Chinese has a small, high-frequency set of modal (auxiliary) verbs — in Chinese, 能愿动词 (néngyuàn dòngcí) — that stack in front of an ordinary verb to add a layer of meaning: ability, permission, willingness, obligation. 我会说 ("I can speak"), 你能来吗 ("can you come?"), 我想去 ("I want to go"), 你应该休息 ("you should rest"). The reassuring news for English speakers is that they behave a lot like English modals — can, will, should — in that they don't inflect and they attach to a plain verb. The tricky news is that Chinese splits some English modals across several words: the single English "can" fans out into 会 / 能 / 可以 by meaning. This page covers the grammar that all the modals share, so that each individual modal page can focus on meaning.
The roster
These are the modals you'll meet first, with their core meaning and their normal negation. Each gets its own page; this is the map.
| Modal | Pinyin | Core meaning | Negation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 会 | huì | know how to (learned skill); will / be likely to | 不会 |
| 能 | néng | be able to (capacity, circumstances allow) | 不能 |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | may (permission); can | 不可以 / 不能 |
| 要 | yào | want to; be going to; have to | 不想 / 不用 |
| 想 | xiǎng | want to; would like to | 不想 |
| 得 | děi | must, have to | 不用 |
| 应该 | yīnggāi | should, ought to | 不应该 |
Two negations in that table are irregular and worth flagging now, because there's no logic to derive them from — you memorise them: 得 (děi, "must") negates as 不用 (bú yòng, "needn't"), not 不得; and 要 in its "have to" sense also negates as 不用, while 不要 (bú yào) means the prohibition "don't." The rest are regular: just put 不 in front.
我会说一点儿中文。
wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Zhōngwén
I can speak a little Chinese. (neutral) — 会 (learned skill) + the main verb 说.
你能来吗？
nǐ néng lái ma?
Can you come? (informal) — 能 (circumstances permitting) + 来, questioned with 吗.
周末我想在家好好休息。
zhōumò wǒ xiǎng zài jiā hǎohǎo xiūxi
I want to rest properly at home this weekend. (informal) — 想 (would like to) + the verb phrase.
Shared grammar 1: the modal goes before the main verb
Every modal sits between the subject and the main verb: Subject (+ adverb) + Modal + Main Verb. The modal never comes after the verb, and it never appears alone as the whole predicate when an action is meant — it leans on the verb that follows.
我今天不能来。
wǒ jīntiān bù néng lái
I can't come today. (neutral) — order is Subject 我 + time 今天 + modal 不能 + verb 来.
你应该早点儿睡。
nǐ yīnggāi zǎo diǎnr shuì
You should go to bed a bit earlier. (informal) — 应该 sits right before the verb 睡.
Because the modal precedes the verb, any object stays with the main verb, exactly where it would be without the modal: 我会说中文 is 我 + 会 + [说中文]. The modal wraps the whole verb-plus-object.
Shared grammar 2: negation with 不, questions with 吗 or A-not-A
Modals are negated with 不, placed in front of the modal (不能, 不会, 不想) — and this position matters. 不 attached to the modal negates the ability/permission/wish itself; attaching it to the main verb instead changes the meaning (more on that in the mistakes below).
Questions come in the two usual flavours: sentence-final 吗, or the A-not-A form, which reduplicates the modal around 不 — 能不能, 会不会, 可不可以. A-not-A sounds a touch more direct and is very common in speech.
你能不能帮我一下？
nǐ néng bu néng bāng wǒ yíxià?
Can you give me a hand? (informal) — A-not-A on the modal: 能不能.
你会不会游泳？
nǐ huì bu huì yóuyǒng?
Can you swim? (informal) — 会不会 asks about a learned skill.
这儿可以抽烟吗？
zhèr kěyǐ chōu yān ma?
Is smoking allowed here? (informal) — 可以 (permission) questioned with 吗.
Shared grammar 3: don't put aspect on the modal
Modals describe things that aren't (yet) actual facts — an ability, a wish, a possibility — so they resist the aspect markers 了 / 过 / 着 that mark real, completed, or ongoing events. In particular, you don't make a sentence "future" by sticking 了 on the modal. To talk about the future you simply place 会 or 要 before the verb; the "about to / new situation" 了 goes at the end of the sentence, on the situation, not on the modal.
