Explanation + Extra Practice!
1. CAN
Use: Ability / Possibility / Permission
Base Sentence: She can swim very well.
- ✅ Affirmative: She can swim very well.
- ❌ Negative: She can’t (cannot) swim very well.
- ❓ Positive Question: Can she swim very well?
- ❓ Negative Question: Can’t she swim very well?
2. COULD
Use: Past ability / Polite permission / Possibility
Base Sentence: He could finish the project by Friday.
- ✅ Affirmative: He could finish the project by Friday.
- ❌ Negative: He couldn’t finish the project by Friday.
- ❓ Positive Question: Could he finish the project by Friday?
- ❓ Negative Question: Couldn’t he finish the project by Friday?
3. MAY
Use: Formal permission / Possibility
Base Sentence: They may join us later.
- ✅ Affirmative: They may join us later.
- ❌ Negative: They may not join us later. (no contraction)
- ❓ Positive Question: May they join us later? (formal)
- ❓ Negative Question: May they not join us later? (very formal, uncommon)
⚠️ Note: Negative questions with “may” are very rare in everyday English.
4. MIGHT
Use: Weak possibility / Suggestion
Base Sentence: It might rain this afternoon.
- ✅ Affirmative: It might rain this afternoon.
- ❌ Negative: It might not rain this afternoon. (no contraction)
- ❓ Positive Question: Might it rain this afternoon? (formal)
- ❓ Negative Question: Might it not rain this afternoon? (formal, rarely used)
5. SHOULD
Use: Advice / Recommendation / Expectation
Base Sentence: You should call your parents.
- ✅ Affirmative: You should call your parents.
- ❌ Negative: You shouldn’t call your parents.
- ❓ Positive Question: Should you call your parents?
- ❓ Negative Question: Shouldn’t you call your parents?
6. MUST
Use: Obligation / Strong recommendation / Deduction
Base Sentence: She must wear a uniform at school.
- ✅ Affirmative: She must wear a uniform at school.
- ❌ Negative: She must not wear a uniform at school. (means it’s not allowed)
- ❓ Positive Question: Must she wear a uniform at school?
- ❓ Negative Question: Mustn’t she wear a uniform at school? (rare, sounds old-fashioned)
⚠️ Be careful: “must not” = prohibition, not absence of obligation.
7. WILL
Use: Future certainty / Promise / Decision
Base Sentence: We will visit Grandma tomorrow.
- ✅ Affirmative: We will (we’ll) visit Grandma tomorrow.
- ❌ Negative: We won’t (will not) visit Grandma tomorrow.
- ❓ Positive Question: Will we visit Grandma tomorrow?
- ❓ Negative Question: Won’t we visit Grandma tomorrow?
8. WOULD
Use: Politeness / Hypothetical situations / Past repeated actions
Base Sentence: He would travel more if he had time.
- ✅ Affirmative: He would (he’d) travel more if he had time.
- ❌ Negative: He wouldn’t travel more if he had time.
- ❓ Positive Question: Would he travel more if he had time?
- ❓ Negative Question: Wouldn’t he travel more if he had time?
9. SHALL
Use: Formal suggestion / Legal obligation / Future (UK English)
Base Sentence: Shall we start the meeting now?
- ✅ Affirmative: We shall start the meeting now. (formal, UK)
- ❌ Negative: We shan’t (shall not) start the meeting now. (rarely used)
- ❓ Positive Question: Shall we start the meeting now?
- ❓ Negative Question: Shan’t we start the meeting now? (very rare)
⚠️ Shall is mainly used in formal or British English. In American English, “will” is preferred.
Extra Practice
🌟 Easy Modal Verbs Quiz: Change the Form!
Change each sentence into the form requested (affirmative, negative, positive question, or negative question).
1. CAN
Sentence: She can drive a car.
Task: Change to the negative form.
2. COULD
Sentence: He couldn’t swim last year.
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
3. MAY
Sentence: They may go to the concert.
Task: Change to the negative form.
4. MIGHT
Sentence: It might not snow today.
Task: Change to the positive question form.
5. SHOULD
Sentence: Should we leave now?
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
6. MUST
Sentence: They must be quiet in the library.
Task: Change to the negative form.
7. WILL
Sentence: Will she come to the party?
Task: Change to the negative question form.
8. WOULD
Sentence: He would never lie.
Task: Change to the positive question form.
9. SHALL
Sentence: We shall meet at noon. (formal)
Task: Change to the negative form.
✅ Answers
- She can’t drive a car.
- He could swim last year.
- They may not go to the concert.
- Might it snow today?
- We should leave now.
- They must not be quiet in the library. (Note: means it’s not allowed)
- Won’t she come to the party?
- Would he ever lie?
- We shall not meet at noon.
🔷 Modal Verbs Quiz (Intermediate): Change the Form!
Change each sentence into the form requested (affirmative, negative, positive question, or negative question).
1. CAN
Sentence: He can finish the project by Friday.
Task: Change to the positive question form.
2. COULD
Sentence: She could have called earlier.
Task: Change to the negative form.
3. MAY
Sentence: We may have missed the bus.
Task: Change to the affirmative question form.
4. MIGHT
Sentence: They might join us later.
Task: Change to the negative question form.
5. SHOULD
Sentence: You shouldn’t have said that.
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
6. MUST
Sentence: She must have forgotten the meeting.
Task: Change to the positive question form.
7. WILL
Sentence: They won’t agree to those terms.
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
8. WOULD
Sentence: Would he have helped if I had asked?
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
9. SHALL
Sentence: Shall we go over the details now?
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
✅ Answers
- Can he finish the project by Friday?
- She couldn’t have called earlier.
- May we have missed the bus?
- Might they not join us later? (Still formal, but acceptable in written or careful speech)
- You should have said that.
- Must she have forgotten the meeting?
- They will agree to those terms.
- He would have helped if I had asked.
- We shall go over the details now.
🔶 Modal Verbs Quiz (Advanced): Change the Form!
Change each sentence into the form requested (affirmative, negative, positive question, or negative question).
1. CAN
Sentence: The report can be completed by next week. (passive)
Task: Change to the negative question form.
2. COULD
Sentence: He could have been promoted if he had worked harder. (third conditional)
Task: Change to the affirmative question form.
3. MAY
Sentence: The data may have been lost during the update.
Task: Change to the negative form.
4. MIGHT
Sentence: She might have been told about the changes. (passive)
Task: Change to the affirmative question form.
5. SHOULD
Sentence: You should have been more careful with your words.
Task: Change to the negative question form.
6. MUST
Sentence: The documents must have been submitted already.
Task: Change to the negative form.
7. WILL
Sentence: Will the client have received the contract by tomorrow?
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
8. WOULD
Sentence: I would have gone if I had known earlier.
Task: Change to the negative question form.
9. SHALL
Sentence: Shall we start the meeting now? (polite suggestion)
Task: Change to the affirmative form.
✅ Answers
- Can’t the report be completed by next week?
- Could he have been promoted if he had worked harder?
- The data may not have been lost during the update.
- Might she have been told about the changes?
- Shouldn’t you have been more careful with your words?
- The documents must not have been submitted already.
- The client will have received the contract by tomorrow.
- Wouldn’t you have gone if you had known earlier?
- We shall start the meeting now.