Modals
Can, Could, May, Might, Should, Must📖 Modal Verbs
Can / Could
Ability: "I can swim."
Permission: "You can go."
Request: "Could you help me?"
May / Might
Possibility: "It may rain."
Permission: "May I come in?"
Should
Advice: "You should study."
Obligation: "We should help."
Must
Strong obligation: "You must stop."
Certainty: "She must be tired."
Choose the correct modal
Modals: obligation, advice and deduction
Original practice material · explained answers · no official-exam attribution
Understand the rule
A modal is followed by the base verb without to, except in expressions such as ought to. Can describes ability or permission in context. Should often gives advice. Must can express a strong obligation or a confident deduction; have to often expresses an external requirement. Mustn’t means prohibition, while don’t have to means absence of obligation. May, might and could can express possibility. A perfect modal uses modal + have + past participle to refer to a past situation.
Follow a method
Identify the communicative meaning before selecting a modal. Check whether you are advising, forbidding, describing ability or making a deduction. Distinguish present and past reference. Avoid adding -s to a modal or using two modals together.
Worked example
Practise and explain your answer
01Complete a prohibition: You ___ smoke here.
02Give advice to a tired student.
03Correct: He cans speak English.
04Express uncertainty about a past event.
05Explain: We don’t have to wear a uniform.
MathMaroc · Guided practice
Choose the intended meaning
Practise, use a hint, then read the explanation. This activity does not give an official examination grade.