Modal Auxiliary Verbs are one of the types of Auxiliary Verbs which facilitate the main verbs providing more information like- mood, possibility, time, expectation, permission, ability and obligation.
One main property of Modal Auxiliary Verbs is that they never change form; either while referring to singular or plural nouns. For Ex- They can, he can, she can, it can and I can. The Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘can’ remains same for I, he, she, we, they, singular noun or a plural noun. Similarly all other Modal Auxiliary Verbs never change forms with respect to the nouns.
The following are the frequently used Modal Auxiliary Verbs in English-
Can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must and ought.
As we know that Modal Auxiliary Verbs facilitate the main verbs and express possibility, expectation, permission etc. We will briefly go through what does each of Modal Verb expresses with the help of Example Sentences.
“Auxiliary Verb Can”
Modal Auxiliary verb ‘can’ is used to express ability, request and possibility, as we will see in the following examples.
The above sentences use ‘can’ as a Modal Auxiliary Verb to express the ability of completing a specific task (verb).
The Negative form of modal Verb ‘can’ can also be used to express inability by complementing it with ‘not’. For Ex-
‘Cannot ‘is also expressed as ‘can’t’ in short form-
All the above sentences express the nature of the outcome, if a particular action is taken. That is, if two languages are learned, then it can be difficult and it can be helpful to call the police. Please note that ‘can’ only expresses a possibility but not certainty.
The negative form of ‘can’ can also be used to express Non Possibility or Disbelief as expressed in the examples below.
The above sentences express that a particular event is impossible or is not expected under normal circumstances.
Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘can’ can be used to make requests as shown in below example sentences-
In the above sentences Modal Verb ‘can’ is used to make requests, but its Negative form can be used to make refusals as demonstrated below-
“Could/Couldn’t”
There are various ways in which ‘could/couldn’t’ can be used, as explained below-
Could/Couldn’t can be used as the past tense of can/can’t as shown in the examples below-
‘Could’ can also be used to make polite requests as shown in the sentences below-
‘Could’ can also be used to express the Possibility of the occurrence of an event ‘now’ as shown in sentences below-
“Auxiliary Verb Will”
Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘will’ is used to express future possibilities, beliefs, plans, offers or promises. Below we will go through different shades of ‘will’ with suitable example sentences.
Modal Auxiliary Verb ‘will’ is used to express an event that is possible in the near or far future or is believed to appear. For Ex-
The auxiliary Verb ‘will’ in all the above sentences express a future possibility of an event or the speaker’s belief in their occurrence.
Similarly, the Negative form of ‘will’ can be used to express the Non possibility of an event or the disbelief, as shown in the examples below-
‘Will not’ can also be expressed as ‘won’t’ which is its short form, as given below-
‘Will’ can also be used to make offers or promises, but in that case it must follow a noun or noun form like he will, she will, I will etc. Go through the below example sentences-
“Auxiliary Verb Would/ Wouldn’t”
‘Would’ is used as the Past Tense of ‘will’. It is used to express the events or the things of past that were willingly performed and are also used to express the unreal possibilities. We will go through them in details as given below-
‘Would’ when used as the Past Tense of ‘will’, expresses the past events with a future possibility or simply express a past event like in the below sentences-
‘Would’ can be used to express hypothetical situations; that is, situations those are unreal and unlikely to appear. For Ex-
‘Would’ can also be used to talk about the result or outcome of a situation, action or event. For Ex-
“Auxiliary Verb Shall”
Auxiliary Verb ‘shall’ is used to express an offer, suggestion, expectation or to give advice. All the uses of ‘shall’ have been described below with examples. Note-
Auxiliary Verb ‘shall’ is used to offer, when the speaker is assured of an affirmative reply. For ex-
‘Should’ is used to ask a question if the speaker is not sure of the events. For Ex-
The Negative Form of ‘should’ can also be use to express questions-
‘Should’ can also be used to predict or expect a future event, as shown below-
The Negative Form of should- ‘Shouldn’t ‘can also be used to negate an expectation, as below-
“Auxiliary Verb May”
Auxiliary Verb ‘May’ can be used into different forms as described below-
To express statements when we are not sure about the occurrence of an event-
The Negative form of the ‘may’ can be used to express the negative as shown below-
‘May’ can be used to make polite requests as shown in the statements below-
“Auxiliary Verb Might”
Auxiliary Verb ‘might’ is used to express the occurrence of an event, which has a remote possibility of occurrence. For Ex-
Note- ‘May’ expresses an almost true possibility while ‘might’ expresses a remote possibility.
