Learn Italian Modal Verbs: Will, Power, Duty, Know

“Modal verbs.” Sounds like a horrible grammatical term, doesn’t it? Well, it’s actually not as scary as you might think!

Modal verbs – called a word slave In Italian – always serve the following verb. Their job is to express possibility, ability, permission, request, ability, suggestion, order, obligation or suggestion, or in other words, to express facts beyond the here and now.

In English, some of the most common modal verbs include could, could, might, might, should, should, would, would, and must And in Italian, there are only four to worry about:

Let’s take a moment to study each verb and understand how it is used in context.

think

think method”want to” or”hope” In Italian it is used to express wishes and desires. It is conjugated in the present tense in the following way:

• (I think = I think
• (you want = you want (singular, informal)
• (he wants = he wants
• (she wants = she wants
• (she wants = you want (singular, formal)
• (we want = we want
• (you want = you want (plural)
• (they want = they want

any verb that follows a conjugated form think Must be an infinitive.For example, in the following sentence, the verb reserve (stay) unchanged after I think (I think).

I want to stay here.

I want to stay here.

In its conditional form, think from”think” to”think“.

• (I can = I think
• (you want = you want (singular, informal)
• (he thinks = he thinks
• (she wants = she wants
• (she wants = you want (singular, formal)
• (we think = we think
• (you want = you want (plural)
• (they want = they want

Likewise, you can put any infinitive verb after the conditional form think.

I want to go home.

I want to go home.

strength

strength method”were able” “were able” or”allowed“In Italian it is used to describe possibility, permission and ability. It is combined in the following ways:

• (I can = I can / I can / I am allowed
• (you can = you can/you can/you are allowed (singular, informal)
• (he can = he can/he can/he is allowed
• (She can = she can/she can/she is allowed
• (She can = you can/you can/you are allowed (singular, formal)
• (We can = we can / we can / we are allowed
• (you can = you can/you can/you are allowed (plural)
• (they can = they can/they can/they are allowed

and thinkYou can put the infinitive of another verb in strength form a sentence. E.g:

I can go shopping.

I can/be able to go shopping.

You can go if you want.

You can/are allowed to go if you want.

In its conditional form, strength from”were able” to”Can” “possible” or”possible“. It is usually used when making a polite request.

• (I can = I can / I may / I can
• (you can = you could/you could/you could (singular, informal)
• (he can = he could/he could/he could
• (She can = she could/she could/she could
• (She can = you could/you could/you could (singular, formal)
• (We can = we could/we could/we could
• (you can = you could/you could/you could (plural)
• (they can = they could/they could/they could

Likewise, you can put any infinitive verb after the conditional form strength.

I can go with you if you want.

I can go with you if you want.

It may rain today.

It may/might rain today.

A common mistake learners make is to use strength ask someone if they know how do something. E.g:

❌ Can you sing? = Can you sing? (Can you sing?)

✔️ Can you sing? = Can you sing? (I want you to sing for me. -or-I want to ask if you can sing.)

Ask someone if they know how to do something, preferably using modal verbs Know We will explore further.

must

must is a modal verb used to express obligations, needs, and occasional assumptions about what might happen in Italian. It usually translates as “must” “must” or”need“. Here’s how it’s combined in the present tense:

• (I must = i must / i must / i need
• (you must = you must / you must / i need (singular, informal)
• (he must = he must/he must/he needs
• (she must = she must/she must/she needs
• (she must = you must / you must / you need (singular, formal)
• (we must = we must / we must / we need
• (you must = you must / you must / you need (plural)
• (They must = they must / they must / they need

Here are a few example sentences that demonstrate how to use must in one sentence.

we must go!

we must go! / We must go! / We have to go!

You must be Maria. Nice to meet you!

You must be Maria. Nice to meet you!

In its conditional form, must Usually translated as “should“.

(I should = I should
(you should = you should (singular, informal)
(He should = He should
(she should = she should
(she should = you should (singular, formal)
(we should = we should
(you should = you should (plural)
(they should = they should

You should go away.

You should leave.

Know

Know (The main translation is “Know“) is not always formally classified as a modal verb in grammar books, because it is only used if it means “have the ability to” or”know what to do“. Here’s how you would conjugate it in the present tense:

(I know = I can/I know how
(you know = you can/you know how (singular, informal)
(his) sa = he can/he knows how
(lei) sa = she can/she knows how
(Re)sa = you can/you know how (singular, formal)
(we know = we can/we know how
(you know = you can/you know how (plural)
(they know = they can/they know how

Here’s an example of it in use:

Louisa can sing, but not dance.

Louisa can sing, but not dance.
Louisa can sing, but not dance.

In its conditional form, Know Usually translated as “will be able to” “Can” or”will know how“.

(I know = I can/I can/I will know how
(you) will know = you will be able/you can/you will know how (singular, informal)
(he) will know = he will be able/he will be able/he will know how
(she) will know = she will be able/she will be able/she will know how
(she) will know = you will be able/you can/you will know how (singular, formal)
(we) will know = we will be able / we can / we will know how
(you) will know = you will be able/you can/you will know how (plural)
(they) will know = they will be able/they can/they will know how

Can you do this job?

Do you know how to do this job?