short essay with modals

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Part Three Editing / Grammar Skills

Unit 15 Modals

Learning Objectives

• To understand what modals are and what principles they follow
• To learn the challenges and strategies in using appropriate modals
• To learn the meanings and uses of modals and modal-like expressions through multiple examples
• To practice using modals through  a variety of writing situations

The following ten sentences are about some customs from different countries. The modal and main verb are bold-faced in each sentence. If the bold-faced part is correct, choose “correct”.  If not, choose the other answer. After you finish one sentence, you will get instant feedback on your answer before the next sentence. If you make mistakes, you can retry all the questions or see all the answers at the end of the pre-test.

II. Principles of Using Modals

As you have learned in Unit 9 Verb Basics in Academic Writing ( Open Unit 9 here ) , modals are an important part of the verb family. They are considered helping verbs, also called auxiliary verbs. Most modals follow the following principles:

1. They cannot exist by themselves. They are followed by the base form of main verbs to show different meanings and tones.

modal + base form of main verb = complete verb

• In the United States, people should call ahead before visiting someone. ( no “calls, called, calling, to call” )
• People must not show the “OK” gesture [1] with the thumb and index finger in Mexico. ( no “shows, showed, showing, to show” )

2. Contractions are common are in modals, such as “shouldn’t” and “mustn’t”. However, “may” and “might” do not have a contraction form. It is wrong to write “mayn’t” and “mightn’t”.

• Small children mayn’t stay ( may not stay ) alone at home in the United States.
• It mightn’t be ( might not be ) a good idea for children to stay in their friend’s home overnight.

3. Some expressions are called modal-like expressions. There is a “to” in them, and the base form of the verb follows the “to”. These expressions include:  be able to, be supposed to, have to, have got to, ought to, and some others.

• People have to come on time for an appointment in the United States.
• They are supposed to explain the reasons if they are late.

4. Some modals and modal-like expressions are often used in conversations only.

• In Thailand, people had better not touch the head of a statue.
• In the U.S. restaurants, customers have got to tip the waiters and waitresses.

Exercise 1. The following sentences are about dining customs in some countries. There are mistakes in the form of modals and main verbs. Identify each mistake by underlining the whole verb (modal + main verb) and then correct the mistake. If the main verb is missing, add it.

Example :   

People can to learn ( can learn ) about different customs and traditions when they travel abroad.

• Dinning traditions may the most interesting to most people.
• In Kenya, guests should to wash their hands both before and after the meal. They cannot sitting with their feet and toes pointing toward any of the other guests or the food. Kenyans do not use utensils [2] . They eat with their right hand. They must not to use their left hand during the whole meal.
• Americans and Europeans have opposite dinning etiquettes [3] . Americans should holds the knife in their right hand and the fork in their left hand, but the Europeans are suppose to hold the knife in their left hand and the fork in their right hand.
• People in Morocco practice communal [4] eating. This means that they eat from the communal bowl closest to them. A person must eats using his or her right hand. The left hand mayn’t be used to get food. If a bone is taken, the person supposed to suck the marrow [5] from it.

III. Challenges in Learning Modals and the Strategies in Using Them

1. The same modal may have different meanings in different contexts.

• I can drive a car because I have a driver’s license. (permission)
• I can drive a car because I know how to drive. (ability)

2. The same meaning can be expressed with different modals, but the tone or level of strength is different.

• In order to drive in the U.S, a person must have a driver’s license. (stronger)
• In order to drive in the U.S, a person has to have a driver’s license. (less strong)

3. Some modals have the appearance of past tense, but they have a present or future meaning.

• Most cultural traditions stay for generations, but some might change quickly.
• People had better learn the customs of another country when they travel there.

Strategies:

1. Understand a modal, its meaning, its time (past, present, future), and its form together as a “package”.

• In many countries in the past, young people had to follow the custom of the arranged marriage.
• In some countries nowadays and in the near future, some young people still must follow the custom of the arranged marriage.

In both sentences, “had to follow” and “must follow” have the same meaning: obligation, responsibility, necessity.

However, the first sentence shows the meaning in the past, and its form is “had to + follow”.

In the second sentence, the same meaning is expressed in present and future sense, and its form is “must + follow”.

Therefore, try not to study modals in isolation [6] . Instead, understand them in the context and study the “package”.

2. Use the same strategy as in learning other aspects of English: practice, practice, and practice.

IV. Uses of Modals and Modal-Like Expressions

Meaning : advice, suggestions

• In the United States, customers should tip the waiters or waitresses for their service. (present)
• Customers ought to tip the waiters or waitresses for their service. (less common) (present)
• They can tip /could tip 10 – 20% of the food bill. (present, softer tone)
• Customers should not leave the restaurant without tipping the waiters or waitresses. (present)

Exercise 2. Give at least two suggestions for each of the following situations.

One of your classmates is going to visit your country as a tourist in summer .

Suggestion #1 :  You should bring a few extra bottles of sunscreen because my country Colombia is near the equator and  the sun is very intense.

Suggestion #2:   You ought to try bandeja paisa. It is Colombia’s unofficial national dish.

• One of your siblings has found an American boyfriend (or girlfriend)
• One of your relatives is planning to study at Harper College for the first time.
• One of your American friends is going to study at a university in your native country.
• One of your professors is considering studying your native language.
• One of your friends is nervous about meeting his parents-in-law for the first time.

Meaning: abilities 

• There are many languages in India. Many people there can speak more than 5 different ones. (present)
• They are able to speak Hindi, English, and some regional dialects. (present)
• The Indian government recognizes twenty-three official languages, but most people cannot speak all of them. (present)
• People in ancient Indian could speak Sanskrit, one of the earliest languages. (past)
• They were able to speak Sanskrit as early as 2000 BC. (past)

Meaning: permissions

• In Canada, college students can address / may address their professors by the first name. (present)
• In Canada, college students could not drink alcohol in class fifty years ago, and they still cannot . (past, present)
• In Ukraine, college students cannot call / may not call their professors by the first name. It is considered very impolite. (present)

Exercise 3. Finish the following sentences to express ability and permission.

When I was a child, I could climb a tree . (ability)

• When I was a child, I could ____________________. (ability)
• When I was a child, I could not ____________________ (ability)
• Now I am an adult. I can ____________________ (ability)
• Now I am an adult. I cannot ____________________. (ability)
• When I was a student in my home country, I could ____________________ (permission)
• When I was a student in my home country, I could not ____________________ (permission)
• Now I am a student in the U.S. I can ____________________ (permission)
• Now I am a student in the U.S. I cannot ____________________ (permission)

Meaning: necessity, obligation, responsibility

• In Iraqi formal greetings, people must use a person’s surname and title, for example, Dr. Kazem. (present)
• Men have to stand to greet a woman when she enters the room. (present)
• A long time ago in Iraq, everyone had to stand when an elderly person arrived. This custom has remained to this day. (past)
• In Iraqi culture, people do not have to kiss each other as a way of greeting. Handshaking is common. (present)

Meaning: prohibition [7]

• People must not whistle inside a Mongolian ger, a round-shaped dwelling. (present)
• In a ger, people must not point their feet to the north end. (present)

Exercise 4. Discuss the following questions. What are the answers in your home country? What are the answers in the United States?

• Must people get married first if they want to live together?
• Do people have to get their parents’ permission to get married?
• Must men serve in the military?
• Do school children have to wear uniforms?
• What are the things you must not do on the street?
• What are the things you must not do during a test?
• What are the questions you must not ask a lady?

Meaning: possibilities

• In Japan, parents do not kiss each other in front of their children. They must think / may think / might think / could think it improper [8] for the children to see their intimacy [9] . (present)
• This custom may change / might change /could change in the near future. The young generation should welcome / may welcome / might welcome / could welcome this change. (future)
• Some words are the same in writing in both Chinese and Japanese. However, the meanings of these words may not be / might not be the same. (present)

Meaning: expectations

• On March 8, the International Women’s Day, men are supposed to buy flowers for women in Russia and many other Eastern European countries. (present)
• On that day, women are not supposed to do much housework. They are supposed to take a day off. (present)
• Last year, Natalia’s husband was supposed to buy flowers for her, but he forgot. (past)

Meaning: preferences

• In some countries, people prefer arranged marriages. Parents would rather pick someone as their future son-in-law or daughter-in-law than let their child decide. (present)
• Some young people would rather not get into a marriage than marry someone they do not love. (present)

Exercise 5. Write sentences according to the instructions.

• Use modals of possibility to write three guesses why seafood is popular on Valentine’s Day in the U.S.
• Use modals of expectation to write three things you are supposed to know when you go to an American family for dinner.
• Use modals of preference to write three choices of food on New Year’s Eve in your home country.

V. Unit Review Practice

Exercise 6. Read the following sayings. Each contains a modal. Discuss what the saying means and whether you agree with it. Do you have similar sayings in your native language? How do you say them? If you can think of additional sayings with modals, please list them below.

• You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
• You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
• You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
• Beggars can’t be choosers.
• People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
• Children should be seen, not heard.
• Bitter pills may have blessed effects.
• Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.

________________________________________

Exercise 7.  The following sentences are about school uniforms. The modals and main verbs are underlined.  Discuss their different meanings and time references (past, present, future) in the context. The first one is an example.

• School uniforms could be ( possibility, present) an important part of school traditions. Students in some schools must wear the school uniform. They may not attend school without their uniform. The uniform must be important.
• A uniform reflects [10] the school and its reputation. Therefore, students are supposed to be in their best behavior.
• Students with totally different uniforms cannot belong to the same school even though they may be siblings. They must not exchange their uniforms with students from other schools.
• In some schools, uniforms are optional. Students may choose to wear one. They could also wear their own clothes. Some students would rather have the uniform. They would rather not spen d half an hour each morning choosing what to wear.
• In most cases, uniforms are not free. Students have to purchase them. Most families are able to afford them, but some are not. This might increase the financial burden for some families.
• Even though the students must wear their uniform while in school, they do not have to wear one after school.
• Should schools require uniforms? There have been many debates [11] . If most students do not like them, they may disappear in the near future. Otherwise, they should stay for a long, long time.

Exercise 8. The follow is an essay on how high school students in different countries spend time in the summer.  Underlined the modals and their main verbs.  Then discuss what they means in the context and whether they express present, past, or future time. The first one is an example.

After you finish reading and understanding the first three paragraphs, write a new supporting paragraph about a person you know who spent last summer vacationing and relaxing. Then write a conclusion for the essay.  Include at least five modals and modal-like expressions. You may write in the box below or in your own notebook.   (Warning: Once you leave this page, you will lose what you have written in the box.)

How to Spend the Summer?

          High school students in different countries may spend (possibility, present) their summer very differently. Some might value life experiences by working on a job, some could use the time catching up with their academic work, and others might consider it an opportunity to relax and have fun. How they spend their summer might reflect some of the customs and values of their cultures.

          It is common for many high school students in the United States to work during the summer months. They could work in any type of job: food, travel, secretarial, health care, summer camp, and many others. Last summer, Joan worked as a summer camp activity leader. She was happy that the job provided her with valuable work experience as well as a small income. Both the experience and the money should be helpful in her future college study.

          In Korea, however, it is not usual for high school students to hold a job in summer. They are supposed to take extra classes to prepare for university. Last summer, Ji-hoon kept himself busy by taking a few science and English classes in a cram school. Though he was very busy, he had to do so. He was determined to be better prepared for his university entrance exam.

Exercise 9. Choose two of the following topics and write a paragraph for each. Use proper modals.

• Describe one of the holiday dinning traditions in your native country.
• Describe some customs about naming a baby in your native country.
• Explain one of the taboos [12] for a wedding ceremony in your native country.
• Some people say that elderly parents should live with their adult children. Do you agree or disagree? Why do you think so?
• In America, it is common to “go Dutch” (split the food bill in the restaurant) when people dine out. Is this practice common in your native culture? If not, why not? who usually pays for the meals?
• Write about the joys and challenges of living in two cultures (your native culture and the American culture). What was your biggest cultural shock during your first two weeks in the U.S.?

  NSNT Practice

Go to The NSNT Free Writing Approach and Additional Weekly Prompts for Writing in Appendix A. ( Open Appendix A here. ) Choose two topics that involve modals. You may start with the NSNT approach. Then revise and edit your paragraphs. Pay attention to the use of modals. You are encouraged to share your writing with your partner and help each other improve.

Vocabulary Review

The words here have appeared in this unit.  The best way to learn them is to guess the meaning of each word from the context.  Then hover your computer mouse over the number beside each word to check its meaning and part of speech. These words are also listed in the footnote area at the end of each unit.

Here, you can use the flashcards below to review these words.