The most distinct feature of ‘might’ is that it is the Past Tense of ‘may’. The best way of using ‘might’ as the Past Tense of ‘may’ is while talking about past events as demonstrated in the Examples below-
“Must”
Auxiliary Verb ‘must’ indicates a necessity or urgency as expressed in the sentences below-
The above sentences indicate urgency for the action to be performed immediately.
“have/has to”
To make the matter sound less urgent we use ‘have to’ instead of ‘must’ as shown in the examples below-
The above statements express less urgency as compared to the statements with auxiliary verb ‘must’.
“Ought”
Auxiliary Verb ‘ought’ is used to express a duty or an obligation and is always followed by ‘to’. Below given are some examples of using ‘ought’-
‘Ought’ can also be used to express past as shown in the statements below-
Fill In The Blanks/MCQ Exercises/Worksheet/Activities On Modal Auxiliary Verbs With Answers:
Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct Modal Auxiliary Verbs from the choices given below ever question. Verify your answer with the answers provided in the end of the exercise.
Note- Take hint from the expression provided at the end of sentences.
1) My father ________ still walk for miles. (ability)
2) The horse is old, but it ________ still run for miles. (ability)
3) _________ I sleep here? (permission)
4) I ________ ride a horse. (Inability)
5) The police ________ catch the thief. (inability)
6) ________ you prepare the dinner please. (polite request)
7) When I was young I _________ play for hours. (past ability)
8) While in his childhood, Rocky ______ climb a tree. (past inability)
9) The package ________ be delivered by now. (present possibility)
10) He _________ have received the money by now. (non possibility)
11) I ________ see to it that the job is completed. (assurance)
12) I __________ help you in the exams. (Refusal with a reference to future activity)
13) The children ________ get up early during holidays and started playing. (past occurrence)
14) During early years he _________ express himself.
15) If I ______ be a police officer, I will fight the criminals. (hypothetical)
16) We ________ inform the principal. (suggestion)
17) You________ go to the party. (Negative suggestion)
18) ________ we eat now? (Polite request)
19) The flight _________ arrive on time. (expectation)
20) He ________ also bring his pet with him. (unsure)
21) The authorities _________ revoke the curfew. (Negatively unsure)
22) It ________ cause health hazards. (unsure)
23) He _________ appear in the function. (remote possibility)
24) If they were strict, he _______ have lost his job. (weak possibility)
25) You _______ go to the doctor. (Urgency)
26) You _________ cheat anybody.
27) You _______ study hard. (Necessity)
28) She ________ misuse the powers.
29) We _______ to visit our parents. (mild persuasion)
30) He ________ behave politely. (Mild persuasion)
31) You ________ respect elders. (moral obligation)
32) He __________ behaved properly with the teachers. (Past obligation)
Answers– 1)b, 2)a, 3)b, 4)a, 5)b, 6)c, 7)c, 8)b, 9)a, 10)c, 11)b, 12)a, 13)a, 14)b, 15)c, 16)b, 17)b, 18)c, 19)b, 20)a, 21)b, 22)c, 23)b, 24)b, 25)c, 26)b, 27)a, 28)b, 29)c, 30)a, 31)b, 32)b
Related Information:
Verb
Regular Verb
Irregular Verb
Subject-Verb Agreement
Intransitive Verbs
Transitive Verbs
Nonfinite Verb
Finite Verb
Stative Verb
Dynamic Verb
Auxiliary Verb
Lexical Verb