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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Diagnistic written test - this test is a way to see what the students remember after summer holidays. It starts with a text with a true/ false exercise and some questions about it. Other contents: ...
Quiz about the use of can-can't-could-couldn't for elementary school students. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the modal auxiliaries. You can use it in class to practice or as a quiz. ...
Students read the advice column. Teacher can guide students through new vocabulary, idioms and expressions. There are discussion questions at the end, but teacher should feel free to ask more ques ...
This worksheet is to practice different tenses, passive voice and some other structures. Cut the table out, divide the rectangles off and distribute them to your students. They are supposed to say ...
It's an introduction to modal verbs - first some basic rules, then the rules for forming past (not all modal verbs have separate forms for past, some use perfect infinitive - in my experience it i ...
This is a powerpoint presentation of modals and modals perfect for esl B1-B2 level. There are no grammar rules, only examples and pictures that better explain the use of modals. A teacher can use ...
I use the following youtube clip (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1D7VUIf8bU) to practice using modals (possibility), especially might. The students listen to the sounds of the clip and try to gu ...
Mr Bean Capers is a video worksheet about uising the expression can or can't to talk about abilities. It is suitable for elementary students and specially for kids. The video is very ea ...
Here is a power point presentation I did for my English class with the definition of modal verbs, a list of them (must, must not, can, could may, might, need, need not, should/ought to, had better ...
The worksheet is aimed to motivate elementary young learners to read an illustrated story about a brother and a sister by using the auxiliary verbs be, can and have got. Students must have been al ...
The worksheet is designed with problem sentences for learners to be practising "should and shouldn't". It is followed by a quiz where paired students have to choose between two answers to a given ...
The worksheet contains three activities about modal verbs. The first task is complete the sentences. Use can, can't, could or couldn't. The second task is the same but you have to use can, can't, ...
Do you have a lesson on travelling and films? This is your chance to link both of them and engage your students! Tell them that now they are planning their trips to one of the places from the char ...
This is a worksheet for pre-intermediate and intermediate students for filling the blanks with conditional 0 or 1 and some modal verbs, and turning active sentences into passive ones. It's 30 minu ...
When trying to check an A2 - B1 student's knowledge about these grammar aspects, this worksheet might come in handy. As a student works through the worksheet, the teacher might reinforce the knowl ...
This is a 2- page worksheet for teaching or revising modal verbs at elementary level. There are 4 different activities in which students are asked to rewrite the sentences, using a form with got i ...
A worksheet for elementary students to start practicing basic self introductions. In this worksheet, the students write three sentences including their name, something they like and somethin ...
A worksheet used to review the words can and can't, including the structures "I/she/he can/can't ". There are spaces for the students to write the words and translate the sentences into their own ...
This NYC tipping guide is taken from the research of Waitbutwhy.com, original available here http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/04/everything-dont-know-tipping.html. I used the chart to start a discu ...
This ppt combines types of buildings and other places in a town with modal "can". First your students will see a picture which represents a building in a town - let them name it. Then ask them wha ...
This ppt is good to practise "can" questions. It also includes several activities supported by pictures. As you proceed with the ppt, let your students name the activity they see and then ask a qu ...
Gap-text where students listen and fill in the blanks. For teens or adults. Level: pre-intermediate or higher. Grammar structure in song: past modals of deduction (must have seemed, ...
These are 16 cards for Group B of the 2014 Football World Cup in Brazil. You can modify it to include the teams you want. Instructions are included, but the gist is that it is a speaking game to p ...
Ppt presentation about must and mustn't for pre-intermediate students (10th grade). This presentation describes structures and correct use of both (must and mustn't), and gives the complete explan ...
Practice modals of necessity (have to- has to) by filling in the blanks using proper have to structure and match the examples with the pictures. The exercise also contains the practice where the s ...
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