Modal Verbs of Ability ESL Activities, Games and Worksheets

In this free can and could speaking activity, students find out about their classmates' past and present abilities. Students go around their group finding out about their classmates' past and present abilities according to the task on their card by asking questions with Can you...? and Could you...? Students put a tick on the back of the card each time a classmate answers 'Yes, I can' or 'Yes, I could'. If possible, the classmate should also prove their ability by completing the task on the card. When everyone has finished, students sit down in their groups and take it in turns to talk about the information they found out. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on their findings.

This engaging modal verbs of ability game is based on the card game Crazy Eights. In the game, students say what ability or skill two things have in common using the modal verb can. The first player chooses one of their cards, lays it on the table, and directs a question to the second player, e.g. 'What can a penguin and a duck do?' If the second player gives an acceptable answer (e.g. They can both swim.), they lay down a card and direct a question to the third player. If the answer is not accepted, then the second player is not allowed to lay down a card, but the third player is. The game proceeds from there. The first player to lay down all their cards wins the game.

In this humorous can and can't activity, students play a true or false guessing game about their abilities. First, students complete statements on their worksheet with true and false information about their abilities. In pairs, students then take it in turns to read out a true or false statement about their ability. Their partner asks up to three follow-up questions to help them decide whether the student's statement is true or false. Their partner then makes their guess and the student reveals the answer. Students score one point for each correct guess. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Here is an entertaining can and can't activity in which students try to complete various challenges and fill in a chart to show what members of their group can and can't do. In groups of three, students write their names next to the first challenge on the worksheet and then take it in turns to try to complete the challenge. Students put a tick in the can or can't column next to their name, depending on whether they completed the task successfully or not. Students then repeat the procedure for the other challenges and complete the chart. Finally, students write a summary of what their group can and can't do and read it to the class.

In this insightful can and can't speaking activity, students practice talking about skills and levels of ability using modal verbs and adverbs of manner. In pairs, students take it in turns to ask their partner Can you...? questions and mark their responses on the worksheet. When their partner replies 'Yes, I can', the student asks a How well can you...? question. Their partner responds with one of six phrases on the board that express their level of ability, and the student ticks the appropriate 1 to 6 box on the worksheet. When everyone has finished, students form new pairs and ask and answer questions about their new partner’s former partner using the third person singular. Students then complete sentences on the worksheet with information about the students' levels of ability.

In this enjoyable can and could speaking activity, students play a true or false guessing game about past and present abilities. In groups, students take it in turns to pick up a card and use the prompt on the card to ask a question to the other students about a past or present ability. For example, if the prompt read 'sleep during the day', the student might ask 'Can you sleep during the day?' or 'Could you sleep during the day when you were a child?' The other students can either give a true or false answer. The student with the card then asks follow-up questions to work out if the other students are lying or telling the truth. The student then makes a guess for each group member and the correct answers are revealed. For each correct guess, the student scores a point. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.

In this interesting modal verbs of ability speaking activity, students try completing certain tasks with their left hand. Students then ask and answer questions about their left-handed abilities using can and can't. Students imagine that they are in the Leftorium with Ned Flanders from the Simpsons and that they have been given some tasks to do using only their left hand. In groups, students then put their right hand behind their back and attempt each task on the worksheet in turn. If students are able to do the task with their left hand, they write 'Yes, I can' next to the task. If students are unable to do the task, they write 'No, I can’t'. When everyone has finished, students interview the people in their group and ask questions about their ability to do the tasks. Students write their classmates' answers on the worksheet using the third-person singular. Afterwards, students give feedback to the class on the tasks they can and can't do.

In this rewarding could and couldn't speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about four people’s past abilities using could, couldn't and adverbs of degree. Each student looks at information in a chart on their worksheet about what four people could do and how well when they were twenty. In pairs, students then take it in turns to ask and answer questions about the four people’s past abilities and complete missing information in the chart. Afterwards, students write a paragraph about what they could do at a certain age.