• Modals are helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs). They must be used with a main verb to serve as the complete verb in a sentence: Modal + Main Verb = Complete Verb
• A modal is followed by the base form of the main verb.
• The same modals may mean differently in different contexts, and some others may share similar meanings but have differences in tone and level of emphasis.
• Some modals have their unique forms of past tense. Some of them look like the past tense but mean present or future.
• Do not use “mayn’t” and “mightn’t”.
• A good strategy is to understand modals is by learning each modal, its meaning, its time reference, and its form together as a “package”.

Media Attributions

• showcase of culture artifacts at entrance of ESL Department at Harper College © Lin Cui is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license
• two words “yes” and “no” with “yes” crossed out © Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
• a plate of food with a fork and a knife © medium:after_download_modal.copy_text.photo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/boiled-potatoes-with-salad-and-meat-rissole-4210862/
• A 19th-century illustrated Sanskrit manuscript from the Bhagavad Gita, composed c. 400 BCE – 200 BCE. © Unknown artist is licensed under a Public Domain license
• three Mongolia gers © Photo by Audrius Sutkus on Unsplash
• a dog balancing a ball © Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels
• four girls in school uniform doing hand signs © Photo by 周 康 from Pexels
• sunglasses on sand © Photo by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels
• a pen writing in a notebook © Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
• a page in a dictionary © Pixabay
• gesture: noun, a movement of hands, arms, or another part of the body to express an idea or emotion ↵
• utensil: noun, a dining tool such as a spoon or a fork ↵
• etiquette: noun, a rule or tradition for proper social behavior ↵
• communal: adjective, used or shared by everyone in the group ↵
• marrow: noun, the soft, fatty part inside a bone ↵
• in isolation: prepositional phrase, separately, apart from each other ↵
• prohibition: noun, things that are not allowed ↵
• improper: adjective, not appropriate, not right ↵
• intimacy: noun, a very close, loving relationship ↵
• reflect: verb, show, represent ↵
• debate: noun, an argument ↵
• taboo: noun, an unacceptable word or behavior especially in a group setting ↵

Building Academic Writing Skills Copyright © 2022 by Cui, Lin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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• Knowledge Base
• What Is a Modal Verb? | Definition & Examples

What Is a Modal Verb? | Definition & Examples

Published on February 14, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on December 6, 2023.

A modal verb (also called a modal auxiliary verb ) is used along with a main verb to express possibility, ability, permission, or necessity. For example, in the statement “you must leave,” “must” is a modal verb indicating that it’s necessary for the subject (“you”) to perform the action of the verb (“leave”).

The modal verb “will” is used to form the future tense, indicating an action that has not yet occurred (e.g., “I will clean the garage”).

Can you drive me to the airport?

Table of contents

How are modal verbs used in sentences, modal verbs list, modal verbs and auxiliary verbs, modal verbs and mood, other uses of modal verbs, other interesting language articles, frequently asked questions.

Modal verbs are used along with a main verb to indicate ability, necessity, possibility, and permission. In sentences containing modal verbs, the main verb typically takes the infinitive form. Modal verbs come before main verbs and never change form.

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Below is a table that illustrates some of the various uses of modal verbs. Note that modal verbs are very commonly used in a wide variety of senses—this table doesn’t cover every possible usage.

Modal verbs are classed as a type of auxiliary verb . Auxiliary verbs are used along with a main verb to express tense, mood, or voice. However, unlike modal verbs, regular auxiliary verbs follow subject-verb agreement and must be conjugated for tense and mood.

Gordon has burned the toast.

Modal verbs can be used along with auxiliary verbs to refer to possible past, continuous, or future action.

When a modal verb is followed by another auxiliary verb (e.g., “have,” “be”), the main verb takes either the past participle form (typically ending in “-ed,” “-n,” or “-t”) or the present participle form (ending in “-ing”).

The modal verb “will” is used in all aspects of the future tense (e.g., “I will talk,” “you will be traveling ”).

You may be wondering what I mean.

The grammatical mood of a verb indicates the intention of the sentence. Modal verbs and auxiliary verbs are used along with a main verb to express mood.

Modal verbs have various other functions in English. They can also be used:

• In indirect speech
• In negative statements
• For emphasis

Indirect speech

Modal verbs are used in indirect speech to indicate what someone else said. While most modal verbs stay the same when used in indirect speech, the past form of some modal verbs is used instead (e.g., “can” becomes “could”).

Negative statements

In negative statements containing modal verbs, the adverb “not” comes immediately after the modal verb and before all other verbs. The negative form is often contracted (e.g., “would not” becomes “wouldn’t”).

In everyday conversation, people sometimes place emphasis on a modal verb to refute a previous statement or question. The emphasized word is often italicized when written down.

If you want to know more about commonly confused words, definitions, common mistakes, and differences between US and UK spellings, make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations, examples, and quizzes.

Nouns & pronouns

• Common nouns
• Proper nouns
• Collective nouns
• Personal pronouns
• Uncountable and countable nouns
• Verb tenses
• Phrasal verbs
• Sentence structure
• Active vs passive voice
• Subject-verb agreement
• Interjections
• Determiners
• Prepositions

Modal verbs (also called modal auxiliary verbs ) are used along with a main verb to express ability, possibility, necessity, and permission. They are a type of auxiliary verb .

For example, in the statement “I can drive,” “can” is a modal verb indicating that the subject (“I”) has the ability to perform the action of the verb (“drive”).

“Would” is a modal verb that’s often used along with the auxiliary verb “have” to indicate that something was possible in the past but no longer is (e.g., “She would have been a professional athlete if she hadn’t broken her leg”). It can be contracted to “would’ve.”

People sometimes mistakenly write “would of” because of its similar pronunciation. However, “would of” is never correct.

“May” is a modal verb used to indicate possibility (e.g., “I may miss the bus”), make a request (e.g., “May I have a drink?”), or indicate permission (e.g., “You may sit down”).

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Ryan, E. (2023, December 06). What Is a Modal Verb? | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 10, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/verbs/modal-verb/

Aarts, B. (2011). Oxford modern English grammar . Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015). Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016). Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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5.6 Modal Auxiliaries

Learning objectives.

• Define and identify modal auxiliaries.
• Learn how and when to use modal auxiliaries.

We all need to express our moods and emotions, both in writing and in our everyday life. We do this by using modal auxiliaries .

Modal Auxiliaries

Modal auxiliaries are a type of helping verb that are used only with a main verb to help express its mood.

The following is the basic formula for using a modal auxiliary:

There are ten main modal auxiliaries in English.

Table 5.11 Modal Auxiliaries

Use the following format to form a yes-no question with a modal auxiliary:

Be aware of these four common errors when using modal auxiliaries:

Using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal

Incorrect: I can to move this heavy table.

Correct: I can move this heavy table.

Using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal

Incorrect: I could moving to the United States.

Correct: I could move to the United States.

Using two modals in a row

Incorrect: I should must renew my passport.

Correct: I must renew my passport.

Correct : I should renew my passport.

Leaving out a modal

Incorrect: I renew my passport.

Edit the following paragraph by correcting the common modal auxiliary errors.

Modals and Present Perfect Verbs

In the previous section, we defined present perfect verb tense as describing a continuing situation or something that has just happened.

Remember, when a sentence contains a modal auxiliary before the verb, the helping verb is always have .

Be aware of the following common errors when using modal auxiliaries in the present perfect tense:

Using had instead of have

Incorrect: Jamie would had attended the party, but he was sick.

Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.

Leaving out have

Incorrect: Jamie would attended the party, but he was sick.

On a separate sheet of paper, complete the following sentences by changing the given verb form to a modal auxiliary in present perfect tense.

• The man ________ (laugh).
• The frogs ________ (croak).
• My writing teacher ________ (smile).
• The audience ________ (cheer) all night.
• My best friend ________ (giggled).

Key Takeaways

The basic formula for using a modal auxiliary is

• There are ten main modal auxiliaries in English: can , could , may , might , shall , should , will , would , must , and ought to .
• The four common types of errors when using modals include the following: using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal, using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal, using two modals in a row, and leaving out a modal.
• In the present perfect tense, when a sentence has a modal auxiliary before the verb, the helping verb is always have .
• The two common errors when using modals in the present perfect tense include using had instead of have and leaving out have .

Writing Application

On a separate sheet of paper, write ten original sentences using modal auxiliaries.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Modal verbs and modality

Modality is about a speaker’s or a writer’s attitude towards the world. A speaker or writer can express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity and ability by using modal words and expressions.

Speakers often have different opinions about the same thing.

These speakers are looking at the same thing.

Modal verbs

Here are the main verbs we use to express modal meanings:

Core modal verbs: can , could , may , might , will , shall , would , should , must

Semi-modals: dare, need , ought to , used to

Other verbs with modal meanings: have (got) to, be going to and be able to

Be going to : form

Have got to and have to

Modal words and expressions

There are a number of other words and expressions in English, apart from the main modal verbs, which also express modal meanings.

Here are some examples:

Modality: meanings and uses

Modality: other modal words and expressions

Be expressions ( be able to , be due to )

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Alike and analogous (Talking about similarities, Part 1)

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34 Grammar: Modal Verbs

What do you already know?

Read these sentences:

• She swims every day.
• She can swim every day
• She might swim every day

What is a modal verb?

What is a verb.

An verb expresses the action or state of the subject.

What does modal mean?

Modal refers to modality, or a way of doing, being, or experiencing something.

Therefore, a modal verb is a type of verb that contextually indicates a modality. That means it gives extra information depending upon the situation. It helps us to express our attitudes, obligations, and intentions. We can talk about likelihood and ability. We can give ask for permission and give advice.

Take another look

• Jorgen may use my car this weekend.
• Jorgen must use my car this weekend.
• Jorgen will use my car this weekend

How do you make a modal verb?

Modal verbs almost always accompany the base (infinitive) form of another verb using this simple formula: modal + (not) + verb. For example:

• She could sing very loudly.
• She could not sing very loudly.

What different meanings can you express with modal verbs?

Here are some common modal verbs with their meanings and examples:

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose one of these modal verbs to complete each sentence:  must, could, is supposed to, may, can, should, have to :

• You ______ use my car tonight. (permission)
• _____ you open the door? (request)
• It’s snowing, so it _____ be very cold outside. (probability)
• She ____ speak six languages. (ability)
• I need a new prescription; I _____ see a doctor right away. (necessity)
• Students _____ do their homework every day. (advice)
• The weather forecast says it ____ rain tonight. (prediction)

What makes modal verbs special?

First, modal verbs add meaning to another verb. You don’t usually use a modal verb by itself unless the main verb is implied or understood.

• Will Leo come to the party?
• Yes, he will . (the “come” is implied or understood)

Second, modal verbs do not change form for first, second, or third person.

• Leo says that he might come to the party.
• Leo and Lucas say that they might come to the party.

In the first sentence, Leo says …. he might … “Leo” requires a verb in the third person singular; in the present tense this means you add -s to the end. However, you don’t do this with modal verbs. Instead, you say “he might” (not he mights ).

Third, when you make a question, you start with the modal, just as we do with do/does, am/is/are, has/have.

• Can Leo and Lucas bring ice with them?

Finally, modal verbs are followed by the infinitive, or base form, of the other verb without the “to”.

• Leo and Lucas may to arrive late, but they said that they would to be happy to bring the ice.

What are some common ways you use modal verbs?

To be polite.

Compare these examples:

• Open the door.
• Can you open the door?
• Could you open the door?
• Could you open the door, please?
• Teacher, the quiz doesn’t work! It’s broken! Fix it!
• Teacher, the quiz might not be working correctly. It may be broken. Could you take a look at it, please? I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

According to Macmillan American Dictionary , hedging is “the use of words and phrases that make what you are saying less certain or definite.” Why would you want to do this? Sometimes you will want to present information but leave room for it to change if you learn more details later. You want to say something, but you want to allow room for error. Hedging softens your claims. Keith Folse, a famous grammar teacher, explains it like this:

What are some common errors writers make when using modal verbs?

Here’s one ….

• The newspaper should to correct its errors in the story about the elephant.

You don’t use “to” as part of the infinitive/base form. You use this formula: conditional + (not) + infinitive/base form without the “to”.

Here’s another …

• COVID was might have been responsible for more deaths than heart disease last year.

You should hedge (use modals) when you want to be clear that we are not 100% sure, or if you wish to leave room for doubt or correction.

Here’s one more …

Modal verbs are a great way to write in the third person. By removing the I, we , and you points of view (first person and second person), it gives your writing a more formal, academic, and objective tone. Here’s an example:

• I think Portland has more immigrants than Cleveland, but I don’t know for sure.
• Portland may have more immigrants than Cleveland.

You can state information as a concise fact, but you can use a modal verb to show that you don’t know for sure.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose a modal verb to complete each sentence. Note: Most sentences will have more than one right answer.

