Modals are irregular verbs in English that express ideas like ability, permission, possibility, necessity, advice, and obligation. The document discusses 10 modal verbs - can, could, may, might, have to, must, should, ought to, be able to, and have got to - providing examples of their common uses to express ability, permission, possibility, necessity, advice, obligation, expectation, recommendation, and past ability. It also notes how their forms change in questions, negatives, and different tenses.