| Zwykły czasownik | Czasownik modalny | |
| Zdanie twierdzące | You speak English. | You can speak English. |
| Zadanie pytające | Do you speak English? | Can you speak English? |
| Zdanie przeczące | You don’t speak English. | You can’t speak English. |
| Zwykły czasownik | Czasownik modalny |
| I swim | I may |
| You swim | You may |
| He swims | He may |
| She swims | She may |
| It swims | It may |
| He said: 'I will go there'. | → | He said he would go there. |
| She asked: 'Can I take it?' | → | She asked whether she could take it. |
| Tom asked: 'May I open teh window?' | → | Tom asked, whether he might open the window. |
| I can do it now. | → | I could do it yesterday. |
Present Simple | My brother can swim very well. |
Past Simple | My brother was able to swim very well. |
Future Simple | My brother will be able to swim very well. |
Present Perfect Simple | My brother has been able to swim very well. |
Present Simple | I must win the competition. |
Past Simple | I had to win the competition. |
Future Simple | I will have to win the competition. |
Present Perfect Simple | I have had to win the competition. |
| I can speak Chinese. | → | I want to be able to speak Chinese. |
| I can travel with them for free. | → | I want to be allowed to travel with them form free. |
| I must go now. | → | I wouldn’t like to have to go now. |
Zwykły czasownik | He writes good novels. | → | He is famous for writing good novel. |
Czaswonik modalny | They can make good coffee. | → | They are famous for being able to make good coffee. |
Zwykły czasownik | They want to be better than us. |
Czaswonik modalny | They can be better then us. |
Ought to | They ought to be better than us. |