• __________I use your cell phone, please? I need to call my employer to say I will be late.
• You __________write an essay of at least 5 paragraphs in order to explain your idea fully.
• You __________write more than 300 words for that scholarship application. The computer won’t let you type that many words.
• John __________speak so quickly. It’s difficult to understand him.
• She __________play the piano well because she has had many years of lessons.
• Please excuse me, but I __________go now. I am tired.

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the information above to choose the best answer for each question below.

1. Rewrite the following sentence as a question. Remember to use correct capitalization and punctuation.

• Jori’s mother can cook well.

2. Put the modals in order according to strength. 1=weakest; 5=strongest

3. Plagiarism is not allowed in U.S. colleges. You ____ not do it.

A. would B. must C. might D. could

4. Which modal verb expresses advice?

A. should B. may C. would D. must

5. Which of the following sentences uses a modal verb form incorrectly?

A We returned home late last night after driving for many hours. B. There are so many clouds in the sky that I think it might rain soon. C. You must to stop your dog barking. It is too loud. D. Your coffee must be cold by now; let me give you a fresh cup.

6. Rewrite the question below as a statement. Remember to use correct capitalization and punctuation.

• Will the bus arrive at 5:35?

7. Modals are often used in academic writing to “hedge” their claims. What does “hedge” mean?

A. to protect oneself from risks, especially financial ones B. to provide a border or boundary, like a hedge in a garden C. to buy and sell shares in such a way that the risk of losing money is low D. to soften a claim, to show tentativeness, to allow room to be proved wrong

8. Which of the words below is NOT a modal verb?

A. should B. might C. can D. was

9. What is the formula for using modal verbs?

A. modal + (not) + infinitive/base form (no “to”) B. modal + (not) + to + infinitive/base form C. verb + (not) + modal + participle D. to + infinitive/base form + (not) + modal

10. A modal verb can convey more information about the main verb.

A. True B. False

Use these resources to study more about modal verbs:

Coalescence Copyright © 2023 by Timothy Krause is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• English Grammar

Modal verbs

Level: beginner

The modal verbs are: 

We use modals to show if we believe something is certain, possible or impossible :

My keys must be in the car. It might rain tomorrow. That can't be Peter's coat. It's too small.

We also use them to do things like talk about ability , ask permission , and make requests and offers :

I can't swim. May I ask a question? Could I have some tea, please? Would you like some help?

MultipleChoice_MTYzNDI=

Hello Team. Could you please help me? Does "had to" mean that the action happened or might not? For example, is the following sentence correct? Some teachers say that it is not correct while others say it is OK, what do you say? - I had to call my friend but I forgot. Thank you.

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Hello Ahmed Imam,

It is possible to say this. Had to does not necessarily imply that the obligation/requirement was met. For example, it's fine to say this:

I had to get there by 8.00 to go to the meeting, but unfortunately the train was delayed.

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, "Had to" as the positive and "didn't have to" as the negative form are in the past. And therefore what I gather from your sentence is = you were supposed to call your friend but you didn't (Now, it's too late). Bye :)

I had to call my friend but i forgot this sentence is fine. But when ever you talk about the past, you always need two actions and a time scale. Two actions is what you have but no time scale. I had to call my friend(when?) yesterday or last week? I had to call my friend yesterday but I completely forgot. Giving the sentence a little more emphasis by using an adverb (completely).

This sentence is right.I see no problem with this.

"i had to call my friend" this sentence alone can not express whether you called your friend or not but it shows that you were in urgent need or situation.

but when you added "but i forgot" then you are assuring that you didn't call your friend.

Instead of but i forgot you could have also used ,"i had forgotten".

I was reading about this online recently and someone said that their dictionary from 1982 shows the verb "can" as an auxiliary intransitive verb, which was fully congugated and the past and conditional tenses were "could" and the conditional past was "could have". Please could you tell me when the fully conjugated verb became obsolete and was replaced with the two modal verbs "can" and "could" and also why this happened? Thank you for your help!

Hi helenaw,

It's an interesting question, but one that is outside what we do on this site, which is focused on learning English as a foreign/second/additional language. For what it's worth, I'm not sure we can say "can" has ever been fully conjugated in modern English, as to my knowledge it's never had a past participle. But users of sites such as Stack Exchange may be able to shed more light on this. I hope you can find answers there to your interesting question!

LearnEnglish team

I have always wondered why WILL, SHALL and WOULD are considered modal verbs as they don't have meaning and they are closer to the auxiliaries DO; DOES; DID

Hi MRamos2022,

It's an interesting question. A modal verb, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary , is "a verb used with another verb to express an idea such as possibility that is not expressed by the main verb".  Will ,  shall  and  would  fit this description - they are all used with another verb and cannot be used alone, and they express some kind of meaning or attitude that modifies the main verb (broadly speaking,  will  and shall  are about willingness or beliefs about the future, and  would  is about unreal and hypothetical actions). For example,  I like coffee  is different in meaning from  I would like a coffee , and  I don't agree  is not the same as  I wouldn't agree  (using "would" makes it a hypothetical disagreement, thus less direct and possibly more polite).

Dear respected team, Even superman wouldn't be able to defeat him. What does "would" refer to? Does it refer to possibility or point of view of the speaker? Thank you

Hi Hosseinpour,

"Would" indicates an unreal situation. It is unreal either because Superman is a fictional character and doesn't exist in the real world, or (if this sentence comes from a story in which Superman does exist) because in the speaker's view, Superman and the other person have not yet had a fight and are not really going to fight.

Thank you sir for the help and time. Thank you

This is very helpful! Thanks

Hello, I have more questions about texts from the 19th century. The text is "Mrs Hutchinson" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. My first question is about the meaning of a question appears in the subjunctive mode in the text. The author writes, "Is the prize worth her [woman's] having if she win it [fame]?" I understand "if she win it" to mean "should she win it", which in turn means that the author has doubts about "her winning it". Therefore, is it correct to conclude that Hawthorne in using the subjunctive mode is expressing a disparaging view about a woman's potential. Isn't he saying "I don't think women can win it". The other question is from the same document, but comes from the opening statement. "The character of this female suggests a train of thoughts which will form as natural an introduction to her story as most of the prefaces to Gay's Fables or the tales of Prior, besides that the general soundness of the moral may excuse any want to present applicability". I am not sure what the author means by the second half of this sentence (after "besides"). Does he mean "in addition to that the validity of the moral point we gather from Hutchinson's character allows for an introduction here"? I interpreted "want for" to mean "preference for", not as "lack of". I am not sure how "lack of" can work in this case. I hope that my questions don't bore you. thanks

Hello Ahmed,

I should start off by saying that I'm not familiar with this text or the context in which the sentences you ask about occur. So please know that my answers might well be different if I were.

Re: your first question, I think that 'should she win it' is a good gloss of 'if she win it'. You could also say 'if she wins it'. I'd have to have a closer look at the text (or be more familiar with 19th-century American literature than I am) to say for sure, but I don't think the subjunctive here indicates any extra meaning. In other words, from this sentence alone, I don't think one can conclude that Hawthorne has doubts about this woman's (or women's?) ability to win fame. I think he's simply saying that she/they might win it, or she/they might not. And really what he seems to be doing isn't so much doubting whether this woman/women can win it, but whether winning fame is something worth winning.

Re: your second question, I'm afraid I'd need to know more about what's Hawthorne's talking about (the woman, her story, her train of thoughts, the moral, etc.) to make any useful sense of this sentence. Perhaps you have a teacher you could ask about this?

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hell, In reading 19th century prose, I have often come across a strange usage of "would". Take for instance the following sentence: "Even on a small scale, how often will it happen that the term best corresponding to a new world in the original will be one that in our language is already old and worn out, so that the translator, would he show the work's contribution to the development of the language, will be forced to introduce foreign content into the passage, deviating into the realm of imitation!" Am I right to think of "would he show" to mean "if he wants to show"? Also, under what subtopic in modals can I find more about this usage?

Hi Ahmed Nidal,

Yes, that's right. The meaning of "would" here is the desire to do something, and this meaning is rarely used today. The conditional meaning ("if") comes from the subject/modal inversion, rather than from "would".

It is meaning 2.8 on this Wiktionary page . I hope that helps.

Thank you Jonathan. Much appreciated. Ahmed

Hello Sir, "We may have to live with the coronavirus." 1. In this sentence 'have' is main verb or it is modal verb(have to) 2. Can we place two modal verbs (may & have to) together 3. Further, 'to' is attached to 'have'(have to) or it is attached to 'live'(to live)

Hello Mordhvaj,

The main verb in this sentence is 'live'.

'May' is a modal verb. 'Have to' is sometimes called a semi-modal verb in that it has some elements of modality but not others. The wikipedia page for modal verbs describes it thus:

...there are numerous other verbs that can be viewed as modal verbs insofar as they clearly express modality in the same way that the verbs in this list do, e.g. appear, have to, seem etc. In the strict sense, though, these other verbs do not qualify as modal verbs in English because they do not allow subject-auxiliary inversion, nor do they allow negation with not. Verbs such as be able to and be about to allow subject-auxiliary inversion and do not require do-support in negatives but these are rarely classified as modal verbs because they inflect and are a modal construction involving the verb to be which itself is not a modal verb. If, however, one defines modal verb entirely in terms of meaning contribution, then these other verbs would also be modals and so the list here would have to be greatly expanded.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modal_verb

It is possible to use a modal verb before 'have to', but it is not possible to use 'have to' before a modal verb. Thus, 'we may have to...' is fine, but *'we have to may...'* is incorrect.

We describe the form as have to + verb rather than have + to verb . The 'to' is still included when the verb is omitted:

We need to leave for the party. Is it really important I go? Yes, you have to. No complaining!

Hello Sir, I feel honoured to have my question answered by you. Point by point you have cleared each and every doubt of mine. I have always been a big fan of your answers. It is almost a miracle to have one's answer 'succinct' and 'detailed' simultaneously; and you are a wizard who can do that miracle. Thanks🌹

Hello Mordhvaj,

It's nice of you to say so. We're a small team here but we try our best!

Hello, thanks for the grammar. I have a question in relation to adverbs of frequency, and modal verbs. These two sentences: They could never divide us. They never could divide us. Which one is grammatically correct? Also are there some situations you could use the second one, and it would be correct? Thanks.

Hi Howard Manzi,

Thanks for your question :) They are both grammatically correct. The typical position is as in sentence 1, between the modal verb and the main verb. Sentence 2 is grammatical too, but the position of "never" seems to make it more emphatic than in sentence 1. Somebody may say this if they really want to emphasise "never".

"Never" can also be emphasised by putting it as the first word in the sentence (this also needs an inversion of subject and modal verb):  Never could they divide us .

I hope that helps.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

"May" has PERMISSION meaning also "Might" has?

I found this following question on this web page.

->I know you're busy, but MIGHT I ask you a quick question? (and right answer of meaning is PERMISSION)

I understood that "MIGHT" doesn't have PERMISSION meaning. So I am confused..

Hello Jiwon LEE,

As is explained on our 'may' and 'might' page , 'might' can be used to ask for permission in a very polite way.

This use is quite rare in ordinary speaking and many grammars don't even mention it. 'may' and 'can' are far more commonly used.

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Jonathan, I would like to ask for your help and hope you're available to answer me this time.

If someone gives me a present, I might say :

(A) How could you have known it was my birthday today ?

[1] Does the use of "could have known" in this sentence express surprise about how he could know that today is my birthday ? Or [2] Is it a conditional sentence with the implied if clause that is not mentioned ? For example :

(B) How could you have known....if my mother had not told you ? (No surprise is conveyed here)

[3] If we can use this pattern to express surprise, can we say this sentence ?

(C) I don't know how the thief could have known the key code, but he did (= I'm surprised how he got to know the key code).

[4] To express surprise in examples (A) and (C), can we change "could have" to "can have" ?

I would really appreciate your explanation. Thank you.

Best regards,

Hello melvinthio,

(A) is grammatically correct, but in the situation you describe in [1], a more natural statement would be 'How did you know it was my birthday today?'. Both (A) and my suggestion could certainly express surprise, though they don't necessarily do so. Even if you thought the gift giver was giving you the present for a different reason, I still don't think they'd use a sentence with 'could have known' here.

Your analysis of (B) in [2] sounds correct to me, though I don't think the grammar tells us anything about surprise. It could express simple curiosity, though it certainly can also be used to express surprise.

Similar to (A), a more natural way of saying (C) is 'I don't know how the thief knew ...' (assuming we can see evidence of the thief knowing this), but (C) is also possible here. I'd understand it to express some degree of surprise, but I don't think it has anything to do with the grammar, but rather the situation.

I think the difference between the two situations is that in (A), we see the action with our own eyes -- we've seen the person giving the gift or somehow know it came from them. In contrast, in (C), we see the result of the thief's actions -- an open safe -- but haven't seen the thief open it. It also more possible for another person to discover our birthday than it is for a thief to open a safe (at least to my mind).

