Guide to French Modal Verbs

While they function differently than their English counterparts, French modal verbs are key components of everyday conversation. They’re essential for expressing ability, necessity, permission and desire.

Understanding how to express the French equivalents of modal verbs like “can,” “must” and “should” will greatly enhance your fluency. Let’s take a look at how to use various modal verbs in French.

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What Are French Modal Verbs?

Modal verbs in English are words like “can,” “must” and “should.” Unlike English, French doesn’t have a distinct set of modal verbs, but there are some key verbs such as pouvoir, vouloir and devoir that fulfill similar functions. 

While English modal verbs don’t change form based on the subject, these French verbs are conjugated when used in sentences. They’re often followed by an infinitive to modify the meaning of the main verb in a sentence.

They’re essential tools that help express necessity, ability, desire or permission. Understanding how to use these verbs is key to mastering the nuances of French and communicating effectively.

How to Express Modal Verbs in French

Let’s look at each of the modal verbs in English and how we express them in French with various verbs, tenses and moods. 

Can

To express “can” or “to be able to” when referring to ability or permission, we use the French verb pouvoir.  For example:

Je peux parler français.
(I can speak French.)

Pouvez-vous m’aider ?
(Can you help me?)

Here’s the conjugation of pouvoir in the present tense:

French	English
Je peux	I can
Tu peux	You can
Il peut / Elle peut / On peut	He can / She can / We (informal) can
Nous pouvons	We can
Vous pouvez	You can (formal/plural)
Ils peuvent / Elles peuvent	They can (masculine/feminine)

To express “can” (or “to know how to”) when referring to knowledge or the ability to do something based on learned skills, we use savoir.  For example:

Je sais nager.
(I know how to swim.)

Sais-tu jouer du piano ?
(Do you know how to play the piano?)

Savoir is considered a modal verb in French, though it isn’t always categorized explicitly as such. It’s conjugated in the present tense as follows:

French	English
Je sais	I know
Tu sais	You know
Il sait / Elle sait / On sait	He knows / She knows / We (informal) know
Nous savons	We know
Vous savez	You know (formal/plural)
Ils savent / Elles savent	They know (masc./fem.)

Could

To express “could” in the present or future, we use pouvoir in the conditional mood. For example:

Elle pourrait apprendre à jouer du piano si elle avait plus de temps.
(She could learn to play the piano if she had more time.)

Je pourrais t’aider avec tes devoirs ce soir.
(I could help you with your homework tonight.)

Here’s how to conjugate pouvoir in the conditional:

French	English
Je pourrais	I could
Tu pourrais	You could
Il pourrait / Elle pourrait / On pourrait	He could / She could / We (informal) could
Nous pourrions	We could
Vous pourriez	You could (formal/plural)
Ils pourraient / Elles pourraient	They could (masc./fem.)

To express “could” in the past, we use pouvoir in the imperfect tense:

Nous pouvions voir la mer depuis notre chambre d’hôtel.
(We could see the ocean from our hotel room.)

Quand j’étais enfant, je pouvais jouer dehors toute la journée.
(When I was a child, I could play outside all day.)

Here’s how to conjugate pouvoir in the imperfect tense:

French	English
Je pouvais	I could
Tu pouvais	You could
Il pouvait / Elle pouvait / On pouvait	He could / She could / We (informal) could
Nous pouvions	We could
Vous pouviez	You could (formal/plural)
Ils pouvaient / Elles pouvaient	They could (masc./fem.)

Would

“Would” is expressed in French through the conditional form of the main verb. For example:

Nous partirions en vacances si nous avions plus d’argent.
(We would go on vacation if we had more money.) 

Je t’aiderais si je pouvais.
(I would help you if I could.)

“Would” is often used with “like” to make polite requests or ask about someone’s wants or needs. For this, we can use vouloir (to want/wish) in the conditional. For example:

Je voudrais un café, s’il vous plaît.
(I would like a coffee, please.)

Voudriez-vous m’accompagner au cinéma ce soir ?
(Would you like to accompany me to the movies tonight?)

To express “would” in the past tense, we use the imperfect tense in French. For example:

Quand j’étais enfant, je jouais souvent dans le jardin.
(When I was a child, I would often play in the garden.)

Chaque été, nous allions à la plage.
(Every summer, we would go to the beach.)

Should

To express “should” or “ought to,” we use devoir in the conditional tense. For example:

Il devrait étudier davantage s’il veut réussir ses examens.
(He should study more if he wants to pass his exams.)

Nous devrions arriver tôt pour avoir de bonnes places.
(We should arrive early to get good seats.)

