HSK 1
能愿动词：会、能
néng yuàn dòng cí ： huì 、 néng
Modal verbs: 会, 能
Explanation
Modal verbs (also called auxiliary/modal verbs) are words like 会 (huì) and 能 (néng) placed before the main verb to express ability, permission, or prediction. Both 会 and 能 are close to 'can / know how to' in English but are used differently.
Subject (the person or thing performing the action, at the start of the sentence) + 会/能 (huì/néng) + verb (+ object (the target of the action, e.g. "book" in "buy a book")). For example 我会说中文 (wǒ huì shuō zhōngwén - I can speak Chinese).
会 indicates a learned skill (knowing how to swim, how to speak a foreign language) or a prediction 'likely to happen' (明天会下雨 - it will rain tomorrow). 能 indicates the ability to do something in a specific situation or permission (明天你能来吗？- can you manage to come tomorrow?).
a learned skill → use 会; when conditions/time/health allow doing it right then → use 能. 'I can swim 500 meters' emphasizes degree, so use 能, while 'I know how to swim' uses 会.
the negation must place 不 (bù) before the modal verb: 我不会 / 我不能, do NOT say 我会不 or place 不 before the main verb.
Examples
I can't speak Chinese.
Can you come tomorrow?
Practice
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Learn “能愿动词：会、能” effectively
The grammar point “能愿动词：会、能” (Modal verbs: 会, 能) is one of the key structures at HSK 1. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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