As for [4], no, 'could have' better expresses the idea of an unlikely possibility. Perhaps 'can have' would be possible in some unusual situations, but in most cases and certainly in the way I've imagined them now, it wouldn't work.

Hope this helps.

Hii, I am Manish. One of my teachers told me modal are ( be and Have ) Be has 3 forms BE =1. Is/am/ are 2. Was/ were 3. Been You are a teacher. I am a student. You were a child 10 years ago. I was a child too.

Have = possession I have a car.= I have got a car.

Was he right?

Hello Manish,

Modal verbs are verbs like should, can, could, might, will etc.

'Be' and 'have' are not modal verbs. They are normal verbs but can also be used as auxiliary verbs to form questions and other forms.

Base form - be  ~  have

First form (present) - am/is/are  ~  have/has

Second form (past) - was/were  ~  had

Third form (past participle) - been  ~  had

For possession, have and have got are alternatives.

You can read more about the verb 'be' on this page:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/the-verb-be  

Can I use articles with collective noun ? (a,an,the)

Yes, you can :) If you have any questions about it, you can post them on our Articles page.

Hi everyone, is the following sentence correct? I can English.

When can it be accepted? Thank you so much!

Hello mivu,

No, I'm afraid 'I can English' is not correct in any context I can think of.

It's possible to say 'I can' or 'I can do' in a short answer , but the direct object of the verb is omitted in short answers.

Hey there Well, every modal verb will be followed by another verb, which is missing in that statement. It might be the verb "to speak". I can SPEAK English.

Hello. I have a question. Why is WOULD considered a modal verb? As I understand, WOULD has no meaning as the other modals verbs. It has a function, which is to make the sentence conditional. And if it is considered, why the other auxiliaries are not? Thank you very much for your help.

Hello MRamos,

' would ' actually has a number of uses beyond its use in second conditional structures -- for example, it can be used to make polite requests, or to talk about frequent past events. In older styles of English, it was also used to express desires, though this is almost never heard these days.

In general, modal verbs add different kinds of meaning to a statement -- for example, certainty, possibility or obligation. I'd suggest having a look at our Modal verbs page, where you can see more on this, and you might also find the Cambridge Dictionary Grammar's page on Modal verbs and modality useful.

I couldn't have explained it better. Amazing!

Hello Mussorie,

There is no difference in meaning here. In this and similar constructions you can use either the object pronoun or the possessive adjective with the -ing form. Both are in common use and are acceptable but I think the form with the object pronoun ( me ) is more informal and less likely to be used in formal contexts.

You can read a brief discussion of the topic here:

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/515247/my-ing-possessive-form-ing-vs-me-ing-object-form-ing

In both 1 and 2, you are reporting that the thing you imagined has been confirmed, but the verb form in 1 suggests that someone else was doubting your supposition.

In the other sentence, 'will have started' is used because the time reference point is the present time (6:00). We use 'would' to speak about the future from the perspective of the past, but the time reference point here is present. The beginning of the match in the past is suggested, but not stated.

All the best,

Hello Nevı,

No, I'm afraid that doesn't work. Normally the verb forms in reduced relative clauses replace non-modal verbs, usually in the present continuous, present simple or past simple.

Best wishes,

Hello Hemam,

'would' (and 'wouldn't') can be used to express unwillingness, in other words, the idea that someone or something doesn't want to do something. So in the first sentence, the idea is that the car didn't want to start. Most people don't actually believe that a car has desires, but sometimes when we feel we are unlucky, we speak this way to show the feeling of being unlucky. Other than this, these two sentences mean the same thing.

The sentence about Reddington could mean that we think he would never tell us this in any circumstance (here 'would' refers to hypothetical situations) or, if it's speaking about the past, it could mean that Redding refused to tell us. Which meaning it has depends on the context.

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Verbs and tenses

• 1 Verbs and tenses
• 2 Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article
• 3 Past perfect aspect – article
• 4 Past perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 5 Present perfect aspect – article
• 6 Present perfect aspect – tips and activities
• 7 Reported speech – tips and activities
• 8 Reported speech 2 – article
• 9 The passive in English – article
• 10 The passive in English – tips and activities
• 11 Modal verbs 1 – article
• 12 Modal verbs 1 – tips and activities
• 13 Modal verbs 2 – article
• 14 Modal verbs 2 – tips and activities

Modal verbs 2 – tips and activities

By Kerry G Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield

• No comments

More teaching tips and ideas from Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on teaching modals.

Tips: Noticing

If modal verbs are an area you haven’t thought much about, start looking out for them yourself in different English texts. Examining modality can give a lot of background information about the speaker or writer’s impression of the event. For example, what impression does the previous sentence give if you replace the word can with will ? What does it give if you delete can altogether?

With your students, this could simply mean underlining different modal verbs in a text and discussing their meaning. More advanced students could also rewrite a text using different modal verbs (in order to sound more confident, or less confident).

Tips: Reformulating

Many students tend to avoid modals, especially if they don’t have them in their own language. When monitoring speaking activities, you could choose to focus only on modal verbs. Listen out for examples of English that could be better replaced by a modal verb, e.g.

Write these on the board at the end of the activity and ask students to reformulate them using a modal verb.

You could also do this with samples of students’ writing.

Activity: Agony aunt variations

One of the most popular and common activities to practise the modal verb should (and sometimes ought to ) are situations in which people ask for advice. Many newspapers have ‘agony aunt’ columns (sometimes called ‘Dear Abby’ columns in North America). There are two ways you can use these in class.

• Find some original letters and their answers on the internet. You can do this by entering ‘ agony aunt ’ or ‘ Dear Abby ’ in a search engine. Select some questions and the answers given (better if they are short). Mix up the questions and the answers and distribute them to the students, who have to match them. When they have finished, ask them to go through and find any modal verbs in the text. As a follow-up, ask students to write their own advice to those people.
• Ask students to each write about a problem they have (real or imaginary) that they would like advice on. They should write these on a slip of paper, but not write their name. Collect all the slips of paper and put the students into groups of four. Give each group four ‘problems’ at random. Tell them to select two and give advice to the writer about their problem (including modal verbs such as should, ought to, shouldn’t,  etc). When groups have finished, ask them to read out the problem and the advice.

Activity: Regrets

To practise should have you could ask students to think about regrets they’ve had in the past. To get them started, give a few examples of your own, e.g.

• I should have visited my grandparents more.
• I shouldn’t have started smoking.
• I really should have learnt another language when I was young.

Write on the board the sentence stems:

• I should have
• I shouldn’t have
• I really should have

Ask students to complete the sentences for themselves. Tell them that these should be regrets that they don’t mind sharing with others. When they have finished, ask them to work in pairs and compare their sentences. As a follow-up, you can make this into an instant role-play. Tell students to work with a new partner and explain the following situation:

You are the presidential candidate for your country. You have just lost the election. You are speaking to one of your aides. Ask students to think of ways of completing the sentence stems above.

Activity: Modal verb drill

To focus on form and meaning, you can set up a drill like the following. Write on the board the words:

Say different phrases and show how the sentence changes depending on if it’s possible, impossible or certain, e.g.

We go out. (point to certain ) We’ll go out.

We stay at home. (point to impossible ) We can’t stay at home.

We go to the cinema. (point to possible ) We might go to the cinema.

Continue, giving other cues. These cues could be spoken, or written on cards, which you can show the students, e.g.

I have a drink. (certain)

I have coffee. (impossible)

I have tea. (possible)

We work tonight. (possible)

You work tonight. (impossible)

I work tonight. (certain)

Prepare six to twelve more examples.

Activity: Jump to conclusions

Tell the students you are going to describe a situation that is open to interpretation (see example below). When you finish, ask them to work in pairs and make as many sentences as possible as to what may have happened. For this, they should use modal verb + have + past participle , e.g.

When I arrived at school today, there were papers all over the floor in the hall and the director’s office.

Possible conclusions:

• There may have been a break-in.
• The director might have gone crazy and thrown the papers around.
• Some students may have played a joke.
• The director must have been furious.

Other possible situations:

• You were stuck in traffic for two hours.
• You heard loud dance music coming from the staff room.
• No students came to class.
• When you walked in, all the students started laughing.
• Student X was fifteen minutes late.

Activity: These are the rules

One activity to get students to practise modal verbs of obligation is to ask them to make rules. Here are some ways of doing it:

• Ask students to work in groups. Give each group the name of a place (e.g. library, swimming pool, jail, school, bus, amusement park) and ask them to write rules for this place (using must, mustn’t, have to  and don’t have to ). When they finish, groups read out their rules and the others guess the place.
• Ask students to work in small groups or pairs. Ask them to imagine that they are in charge of designing the rules for a perfect language school. They should include what the students and teacher should do, mustn’t do and can do. At the end of the activity, ask different groups to read out their rules (or post them on the wall). Who has the best school?
• Prepare a series of sentences about typical rules in society (see below for examples) and ask students to complete them with a modal verb so that they are true for their country, e.g.

You ____________ vote in elections. You ____________ drink alcohol at the age of 18. You ____________ get married at the age of 15. You ____________ drive a car at the age of 14. You ____________ do military service when you are 18.

• Reference Material

Lesson Share: Reported speech 1 – article

Past perfect aspect – article

Past perfect aspect – tips and activities

Present perfect aspect – article, present perfect aspect – tips and activities.

Reported speech – tips and activities

Reported speech 2 – article, the passive in english – article, the passive in english – tips and activities, modal verbs 1 – article, modal verbs 1 – tips and activities, modal verbs 2 – article, related articles.

Articles, tips and activities on teaching adjectives, from our panel of expert authors.

Grammar: teaching the modals 'ought to', 'should', 'must' and 'have to'.

By Tim Bowen

Suggestions for teaching the modals ought to, should, must and have to when talking about suggestion or advice.

Grammar: modal verbs may and might

By Scott Thornbury

An article explaining the difference between the modal verbs may and might.

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Nouns and phrases

Our experts provide a compendium of tips and ideas for teaching nouns, prepositions and relative clauses in English.

By Kerry G. Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield

Tips and ideas from Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on teaching reported speech.

An article by Kerry Maxwell and Lindsay Clandfield on approaches to teaching reported speech.

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Modal Verbs

Perfect english grammar.

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular. 2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?'). 3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Probability:

• It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.
• I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.
• This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!
• She can speak six languages.
• My grandfather could play golf very well.
• I can't drive.

Obligation and Advice

• Children must do their homework.
• We have to wear a uniform at work.
• You should stop smoking.
• Could I leave early today, please?
• You may not use the car tonight.
• Can we swim in the lake?
• When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.
• John will always be late!

Past modals

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A Complete Guide to Modal Verbs

Posted by David S. Wills | Sep 22, 2023 | Grammar | 0

Have you ever wondered how to talk about possibility, obligation, or ability in English? If so, welcome to the world of modal verbs! Modal verbs are incredibly versatile and essential for expressing various tones, moods, and attitudes in English. In this guide, we will explore what modal verbs are, delve into their usage, and examine some common rules and examples.

Table of Contents

What are modal verbs, types of modal verbs, rules for using modal verbs, common mistakes.

Modal verbs are auxiliary, or “helping,” verbs that modify the main verb in a sentence to express possibility, ability, necessity, or other conditions. These include words like “can,” “could,” “will,” “would,” “shall,” “should,” “may,” “might,” and “must.”

• This shows ability.
• This is a suggestion.

Additional Examples:

• Can : She can play the piano well.
• Could : When she was younger, she could climb trees easily.

Possibility and Speculation

• May : It may rain tomorrow.
• Might : I might visit my grandparents this weekend.
• Can : Can I use your phone?
• May : May I come in?

Obligation and Necessity

• Must : You must report to the office immediately.
• Have to : I have to pick up my kids from school.

Prohibition

• Cannot/Can’t : You can’t park here.
• Mustn’t : You mustn’t smoke in this area.

Offers and Invitations

• Will : Will you have some coffee?
• Would : Would you like to join us for dinner?

Suggestions

• Shall : Shall we go for a walk?
• Should : We should take a break.
• Could : Could you please pass the salt?
• Would : Would you mind helping me with this?

Future Probability

• Will : She will probably come to the party.
• Shall : They shall succeed with enough effort.

Past Probability

• Would have : She would have succeeded if she had tried.
• Could have : He could have won the race but decided to stop and help an injured runner

These examples showcase the various contexts and conditions in which modal verbs are often used. They allow for a nuanced expression of mood, probability, ability, necessity, and more. By understanding how to use them appropriately, you can convey your ideas and attitudes much more clearly and effectively. Remember that accuracy is very important!

