Modals advanced
- 1. Modals AAddvvaanncceedd lleevveell © Creative commons
- 2. What are modal verbs? They are: • Can • Could • May • Might • Must • Shall • Should • Will • Would • Ought to They are Auxiliary verbs that provide additional and specific meaning to the main verb of the sentence Modal verbs are sometimes referred to as Modal Auxiliary verbs because they help other verbs
- 3. How do we use modals? S Subject V Verb M Example: Mary could play the piano They do not accept conjugation They do not need other auxiliary verbs © Creative commons
- 4. Form There is no “s” in singular There is no “do / does” in the question There is no “don’t / doesn’t” in the negative He can ski He cans ski or He can skis Would you like to come with me? Do you would like to come with me? They can’t be serious They don’t can be serious © Creative commons
- 5. Form Modal verbs do not have infinitives or –ing forms to can / caning to must /musting Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without to She must study We should have gone the other way He could play football in his youth (general ability)
- 6. Form Modal verbs do not have all the tenses Modal verbs use other verbs to complete the tenses Can is completed with be able to Must is completed with have to You must come early They can play the piano They You will had be to able come to early play the yesterday piano in the future
- 7. What do they express? They can have different meanings depending on the situations they are used To understand it better we are going to divide them into 3 categories 1. Single Concept Modal: they have one meaning 2. Double Concept Modal: they have two meanings 3. Modals in past: They are used to express a situation in the past
- 8. Categories SSiinnggllee ccoonncceepptt MMooddaallss DDoouubbllee CCoonncceepptt MMooddaallss MMooddaallss iinn PPaasstt Might Should Ought to Had better May Must Would Shall Could Can Will May have Must have Would have Might have Could have Can’t have Will have Should have Ought to have
- 9. Single Concept Modal MMooddaall CCoonncceepptt EExxaammpplleess Might Remote probability I might move to Canada some day Should Advice or Recommendation You should go to the doctor Ought to Formal recommendation We ought to know about first aids Had better (modal-like verb) Warning I had better study or I will fail the test
- 10. Double Concept Modal MMooddaall CCoonncceepptt EExxaammpplleess May (1) Permission May I come in? May (2) Good probability We may visit Mexico this summer Must (1) Obligation Responsibility Everyone must pay taxes Must (2) Deduction /certainty She didn’t come. She must be sick Would (1) Past habit (used to) When I was young, I would play soccer Would (2) Present unreal I would buy the car but I can’t afford it
- 11. Double Concept Modal MMooddaall CCoonncceepptt EExxaammpplleess Shall (1) Offer Shall I clean it? Shall (2) Contractual obligation The company shall pay on January 1st Could (1) Possibility Deduction I could go if I had time She could be at home Could (2) Past Ability She could play the piano, not anymore Can (1) Present Ability We can speak English Can (2) Permission Can I have a sweet? Will (1) Future Joe will travel to New York next week Will (2) Certainty She surely will be at home now.
- 13. Modals in the Past They are modals referred to actions that happened in the past MODAL + HAVE + verb in past participle It must have been a difficult decision They should have invited her to their wedding
- 15. Modals in Past : Modal + have + past participle
- 16. A last tip There are few verbs which often serve as modals too. These are modal-like verbs They need to be conjugated
- 17. Modal-like verbs MMooddaall CCoonncceepptt EExxaammppllee Need to Necessity We really needed to talk to you. We didn’t need to talk to him. Have (got) to Don’t have to Obligation Absence of obl. Susan has (got) to go now You don’t have to bring anything Make sb. do sth. Obligation They made me wear a uniform Be allowed to Permission I wasn’t allowed to stay out after midnight Let sb. do sth. Permission They let me stay out at night Be able to Ability on one particular occasion I was able to give the police a full description.
