Year 5 · SPaG · Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility
Year 5 recognising modal verbs worksheet and PowerPoint
To recognise modal verbs in sentences and to say how certain they make the sentence sound.
Modal verbs
A modal verb goes before another verb and tells you how certain something is. It never changes its form (she can, not she cans).
| certain | will, must: the parcel will arrive |
|---|---|
| probable | should, would, ought to: the parcel should arrive |
| possible | might, may, could: the parcel might arrive |
| other jobs | ability (can swim), permission (may leave), advice (should rest) |
Examples
- It might rain. (possible)
- The bus will be late. (certain)
Key words
- modal verb
- a verb like can, might or must that goes before another verb
- certain
- sure to happen
- probable
- likely, but not sure
- possible
- may or may not happen
What is on the worksheet
Every sheet for this lesson has a short teaching box and 12 questions that get gradually harder: 8 fluency questions, then 4 reasoning questions that ask pupils to explain or choose. A writing challenge follows. The questions use the same styles as the key stage 2 grammar and punctuation test (circle, underline, tick, fill the gap, add punctuation, rewrite, explain). They are written for this website, not copied from past papers.
All the answers are on the last page of the same editable Word file. New questions are made every time, so you can print a different sheet for every group or for homework. The same sheet code always gives the same sheet.
Writing challenge: Find six sentences with a modal verb in a book. Copy them and underline each modal verb. Put them in order from least to most certain.
Pupil target: I can find modal verbs.
The PowerPoint
A 20-slide lesson deck for the same lesson: a starter that revisits earlier learning, key words, an I do and a You do question on each slide with a countdown timer, answers that appear one click at a time, and a challenge. Download the recognising modal verbs PowerPoint.
Where this lesson fits
This is lesson 23 of 43 in the Year 5 SPaG scheme, in the block “Modal verbs and adverbs of possibility”.
Other lessons in this block
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