Fiducia TogetherModal verbs and conditionals
Words like must, might, should and could — and what they do to certainty.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Modal verbs express possibility, obligation, permission or certainty: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.
Where it applies
English Language analysis, and useful in writing across subjects.
How it works
Modals control how strongly a claim is made. 'This may suggest' and 'this proves' are the same evidence with different confidence, and the difference is often the difference between a careful answer and an overclaim.
How to use it in your work
In analysis, use tentative modals: 'this suggests', 'this could imply'. Examiners reward exploratory writing and penalise unsupported certainty.
When analysing someone else's text, comment on their modals — a writer who says 'must' is doing something different from one who says 'might'.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification and mark scheme.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The English Exam Survival Song How to approach the English papers under time pressure.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.