Modal Verbs: devoir, pouvoir, vouloir, savoir

Modal verbs express what someone must, can, wants to or knows how to do. They are among the most useful verbs at GCSE because they let you build longer, more natural sentences about plans, ability, obligation and wishes.

The four modals are:

Verb	Meaning	Example	English
devoir	must / to have to	Je dois partir.	I must leave.
pouvoir	can / to be able to	Je peux venir.	I can come.
vouloir	to want	Je veux jouer.	I want to play.
savoir	to know how to	Je sais nager.	I know how to swim.

The golden rule: a modal verb is almost always followed by a second verb in the infinitive (the unchanged -er / -ir / -re form). You conjugate the modal to match the subject, and leave the second verb alone.

Conjugated modal + infinitive. Je dois partir, elle veut manger, on peut aller. Never conjugate the second verb.

Devoir (must / have to) and pouvoir (can / be able to) are both irregular. Learn their present-tense grids person by person.

Person	devoir (must)	pouvoir (can)
je	dois	peux
tu	dois	peux
il/elle/on	doit	peut
nous	devons	pouvons
vous	devez	pouvez
ils/elles	doivent	peuvent

Both take an infinitive straight afterwards.

Worked examples:

• Je dois faire mes devoirs. — I have to do my homework.
• Nous devons arriver à l'heure. — We must arrive on time.
• Tu peux m'aider? — Can you help me?
• On ne peut pas fumer ici. — You can't smoke here.

Note that pouvoir covers both permission ("you can / may") and ability ("I am able to").

Vouloir (to want) and savoir (to know how to) complete the set. Both are irregular and both are followed by an infinitive.

Person	vouloir (want)	savoir (know how to)
je	veux	sais
tu	veux	sais
il/elle/on	veut	sait
nous	voulons	savons
vous	voulez	savez
ils/elles	veulent	savent

Worked examples:

• Je veux voyager en France. — I want to travel to France.
• Ils veulent sortir ce soir. — They want to go out tonight.
• Elle sait jouer du piano. — She knows how to play the piano.
• Est-ce que vous savez conduire? — Do you know how to drive?

Vouloir bien softens "to want" into willing agreement: Je veux bien = "I'd be glad to" / "Yes, please."

Saying je veux ("I want") can sound blunt, like a demand. To be polite, French uses je voudrais ("I would like"). This is the conditional of vouloir, and it is the one conditional form you need at Foundation tier.

Form	Meaning	Example	English
je voudrais	I would like	Je voudrais un café.	I would like a coffee.
il/elle voudrait	he/she would like	Elle voudrait voyager.	She would like to travel.

Like the other modals, voudrais is followed by either a noun or an infinitive:

• Je voudrais réserver une table. — I would like to book a table.
• Je voudrais deux billets, s'il vous plaît. — I would like two tickets, please.

(Higher tier) The full conditional of every verb (je voudrais, je pourrais, je devrais, j'aimerais) is Higher-tier content. At Foundation, learn voudrais / voudrait as fixed polite forms.

French has two verbs for "to know", and they are not interchangeable.

Verb	Use for	Example	English
savoir	a fact, or how to do something	Je sais la réponse.	I know the answer.
savoir	+ infinitive = know how to	Je sais nager.	I know how to swim.
connaître	being familiar with a person/place/thing	Je connais Marie.	I know Marie.
connaître	+ place	Tu connais Paris?	Do you know Paris?

The quick test: if you can replace "know" with "know how to" or "know that...", use savoir. If you mean "be familiar with" a person or place, use connaître.

Worked examples:

• Je sais où il habite. — I know where he lives. (a fact → savoir)
• Je connais bien ce quartier. — I know this area well. (familiar with → connaître)

1. Conjugating the second verb

After a modal, the second verb stays in the infinitive. Write Je dois partir, not Je dois pars. Only the modal changes to match the subject.

2. Mixing up the irregular stems

Pouvoir is je peux / il peut, and vouloir is je veux / il veut. Forms like je poux or je voulu (in the present) do not exist. Learn the grids person by person.

3. Using je veux when politeness is needed

Je veux ("I want") sounds demanding in a shop or restaurant. Use je voudrais ("I would like") for polite requests: Je voudrais l'addition, s'il vous plaît.

4. Confusing savoir and connaître

You connais a person or place, but you sais a fact or how to do something. Je connais nager is wrong; it must be Je sais nager (I know how to swim).

5. Forgetting negation wraps only the modal

In the present, ne ... pas goes around the modal, not the infinitive: Je ne peux pas venir (I can't come), not Je peux ne pas venir.