Possibility

• Can : Can you finish the project by tomorrow?
• Might : He might come to the party later.
• Can : Maria can speak four languages.
• Could : I could run fast when I was young.
• Must : We must complete the assignment.
• Have to : They have to take the medicine.

Request and Offers

• Will : Will you marry me?
• Would : Would you like some tea?
• May : You may find the book interesting.
• Could : They could arrive late due to traffic.
• Will be able to : She will be able to finish the project by next week.
• Would be able to : If she had more time, she would be able to complete it sooner.
• Should : You should take an umbrella; it looks like it’ll rain.
• Ought to : They ought to apologise for their behaviour.
• Can : Can you help me with my homework?
• Shall : Shall I open the window for you?

These additional examples should provide a broader understanding of the different ways modal verbs can be employed for various purposes. Whether you’re indicating possibility, showing ability, emphasising necessity, or making requests and offers, modal verbs are your go-to tool for nuanced communication.

• No Conjugation : Modal verbs do not change form based on the subject.
• Incorrect: She cans swim.
• Correct: She can swim.
• Incorrect : He wills go to the market.
• Correct : He will go to the market.
• Incorrect : They musts complete the project by tomorrow.
• Correct : They must complete the project by tomorrow.
• Incorrect : She coulds read when she was four.
• Correct : She could read when she was four.
• Incorrect : We cans see the mountains from here.
• Correct : We can see the mountains from here.

As you can see, the modal verb stays the same form irrespective of the subject, thus making it simpler than regular verbs, which often require conjugation based on the subject. (Learn more in this article on subject-verb agreement .) Understanding this rule is essential as it simplifies the process of constructing sentences.

• Double Modals Are Rare : Using two modal verbs together is generally avoided.
• Incorrect: She might can go.
• Correct: She might be able to go.
• Incorrect : They should must complete the project.
• Correct : They should complete the project. / They must complete the project.
• Incorrect : He will can join us later.
• Correct : He will be able to join us later.
• Incorrect : She may should attend the meeting.
• Correct : She may need to attend the meeting. / She should attend the meeting.
• Incorrect : We could will win the game.
• Correct : We could win the game. / We will probably win the game.
• Incorrect : I would can help you with that.
• Correct : I would be able to help you with that.

By avoiding double modals, the sentences remain clearer and easier to understand. If you feel the need to use two modal-like ideas, consider replacing one with an equivalent phrase, like “be able to,” “have to,” or “need to,” among others. This will help you maintain the clarity and grammatical integrity of your sentences.

• Always Use Base Form : Always use the base form of the main verb after a modal.
• Incorrect: He must to go.
• Correct: He must go.
• Incorrect : She can runs fast.
• Correct : She can run fast.
• Incorrect : They should eats healthily.
• Correct : They should eat healthily.
• Incorrect : We will sees you tomorrow.
• Correct : We will see you tomorrow.
• Incorrect : He might goes there.
• Correct : He might go there.
• Incorrect : She would likes some coffee.
• Correct : She would like some coffee.

As shown, the main verb that follows a modal should always be in its base form. This is crucial for constructing grammatically correct sentences. Ensuring you follow this rule will make your English sound more natural and accurate. It will also help you to get a better score for Grammatical Range and Accuracy .

Confusing “Should” and “Must”

• You should eat more fruits.
• You must obey the law.

“Should” for Advice or Recommendation

• Here, “should” offers a suggestion for maintaining good health.
• In this example, “should” advises more frequent contact with parents.
• “Should” here recommends contemplating alternative approaches.
• This is a suggestion aimed at a better environmental future.

“Must” for Stronger Necessity or Obligation

• “Must” indicates a firm deadline that is non-negotiable.
• Here, “must” emphasises the crucial nature of taking medication for health.
• The necessity of being punctual for the meeting is stressed by using “must.”
• This statement indicates an urgent need to act for environmental reasons.

As you can see, “should” is less forceful and is generally used for giving advice or making recommendations. In contrast, “must” implies a stronger sense of obligation or necessity. Choosing the appropriate modal verb can greatly influence the tone and meaning of your sentences.

Confusing “would” and “could”

These two modals are often confused by English learners. This is understandable because they can have slightly similar meanings. Both can be used in polite requests and both can appear in conditionals .

However, the main difference is that “could” shows possibility and “would” shows intention. For example:

• This shows the intention to do something.  
• This shows the possibility of being able to do it.

Confusing “can” and “would

These two modals are often confused. Again, it comes down to their basic function: “can” shows the ability to do something. Meanwhile, “would” has a range of uses as we can see above.

Here’s a visual lesson that I made for my social media followers:

Misplacing the Modal Verb

Sometimes, beginners struggle with placing a modal verb in a sentence.

• Incorrect: He swim can.
• Correct: He can swim.
• Incorrect: She drive should carefully.
• Here, “should” should be placed before the main verb “drive” to offer advice about driving.
• Incorrect: They must go will to college.
• “Must” should directly precede the main verb “go” to express necessity.
• Incorrect: You sing can well.
• The modal “can” should come before the main verb “sing” to indicate ability.
• Incorrect: He soon will arrive.
• “Will” should be placed right before “arrive” to denote future action.
• Incorrect: We may late be.
• The modal “may” should directly precede the main verb “be” to express possibility.

As shown, misplacing the modal verb can cause confusion and make the sentence grammatically incorrect. Ensure that the modal verb is placed right before the main verb to maintain the intended meaning and grammatical structure of the sentence.

In summary, understanding modal verbs is essential for mastering the English language. By knowing how to use them correctly, you can express a range of ideas—from possibility to obligation—clearly and efficiently.

Remember, the key is practice. The more you use them, the more natural they will become.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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5.6 Modal Auxiliaries

Learning objectives.

• Define and identify modal auxiliaries.
• Learn how and when to use modal auxiliaries.

We all need to express our moods and emotions, both in writing and in our everyday life. We do this by using modal auxiliaries .

Modal Auxiliaries

Modal auxiliaries are a type of helping verb that are used only with a main verb to help express its mood.

The following is the basic formula for using a modal auxiliary:

There are ten main modal auxiliaries in English.

Table 5.11 Modal Auxiliaries

Use the following format to form a yes-no question with a modal auxiliary:

Be aware of these four common errors when using modal auxiliaries:

Using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal

Incorrect: I can to move this heavy table.

Correct: I can move this heavy table.

Using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal

Incorrect: I could moving to the United States.

Correct: I could move to the United States.

Using two modals in a row

Incorrect: I should must renew my passport.

Correct: I must renew my passport.

Correct : I should renew my passport.

Leaving out a modal

Incorrect: I renew my passport.

Edit the following paragraph by correcting the common modal auxiliary errors.

Modals and Present Perfect Verbs

In the previous section, we defined present perfect verb tense as describing a continuing situation or something that has just happened.

Remember, when a sentence contains a modal auxiliary before the verb, the helping verb is always have .

Be aware of the following common errors when using modal auxiliaries in the present perfect tense:

Using had instead of have

Incorrect: Jamie would had attended the party, but he was sick.

Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick.

Leaving out have

Incorrect: Jamie would attended the party, but he was sick.

On a separate sheet of paper, complete the following sentences by changing the given verb form to a modal auxiliary in present perfect tense.

• The man ________ (laugh).
• The frogs ________ (croak).
• My writing teacher ________ (smile).
• The audience ________ (cheer) all night.
• My best friend ________ (giggled).

Key Takeaways

The basic formula for using a modal auxiliary is

• There are ten main modal auxiliaries in English: can , could , may , might , shall , should , will , would , must , and ought to .
• The four common types of errors when using modals include the following: using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal, using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal, using two modals in a row, and leaving out a modal.
• In the present perfect tense, when a sentence has a modal auxiliary before the verb, the helping verb is always have .
• The two common errors when using modals in the present perfect tense include using had instead of have and leaving out have .

Writing Application

On a separate sheet of paper, write ten original sentences using modal auxiliaries.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Multimodal Essays

• Interactive Works
• Rubric Language
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• Nifty Tools

Multimodal essays of all different forms can deliver an emotive argument by using images, time, sound, rhythm, etc… to activate a conceptual and intuitive connection with an audience.  This type of project involves an awareness of how storytelling can illicit affective responses, and students will have to work through their materials in a way that delivers information to activate these dimensions. Usually a multimodal essay is a very creative endeavor as students work through material to make a smooth or purposefully broken narrative delivery, and it is a highly active way for students to arrange, compile and perform curriculum.

A multimodal essay can exist in many forms, from still image compositions to audio casts to video narratives or even animations.  Below are a few ideas that can be achieved through digital media, but the project should also incorporate a storyboard component to help students develop the work and alleviate too much post-editing.  Please be cautious of expectations for this project as it can be quite time consuming, so you may want to keep it quite specific, and on the short side!

Photographic and especially video editing programs need computing power because they are editing large data images.  Below are some low cost or free options you can recommend to your students, as well as professional programs available for student to use on UBC computers.

Projects Ideas

A photo essay is a visual display of a topic or of information through images captured by camera. These depictions are accompanied by text to provide the audience with a context, or a point of view, that might not be clear in the picture(s). The purpose of a photo essay is to offer the development of a particular topic with a clear objective in mind – to denounce, inform, criticize, explain etc.

• Have students pursue research on a particular subject, space or person by taking a series of original photo documents . Have them photograph change in people or geographical locales, significant moments or everyday events, objects or materials, behind the scenes or different perspectives of the same subject, etc… After exploring the topic visually, students can then connect it to ideas, insights and revelations that activate class concepts, and visually order and align the photographs with written descriptive text, guiding the viewer through the results of their exploration.
• Have students create, refine and depict a particular archive formula to provide them with boundaries and strategies to create an archive either sourced or made from images or videos within the parameters decided upon to guide them.  For example, a student might organize the first 100 image results of a google search resulting from the words “romantic couple”, from here they will find archive categories for their results that they will then display.  For example, categories they could define and create can be; age of the subjects, sexuality, ethnicity, depicted intimacy gestures, etc..  They would then display this archive in a moving chronology or still image layout.
• Stephan Rousseau: Riding the Tube Photo Essay
• Steven Shearer: Photocollage "Slumber"
• Ed Ruscha: Twentysix Gasoline Stations

Useful Links

• Photo narratives:  Defining picture stories, essays and packages

A video essay is a multimodal piece that attempts to present, support or develop a thesis or proposition about a specific topic and can use narrative and story development in the making of a work. It usually combines audio and visual modes, may include text, and is rendered through a written plan. The piece narrates a story, explanation or analysis using multimedia formats to immerse the viewer into a particular reading and effect.

• Create a work that uses a voice-over dialogue over film and/or still images. For example, students can study a specific area in the city by filming it, collecting archival images, and writing and sound recording a written analysis of the area.  Another idea is to have students complete a structural analysis of a particular film, to uncover hidden meaning or sub textual emphasis by analyzing a collection of scenes from a film or television show and observe how a film’s story takes shape.  Students would edit the footage and render the information tied together through their voice-over analysis.
• Documentarian Ken Burns used this technique extensively; the Ken Burns effect is a moving video where the lens travels across still images (photographs, graphics, charts, maps, etc…) with moving, zooming and panning effects, focusing in on specific areas of the image. The technique works best when accompanied by an audio narrative which can be used to describe areas in focus, and other translations of what is visually projected.  For example, you might animate a still graphic with a moving lens and focus area, and have the audio narrative describe what the graph relays, and conclusions as to what this might mean. An Art Historian might use it to navigate a painting with audio narration of a formal analysis, or a creative writing class may want to pair sound and still image to examine illustrations for a storybook.
• A more experimental form of film can explore other practices of meaning making that differ from the traditional avenues. It attempts to diverge from mainstream productions by disrupting conventional narrative forms; particularly, it breaks and plays with the idea of time-space continuum, and can collage effects into a visually stimulating moment wherein the process of making creatively informs the content it is critiquing. An experimental video work may also recut sources through conceptual analysis, bringing out another reading.
• Viewing Between the Lines: Hong Sang-soo’s The Day He Arrives film analysis
• "The Making of Migrant Mother" on Dorothea Lange
• "How Black Lives Matter in The Wire" by Jason Mittel
• Edgar Wright “How to do Visual Comedy”
• Chris Marker "La Jetee" Ken Burns Effect
• Looking at paintings video from the Khan Academy
• Julien & Simon Dara "The Ordinary"
• Miguel Maldonado, Reel
• What is a video essay?
• The Video Essay as Art: 11 Ways to Make a Video Essay
• Experimental filmmaking for dummies P1
• MOMA: Experimentation in film
• Avant-garde film theory
• “Teaching While Learning: What I Learned When I Asked My Students to Make Video Essays”
• “The Video Essay:  The Future of Academic Film and Television Criticism?”

