Modals

Can expresses ability or informal permission. Use it for things someone is able to do or allowed to do in a practical sense.

Could is the past form of can and also a polite way to ask permission or make a tentative request. It can express conditional ability.

May signals formal permission or a possible event. Use it in more official contexts or when you want to sound courteous and precise.

Might expresses a small possibility or a tentative suggestion. It is less certain than may and often used for hypothetical situations.

Must shows strong obligation, necessity, or logical conclusion. Use it to give rules, requirements, or when drawing a firm inference.

Shall offers suggestions or asks for guidance, mainly in formal or British English. It sometimes appears in legal language for mandates.

Should gives advice, recommendations, or mild obligation. It can also express expectation about likely outcomes.

Will marks future actions, firm intentions, or promises. It is the standard way to talk about what someone is going to do.

Would is used for polite requests, habitual past actions, and conditional situations. It softens demands and frames imagined scenarios.

Modals are small but powerful verbs that shape meaning around ability, permission, necessity, and probability. Practice substituting modals to feel their nuances in everyday English.