modal
n. countablen. a special type of helping verb that shows things like ability, permission, or possibility. Common examples include 'can', 'must', and 'should'.
n. an auxiliary verb that expresses mood or modality, such as necessity, obligation, or potential. Typically precedes the main verb in its base form without 'to'.
The word 'must' is a common modal.
When learning English, students often find it tricky to use modals correctly in the past tense.
The speaker used a series of modals to soften the request, shifting from a direct command to a polite inquiry about the listener's availability.
From Middle French modal, from Medieval Latin modālis (“pertaining to a mode”), from Latin modus (“mode”). Compare to French, Spanish, and Portuguese modal and Italian modale. By surface analysis, mod(e) + -al.
A genericized trademark of Lenzing AG.
Typically followed by the bare infinitive of the main verb; does not take an '-s' in the third person singular.
I can to swimI can swimModals are followed by the bare infinitive, not the 'to-infinitive'.