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English stays the learning language. Your selected language is used for help where support is available. The exact challenge value is carried into CoCap practice.
22 structures · CEFR A1–C1
Modal verbs — can, could, may, might, must, should, will, would — do not describe what happened. They describe how the speaker feels about it: how possible, how necessary, how polite. They are the single fastest way to sound less blunt in English, because Hindi carries politeness in verb endings that English simply does not have, so it has to come from the modal instead.
Rebuild this lesson’s reference sentence. Other tasks can have other valid word orders.
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I can swim.
can / could + plain verb
Question 1 of 1
Choose an answer, then check why it fits.
This is a check of this example, not an English level assessment.
Example 1 of 4
मैं तैर सकता हूँ।
I can swim.
Ability, and asking for things. "Could" is the politer one.
I can drive.
Ability, and asking for things. "Could" is the politer one.
I can speak English.
Ability, and asking for things. "Could" is the politer one.
I can cook.
Ability, and asking for things. "Could" is the politer one.
Every one of these is a sentence Indian-English speakers genuinely produce — not a textbook example.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
Can you to help me? | Can you help me? After a modal the verb stays plain. can / could → |
I must to go now. | I must go now. "Must" never takes "to". must / have to → |
You should to rest. | You should rest. "Should" never takes "to". should / ought to → |
It may rains today. | It may rain today. After a modal the verb takes no -s. may / might → |
I would like to going. | I would like to go. After "would like to" the verb stays plain. will / would → |
Shall I to open the window? | Shall I open the window? After "shall" the verb stays plain. shall → |
I am used to work there. | I used to work there. "Used to + verb" is the past. "Am used to + -ing" is a habit you have now. used to → |
I would rather to stay. | I would rather stay. "Would rather" never takes "to". would rather → |
Grouped by CEFR band so you can start where you actually are, rather than at the top.
1 structure at this level.
6 structures at this level.
6 structures at this level.
6 structures at this level.
3 structures at this level.
Dimmed tiles are structures whose example bank is still being written. The explanation and the mistake are there; the sentences are not, yet.
CoCap turns modals into practice you can actually do: a Hindi sentence, your English answer, and one correction at a time.
Practise this, free →