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<\/p>\nAsk a Taiwanese employee to email a foreign client and request a deadline extension, and you will usually get one of two things: a curt “I want more time” that lands like a demand, or a flowery apology that buries the actual request. The fix is almost always one word \u2014 a \u52a9\u52d5\u8a5e (modal verb). Swap “I want” for “Could I have”, and the same sentence stops sounding rude. Modal verbs are how English signals politeness, possibility, obligation, and confidence, and they are the single most overlooked piece of grammar in Taiwan’s English classrooms.<\/p>\n
This guide covers the 10 core modal verbs (\u82f1\u6587\u52a9\u52d5\u8a5e) Taiwan pros actually need at work and in conversation \u2014 what each one means, how to use it without sounding awkward, and the small register shifts that separate beginner English from professional English.<\/p>\n
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A \u52a9\u52d5\u8a5e is a small helper verb that sits in front of a main verb and changes its meaning \u2014 usually to add politeness, possibility, ability, permission, or obligation. The 10 modal verbs in standard English are can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, and ought to<\/strong>. They follow three rules that Mandarin grammar does not, which is why so many learners in Taiwan trip over them.<\/p>\n First, modal verbs never change form. You say “she can swim”, not “she cans swim”. Second, the verb that follows is always the bare infinitive \u2014 no \u00e0<\/em>, no -ing<\/em>, no -ed<\/em>. So “I must to leave” is wrong, even though every Taiwanese student I have ever taught wants to write it that way. Third, modal verbs form questions by inversion (Could you help me?), not by adding do<\/em>. Lock these three rules in before you worry about meaning.<\/p>\n You do not need to master all 10 modals at the same speed. Six of them \u2014 can, could, will, would, should, must \u2014 cover roughly 90% of the modal verbs Taiwanese professionals use at work, according to corpus data published by the British Council. The other four (may, might, shall, ought to) are useful for formal writing, polite English, and TOEIC reading, but they are not survival vocabulary.<\/p>\n Here is the quick map (\u82f1\u6587\u52a9\u52d5\u8a5e\u5c0d\u7167\u8868):<\/p>\n Each pair has a small but important difference in register. Learn the pair, not the individual word, and you will pick the right one without thinking.<\/p>\n “Can” expresses present ability (I can speak English) or asks for something casually (Can you send me the file?). It is friendly and direct, and Taiwanese learners use it correctly most of the time. The trap is that “can” sounds slightly blunt with strangers, clients, or managers. That is where “could” earns its keep.<\/p>\n “Could” is “can” with one extra layer of politeness baked in. It is also the past tense of “can” when describing past ability \u2014 “I could swim before my surgery.” For workplace requests, swap every “Can you…” for “Could you…” when emailing someone above you or outside your team. The verb does the same job; the tone shifts by 20%.<\/p>\n Quick rule: peut<\/strong> = friendly. Could<\/strong> = professional. There is no situation in Taiwan office English where “could” sounds wrong \u2014 only situations where “can” sounds too casual.<\/p>\n “May” and “might” both express possibility, and the difference between them is smaller than most textbooks pretend. “It may rain tomorrow” and “It might rain tomorrow” mean almost the same thing in modern English. If you have to pick one, native speakers slightly prefer “might” for uncertain events and “may” for formal permission (“You may begin the exam”).<\/p>\n Where “may” still matters is in written professional English. Notices, contracts, hotel signs (“Guests may use the pool from 6 AM”), and academic writing still lean on it. For Taiwanese pros taking the IELTS or TOEFL, recognising “may” in reading passages will earn you points the spoken-English crowd misses.<\/p>\n One warning: do not ask “May I close the window?” in casual conversation. It sounds like a Victorian novel. Use “Can I” or “Could I” with friends, and save “May I” for formal situations like job interviews or speaking to elderly relatives in English.<\/p>\n “Will” expresses future actions you have just decided (“I will call him now”) and confident predictions (“It will rain tonight”). It is also the modal you use to make promises and offers (“I will help you with that”). Taiwanese learners overuse “will” to describe planned future events \u2014 for those, “going to” or the present continuous is more natural. Save “will” for the moment of decision.