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KS2 English textbook

Chapter 5: Modal verbs, possibility and the perfect form

  • Strand Grammar
  • Level Year 5
  • Practice 84 questions with step-by-step solutions

National Curriculum for England, Key Stage 2 English, Year 5. Content: Use modal verbs (might, should, will, must, can, could, may) to show possibility, certainty, ability and obligation (G5-2), Use adverbs of possibility (possibly, perhaps, certainly, probably) (G5-3), Form the perfect with have or has and the past participle, and contrast it with the past tense (G5-4, WV2, G3-7), Use Standard English verb forms such as I did, we were and I have seen (G4-2).

Open Year 5 chapter

By the end of this chapter you will be able to

  • Use a modal verb to show how sure something is, or what should or must happen
  • Choose might, may, could or will to show possibility
  • Use perhaps, possibly, probably and certainly to show how likely something is
  • Form the perfect tense with have or has and the past participle
  • Choose the past simple or the perfect for a sentence, and use Standard English verb forms

You should already know

  • Present perfect and past tense (Year 4, Chapter 7)
  • Verb forms and Standard English (Year 4, Chapter 7)

Where this leads

  • Active and passive voice, and subject and object (Chapter 6 of this book)

Lessons in this chapter

  1. 5.1 Modal verbs: might, should, will, must, can, could and may
  2. 5.2 Adverbs of possibility: perhaps, possibly, probably and certainly
  3. 5.3 The perfect form: have or has and the past participle
  4. 5.4 Standard English verb forms
  5. 5.5 Choosing the right form in writing
  6. Summary and key words
  7. Check-up and practice test questions

Read the whole chapter on one page (good for printing).

Practise with real exam questions

The DfE publishes every past KS2 test, with mark schemes, for free.

KS2 English past papers