Modals are words that function as auxiliaries to the main verb. They add additional meaning to the main verb. When modals are used, the main verb is always in the basic form.
The modals are written in red letters.
| Fatima will move to New York with her husband this month. She can speak English well; however, she should continue to study to improve her writing skills. She would work as a nurse if she could pass the qualifying exams. In the immediate future, she might work as a saleswoman in her brother-in-law's carpet business. |
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The Nine Modals |
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will |
the future tense be going to... Used to express something that will happen at a later time |
would |
the conditional Used to express something hypothetical that is not currently true |
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Fatima will study nursing when she comes to the United States. |
If Fatima learned enough English, she would study nursing. |
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shall
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the future tense be going to... Used in formal English to make the future for the first person |
should |
ought to... Used to represent an obligation |
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Fatima said, "I shall receive my passport next week." |
Fatima's husband said that she should help his brother in the carpet business. |
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can
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be able to... Used to express ability in the present |
could
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be able to... Used to express ability in the past |
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Fatima can speak English well, but she can't write well enough to pass the TOEFL exam. |
Fatima could recite many portions of the Koran from memory when she was only fifteen years old. |
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may
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permission Used to request permission
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might
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possibility Used to express possibility, or "maybe" |
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Fatima's husband has promised that she may study nursing if she works in his brother's carpet business for two years. |
Fatima and her husband might purchase a home in New York or New Jersey. |
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must
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have to..., need to... Used to express a strong suggestion |
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Both Fatima and her husband must understand that life in the United States is very different from life in North Africa. |
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