Answer: Metals form cations.
The alkali metals (the IA elements) lose a single electron to form a cation with a 1+ charge.
The alkaline earth metals (IIA elements) lose two electrons to form a 2+ cation.
Aluminum, a member of the IIIA family, loses three electrons to form a 3+ cation.
Therefore, metals in the s and p block of the periodic table have 1, 2 or 3 electrons in their outermost orbit (or valence shell). Now to gain a stable octet metals lose either 1, 2 or 3 electrons from the valence shell thus forming cation with +1, +2 or +3 charge.