Hello, Modal verbs are unconjugated English verbs which express the mood of a verb, such as ability, possibility, condition, and necessity, like: can, could, may, might,... French does not have modal verbs, which can make it difficult to translate them. The French equivalents of modal verbs may be a conjugatable verb (e.g., pouvoir), or a tense, mood, or adverb. Note that "could" and "would" can be used in the present and past, with varied meanings. examples: can = pouvoir (present tense) I can help you. Je peux vous aider. We can see it. Nous pouvons le voir. you can check this link if you want more: http://french.about.com/library/verb/bl-modals.htm good luck :)