Explainer Video

Usually shorter in duration, a video explainer describes an idea in a simple and appealing fashion. It attempts to answer basic what, when, where, how or why questions. There are different formats in which they can be developed: live action, animated or whiteboard simulation.

• Have students create a 2 to 3-minute video (it can also be longer, but it is meant to be short in nature) to explain an idea succinctly and poignantly, but also in an entertaining fashion. The piece should attempt to answer basic what, when, where, how or why questions.
• Test student comprehension of literature, a theory, historical event, etc.. by asking them to make a video trailer for the moment. Have a very brief time limit so that they deliver the progression of the idea as succinctly and poignantly as possible, while also building up a reason/purpose to why it is important and intriguing to know, just as a trailer does.
• Could underwater farms help fight climate change? Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Megan Davis
• TedEd: How does the stock market work?
• Why is the Solar System Flat?
• Art historical analysis of Goya’s Third of May
• Wonder Book trailer
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On trailer
• Vyond: What is an explainer Video with examples
• 5 Best explainer videos & how to make your own
• Lakehead University Explaining Explainer Videos

A podcast can be a single or set of audio episodes or chapters that concentrate in a specific topic. The development of the topics can be provided by one person or a group of people, and at times, guests might appear in an episode in interview form.  Audio techniques such as sound effects and mood music can help deliver ideas.

• Producing an episode podcast can allow students a way to collaborate and express an idea on a certain subject, and to craft and verbally unfold an argument from written language on paper to dynamic sound and narrative. Students can include other voices via sound bites and interviews, and narrate the piece via a sound track and sound effects. Episodes on a particular subject of your class can gather together into a class series you can host online.
• Ask students to step into someone else’s shoes, consider another position or frame of reference, and perform in that mode via a developed podcast.  For example, you might ask students to take an example from class and become the person in the example, this can include historical figures or a medical subject, etc… From here, students can enact and express their point of view and perspective on an issue, giving enough information to develop the character, time period, social and/or political situation. This can include background sounds and effects, soundtracks, and narrative of different voices, interviews
• FutureThinkers: Podcast about evolving technologies, society and consciousness
• The Conversation: In Depth out Loud
• Science History: Distillations
• Allusionist: A Podcast about Language by Helen Zaltzman
• The Skeptics Guide to the Universe
• BBC Podcasts
• Carnegie Melon: Podcasting Handout
• A beginner's guide to academic podcasting
• 7 things you should know about podcasting handout
• Vanderbilt University Podcasting Resources

Experiential Learning Process Video

A video presentation in experiential learning classes can make space for student reflections about their processes particular to their experiences and partnerships. It seeks to analyze and convey the experience students have when provided with practical experience of a hands-on opportunity to solve a problem in the real world. While making the work, students can reflect and work through their experience by visually demonstrating:

• Challenges they faced and how they overcame them
• How the solutions they provided might differ or be similar to the ones presented in the class literature
• The changes in preconceived notions they had prior to the project (e.g., biases with the community they were working or the topic, how to solve of a problem of the sort)
• The new skills they developed while doing the project
• How the skills or knowledge gained might be helpful in their future, be it professional or personal

"I think writing a report would have limited our creative vision in the storytelling aspect of our final report, and easily less effective because readers would only be left to imagine what kind of things were accomplished throughout the process."

Student Reflection

To target more overlooked or invisible facets of experiential learning, the aim of the video is to reflect, not to report. Hence, it would be ideal for both students and teachers to focus on the reflection of the experiences they underwent more than reporting the process in itself.  Resources to help with creating an experiential learning multimodal project is available in our Implementation section on Scaffolded Curriculum  as well as in the following example of student work from the class.

• Example from Dr. Richard Arias Hernandez, Winter 2019 INFO 250 class
• Another example from Dr. Richard Arias Hernandez, Winter 2019 INFO 250 class
• Centre for Community Engaged Learning, Faculty Curriculum Resources

Some recommended programs:

• Camtasia  *
• VideoScribe  *
• Apple iMovie
• Audacity for audio

* UBC obtained a license for faculty, staff and student use free of charge. Download here.

• Renderforest

Available on UBC Computers

UBC has many professional programs available on library computers and digital labs from Adobe Creative Cloud for Photoshop and InDesign (photo editing and layout) and Premiere (video editing) as well as Final Cut Pro .

Warning: These programs can be expensive for a student to purchase on their own.

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Modals ( can , will , should , etc.), also known as modal auxiliaries, are difficult to learn because they seem to function like a verb but don’t follow the same rules. For example, modals act more like the auxiliary verb do/does when do/does precedes a verb; however, modals are different from do/does in that they do not change for tense or the subject’s number.  We will examine the forms, meaning, and use of modals in more depth.

The forms of modals fall into two categories (Yule, 1998): simple modals and periphrastic, or phrasal, modals. Simple modals are single words such as can, will, could, and would. Each simple modal has a present and past tense form, but these tense forms do not function the way tense functions in other verbs. For example, can is often used for the present tense, and could is used as the past tense of can ; however, could can also be used in other contexts to refer to present or future time (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999). In short, modals do not follow the usual grammar rules for verbs and so fall into their own special category.

The other type of modals is periphrastic modals (Yule, 1998), more commonly known as phrasal modals. Phrasal modals look like phrases: be able to, have got to, be going to, etc . Phrasal modals use the common verbs be or have , which can make these modals easier for students to learn because they follow more familiar grammar rules.

Modals are used to indicate certainty, possibility, necessity, inference, or prediction. For example, the sentence It must be easy to live so close to the store is an inference that expresses a high level of certainty. If the sentence changes to It might be easy to live so close the store , the sentence is still an inference, but the modal might expresses a much lower level of certainty: it might be easy to live near the store, but it might not be easy. Changing the modal in a sentence can also change the degree of certainty that the speaker has about the situation. Therefore, learners must recognize the varying degree of certainty, possibility, or necessity that a modal can express. They also must understand that a modal is used to communicate the speaker’s perspective in any given situation. Again, this can be difficult for learners to grasp given that a modal looks much like a verb but functions differently.

Modal use often depends on context and the degree of formality and politeness that a social situation requires. For example, modals such as could and would are considered more polite than their present tense counterparts can and will. English language learners need instruction and practice to understand these slight differences in use.

In this month’s Teacher’s Corner, we present four activities that focus on the form, meaning, and use of modals in everyday English. The activity offered in Week 1 uses common classroom instructions to help learners differentiate between modals expressing necessity and those expressing possibility. Week 2 gives learners a chance to recognize equivalent simple and phrasal modals. In Week 3 an activity explains how to teach a common speech act. We end the month with a common icebreaker activity adapted to emphasize modals. 

Celce-Murcia, M., & Larsen-Freeman, D. (1999). The grammar book: An ESL/EFL teacher's course

                  (2 nd ed .). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.

Yule, G. (1998). Explaining English grammar . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Additional Resources

For additional information about modal verbs , check out this resource and many others available on the American English website:

·      Modal Verbs & Adverb Clauses of Reason: Stranded on the Moon

Table of Contents

Walk into a classroom in the United States, and you’ll see a variety of posters stating different classroom rules and instructions for students. Some of these posters might include phrases such as raise hand to speak or don’t interrupt another student. Even if there are no posters, most teachers have a list of classroom rules and instructions. These rules are usually written as short phrases without modals; however, a modal is still implied.

Some rules in the classroom are obligatory and others range from strong to weak suggestions. For example, some teachers have a rule that says, “Be on time for class.” The intended meaning for some teachers is “You must be on time for class.” The rule is obligatory, and there are consequences for students who are late. Other teachers might intend the rule to mean “You should be on time to class.” Given this meaning, the teacher is making a strong suggestion, but there might not be consequences for not following the rule. Rephrasing rules using modals helps to reveal the intended level of necessity.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, you get a chance to review your classroom rules with students and assess their understanding of the rules. Your students will decide the level of necessity implied in each directive and then rewrite each rule using an appropriate modal.

High Beginning and higher (Some awareness of modal forms required)

Language Focus

During this activity, students will be able to do the following:

• Define classroom rules according to degree of necessity
• Rewrite classroom rules into complete sentences using the appropriate modal
• Chalkboard/white board and chalk/markers
• Paper and pencils/pens
• List of classroom rules Note : You can use the list of classroom rules in Appendix A, use or make your own list, or use posters from your classroom.

Preparation

• Post the list of classroom rules where all students can see it.
• Write the following rule on the board to use as a model: Raise your hand before speaking .
• Write following chart on the board:

1.     Begin class by telling students: “Today we are going to review some classroom rules and rewrite them so that each rule’s meaning is clear. In order to do that, we must talk about modals and how they are used in English to show whether a rule is necessary or optional.”

2.     Turn students’ attention to the model on the board: Raise your hand before speaking.

• Ask students to explain the rule.
• Follow up with the question “Do you always need to raise your hand before speaking in our class, or only sometimes?”
• Once students answer this question, turn their attention to the chart written on the board. Explain that using different modals can change how necessary a rule is.
• Ask students which modal they would use with the rule Raise your hand before speaking.
• After students choose a modal, ask them how they would describe the meaning of the modal. Write their definitions on the chart.

3.     Group students into small groups of three.

• One quick and easy option is to group them by their seating arrangement.

4.     Tell students that they will work together in their groups to define the other four modals listed on the chart.

5.     Once each group has come up with a definition for the other modals, have each group share a definition for one of the words. Ask the class what they think of the group’s definition and, if everyone approves of the definition, write that definition on the board.

6.     Return to the example rule: Raise your hand before speaking. Ask the class how they would write the rule using a modal.

• Remind learners that modals do not change for tense or subject and that they precede the main verb.
• Write their examples on the board. For example, students might say, You must raise your hand before speaking .

7.     Ask learners to look at the classroom rules posted at the front of the classroom. Assign each group one or two rules, depending on how many groups there are, and ask them to do the following:

• First, decide the degree of necessity implied in the rule.
• Then, choose an appropriate modal to use with the rule.
• Finally, write the rule in a complete sentence using a modal. Most of the rules listed will need a subject and a modal added to the rule.

8.     Once groups finish rewriting the rules assigned to them, ask them to write their rules on the board or share them with the whole class.

9.     Review all of the rules with the students so that they know how obligatory each rule is.

An alternative to this activity is to have students work together to come up with a list of classroom rules rather than providing the list for them. Students could work as a whole class to brainstorm what they believe the rules of the classroom are, and they could then write those rules on the board at the beginning of the activity.

The activity could be extended for students by asking them to create new posters for the rule they developed with the group. The poster could contain a shortened version of the rule and the longer version with the modal included. These posters could be hung around the classroom as a reminder of the class rules.

Classroom Rules

Raise your hand before speaking.

Wait until someone finishes talking to begin speaking.

Go to the bathroom as needed.

Bring paper and pencil or pens to class.

Turn in your homework on time.

Be on time for class.

Put your books on the shelf.

Keep your backpacks out of the aisle.

Look at your paper during tests.

Put cell phones on silent during class.

Modals can be divided into two categories: simple and phrasal. Simple modals are the most familiar— can, would, must —while phrasal modals (also known as periphrastic modals) are phrases formed with the verbs be or have . Some examples of phrasal modals are have (got) to or be allowed to. While simple modals and phrasal modals share similar meanings and are used in similar ways, they are not exact equivalents. As a result, it is important to teach the two forms and help learners distinguish between them.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, students work together to rewrite sentences that use either simple or phrasal modals. This activity is a great way to draw attention to modals, to their different forms, and to how those different forms can create slight differences in meanings.

Intermediate and up (some awareness of modal forms required)

During this activity, students will be able to:

• Distinguish between simple modals and phrasal modals
• Identify a phrasal modal that is similar in meaning to a simple modal
• Rewrite sentences using a simple modal or a phrasal modal while keeping a similar meaning
• Two sets of sentences (see Appendix A and Appendix B)
• Make enough copies of each sentence set (Appendix A and Appendix B) for half of your students.
• Pair students according to level; assign a more advanced student to work with a less advanced student.
• Write the following lists on the board:

      Simple Modals                   

     Can, May, Must, Should, Will                                                                                               

      Phrasal Modals

     Have (got) to, Be able to, Be supposed to, Be allowed to, Be going to                       

Note: In the phrase “has got to,” the word “got” can be included or omitted, i.e., “She has to wash dishes” or “She has got to wash dishes.”

Activity Part One: Defining and Matching Modals

1.     Start class by arranging students into the pairs you organized before class.

2.     Turn their attention to the modals written on the board. Point to the two types of modals. Explain that simple modals are single words while phrasal modals are phrases using the verbs be or have . Tell learners that the simple modals on the board can be matched to a phrasal modal. The two modals do not mean exactly the same thing, but they can be used in similar ways.

3.     After you explain the modal categories, tell students that with their partners they will identify the meanings of the simple modals listed and match them with phrasal modals that have the closest meanings.

