Modal Verbs and Expressions Quiz

Modal Verbs and Similar Expressions

• Compiled by Nur Hidayah Md Yazid
• Main reference: Fuchs, Bonner & Westheimer (2017), Focus on Grammar, 5th Edition, Pearson Education

Types of Modal Verbs

• Ability and Possibility: (can, could, be able to) - used for present and past ability and possibility. Could is used for past ability or possibility, while can is for present. Be able to is also used for ability, often to describe future ability.

• Permission: (can, could, may, do you mind if) - used to ask for and give permission. Could is more formal than can. May and Do you mind if are even more formal and polite ways of asking for permission.

• Request: (can, could, will, would, would you mind) - used to make requests. Using could, would, or would you mind + a gerund is a polite way to ask someone to do something. Can and will are less polite.

• Necessity: (have to, have got to, must, can't) - used to describe a necessity or obligation. Have to is the most common way to express necessity in conversation and writing, followed by have got to. Must is stronger and often used for rules or regulations. Can't is used to express a lack of necessity.

• Expectations: (be supposed to) - used to express different types of expectations, which can be for present or future.

• Future Possibility: (may, might, could) - used to express the possibility of something happening in the future. Also be aware when using will or will not for certainty.

• Present Conclusions: (must, have (got) to, may, might, could, can't) - used to express conclusions and guesses based on available facts and evidence. Use affirmative modals for probable/possible conclusions, and negative modals for impossible ones.