Modal verbs (19)
There are about a dozen modal verbs in Chinese. Modal verbs such as 喜欢 xĭhuān like , 想 xiăng wish and 应该 yīnggāi ought to are used to express feelings, intentions and obligations. Modal verbs are placed before the main verbs in sentences. For instance,
我 想 吃 中 国 饭
I fancy eating some Chinese food
T he word 想 xiăng fancy , wish in is a modal verb which indicates the speaker’s inclination and intention.
When a modal verb is used in a sentence, the aspect particle 了 le for completed actions is not used . A time word (time when) is placed in the sentence to indicate that an action has taken place:
我 以前 想 去中 国
I wanted go to China in the past .
The modal verbs in the following list are the most commonly used.
Chinese |
Pinyin |
English |
要 |
yào |
want; ask for; wish; desire |
想 |
xiăng |
want to; would like to; feel like (something) |
应该 |
yīnggāi |
should; ought to; must |
能 |
néng |
can; be able to; be capable of |
喜欢 |
xĭhuān |
like; love; prefer; enjoy; be fond of |
可以 |
kěiyĭ |
can; may |
会 |
huì |
be good at; be skilful in |
愿意 |
yuànyì |
be willing to |
肯 |
kěn |
be willing to |
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Translate the following sentences into Chinese (20 modal verbs)
I want to go to China and she wants to go to Japan.
I would like to learn Chinese.
She should learn Japanese.
What language would you like to learn?
I fancy some French food.
I would like to visit my friend.