In the previous chapters we encountered a number of modal verbs such as deber, tener que, querer, poder. In this chapter we take a closer look at these, and at the grammar of modal verbs in general. We will see that there are many differences between Spanish and English modal verbs. Some of the differences are of grammatical nature, particularly when compound tenses and the subjuntivo come into play, others stem from the fact that some English modal verbs (e.g., to need to) have no clear Spanish counterpart.