The English Modal Verbs

 

Modal verbs are special kinds of verbs in English. They show things like ability, possibility, permission, and so forth. For example: Birds can fly. --> Can is a modal verb. It shows ability.

Modal verbs are special because they cannot be used alone. They must always be used with another verb in its base form. For example:  "Birds can" is not a complete sentence. It simply means birds have some ability, but we don’t know what ability. We must use another verb after can: Birds can fly. Some more examples: Correct: I can see you now. Incorrect: I can you now.   Correct: He can open the door. Incorrect: He can the door.   Correct: You can start the lesson! Incorrect: You can the lesson! So here's a quick exercise to test your understanding: Quick Exercise 1 Explain in your own words: What are modal verbs? What’s special about them? Give a correct example and an incorrect example.