Here’s how to conjugate devoir in the conditional: 

French	English
Je devrais	I should
Tu devrais	You should
Il devrait / Elle devrait / On devrait	He should / She should / We (informal) should
Nous devrions	We should
Vous devriez	You should (formal/plural)
Ils devraient / Elles devraient	They should (masc./fem.)

May/Might

To express “may” or “might,” we can use pouvoir in the conditional mood. This is the same structure we use to express “could” with a present or future meaning, and the interpretation depends on context.

Here are a couple of examples:

Nous pourrions arriver un peu en retard à cause de la circulation.
(We might arrive a little late because of the traffic.)

Tu pourrais trouver ce livre intéressant.
(You might find this book interesting.)

We can also use the phrase il se peut  followed by the subjunctive:

Il se peut qu’il vienne.
(He might come.)

Il se peut qu’il pleuve demain.
(It may rain tomorrow.)

Will/Shall

French doesn’t have a direct equivalent to the English “will” or “shall” as modal verbs. Instead, the future tense is used. For example:

Je parlerai avec lui demain.
(I will talk to him tomorrow.)

Il finira ses devoirs ce soir.
(He will finish his homework this evening.)

It’s also possible to express “will” or “shall” with the verb aller (to go) followed by the infinitive verb. For example:

Je vais vous appeler demain.
(I will call you tomorrow.)

Nous allons visiter le musée ce week-end.
(We will visit the museum this weekend.)

Here’s how to conjugate aller in the present tense:

French	English
Je vais	I go
Tu vas	You go
Il va / Elle va / On va	He goes / She goes / We (informal) go
Nous allons	We go
Vous allez	You go (formal/plural)
Ils vont / Elles vont	They go (masc./fem.)

Must

To express “must” or “have to” when referring to obligation or necessity, we can use the verb devoir.  For example:

Je dois faire mes devoirs.
(I must do my homework.)

Nous devons partir maintenant.
(We have to leave now.)

Here’s the conjugation of devoir in the present tense:

French	English
Je dois	I must
Tu dois	You must
Il doit / Elle doit / On doit	He must / She must / We (informal) must
Nous devons	We must
Vous devez	You must (formal/plural)
Ils doivent / Elles doivent	They must (masc./fem.)

We can also use the phrase il faut (the present tense of falloir — to be necessary). We would translate this phrase to “must” or “it’s necessary.” 

Il faut arriver à l’heure pour le rendez-vous.
(You must arrive on time for the appointment.)

Il faut que les enfants respectent les règles de l’école.
(The children must follow the school rules.)

Vouloir as a French Modal Verb

This is an interesting one, as the verb “to want” is not considered a modal verb in English. However, its equivalent in French, the verb vouloir,  is considered a modal verb in French.

“To want” isn’t classified as a modal verb in English because it behaves as a regular verb. Unlike English modal verbs, “want” requires the infinitive “to” before the following verb (“I want to go”) and changes form based on the subject (“I want,” “he wants”). 

In contrast, vouloir is considered a modal verb in French because it expresses desire or intention and is used in a way that modifies the meaning of the main verb. For example, in “Je veux partir” (I want to leave), vouloir indicates the speaker’s intention to perform the action.

Here are a couple more examples:

Elle veut apprendre le français. (She wants to learn French.)

Ils veulent visiter Paris cet été. (They want to visit Paris this summer.)

Here’s how to conjugate vouloir in the present tense:

French	English
Je veux	I want
Tu veux	You want
Il veut / Elle veut / On veut	He wants / She wants / We (informal) want
Nous voulons	We want
Vous voulez	You want (formal/plural)
Ils veulent / Elles veulent	They want (masc./fem.)

How to Practice French Modal Verbs

Practicing French modal verbs can greatly improve your fluency and confidence in using the language. Here are some effective strategies:

• Use Flashcards: Create flashcards with different modal verb constructions and conjugations. Practice regularly to reinforce your memory. You can also write your own sentences using the constructions we went over above. 
• Listen and Imitate: Listen to or watch French media such as podcasts, songs, TV shows or movies, and pay attention to how modal verbs are used. Try to mimic the pronunciation and usage in your own practice. You can also use an immersive language learning program like FluentU.

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• Engage in Conversations: Practice speaking with native speakers or language partners, focusing on using modal verbs in everyday conversation. This will help you become comfortable with their usage in context.

 

By reviewing this guide and consistently practicing these French modal verbs, you’ll be able to express yourself better and understand French speakers with greater ease. 

Take them one at a time, and take advantage of all the French media available to see them used in different contexts. 

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)