MODAL CHART
Meaning |
Modal(s) |
Present/Future
Example(s) |
Past tense example |
Ability |
Can, could |
I can take you to the airport. |
John couldn’t run in the marathon because he sprained his ankle. |
Be able to |
Mary is usually able to answer your questions about registering for classes. |
I was able to find a parking space.
|
|
We will be able to fix your car when the parts come in. (future) |
|||
Permission |
Can |
Can I use your calculator? |
No past form |
Could (more polite) |
Could I use your phone? |
No past form |
|
May (I/we only) (more polite) |
May I borrow your car? |
No past form |
|
Requests |
Will |
Will you (please) turn down the radio? |
No past form |
Can (informal) |
Can I get you a sandwich? |
No past form |
|
Could (more polite) |
Could you (please) move your car? |
No past form |
|
Would (more polite) |
Would you (please) feed the dog? |
No past form |
|
Might (rare, formal, I/we only) (more polite) |
Might I call you back? |
No past form |
|
Advice |
Should |
Mary should eat more vegetables. |
I should have called my friend last night, but I didn’t. |
Ought to |
I ought to go to bed earlier. |
I ought to have gone to bed earlier, but I didn’t. (uncommon) |
|
Had better (This is stronger.) |
You had better clean your room before your father gets home, or you will be in big trouble. |
Tom had better have done his homework, or he’s not going to the concert on Saturday. (uncommon) |
|
Suggestions
|
Could |
We could go hiking today. |
We could have gone hiking yesterday.
|
Preferences |
Would prefer |
I would prefer to pay by check. |
Jane would have preferred to pay by credit card, but she had left it at home. |
Would rather |
Tom would rather go skiing. |
Paul would rather have gone skiing, but he couldn’t because he had a terrible cold. |
|
Prohibition |
Can not |
You cannot park here. |
No past form |
Must not (mustn’t) |
Tommy, you mustn’t run out into traffic! |
No past form |
|
Meaning |
Modal(s) |
Present/Future
Example(s) |
Past tense example |
Non-necessity |
Don’t have to |
Tom doesn’t have to write a letter to his sister because he called her today. |
Tom didn’t have to write a letter to his sister because he called her yesterday. |
Necessity |
Must (affirmative only) |
I must pay my phone bill. |
No past form |
Have to (affirmative only) |
I have to pay my phone bill. |
I had to pay my phone bill. |
|
Got to (affirmative only, spoken English) |
I have got to pay my phone bill (or my service will be cut off). |
No past form |
|
Future possibility |
May |
I may go to the beach tomorrow. |
No past form |
Might |
Tom might visit us on Saturday. |
No past form |
|
Could |
It could rain tomorrow. |
No past form |
|
Certainty (Situation: Present: Why isn’t Mary answering her phone? Past: Why wasn’t Mary answering her phone?) |
May (50%) |
She may be in the basement. |
She may have been in the
basement. |
Might (50%) |
She might be taking a shower. |
She might have been taking a shower. |
|
Could (50%, affirmative only) |
She could be in the backyard. |
She could have been in the backyard. |
|
Must (95%) |
She must be online. |
She must have been online. |
|
Have to/Have got to (95%) |
She has to be online. |
She had to have been online. |
|
She has got to be online. |
|||
Couldn’t (99% certainty, negative only) |
She couldn’t be on vacation! |
She couldn’t have been on vacation! |
|
Can’t (99% certainty, negative only) |
She can’t be ignoring the phone. |
She can’t have been ignoring the phone. |
|
Will (100%) [future only] |
She will be available later. |
No past form |
|
Expectation |
Be supposed to |
We are supposed to be on time every day. |
John was supposed to be here at 10:00. Where is he? (Past is unfulfilled expectation.) |
Should (future only) (90% certainty) |
Elizabeth should be here by 9:00. |
No past form |
|
Ought to (future only) (90% certainty) |
Elizabeth ought to be here by 9:00. |
No past form. |
|
Repeated action in the past |
Used to |
No present or future form |
I used to go surfing every day when I lived in Hawaii. |
Would |
No present or future form |
I would go surfing every day when I lived in Hawaii. |
|
Past situation that no longer exists |
Used to |
No present or future form |
When I was a child, I used to be afraid of dogs. However, I’m not afraid anymore. |
Meaning |
Modal(s) |
Present/Future
Example(s) |
Past tense example |
Willingness |
Will |
I need to get some vegetables from the store. I’ll get them. |
No past form |
Unreal conditions |
Would |
Mary would go to the Caribbean,
but she doesn’t have enough money. |
Mary would have gone to the Caribbean, but she didn’t have enough money. |
Mary would go to the
Caribbean if she had enough money. |
Mary would have gone to the Caribbean if she had had enough money. |
||
Could |
If Mary could go, she
would. |
If Mary could have gone, she would have. |
|
If Mary had enough
money, she could go to the Caribbean. |
If Mary had had enough money, she could have gone to the Caribbean. |
Written by the tutors and staff of the English Language Resource
Center at Bergen Community College, NJ