Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that modify the mood of the main verb in a sentence. They express various meanings, including ability, possibility, necessity, permission, and obligation. A complete list of modal verbs in English with examples and usage tips.
Modalverbs, like can, may, will, and must, help express abilities, possibilities, permissions, and obligations. This Article includes all the common modalverbs in English, organized alphabetically, so you can easily find and learn how to use each one.
Following is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings. Modalverbs are a unique group of auxiliary verbs that we typically use to express notions like ability, possibility, permission, and obligation.
Examples of ModalVerbs To further illustrate the usage of modalverbs, here are several tables with examples organized by the function they perform in a sentence.