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Modal verbs: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Levels A1 to C1 31 lesson plans · 10 drill lessons Exercises that check themselves

Modal verbs such as can, should, must and might go before another verb and add ability, advice, rules or how sure we are: She can swim, You should rest. The edio.ai library has 31 ready-made lessons on modal verbs, levels A1 to C1, from can for hobbies to must have in an incident report. Try the exercises, read each modal's rule in the lessons' grammar schemes, and choose a lesson for your class by level. All the modal verbs lessons are interactive and in American English.

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Modal verbs lesson plans and drills

31 lesson plans and 10 drill lessons, A1 to C1. Lesson plans are whole lessons with reading, listening and speaking; drill lessons are 43 to 47 self-checking exercises with no new words.

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One exercise from each of 6 lessons. These are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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Modal verbs explained

We use modal verbs to talk about ability (can, could), requests and permission (Can I…?), advice (should), rules (must, have to) and how sure we are (might, can't). Can, should, must and might never take -s, and the verb after them has no to: She can draw, not She cans draw. Questions start with the modal, without do: Can you surf?

Can and can't for ability

Can says someone knows how to do something, and can't (cannot) says they don't. Both stay the same for every person: He can cook, We can't play chess, and for a parrot, It can talk.

Who?✅ can❌ can't
II can draw.I can't draw.
youYou can sing.You can't sing.
heHe can cook.He can't cook.
sheShe can dance.She can't dance.
itIt can talk. 🦜It can't draw. 🦜
weWe can play chess.We can't play chess.
theyThey can take photos.They can't take photos.

From the lesson Can you play Scrabble? (English A1.1)

Could and couldn't: can in the past

For ability in the past, can becomes could: They could glide before 1903, I could swim at six. Negatives and questions need no did: People couldn't fly with an engine, Could you swim at five?

Who✓ could✗ couldn't
II could swim at six.I couldn't read at three.
youYou could walk at two.You couldn't drive at ten.
heHe could ride a bike at five.He couldn't swim at five.
sheShe could dance at four.She couldn't cook at four.
itIn 1903, it (the Flyer) could fly.It couldn't stay in the air for long.
weWe could see the sea from the dune.We couldn't see the horses.
theyThey could glide before 1903.They couldn't fly with an engine.

From the lesson Twelve seconds in the air (English A2.1)

Should and shouldn't for advice

Should marks a good idea and shouldn't a bad one: You should clear the path, Biscuit shouldn't eat street snow. To ask for advice, put should first: What should I do?

I, you, he, she, it, we, theyshould / shouldn't (= should not)base verb

You should clear the path.

Biscuit shouldn't eat street snow.

From the lesson Good neighbors shovel snow (English A2.1)

Must, mustn't and don't have to

Must is a rule to follow and mustn't a rule against something: Drivers must stop for the bus, You mustn't pass on the right. Don't have to means there's no rule at all, so it's your choice.

WordsIt means…Example
must ✅a rule or a law: do it!Drivers must stop for the bus.
mustn't ⛔a rule or a law: don't do it!You mustn't pass on the right.
don't have to 🆗no rule: it isn't necessary, but you canYou don't have to run. Zack waits.

From the lesson Stop for the yellow bus! (English A2.2)

Must, might, can't: how sure are you?

From the evidence, must be means you're sure, might be, may be or could be that it's possible, and can't be that you're sure it isn't: It can't be the app: the web dashboard is slow too.

How sure?FormExample
I'm sure it is.must + beThe old address is still coming back, so it must be a cached copy.
It's possible.might / may / could + beIt might be the office Wi-Fi. We haven't checked it yet.
Maybe it isn't.might not / may not + beIt may not be the phone. Let's try another one.
I'm sure it isn't.can't / cannot / couldn't + beIt can't be the app: the web dashboard is slow too.

From the lesson It's always DNS (English for IT B2)

Should have, could have: looking back

Modal + have + past participle looks back. Should have is the right step that didn't happen, shouldn't have a mistake that did, and could have an option nobody used: You could have called them after a week.

FormDid it happen?What it meansExample
should have + past participleNoIt was the right thing to do, but it didn't happen: criticism or regret.I should have followed up after a week.
shouldn't have + past participleYesIt happened, and it was a mistake.You shouldn't have offered ten percent on the spot.
could have + past participleNoIt was possible, but you didn't do it.You could have called them after a week.
didn't need to + base formYes or no: the context tells youIt wasn't necessary.I printed fifty brochures, but I didn't need to. / They had our list, so I didn't need to send it.

From the lesson Giving Feedback (Business English B2)

Questions about modal verbs

What are modal verbs?
Helping verbs that add a meaning to the main verb. Can, could, should, might, may and must show ability, advice, obligation or possibility: I can ski, It might rain. Have to does a similar job but works like an ordinary verb, with do in questions and a past form: Does she have to go?, We had to wait.
What's the difference between can and could?
Can is for now, could for the past. I can ride a bike now; I could ride a bike at five. Could has other jobs too: it offers an idea (You could extract this into a function) or a possibility in one situation (It could be the DNS cache). For what is true in general, use can: DNS can be slow when a resolver is busy.
When do we use should and shouldn't?
To give and ask for advice. You should wear warm boots is a good idea; You shouldn't run on the ice is a bad one. Ask with Should I…? or What should we wear?, and soften advice with I think: I think you should walk slowly. For laws and rules, English uses must or have to.
What's the difference between must and have to?
In the positive, almost none; in the negative, a lot. Drivers must stop and Drivers have to stop mean nearly the same, though signs and written rules prefer must and people usually say have to. But mustn't means it's against the rules, and don't have to means it isn't necessary: You mustn't pass on the right; You don't have to run. For the past, use had to: must has no past form.
What are modals of deduction?
Modals for conclusions drawn from evidence. Must means you're sure (You must be tired after the flight), might, may and could mean it's possible (He might be in a meeting), and can't means you're sure it isn't (That can't be right). For the past, add have + past participle: They must have misread my email.
How do you use should have and could have?
To look back at things that didn't happen. You should have asked me first is criticism: asking was right, and you didn't. You could have driven names an option you didn't take. After the modal comes have and the past participle (gone, not went). In speech they sound like should've and could've, so never write should of.
How do I teach modal verbs to beginners?
Start with can and can't, then one modal per lesson. In English A1.1 on edio.ai, learners say what they can and can't do with hobbies and sports, and English A1.2 adds Can I…? and Can you…? for asking at a market. English A2.1 brings could, should and might; English A2.2 covers rules with have to, must, be allowed to and had to.
What are good modal verbs games and activities?
Advice, rules and guessing games. Students give advice for a classmate's problem with should, write rules for a class trip with must and don't have to, or guess what's in a bag with might, must and can't. A quick Can you…? survey makes a good warm-up at any level. In the modal verbs lessons, the speaking chapter adds a chat and a game, such as Spin the wheel.
Are there interactive modal verbs exercises?
Yes, and you can try some above. Inside the 31 lessons there are many more: drag-and-drop, gap-fills, tables to complete and quizzes on can, should, must and the rest. Whether the lesson is on can at A1 or must have at B2, students answer in their own edio.ai accounts, and each answer is checked the moment they give it. A free trial opens every modal verbs lesson in the library.
Do the modal verbs lessons work as homework?
Yes, and live in class too. As homework, the student works through the lesson in their own account: the drills on can, should or must mark each answer, and tasks that need a teacher come back to you. Live, a one-to-one student follows in sync with you, and advice or rules from their own life make good speaking practice.

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