Investigating Students’ Ability in Identifying English Modals

Abstract

Model verbs are also called auxiliary verbs, helping verbs and model auxiliaries. They are special auxiliary verbs that express the degree of certainty of the action in the sentence, attitude or opinion of the writer concerning the action. These auxiliary verbs are can, could ,may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would and had better.
Modality is one of the most difficult aspects of learning English, because the form of modals does not follow the conventional rules of grammar, and there are so many meanings of modals that students often get confused about which modal to use. Also, many EFL learners face difficulty in choosing the proper modal verb that fit certain situations because each modal verb has many functions. Therefore, this study aims at investigating fourth-year-college students’ ability in identifying the meaning and function of English modals appropriately and using them properly. To fulfill the basic requirement of this study, the researchers have conducted a test, which comprises two questions. Certain conclusions suggestions and recommendations are put forward