.

19) I cann’t open this window! I think it's stuck.

20) Gill cann’t play the piano. She has never studied it.

Obligation and Advice

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary
or unnecessary, or to give advice.

Present Positive Negative

have to strong obligation

no obligation
/ (possibly from outside)
 don't
 Children have to  I don't have to
have to
go to school. work on Sundays.

(sometimes 'have got

to')
 You don't have to
eat anything you
don't like.

must / negative obligation

strong obligation
mustn't (possibly based on the
(possibly based on the
speaker's opinion or
speaker's opinion or
law)
law)
 You mustn't smoke
 I must study today.
here.

should / advice negative advice

shouldn't
 You should save  You shouldn't
some money. smoke so much.

Put in 'mustn't' or 'don't / doesn't have to':

1) We have a lot of work tomorrow. You mustn’t be late.

2) You don’t tell anyone what I just told you. It's a secret..

3) The museum is free. You mustn’t pay to get in.

4) Children mustn’t tell lies. It's very naughty.

5) John's a millionaire. He doesn’t go to work..

6) I haven’t to do my washing because my mother does it for me..

7) We don’t rush. We've got plenty of time.

8) You don’t smoke inside the school.

9) You can borrow my new dress, but you haven not to get it dirty.

10) We mustn’t miss the train, because it's the last one tonight.

11) She doesn’t do this work today, because she can do it tomorrow.

12) I don’t clean the floor today because I cleaned it yesterday.

13) We mustn’t forget to lock all the doors before we leave.

14) We mustn’t stay in a hotel in London; we can stay with my brother.

15) I haven’t to spend too much money today, as I've only got a little left.

16) They don’t get up early today, because it's Sunday..

17) I mustn’t eat too much cake or I'll get fat!..

18) We don’t be late for the exam..

19) You mustn’t tidy up now. I'll do it later..

Permission
We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission.
We also use modal verbs to say something is not allowed.

For example:

 Could I leave early today, please? Yes, you could.

 Can we swim in the lake? No, you can’t. It’s very cold outside.
 May I open the door? Yes, please.
 Can we go to the park? Yes, you can.

1. Mom __can__ I go with Jill to the school play?

2. __Can___ you lend me your pencil please? I left mine at home.

3. Hello, __Could__ I speak with Mr. Smith please?

4. Waiter, _Could___ I trouble you for a glass of water please?

5. __Can___ we smoke in here?

6. You __May__ go to the beach dressed like that young lady!

10. __May___ you give me hand with this puzzle? I can't solve it.