明天会下雨。
míngtiān huì xià yǔ
It's going to rain tomorrow. (neutral) — 会 marks likelihood/future by itself; no 了 needed on 会.
我要走了。
wǒ yào zǒu le
I'm about to leave. (informal) — the 'new situation' 了 goes at the END, on the sentence — not on the modal 要.
English "can" is three Chinese modals
The biggest source of trouble isn't the grammar — it's that English can collapses three separate ideas that Chinese keeps apart:
- 会 — you know how because you learned it: 我会开车 ("I can drive," I have the skill).
- 能 — you are able because conditions allow it: 我今天不能开车 ("I can't drive today," I'm tired / I've been drinking / my car's in the shop).
- 可以 — you are permitted: 这儿可以停车吗 ("can I park here?" is it allowed).
我会开车，但是今天喝酒了，不能开。
wǒ huì kāi chē, dànshì jīntiān hē jiǔ le, bù néng kāi
I can drive, but I've been drinking today, so I can't. (informal) — 会 (skill) vs 能 (circumstance) in one breath — English uses 'can' for both.
The three-way choice is common enough to deserve its own decision page — see 会 vs 能 vs 可以 — and each has a dedicated page: 会 (learned ability), 能 (capability), and 可以 (permission).
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the modal after the main verb. English word order for phrases like "speak-can" doesn't apply; the modal always leads.
❌ 我说会中文。
Incorrect — the modal comes before the verb. Say 我会说中文.
✅ 我会说中文。
wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén
I can speak Chinese. — Modal 会 + verb 说.
2. Putting 了 on the modal instead of the sentence. The "new situation" 了 goes at the end, on the situation.
❌ 我要了走。
Incorrect — 了 doesn't attach to the modal. Say 我要走了 ('I'm about to leave').
✅ 我要走了。
wǒ yào zǒu le
I'm about to leave. — 了 at the sentence end.
3. Negating a modal with 没. Modals like 会 / 能 / 想 take 不 for their basic negation, not 没.
❌ 我没会开车。
Incorrect — 会 negates with 不, never 没. Say 我不会开车.
✅ 我不会开车。
wǒ bú huì kāi chē
I can't drive (haven't learned). — 不会.
4. Putting 不 before the main verb instead of the modal. 不 belongs in front of the modal to negate the ability itself; in front of the main verb it means something else.
❌ 我能不来。
Wrong meaning for 'I can't come' — 我能不来 means 'I'm able to NOT come / I can skip it'. For 'I can't come', negate the modal: 我不能来.
✅ 我不能来。
wǒ bù néng lái
I can't come. — 不 goes before the modal 能.
Key Takeaways
- Modal verbs (能愿动词) — 会, 能, 可以, 要, 想, 得, 应该 — sit before the main verb to add ability, permission, wish, or obligation.
- They don't inflect and take no aspect (了/过/着) themselves; the future comes from 会/要 + verb, with any 了 at the sentence end.
- Negate with 不 before the modal (不能, 不会, 不想); watch the irregular 得 → 不用 and 要 → 不用 / 不要 (don't).
- Question with 吗 or A-not-A on the modal: 能不能, 会不会, 可不可以.
- English "can" splits into three: 会 (learned skill), 能 (circumstance allows), 可以 (permission) — see the 会/能/可以 contrast.
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- 会 (huì): Learned Ability and LikelihoodHSK 1 — 会 (huì) covers two ideas English keeps apart: a learned skill — 我会游泳 'I can swim' — and a confident prediction about the future — 明天会下雨 'it'll rain tomorrow'. Negated 不会.
- 能 (néng): Capability and CircumstanceHSK 1 — 能 (néng) is 'can' in the sense the conditions allow it right now — physical capacity (我能搬这个箱子), circumstance (今天我不能来), and extent (能游一千米). Negated 不能 also forbids.
- 可以 (kěyǐ): Permission and PossibilityHSK 1 — 可以 (kěyǐ) is 'can' in the sense you're allowed — permission and viable options: 你可以走了 'you may go', 这儿可以抽烟吗 'can I smoke here?'. Negated 不可以 means 'not allowed', never 'unable'.
- Choosing 会 vs 能 vs 可以HSK 2 — English 'can' splits into three Mandarin words: 会 (learned skill / prediction), 能 (capacity or circumstance), 可以 (permission / allowed). One decision — skill, circumstance, or permission — tells you which.