Modals for the English Learner

The student largely undervalues the use of modals in English although many will ask me the difference between should, would and could and others may mix their usage without a care in the world. Modals help in moving the action of the verb in a certain direction and without them the meaning of the sentence becomes unclear. The three modals mentioned above are often taught together yet they should be done so separately so that the person does not mix himself up. They can also be best appreciated when taken into consideration with the present, past and future forms of verbs they are used with.

The use of “can” is appreciated when considered with abilities. A person is asked if he can do something when he is asking a favour from someone else too. So a sentence like “I can swim”, denoting ones ability to do the sport is distinct from ” I can open the window if you like “which is said on a train car and is associated with ones ability to do a favour for someone else. Can is a direct form of asking if the person would like the favour done, otherwise the person can use another form like “may” which is more polite. On a scale of politeness one then uses may before can especially when asking permission to do something.

Might is considered to be used when the action to be done is less the possible and that means probable. So a person who might be at a show is less likely to show up than a person who may or can be there. On a scale of fifty to hundred percent sureness of doing something then “might” would be rated at 50 percent while “may” could be rated at 75 percent and “can”, which is used under more certain circumstances, can be rated at 85%. These figures are arbitrary but it is important to know the relationship of one modal compared to the other and that the use of can does not mean the absolute sense of completing the action.