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Overview of modal verbs, their characteristics and common patterns.
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that express meanings such as ability, possibility, permission, obligation, necessity, prediction, intention, and advice.
The central English modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.
She can swim very well.
Она умеет очень хорошо плавать.
"Can" expresses ability.
You must stop at the red light.
Ты должен остановиться на красный свет.
"Must" expresses obligation.
It might rain later.
Позже может пойти дождь.
"Might" expresses possibility.
English has a group of core modal verbs with special grammatical properties.
The main core modals are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.
You can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would are the core modals.
Can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would — это основные модальные глаголы.
List of core modals.
He can speak three languages.
Он может говорить на трёх языках.
Example with can.
They should study more.
Им следует больше заниматься.
Example with should.
A core modal verb is normally followed by the base form of the main verb without to.
For example, She can swim, He should leave, and They might arrive soon.
She can swim.
Она умеет плавать.
Can + base form swim.
He should leave now.
Ему следует уйти сейчас.
Should + base form leave.
They might arrive soon.
Они могут скоро приехать.
Might + base form arrive.
Core modal verbs do not take -s in the third person singular.
For example, He can swim and She must leave, not He cans swim or She musts leave.
He can swim.
Он умеет плавать.
Correct: no -s after can.
She must leave.
Она должна уйти.
Correct: no -s after must.
He cans swim.
Он умеет плавать.
Incorrect: modal verbs do not take -s.
Core modal verbs form questions by moving the modal before the subject.
For example, Can you help me? Should we leave now? and Will they come?
Can you help me?
Ты можешь мне помочь?
Modal before subject.
Should we leave now?
Нам следует уйти сейчас?
Question with should.
Will they come?
Они придут?
Question with will.
Core modal verbs form negative clauses by adding not directly after the modal.
For example, cannot, should not, must not, might not, and would not.
I cannot swim.
Я не умею плавать.
Cannot = can not.
You should not smoke here.
Тебе не следует здесь курить.
Should not.
They might not come.
Они могут не прийти.
Might not.
Many negative modal forms have common contractions in spoken and informal English.
Examples include cannot/can't, should not/shouldn't, will not/won't, and would not/wouldn't.
I can't swim.
Я не умею плавать.
Can't = cannot.
She shouldn't be late.
Ей не следует опаздывать.
Shouldn't = should not.
He won't come.
Он не придёт.
Won't = will not.
Modal verbs add the speaker's attitude or interpretation to the main verb.
Depending on the modal, the meaning may involve ability, possibility, permission, obligation, prediction, willingness, or advice.
She can play the piano.
Она умеет играть на пианино.
Ability.
You must wear a seatbelt.
Ты должен пристегнуть ремень безопасности.
Obligation.
It may be cold outside.
На улице, возможно, холодно.
Possibility.
Modal verbs can express how certain, necessary, desirable, or possible the speaker considers a situation to be.
Compare She may be at home, She must be at home, and She should be at home.
She may be at home.
Она, возможно, дома.
Possibility (weak).
She must be at home.
Она, должно быть, дома.
Strong deduction.
She should be at home.
Она должна быть дома.
Expectation/advice.
Core modals can express meanings about present situations.
For example, She can swim expresses ability, You must leave expresses obligation, and He might be tired expresses possibility.
She can swim.
Она умеет плавать.
Present ability.
You must leave now.
Ты должен уйти сейчас.
Present obligation.
He might be tired.
Он, возможно, устал.
Present possibility.
Core modals can refer to future events and situations.
For example, It might rain tomorrow, We will see you next week, and You should arrive by six.
It might rain tomorrow.
Завтра, возможно, пойдёт дождь.
Future possibility.
We will see you next week.
Мы увидимся с тобой на следующей неделе.
Future certainty.
You should arrive by six.
Тебе следует приехать к шести.
Future advice/expectation.
Modal meanings about the past can be expressed using modal verbs with perfect infinitives.
For example, She may have forgotten and They should have arrived earlier.
She may have forgotten.
Она, возможно, забыла.
Past possibility with modal perfect.
They should have arrived earlier.
Им следовало приехать раньше.
Past criticism/regret.
He must have been tired.
Он, должно быть, устал.
Past deduction.
A modal followed by have and a past participle forms a modal perfect construction.
The structure can express past possibility, deduction, criticism, regret, or unrealized events.
She may have forgotten the meeting.
Она, возможно, забыла о встрече.
May have + past participle.
They should have called us.
Им следовало позвонить нам.
Should have + past participle for criticism.
He must have left already.
Он, должно быть, уже ушёл.
Must have + past participle for deduction.
A modal can be followed by be and an -ing form to describe an ongoing activity.
For example, She may be working and They must be waiting outside.
She may be working now.
Она, возможно, сейчас работает.
Modal + be + -ing for ongoing present.
