


We don’t have enough room to look at every modal verb, but we can give you some examples so that you can see how different modalities are being expressed, and then you will be able to spot them for yourself in future.

The function and meaning behind modal verbs are best understood through sentence examples, rather than explanation, because you can see for yourself how the modal verb is impacting upon the verb to make the meaning behind the sentence clearer. Read the following examples and explanations carefully. Examples Sentences Containing Modal Verbs So, let’s take a look at some example sentences and highlight how the modal verb is expressing modality and adding more information to the verbs that follow them. In some cases, though they can be used to express more than one modality, but you’ll see more on that in the following section. Here they are:Īll of these modal verbs must come before a verb to help express at least one of the modality examples listed above. Below is a list of modal verbs in the strictest sense (there are examples of modal auxiliary verbs, but for now they don’t need to be looked at because our focus today is on modal verbs). Thankfully, modal verbs are easier to understand with examples, because there is actually quite a shortlist of these uniquely behaving verbs. These will be better understood in the examples that follow later, but it’s important that you know them now. This is just what the modal verbs can help explain further for the verb that follows. In English, modal verbs are a small class of auxiliary verbs used to express ability, permission, obligation, prohibition, probability, possibility, advice. That sounds pretty confusing, so let’s just break down what exactly modality is! Modal verbs always come before a traditional verb, but they explain the modality of the verb. This is because modal verbs don’t actually describe action per se, instead they provide information about the function of the verb that is to follow. Modal verbs are verbs that act very differently to the one’s you might be thinking of such as ‘work’, ‘play’, ‘eat’, etc. Examples Sentences Containing Modal Verbs.