• Have students write down the lists of modals from the board, using pencil and paper.
• Tell students to first review the list of simple modals and discuss with their partner the meaning of each simple modal.
• As they discuss the meaning of a simple modal, tell them to notice what words they use to define the simple modal. These words can give clues to which phrasal modal might be the best match.
• The students then use their definitions to match each simple modal to a phrasal modal.

4.     After students define and match all simple modals to phrasal modals, assign each pair of students to compare their answers with another pair of students.

5.     Check in with the whole class to ensure that everyone has the same answers or to give them a chance to ensure that their answers are correct. The matching pairs are can/be able to ; may/be allowed to ; must/have (got) to ; shall/be supposed to ; will/be going to .

Activity Part Two: Using Modals in Sentences

1.     Have students return to working with their original partners.

2.     Hand out the first sentence set (Appendix A) to half of the pairs and the second sentence set (Appendix B) to the other pairs.

3.     Tell the students to work with their partners to complete the sentences with the correct modal from the list of modals on the sheet.

Note: The students should only fill in the sentences at the top of the sheet. The bottom half of the sheet will be filled in later.

4.     Once the pairs finish, tell them to trade their sentence set with the group they worked with earlier.

5.     Explain that they must rewrite the sentences using the modal from their sheet that most closely matches. For example, the pair that worked on the worksheet with simple modals will rewrite the other group’s sentences using the appropriate simple modal.

6.     When the pairs finish, have them return the worksheets to the original group. Ask them to compare their original sentences with the rewrites.

7.     When everyone has reviewed their answers, ask each pair to choose one of their rewritten sentences and write it on the board. When this is done, all of the sentences from the worksheets should be on the board. The students can double-check their work and use this time to ask questions.

One way to vary this activity is to utilize a reading that you have previously used in class. Modify half of the reading to use simple modals and the other half of the reading to use only phrasal modals. Students will be familiar with the material and vocabulary, making it easier for them to focus on examining the differences in meaning between the two types of modals.

An extension to this activity could have students writing their own sentences using simple or phrasal modals as they choose. Giving learners an opportunity to create new sentences gives them a greater stake in the meanings that they want to communicate, and they may find it easier to understand the differences in how each modal is used.

Sentence Set One

Simple Modals

• We ____________________ go to the party if we have enough time.
• Zahra and Fatima  _____________________ arrive early if they want to ride to the party with us.
• You _____________________ have two cookies now, but no more. You’ll eat cake and sweets at the party.
• They ___________________ come home by ten, but they might come home a little later.
• Don ___________________ be at the party tonight. We can talk about it then.

Rewritten sentences

• ____________________________________________________________________

Sentence Set Two

Phrasal Modals

• They ___________________________ go to the swimming pool on Saturday.
• Niu ____________________________ swim. He learned while studying in Australia.
• David and Michelle ___________________________ be at the pool by 10:00 am.
• Since we know the lifeguard, we ________________________ go into the pool early.
• Everyone ________________________ wear water shoes while swimming at the public pool.
• _____________________________________________________________________

Answer Key (for teachers)

Appendix A:

Appendix B:

• are going to
• are supposed to
• are allowed to
• has (got) to

The speech act of making requests is quite complex in English. A speaker has to consider several factors before making a request that would be well received. First the speaker must consider the size of the request and the person who he or she is talking to. Then, the speaker must choose an appropriate modal based on these factors.

In English, the more polite the request, the longer and more buried the actual request is; a shorter, more direct request, however, is considered less polite. Look at the two examples here: Give me your pen versus Would you be able to give me a pen, please? In the first request, which is short and direct, no modal is present, but the request is quite clear. In the second request, two modals are used, making the request much longer and indirect—but also more formal and polite.

Knowing how to use modals when making requests is important for social interactions. For example, if a student makes a very short, direct request of a teacher, the teacher may see this request as impolite. Even if the student did not intend to be impolite, such a request may lower the teacher’s opinion of the student. Like the student in this scenario, some students may find it difficult to know the rules of speech acts without explicit instruction. As a result, it is essential that teachers discuss the complexities of making requests.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, students engage in a fun and interactive activity in order to practice making appropriate requests. First, teachers will review the rules of making requests in English and then students will try making appropriate requests in a series of realistic scenarios.

High intermediate and above (some awareness of modal forms required)

• Recognize the variables to consider when making context-appropriate requests in English
• Apply the rules of making requests to a set of scenarios to make appropriate requests
• Set of scenarios (Appendix A)
• Set of respondents (Appendix B)
• Prepare for students to work in teams of 8-10. (If the class has 10 or fewer students, have them work as a single group.)
• Put the following figure on the board:

Modals of Requests

Less direct                                More direct

<-------------------------------------------------->

More polite                               Less polite

Activity Part One: Directness-Politeness Continuum

1.     Start class by telling students that today they are going to learn about making polite requests in English.

• Explain that requests in English require a modal to be considered polite.
• Ask students to give some examples of modals in English.
• Write their responses on the board.

2.     Ask students to turn to a neighbor and ask to borrow a pen. After they talk, have students share their requests with the class. Write their responses on the board.

• If students are slow to respond, you can share some of the following examples: Can I borrow a pen? Do you have a pen I can use? Give me a pen please. Would you lend me a pen?

3.     Explain to the class that in English, the more polite the request the less direct the request. Show them the figure on the board and explain that the continuum shown in the figure is one way to think about making polite requests.

4.     Use one of the students’ examples for demonstration. For example, point to the request: Give me a pen, please . Ask students if this request is direct or indirect. Then ask the students to describe the politeness of the request. If they had to choose, where would they put the request “Give me a pen, please” on the figure? Explain that the request is very direct, but not considered very polite in English.

5.     Have students turn to their neighbor again. Tell students that they need to work together to organize the requests on the board along the continuum shown in the figure. Which request is the most polite, but least direct? Which is the most direct, but least polite? Where would you put the modals along this continuum?

6.     As students finish, tell each pair to write a request along the continuum on the board.

7.     As a class, review how the students organized the requests. Ask each pair to explain why they put their request in a particular spot.

• As you work through each request, encourage students to challenge other students’ choices.
• If necessary, explain that in English the order of politeness for modals is as follows, with the most polite listed first: would, could, will, can. Ensure that what is listed on the board follows this order.

Activity Part Two: Variables Affecting Requests

1.     Put students into the teams of 10 prepared before class. Have each team organize themselves into two rows of five facing each other so that each group member is facing another group member. Give each team a set of scenario cards (Appendix A) and pass them out so that each person has one.

2.     Tell students they are going to practice making requests based on the scenarios in their hands.

3.     Have the students read the scenarios aloud to the students sitting across from them. Then each student must prepare a request based on the scenario and make the request to the person across from him or her.

4.     Tell the students they will have 1 minute to complete the task. When they hear the teacher clap, they must trade scenario cards, and students in one row must move one spot to the right while the students in the other row stay in the same spot.

• Students will rotate through this game a minimum of five times in order to practice making requests.
• While the students go through this activity, circulate and make note of some examples of requests.

5.     After the time is up, ask students to return to their seats. Review some of the requests you heard students make, and ask students which requests are polite and which are direct.

6.     Explain that you are now going to talk about some other considerations to make when making requests.

7.     Return to the example, “Give me a pen, please,” and ask students to describe the size of the request. Is asking for a pen a big request or a small request? In English, request size is based on how much the respondent has to do in order to fulfill the request.

• Ask students what would happen if they changed the word pen for the word car. Would they ask the same way, or would they try to ask more politely? Which request phrase on the board would they choose if they were asking to borrow a car?

8.     To bring in another variable, ask students how they would change the request “Give me a pen, please” if they were asking a teacher. What about a sibling or a close friend?

• Explain that in making requests in English, the speaker also considers who the respondent is.
• Again, change the word pen for the word car and tell students they are making the request to a grandparent. How would they make the request?

9.     Ask students to return to their teams and to organize themselves again into rows of five facing each other. They will now do the same game again; however, this time they will consider a new variable: the respondent.

10.  Hand out the second set of cards (Appendix B). Each person should get one respondent card in addition to his or her scenario card.

11.  Tell students that the new card has a person listed. When they read their scenario card they must also read the person listed on the card.

12.  Students must then make the request as if they are talking to the person listed on the card. For example, a student has a scenario card from the first game and now has a respondent card that says teacher. The student reading the scenario must then figure out how to make the request as though he or she is asking a teacher.

• Remind students that the size of the request is important to consider as well.

13.  Again, students will have 1 minute with their partners. At the end of the minute, students will switch cards with their partners. One row will move one spot to the right while the other row stays in the same place.

14.  While the students continue this activity, teachers should circulate and make note of some examples of requests.

15.  When the game is complete, have students return to their seats.

16.  Point out some of the examples you heard. Ask students if the examples are appropriate requests based on the size of the request and the person being asked.

17.  Give students time to ask questions and clear up any issues they still have about making requests in English.

Vary this activity by having students work through the activities in pairs rather than setting up the game with teams. In pairs, students can work through the scenarios, first through speaking and then by writing the requests they made. The written requests would give the teacher a chance to assess students’ comprehension on an individual level.

This activity can be extended to offer a homework opportunity. Have students record three requests they make outside of class. Students must write down the scenario, who the respondent is, and how they would make the request in English. Students must then bring these examples to share in class. For example, a student goes home and needs to ask a friend for a ride to the market. The student would then write down and bring to class something like the following: I needed to ask my friend for a ride to the market. I know this friend pretty well. In English I would say, “Would you give me a ride to the market? I need to get some things for my mother.”

Scenarios for Making Requests

Respondents for Requests Scenarios

Icebreaker activities are great ways to get students talking.  Icebreakers are even better when students are both talking and practicing a specific language skill or component. “Find Someone Who...” is a common icebreaker in which students get a list of characteristics and they must find classmates who meet the characteristics on the list. For example, the worksheet might say, “Find someone who has traveled to Japan.” Students must then walk around the room asking classmates about their travels. Once they find a student who has traveled to Japan, they get that student’s signature and move onto the next item on the list.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we modify the “Find Someone Who...” game to include modals. The goal is for students to ask questions and give answers using modals. The game is a lot of fun and can be adapted to fit the level, needs, and experiences of your students.

Intermediate and above (knowledge of question formation and modals necessary)

• Practice using modals in situations related to possibility, ability, and predictability
• Form questions and answers using modals
• Worksheet: Find Someone Who...  (Appendix A)
• Make enough copies of Worksheet: Find Someone Who...  (Appendix A) for all students in the class.

1.     Warm up the class by asking some questions to get students thinking about modals and questions. Here are some examples to use:

• Would you like to climb a mountain?
• Are you going to be wealthy in the future?
• Can you swim?

2.     Tell students they are going to play a game called “Find Someone Who...” and explain the directions.

• Each student will get a copy of a worksheet with phrases.
• To play the game, the student will pick one phrase to turn into a question using a modal.
• Then the student will go around the room and ask the question to classmates to find someone who answers “yes.”
• When the student finds a classmate who answers “yes” to a particular question, the student must get the classmate to sign next to that item. The student can have their classmates sign only once on the worksheet.
• After finding a classmate to sign for one item, the student then forms a question for another item and repeats asking the question to classmates. 
• The first student to get a signature for every item on the list wins.

3.     Hand out copies of the “Find Someone Who...” worksheet. Give students time to review the items on the list and to ask questions about anything that they don’t understand.

4.     Have students stand up. Tell them they have 10 minutes to talk to classmates and to try to get every item on the list signed.

• Tell students “Go,” when you are ready to start the clock.

5.     As students circulate, take time to listen and ensure that students are asking questions accurately.

6.     When the first person finishes, review his or her worksheet.  Ask the student to read his or her answers in complete sentences.

7.     Finish the activity by having all students make complete sentences using the answers they have. If you want, you can collect and check the sentences each student writes.

There are a number of possible variations and adaptations for this activity. One variation starts the activity by asking students to write the questions they will ask before the activity starts. Each student gets a worksheet and spends time turning each phrase listed into a complete question. Students then have the questions ready before they start the game.

Another alternative is to have students create their own worksheet. Each student must come up with a single item to use in the game. Post all the items on the board. The students then copy the phrases into their notebooks before starting the game. Students now have a worksheet that is better tailored to their experiences.

Finally, teachers can rewrite the items listed on the worksheet to match the language level and the experiences and background of the students.

Find someone who...

1.     would like to travel around the world.                                    ________________________________________

2.     is going to a university.                                                                      ________________________________________

3.     can bake desserts.                                                              ________________________________________

4.     would eat bugs for money.                                            ________________________________________

5.     is going to watch a movie this weekend.             ________________________________________

6.     will have children.                                                               ________________________________________

7.     can speak multiple languages.                                                     ________________________________________

8.     will be famous.                                                                      ________________________________________

9.     would go camping for 30 days.                                                      ________________________________________

10.  can play an instrument.                                                  ________________________________________

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6 facts about americans and tiktok.