They must be waiting outside.
Они, должно быть, ждут снаружи.
Deduction about ongoing activity.
He might be studying in the library.
Он, возможно, занимается в библиотеке.
Possibility about ongoing.
A modal can be followed by have been and an -ing form to describe an ongoing activity in the past.
For example, He may have been sleeping and They must have been waiting.
He may have been sleeping.
Он, возможно, спал (в течение какого-то времени).
Modal + have been + -ing for past ongoing.
They must have been waiting for hours.
Они, должно быть, ждали несколько часов.
Past deduction with duration.
She might have been studying all night.
Она, возможно, училась всю ночь.
Past possibility with duration.
Core modal verbs behave differently from ordinary lexical verbs and many other auxiliaries.
They normally do not use do-support, do not take third-person -s, and are followed by specific verb forms.
He can swim, but I cannot.
Он умеет плавать, а я нет.
No do-support for modals.
She should not be late.
Ей не следует опаздывать.
Negation with not after modal.
They must be tired.
Они, должно быть, устали.
No third-person -s.
Core modal verbs normally cannot be directly combined with another core modal verb.
Instead, English commonly uses alternative constructions such as be able to, have to, or be allowed to when more than one modal meaning is needed.
She will be able to come tomorrow.
Она сможет прийти завтра.
Use be able to instead of stacking will + can.
We have to be able to finish.
Мы должны суметь закончить.
Have to + be able to avoids double modal.
He must be allowed to enter.
Ему должны разрешить войти.
Use be allowed to instead of must + can/may.
Semi-modal expressions share some meanings or grammatical functions with core modal verbs but behave differently in syntax.
Examples include have to, be able to, be supposed to, need to, ought to, and had better.
You have to wear a uniform.
Ты должен носить форму.
Have to for obligation.
She is able to speak French.
Она умеет говорить по-французски.
Be able to for ability.
We are supposed to arrive early.
Мы должны прибыть рано.
Be supposed to for expectation.
Core modals and semi-modal expressions differ in form, tense, negation, and question formation.
For example, must does not take do-support, while have to normally forms questions and negatives with do.
You must not smoke here.
Здесь нельзя курить.
Core modal must for prohibition.
You don't have to come.
Тебе не обязательно приходить.
Semi-modal have to with do-support in negative.
Do you have to leave now?
Тебе нужно уходить сейчас?
Question with do + have to.
The same modal verb can express different meanings depending on context.
For example, can may express ability, permission, or possibility, while must may express obligation or strong deduction.
She can swim.
Она умеет плавать.
Can = ability.
Can I open the window?
Можно открыть окно?
Can = permission.
It can be cold here in winter.
Зимой здесь может быть холодно.
Can = possibility.
Different modal verbs can express different degrees of force, certainty, and politeness.
Compare You must leave, You should leave, and You could leave. The choice affects both meaning and interpersonal tone.
You must leave.
Ты должен уйти.
Strong obligation.
You should leave.
Тебе следует уйти.
Softer advice.
You could leave.
Ты мог бы уйти.
Polite suggestion.
Modal choices vary according to register and communicative context.
For example, may is often more formal than can when asking for permission, while shall has particular uses in formal and British English.
May I come in?
Можно войти?
Formal permission request.
Can I come in?
Можно войти?
Less formal permission request.
Shall we begin?
Начнём?
Formal or British suggestion.
Modal verbs are important for expressing caution, probability, obligation, and recommendations in formal writing.
For example, results may indicate, the method should be improved, and the findings must be interpreted carefully.
Results may indicate a trend.
Результаты могут указывать на тенденцию.
Caution/possibility in academic writing.
The method should be improved.
Метод следует улучшить.
Recommendation.
The findings must be interpreted carefully.
Результаты необходимо интерпретировать осторожно.
Strong obligation/necessity.
Different modal meanings are associated with recurring grammatical patterns.
Learning these patterns provides a foundation for later groups covering ability, permission, obligation, possibility, past modals, and modal verb patterns.
He can speak English.
Он умеет говорить по-английски.
Ability: can + base.
You may leave now.
Теперь вы можете уйти.
Permission: may + base.
She might be at work.
Она, возможно, на работе.
Possibility: might + base.
Use modal verbs with the correct form and meaning.
Common mistakes include adding -s after a modal, using to after a core modal, using do-support unnecessarily, using two core modals together, and confusing modal meaning according to context.
He cans swim.
Он умеет плавать.
Incorrect: no -s after modal; use "can".
She must to leave.
Она должна уйти.
Incorrect: no "to" after core modal; use "must leave".
Do you can help me?
Ты можешь мне помочь?
Incorrect: no do-support with modals; use "Can you help me?"
I will can come.
Я смогу прийти.
Incorrect: do not stack modals; use "will be able to come".