Can you teach modal verbs? Will you be able to? Should you look for even better ways to teach them? The answers to all these modal questions are “Yes!” - and that’s why BusyTeacher.org offers 601 modal verb worksheets to bring some fresh, fun ideas to your ESL classroom.
Teaching modal verbs takes some strategy. A lot of other languages don’t have exact one-word equivalents for verbs like “should” and “would,” which means direct word-for-word translation probably isn’t an option. The next-best approach is to give examples - but it’s not always easy for students to guess the difference between, say, “can” and “could” from context alone. Some teachers start with the simplest modal verbs - “can” and “should” - and build up the list from there, using a variety of reading and speaking exercises.
However you plan to combine these approaches, BusyTeacher.org offers a wide variety of worksheets to help make sure your students can read, write, hear, and speak correctly when it comes to modal verbs. The sheer diversity of our worksheets means you’ll never find yourself repeating the same modal verb lesson twice - and the range of activities and exercises they provide will keep your students thinking about modal verbs in every kind of usage and context.
Whether you’re introducing some level-one students to modal verbs for the very first time, helping some level-two students review the modal verbs they’ve already learned, or introducing higher-level students to modal verbs in some new tenses, we’ve got worksheets tailored for your students’ ESL proficiency. With 601 modal verb worksheets to choose from, you’re sure to find some that are just right for your class.
Looking for simple fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice worksheets to use for quizzes? We’ve got ‘em right here! Interested in active games that help students learn to use modal verbs in realistic conversations? Just take a look below! BusyTeacher.org even has modal verb worksheets designed around popular song lyrics, so your students can show off their newfound understanding of those songs to their friends.
All these worksheets have been created and shared by ESL teachers around the world - teachers just like you, who want to help each other improve the learning potential of their classrooms. They’ve been generous enough to make every worksheet on this site completely free to download, share, modify, and use as you like - you don’t even have to register on our site. All we ask is that, if you have a worksheet of your own that you’d like to share, you click the “Submit a worksheet” button at the bottom of this page to contribute it to our ever-growing community.
BusyTeacher.org’s convenient thumbnail view makes it easy to browse our 601 modal verb worksheets at a glance, without having to click and download each one just to see what it looks like. You can even save time by checking out the top ten most popular modal verb worksheets on BusyTeacher.org, or use the search function at the top of the page to pinpoint exactly the worksheets you’re looking for. We’re sure that, one way or another, you’ll find the worksheet you need. And we’re sure your class will love it!
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This worksheet is very useful after having practised either speaking or writing the sports' tastes and abilities, in a communicative way. After the instruction with the teacher's help, students pu ...
This handout is for practicing pronunciation and speaking communication, it presents famous characters and some actions they could do well when they were younger, students are requested to repeat ...
The procedure in the following=) 1.Cut up the material; 2.Organize your class into pairs or groups of three; 3.Handout the material; 4.Students put cards face down; 5.One by one they ask each othe ...
Practise the PRESENT CONTINUOUS (affirmative, negative and interrogative forms), sentences to complete with CAN & CAN´T and vocabulary about CLOTHES (They find the words in the wordsearc ...
These are very short exercises to work with should - shouldn't. Students have to read some sentences and complete using should or shouldn't, and then they have to choose the correct advice accord ...
Elementary worksheet. It will help your students recognize the affirmative, negative and interrogative form of "have to". This worksheet will also help students learn through a range of at least t ...
"Ask Anita", a 'newspaper advice column' that features three problems about clothing - have your students READ the problems and DISCUSS possible solutions. After your students come to an agreemen ...
A ppt file that can be used to work with should/shouldn't, includes some exercises at the end and it starts in a very easy way: the teacher must talk or comment about some common accidents and mak ...
A short ppt presentation about two modal verbs that can help you in the explanation of them in grammar and show some examples, it doesn't have any exercise, it's only a task to explain these mod ...
The following worksheet contains a set of exercises using the modals have to, has to, doesn't have to, don't have to. It is suitable to work with elementary students or pre-intermediate ones. At t ...
Weather girl/boy activity: The document has weather symbols to cut out and use. I usually get the student to draw a Map of Spain or other country and have them choose five cities. They make up a w ...
This worksheet provides comprehension activities about the movie Click! The activities should be carried out before and while watching this movie. It includes various types of actvities, such as m ...
A funny way to practice modals with this set of 20 cards. With lower level students, you can simply have them make sentences with must / don't have to {or should}, with other levels, you can add u ...
This is a 15 question activity about the movie Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage. Its main topics are the paranormal, the Apocalypse, the end of the world, etc. The questions are designed to get the ...
This is a pretty simple worksheet for teaching can, can't must and mustn't at elementary level. There's a brief explanation followed by an easy activity in which students are asked to look at the ...
This is a simple elementary worksheet about London. It has some typical things that you would find in London such as a black cab, a post box, a london bus, a pint of beer, etc. The students have t ...
This worksheet consists of 4 exercises to practise with the modal verb can to express ability in the present. There are 3 people and some pictures for the activities they can do. The students have ...
A grammar chart sheet to study modal verbs should(not) have/ought to have; didn't need to/needn't have. This is a very good WS to review the meanings and possible results of past modals of critici ...
A grammar guide to review degrees of certainty in past modals. Students study and complete the blanks in the grammar chart. Afterwards, elicit the different forms of certainty and possibility. At ...
This is a worksheet for revising modal verbs: Mustn't, Can’t, Should, Shouldn't, Would, Might, Could and Must. Recommended for intermediate students who are asked to rewrite the sentences s ...
This is a simple worksheet for teaching or revising modal verbs: can, can’t, must, mustn’t, may, might not and should. Recommended for intermediate students who are asked to match the ...
I want to share my new grammar worksheet with you. The worksheet will enable your students to reinforce their knowledge on should and shouldn't. It consists of eighteen sentences and situations ...
Wouldn’t it be nice to see just how much your students are imaginative and creative? These photos can be used to provoke critical thinking. Pre-intermediate students can practise past tenses ...
Animals and their abilities. Students look at a picture containing different wild animals and then they have to describe what these animals can and can't do. Plus: a reading activity about animal ...
This webquest was designed as an overall review on modal verbs. As a webquest should be, the approach, even though it is teacher-oriented, it is actually student-centered. It does not mean that st ...
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