Modal Verbs of Ability ESL Activities, Games & Worksheets
Ability Bingo

ESL Can You Game - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice
In this free 'Can you...?' game, students play bingo by finding classmates who have certain abilities. Students go around the classroom asking 'Can you...?' questions in order to find classmates who have the abilities shown on their bingo card, e.g. 'Can...
Can or Can't?

ESL Can and Can't Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Writing Sentences, Error Correction
In this useful can or can't worksheet, students learn and practice the modal verbs of ability can and can't. Students begin by matching each animal with a corresponding ability. Next, students complete...
Can you or can't you?

ESL Can and Can't Worksheet - Vocabulary and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Pair Work
This productive can and can't worksheet helps to teach students how to talk about their abilities. First, students write about their abilities by completing...
Can you...?

ESL Can and Can't Game - Speaking: Guessing, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this fun can and can't game, students guess whether a partner can or can't do certain things and ask 'Can you...?' questions to find out if their guesses are right or wrong. Working alone, students guess...
Prove It!

ESL Can and Can't Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice
In this amusing can and can't speaking activity, students try to complete mind-body coordination tasks, body teasers and fun speaking exercises to prove their abilities. Students move around the...
Can and Could

ESL Past and Present Abilities Activity - Speaking: Survey, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Group Work
In this free can and could speaking activity, students find out about their classmates' past and present abilities. Students go around their group finding out about their classmates' past and present abilities...
Crazy Abilities

ESL Modal Verbs of Ability Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Group Work
This engaging modal verbs of ability game is based on the card game Crazy Eights. In the game, students say what ability or skill two things have in common using...
Fibber

ESL Modal Verbs of Ability Game - Grammar: Sentence Completion, True or False, Asking Questions, Guessing, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this humorous can and can't activity, students play a true or false guessing game about their abilities. First, students complete statements on their worksheet...
Fun Ability Test

ESL Can and Can't Activity - Grammar: Table Completion, Writing Summaries - Group Work
Here is an entertaining can and can't activity in which students try to complete various challenges and fill in a chart to show what members of their group can and can't do. In groups of three, students...
How well can you…?

ESL Modal Verbs of Ability Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Sentence Completion - Pair Work
In this insightful can and can't speaking activity, students practice talking about skills and levels of ability using modal verbs and adverbs of manner. In pairs, students take it in turns to ask their partner...
Past and Present Abilities

ESL Can and Could Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Group Work
In this enjoyable can and could speaking activity, students play a true or false guessing game about past and present abilities. In groups, students take it in turns to pick up a card and use the prompt on...
The Leftorium

ESL Can and Can't Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Group Work
In this interesting modal verbs of ability speaking activity, students try completing certain tasks with their left hand. Students then ask and answer questions about their left-handed abilities using...
What could they do?

ESL Could and Couldn't Activity - Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Pair Work
In this rewarding could and couldn't speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about four people's past abilities using could, couldn't and adverbs of degree. Each student looks at information in a...
Ability Bluff

ESL Be Able to Game - Speaking: Writing True or False Sentences, Story Telling, Asking Questions, Guessing - Group and Pair Work
In this free be able to game, students practice modal verbs of ability and expressions with 'be able to'. In two groups, students complete true and false information about...
What's missing?

ESL Be Able to Activity - Vocabulary: Gap-fill, Discussion - Pair Work
In this memorable be able to activity, students complete sentences with the correct form of 'be able to' and a verb. One student begins by reading the first sentence to their partner, adding in the appropriate form of be able to and verb. The student...
When could you first do this?

ESL Can and Could Activity - Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this compelling can and could speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about present and past abilities. In pairs, students take it in turns to ask their partner a 'Can you...?' question from...