easyenglish lesson

Modals
Modals may seem confusing to non-English speakers. Study the chart below.
You will see that several different modals can express a single mood.
And several different moods can be expressed by a single modal.
Below, you will find an example of each modal as it expresses each mood.
Go to the lessons to learn more.

LESSON		MOOD			MUST	HAVE TO	GOT TO	NEED	WOULD	WILL	SHALL	SHOULD	OUGHT	MAY	MIGHT	COULD	CAN	ABLE TO	DOES	DID	IS
01infer		inference/conclusion	must	have to	got to		would	will							cannot				
02oblig		obligation		must	have to	got to	need		will	shall										is to
03advice	recommendation/advice				need				should	ought								
04suggst	suggestion								shall				might	could	can				
05expect	expectation									should	ought								
06probab	probability											may	might						
07permit	permission/concession										may	might	could	can				
08reques	request							would	will					might	could	can				
09offer		offer								will					might	could	can				
10possib	possibility													could	can	able to			
11abilit	ability/capacity					would	will						could	can	able to	does	did	
12predic	prediction							will	shall								does		is

01infer: inference/conclusion:
must		He must know about the second world war because he was born in Germany.
must not	They must not have gotten my message because they haven't called.
have to		If she is English she has to have drunk tea at least once.
got to		With those brightly colored shorts and sunglasses, they've got to be tourists.
would		A tall steel tower in the center of Paris? Ah, that would be the Eiffel Tower.
will		Behind every successful man, you will find a woman.
will		When the cat's away, the mice will play.
can't		If she's tall and thin, it can't be Mary.

02oblig: obligation:
must		All the soldiers must report back to their commanding officer at least once a day.
must		If two ride on a horse, one must ride behind.
must not	If you are feeling sick, you must not go out in the rain.
have to		To become a doctor you have to study for many years.
don't have to	In America, all citizens should vote, but they don't have to.
got to		You've got to change the oil in your car every once in a while, or the engine will blow up.
need		To get your passport, you need to go to the government office.
will		You will do exactly as I tell you to do.
shall		Thou shalt not steal.
is to		Phillip and Joey are to buy all the drinks for the party.

03advice: recommendation/advice
need		If you want to go hiking in the Rocky Mountains, you need to get a good raincoat.
should		To learn English really well, you should travel in America or Ireland.
ought		You ought to call Catherine if you are thinking of not going.

04suggst: suggestion
shall		Shall I come back later?
might		If you can't find the phone number in the yellow pages you might try directory assistance.
could		You could try a different shampoo if your hair is too dry.
can		They can ask Uncle Peter for help if they don't understand.
let		Let nature take her course.

05expect: expectation
should		Suzanne should be getting home any minute.
ought		The movie ought to start at about eight o'clock.

06probab: probability
may		Bring a pic-nic lunch because there may not be a restaurant at the beach.
might		If you explain your problem to Elizabeth, she might have some suggestions.

07permit: permission/concession
may		The guard said we may not take pictures in the museum.
may		You may be a college graduate, but you're a lousy poker player.
may		A man may work from sun to sun but a woman's work is never done.
might		The World Cup might be the biggest sports event in the world, but I think it's boring.
could		Mom said we could play outside after dinner.
can		I'm sorry, only employees can use the office telephone.

08reques: request
would		Would you please be quiet?
will		Will you open that door for me please?
might		Might I have a try at your computer game?
could		Could I see the rest of your house?
can		Can Pamela use the bathroom?

09offer:  offer
will		I'll take care of the flight reservations.
might		We might help out with the cooking if you like.
could		Mohammed could explain the details to everyone.
can		Kamal can take the car and go get Tanaka at the swimming pool.

10possib: possibility
could		At this hour, the library could be closed.
can		You can take a boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
can		Women: you can't live with 'em and you can't live without 'em.
can		You can't lose what you never had.
can		You can't buy happiness.
able to		We went to the concert, but we weren't able to meet the musicians.

11abilit: ability/capacity
would		When this car was new, it would go 170 kilometers per hour.
will		All of these clothes will not fit in your suitcase.
could		When I first came to Italy, I couldn't understand anything.
can		Veronica can't swim and she can't drive a car, but she can sing really well!
can		Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.
able to		I won't be able to speak Chinese well until I've had many more lessons.
does		Junko is very strong; she runs 10 kilometers every day.
did		When I knew Richard in Japan, he spoke Japanese very well.

12predic: prediction
will		What will people think?
will		Time will heal all wounds.
shall		We shall meet him at the train station.
shall		Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
shall		As you sow, so shall you reap.
does		The train gets in at eight thirty.
is		Tomorrow is Christmas.