<\/p>\n “Would” is more useful than most students realise. It softens requests (“Would you mind sending the report?”), describes hypothetical situations (“I would buy a Tesla if I could afford it”), and expresses past habits (“Every summer in elementary school, my grandmother would take me to the night market”). In business emails, “Would you…” is the workhorse modal \u2014 politer than “Will you”, less formal than “May I ask you to”.<\/p>\n If you take one sentence away from this section, take this: “Would” is the most polite modal verb in conversational English.<\/strong> Use it liberally and you will sound 30% more fluent without learning a single new word.<\/p>\n “Shall” is rare in American English and most international English. British speakers still use it to make offers (“Shall I open the window?”) and suggestions (“Shall we begin?”), but Americans almost always say “Should I” or “Let’s” instead. For Taiwanese learners, recognise “shall” in reading but do not stress about producing it.<\/p>\n “Should” is the everyday modal for advice and expectations. “You should drink more water” gives a soft recommendation. “The package should arrive on Tuesday” predicts something expected based on evidence. It is also the modal for moral or ethical statements (“Companies should pay overtime fairly”). Pair “should” with “have” + past participle and you get one of the most useful patterns in conversational English: should have<\/em> \u2014 for regret or hindsight (“I should have studied harder for the TOEIC”).<\/p>\n “Must” expresses strong personal obligation (“I must finish this report tonight”) or strong confidence in a deduction (“She is wearing a coat \u2014 it must be cold outside”). The first use is fading in American English in favour of “have to”, but it survives in writing, signs, and formal speech.<\/p>\n “Have to” is “must” with the personal pressure removed and an outside force added. “I have to leave at 5 PM” means somebody or something requires it \u2014 your boss, the train schedule, your contract. In casual Taiwan office English, “have to” is more common than “must”. Save “must” for situations where you are genuinely insisting.<\/p>\n The trap: must not<\/em> et do not have to<\/em> are not the same. “You must not smoke here” means it is forbidden. “You don’t have to smoke here” means it is optional. Taiwanese learners frequently swap these two and accidentally turn rules into invitations.<\/p>\n “Ought to” is the modal Taiwanese cram schools rarely teach, and it shows up on the TOEIC reading section often enough to matter. It means roughly the same as “should” but carries slightly more moral weight. “We ought to call our parents more often” feels heavier than “We should call our parents more often”, even though the literal meaning is identical.<\/p>\n Use “ought to” in writing when you want to sound thoughtful and slightly old-fashioned. Avoid it in fast conversation \u2014 native speakers contract it to “oughta”, which sounds odd from an L2 speaker. Recognise it, produce it carefully, and you will already be ahead of most Taiwanese intermediate learners.<\/p>\n The biggest reason Taiwanese pros sound rude in English is not vocabulary \u2014 it is modal verb register. English ranks requests on a politeness scale, and modal verbs are the dial. Memorise this ladder for the same identical request, from blunt to formal:<\/p>\n The truth is, most Taiwanese learners default to level 1 or 2 and wonder why foreign colleagues seem reserved with them. Levels 3 and 4 are the sweet spot for almost every office situation, including emails to your own teammates. Over-using level 5 makes you sound stiff. The right register builds trust faster than perfect grammar.<\/p>\nThe 10 Core Modal Verbs You’ll Use Every Day<\/h2>\n
![\"English](\"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/body1-english-dictionary.jpg\")
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Can \/ Could \u2014 Ability and Polite Requests (\u80fd\u529b\u8207\u8acb\u6c42)<\/h2>\n
May \/ Might \u2014 Possibility and Permission (\u53ef\u80fd\u6027\u8207\u5141\u8a31)<\/h2>\n
![\"Office](\"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/body2-modal-verbs-meeting.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWill \/ Would \u2014 Future, Polite Offers, and Habits (\u672a\u4f86\u8207\u79ae\u8c8c)<\/h2>\n
Shall \/ Should \u2014 Advice and Suggestions (\u5efa\u8b70)<\/h2>\n
![\"Students](\"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/body3-students-writing-grammar.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMust \/ Have to \u2014 Obligation and Strong Necessity (\u7fa9\u52d9)<\/h2>\n
Ought To \u2014 The Modal Verb Taiwanese Learners Forget (\u5bb9\u6613\u5ffd\u7565)<\/h2>\n
![\"Writing](\"https:\/\/18kenglish.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/body4-modal-verbs-notebook.jpg\")
<\/p>\nModal Verb Politeness Levels \u2014 Critical for Taiwan Office English (\u8077\u5834\u79ae\u8c8c\u7b49\u7d1a)<\/h2>\n
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