What is the difference between can and could?

Can expresses present ability or informal permission (I can swim). Could is the past of can (I could swim when I was young) or expresses a more uncertain possibility / polite request (Could you help me?).

When do you use must vs have to?

Must expresses personal obligation or strong belief (You must see this film). Have to expresses external obligation or rules (I have to wear a uniform). In the past, only had to is possible.

Are modal verbs frequent on the TOEIC®?

Yes, modals appear very frequently on the TOEIC®, especially in Part 5 (incomplete sentences) and Part 6 (text completion). They also appear in Part 3 dialogues.

What is the difference between shall and will?

Will is the standard modal for future tense and spontaneous decisions. Shall is mainly used in formal English for suggestions (Shall we begin?) or contractual obligations (The tenant shall pay...).

How to tell may and might apart?

May expresses a more likely possibility (It may rain this afternoon). Might expresses a weaker or more hypothetical possibility (It might rain, but I doubt it). On the TOEIC®, this nuance is often tested in the Reading parts.

Verbos modales en inglés: guía completa para el TOEIC®

What Are Modal Verbs in English?

Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that modify the meaning of the main verb. They express ability, permission, obligation, advice, probability, or prohibition. In English, the pure modals are: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, and must.

Modals have special grammatical features: they do not take -s in the third person, they are followed directly by the base infinitive without to, and they have no infinitive or participle form.

Colorful puzzle pieces illustration representing the different functions of modal verbs

Modals by Function

Ability

Modal	Usage	Example
can	present ability	She can speak three languages.
could	past ability	He could run fast when he was young.
be able to	ability in all tenses	She will be able to attend the meeting.

Permission

Modal	Usage	Example
can	informal permission	Can I use your phone?
could	polite permission	Could I borrow your pen?
may	formal permission	May I leave early today?

Obligation and Necessity

Modal	Usage	Example
must	strong / personal obligation	You must submit the report by Friday.
have to	external obligation	Employees have to wear an ID badge.
shall	contractual / formal obligation	The contractor shall complete the work by June.

Prohibition

Modal	Usage	Example
must not	formal prohibition	You must not enter without authorization.
cannot	common prohibition	You cannot park here.

Advice and Recommendation

Modal	Usage	Example
should	general advice	You should review the contract carefully.
ought to	advice (more formal)	They ought to arrive early.
had better	urgent advice	You had better call the client now.

Probability and Deduction

Modal	Usage	Example
must	near certainty	She must be in the office by now.
may	likely possibility	The shipment may arrive tomorrow.
might	weaker possibility	It might snow this weekend.
could	theoretical possibility	The delay could cause problems.
can't	logical impossibility	That can't be the right answer.

Willingness and Offers

Modal	Usage	Example
will	willingness / future	I will send the report today.
would	politeness / conditional	Would you like some coffee?
shall	offer / suggestion	Shall I open the window?

Semi-Modals

In addition to pure modals, English uses semi-modals that function similarly but conjugate like regular verbs:

Semi-modal	Usage
have to	obligation (I have to go.)
be able to	ability (She is able to help.)
be going to	future intention (We are going to launch the product.)
used to	past habit (I used to work there.)
need to	necessity (You need to sign the form.)

Common TOEIC® Traps

TOEIC® questions on modals often exploit the following confusions:

Must vs have to: must for personal obligation, have to for external obligation. In the past, only had to is correct
Can vs may: can for ability or informal permission, may for formal permission or possibility
Should vs must: should is advice, must is obligation. Do not confuse them in TOEIC® business emails
Would vs will: would for conditional and politeness, will for certain future
No double modals: you never say *will can or *must should. Use will be able to instead of *will can

Preparation Tips

To master modals for the TOEIC®:

Learn modals by function: group them by meaning (ability, obligation, advice, etc.)
Practice with full sentences: memorize typical examples from the business world
Pay attention to context: on the TOEIC®, the sentence context determines which modal is correct
Train on Part 5: this is the part where modals are most frequently tested

Frequently Asked Questions

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Modal verbs are an essential grammar point on the TOEIC®. Practice with 990prep exercises to master their use in realistic professional situations.

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