Increasing shares of U.S. adults are turning to the short-form video sharing platform TikTok in general and for news .

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand Americans’ use and perceptions of TikTok. The data for this analysis comes from several Center surveys conducted in 2023.

More information about the surveys and their methodologies, including the sample sizes and field dates, can be found at the links in the text.

Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. This is the latest analysis in Pew Research Center’s ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

This analysis draws from several Pew Research Center reports on Americans’ use of and attitudes about social media, based on surveys conducted in 2023. For more information, read:

Americans’ Social Media Use

How u.s. adults use tiktok.

• Social Media and News Fact Sheet
• Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023

At the same time, some Americans have concerns about the Chinese-owned platform’s approach to data privacy and its potential impact on national security. Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that, if passed in the Senate and signed into law, would restrict TikTok’s ability to operate in the United States.

Here are six key facts about Americans and TikTok, drawn from Pew Research Center surveys.

A third of U.S. adults – including a majority of adults under 30 – use TikTok. Around six-in-ten U.S. adults under 30 (62%) say they use TikTok, compared with 39% of those ages 30 to 49, 24% of those 50 to 64, and 10% of those 65 and older.

In a 2023 Center survey , TikTok stood out from other platforms we asked about for the rapid growth of its user base. Just two years earlier, 21% of U.S. adults used the platform.

A majority of U.S. teens use TikTok. About six-in-ten teens ages 13 to 17 (63%) say they use the platform. More than half of teens (58%) use it daily, including 17% who say they’re on it “almost constantly.”

A higher share of teen girls than teen boys say they use TikTok almost constantly (22% vs. 12%). Hispanic teens also stand out: Around a third (32%) say they’re on TikTok almost constantly, compared with 20% of Black teens and 10% of White teens.

In fall 2023, support for a U.S. TikTok ban had declined. Around four-in-ten Americans (38%) said that they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok, down from 50% in March 2023. A slightly smaller share (27%) said they would oppose a ban, while 35% were not sure. This question was asked before the House of Representatives passed the bill that could ban the app.

Republicans and Republican-leaning independents were far more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners to support a TikTok ban (50% vs. 29%), but support had declined across both parties since earlier in the year.

Adults under 30 were less likely to support a ban than their older counterparts. About three-in-ten adults under 30 (29%) supported a ban, compared with 36% of those ages 30 to 49, 39% of those ages 50 to 64, and 49% of those ages 65 and older.

In a separate fall 2023 survey, only 18% of U.S. teens said they supported a ban. 

A relatively small share of users produce most of TikTok’s content. About half of U.S. adult TikTok users (52%) have ever posted a video on the platform. In fact, of all the TikTok content posted by American adults, 98% of publicly accessible videos come from the most active 25% of users .

Those who have posted TikTok content are more active on the site overall. These users follow more accounts, have more followers and are more likely to have filled out an account bio.

Although younger U.S. adults are more likely to use TikTok, their posting behaviors don’t look much different from those of older age groups.

About four-in-ten U.S. TikTok users (43%) say they regularly get news there. While news consumption on other social media sites has declined or remained stagnant in recent years, the share of U.S. TikTok users who get news on the site has doubled since 2020, when 22% got news there.

Related: Social Media and News Fact Sheet

TikTok news consumers are especially likely to be:

• Young. The vast majority of U.S. adults who regularly get news on TikTok are under 50: 44% are ages 18 to 29 and 38% are 30 to 49. Just 4% of TikTok news consumers are ages 65 and older.
• Women. A majority of regular TikTok news consumers in the U.S. are women (58%), while 39% are men. These gender differences are similar to those among news consumers on Instagram and Facebook.
• Democrats. Six-in-ten regular news consumers on TikTok are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, while a third are Republicans or GOP leaners.
• Hispanic or Black. Three-in-ten regular TikTok news users in the U.S. are Hispanic, while 19% are Black. Both shares are higher than these groups’ share of the adult population. Around four-in-ten (39%) TikTok news consumers are White, although this group makes up 59% of U.S. adults overall .

A majority of Americans (59%) see TikTok as a major or minor threat to U.S. national security, including 29% who see the app as a major threat. Our May 2023 survey also found that opinions vary across several groups:

• About four-in-ten Republicans (41%) see TikTok as a major threat to national security, compared with 19% of Democrats.
• Older adults are more likely to see TikTok as a major threat: 46% of Americans ages 65 and older say this, compared with 13% of those ages 18 to 29.
• U.S. adults who do not use TikTok are far more likely than TikTok users to believe TikTok is a major threat (36% vs. 9%).

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About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

• Solar Eclipse 2024

What the World Has Learned From Past Eclipses

C louds scudded over the small volcanic island of Principe, off the western coast of Africa, on the afternoon of May 29, 1919. Arthur Eddington, director of the Cambridge Observatory in the U.K., waited for the Sun to emerge. The remains of a morning thunderstorm could ruin everything.

The island was about to experience the rare and overwhelming sight of a total solar eclipse. For six minutes, the longest eclipse since 1416, the Moon would completely block the face of the Sun, pulling a curtain of darkness over a thin stripe of Earth. Eddington traveled into the eclipse path to try and prove one of the most consequential ideas of his age: Albert Einstein’s new theory of general relativity.

Eddington, a physicist, was one of the few people at the time who understood the theory, which Einstein proposed in 1915. But many other scientists were stymied by the bizarre idea that gravity is not a mutual attraction, but a warping of spacetime. Light itself would be subject to this warping, too. So an eclipse would be the best way to prove whether the theory was true, because with the Sun’s light blocked by the Moon, astronomers would be able to see whether the Sun’s gravity bent the light of distant stars behind it.

Two teams of astronomers boarded ships steaming from Liverpool, England, in March 1919 to watch the eclipse and take the measure of the stars. Eddington and his team went to Principe, and another team led by Frank Dyson of the Greenwich Observatory went to Sobral, Brazil.

Totality, the complete obscuration of the Sun, would be at 2:13 local time in Principe. Moments before the Moon slid in front of the Sun, the clouds finally began breaking up. For a moment, it was totally clear. Eddington and his group hastily captured images of a star cluster found near the Sun that day, called the Hyades, found in the constellation of Taurus. The astronomers were using the best astronomical technology of the time, photographic plates, which are large exposures taken on glass instead of film. Stars appeared on seven of the plates, and solar “prominences,” filaments of gas streaming from the Sun, appeared on others.

Eddington wanted to stay in Principe to measure the Hyades when there was no eclipse, but a ship workers’ strike made him leave early. Later, Eddington and Dyson both compared the glass plates taken during the eclipse to other glass plates captured of the Hyades in a different part of the sky, when there was no eclipse. On the images from Eddington’s and Dyson’s expeditions, the stars were not aligned. The 40-year-old Einstein was right.

“Lights All Askew In the Heavens,” the New York Times proclaimed when the scientific papers were published. The eclipse was the key to the discovery—as so many solar eclipses before and since have illuminated new findings about our universe.

To understand why Eddington and Dyson traveled such distances to watch the eclipse, we need to talk about gravity.

Since at least the days of Isaac Newton, who wrote in 1687, scientists thought gravity was a simple force of mutual attraction. Newton proposed that every object in the universe attracts every other object in the universe, and that the strength of this attraction is related to the size of the objects and the distances among them. This is mostly true, actually, but it’s a little more nuanced than that.

On much larger scales, like among black holes or galaxy clusters, Newtonian gravity falls short. It also can’t accurately account for the movement of large objects that are close together, such as how the orbit of Mercury is affected by its proximity the Sun.

Albert Einstein’s most consequential breakthrough solved these problems. General relativity holds that gravity is not really an invisible force of mutual attraction, but a distortion. Rather than some kind of mutual tug-of-war, large objects like the Sun and other stars respond relative to each other because the space they are in has been altered. Their mass is so great that they bend the fabric of space and time around themselves.

Read More: 10 Surprising Facts About the 2024 Solar Eclipse

This was a weird concept, and many scientists thought Einstein’s ideas and equations were ridiculous. But others thought it sounded reasonable. Einstein and others knew that if the theory was correct, and the fabric of reality is bending around large objects, then light itself would have to follow that bend. The light of a star in the great distance, for instance, would seem to curve around a large object in front of it, nearer to us—like our Sun. But normally, it’s impossible to study stars behind the Sun to measure this effect. Enter an eclipse.

Einstein’s theory gives an equation for how much the Sun’s gravity would displace the images of background stars. Newton’s theory predicts only half that amount of displacement.

Eddington and Dyson measured the Hyades cluster because it contains many stars; the more stars to distort, the better the comparison. Both teams of scientists encountered strange political and natural obstacles in making the discovery, which are chronicled beautifully in the book No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity , by the physicist Daniel Kennefick. But the confirmation of Einstein’s ideas was worth it. Eddington said as much in a letter to his mother: “The one good plate that I measured gave a result agreeing with Einstein,” he wrote , “and I think I have got a little confirmation from a second plate.”

The Eddington-Dyson experiments were hardly the first time scientists used eclipses to make profound new discoveries. The idea dates to the beginnings of human civilization.

Careful records of lunar and solar eclipses are one of the greatest legacies of ancient Babylon. Astronomers—or astrologers, really, but the goal was the same—were able to predict both lunar and solar eclipses with impressive accuracy. They worked out what we now call the Saros Cycle, a repeating period of 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours in which eclipses appear to repeat. One Saros cycle is equal to 223 synodic months, which is the time it takes the Moon to return to the same phase as seen from Earth. They also figured out, though may not have understood it completely, the geometry that enables eclipses to happen.

The path we trace around the Sun is called the ecliptic. Our planet’s axis is tilted with respect to the ecliptic plane, which is why we have seasons, and why the other celestial bodies seem to cross the same general path in our sky.

As the Moon goes around Earth, it, too, crosses the plane of the ecliptic twice in a year. The ascending node is where the Moon moves into the northern ecliptic. The descending node is where the Moon enters the southern ecliptic. When the Moon crosses a node, a total solar eclipse can happen. Ancient astronomers were aware of these points in the sky, and by the apex of Babylonian civilization, they were very good at predicting when eclipses would occur.

Two and a half millennia later, in 2016, astronomers used these same ancient records to measure the change in the rate at which Earth’s rotation is slowing—which is to say, the amount by which are days are lengthening, over thousands of years.

By the middle of the 19 th century, scientific discoveries came at a frenetic pace, and eclipses powered many of them. In October 1868, two astronomers, Pierre Jules César Janssen and Joseph Norman Lockyer, separately measured the colors of sunlight during a total eclipse. Each found evidence of an unknown element, indicating a new discovery: Helium, named for the Greek god of the Sun. In another eclipse in 1869, astronomers found convincing evidence of another new element, which they nicknamed coronium—before learning a few decades later that it was not a new element, but highly ionized iron, indicating that the Sun’s atmosphere is exceptionally, bizarrely hot. This oddity led to the prediction, in the 1950s, of a continual outflow that we now call the solar wind.

And during solar eclipses between 1878 and 1908, astronomers searched in vain for a proposed extra planet within the orbit of Mercury. Provisionally named Vulcan, this planet was thought to exist because Newtonian gravity could not fully describe Mercury’s strange orbit. The matter of the innermost planet’s path was settled, finally, in 1915, when Einstein used general relativity equations to explain it.

Many eclipse expeditions were intended to learn something new, or to prove an idea right—or wrong. But many of these discoveries have major practical effects on us. Understanding the Sun, and why its atmosphere gets so hot, can help us predict solar outbursts that could disrupt the power grid and communications satellites. Understanding gravity, at all scales, allows us to know and to navigate the cosmos.

GPS satellites, for instance, provide accurate measurements down to inches on Earth. Relativity equations account for the effects of the Earth’s gravity and the distances between the satellites and their receivers on the ground. Special relativity holds that the clocks on satellites, which experience weaker gravity, seem to run slower than clocks under the stronger force of gravity on Earth. From the point of view of the satellite, Earth clocks seem to run faster. We can use different satellites in different positions, and different ground stations, to accurately triangulate our positions on Earth down to inches. Without those calculations, GPS satellites would be far less precise.

This year, scientists fanned out across North America and in the skies above it will continue the legacy of eclipse science. Scientists from NASA and several universities and other research institutions will study Earth’s atmosphere; the Sun’s atmosphere; the Sun’s magnetic fields; and the Sun’s atmospheric outbursts, called coronal mass ejections.

When you look up at the Sun and Moon on the eclipse , the Moon’s day — or just observe its shadow darkening the ground beneath the clouds, which seems more likely — think about all the discoveries still yet waiting to happen, just behind the shadow of the Moon.

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