- 18. Practice 1. My son ___ be home by now. Where can he be? a. Have to b. Would c. Should d. Could 2. I think your thumb is broken. You ___ go to the emergency room. a. Might b. could c. ought to d. can 3. If you are interested in losing weight, you ______ try this new diet. a. Could b. mustn’t c. don’t have to d. had to 4. Johnnie’s fallen down the stairs! I ________ call an ambulance! a. Will b. might c. may d. ought to 5. You _______ come too early. We won’t leave until 9 o’clock. a. Has to b. must c. needn’t d. can’t
- 19. Practice 6. Children ________ be accompanied by an adult at the zoo. a. Ought to b. must c. would d. mustn’t 7. You _________ talk during tests. It’s forbidden! a. don’t have to b. mustn’t c. couldn’t d. ought to 8. I can feel the heat. We _________ be near the fire. a. Can b. would c. must d. have to 9. They ________ hear him because he was whispering. a. Wouldn’t b. mustn’t c. shouldn’t d. couldn’t 10. You’ve never heard of Britney Spears! You ________ be serious! a. Must b. had to c. can’t d. shouldn’t
- 20. Practice 11. __________ you like to have dinner with me tonight? a. Could b. may c. should d. would 12. You _________ let him hear about the party tomorrow. It’s a surprise! a. mustn’t b. wouldn’t c. couldn’t d. can 13. __________ I speak to the Chief of Police, please? a. Must b. May c. Would d. Need 14. He has arrived late. He _______ missed the bus a. Must have b. Should have c. Could have d. must
- 21. More practice Re-write the following sentences using modals ssoo tthhaatt tthheeyy hhaavvee tthhee ssaammee mmeeaanniinngg.. 1. I suggest that you get a good lawyer! sshhoouulldd ggeett aa llaawwyyeerr You ___________________________________________ 2. A university degree isn’t necessary for that job. nneeeeddnn’’tt //ddoonn’’tt nneeeedd ttoo hhaavvee aa uunniivveerrssiittyy ddeeggrreeee ffoorr tthhaatt jjoobb ddoonn’’tt hhaavvee ttoo hhaavvee aa uunniivveerrssiittyy…… You ___________________________________________ 3. Perhaps my father will pick you up. mmaayy // mmiigghhtt ppiicckk yyoouu uupp My father _______________________________________ 4. 4. Eating is forbidden in class! mmuussttnn’’tt eeaatt iinn ccllaassss You ___________________________________________
- 22. More practice Re-write the following sentences using modals ssoo tthhaatt tthheeyy hhaavvee tthhee ssaammee mmeeaanniinngg.. 5. Look at his dirty clothes! I’m sure he is a poor person. mmuusstt bbee aa ppoooorr ppeerrssoonn He ____________________________________________ 6. I don’t believe that the legend of Hercules is true because there’re many contradictions. The legend of Hercules ____________________________ ccaann’’tt bbee ttrruuee
- 23. Use your imagination Think about these situations and create a sseenntteennccee uussiinngg mmooddaallss.. 1. We are going to Paris for a weekend. (Make suggestions about things to do) 2. We start school in September. (Talk about necessity) 3. Margaret is a very talented sportswoman. (Talk about ability) 4. You have just won the lottery! (Talk about possibility) 5. Peter has got a headache and a congested nose. (Give him some advice) 6. You want to borrow your uncle’s Mercedes Benz. (Ask for permission politely)
- 24. Possible answers 1. We could visit the Louvre / We should ggoo uupp tthhee EEiiffffeell TToowweerr 22.. WWee hhaavvee ttoo bbuuyy aa nneeww nnootteebbooookk 33.. SShhee ccaann ssppeeaakk 33 llaanngguuaaggeess!! // SShhee iiss aabbllee ttoo ppllaayy tthhee ppiiaannoo aanndd tthhee vviioolliinn 44.. II mmiigghhtt ssttoopp wwoorrkkiinngg // II mmaayy bbuuyy aa nneeww ccaarr // II ccaann ttrraavveell ttoo NNeeww YYoorrkk 55.. YYoouu sshhoouulldd sseeee aa ddooccttoorr // YYoouu oouugghhtt ttoo ddrriinnkk hhoott tteeaa 66.. CCaann II bboorrrrooww yyoouurr ccaarr,, pplleeaassee?? oorr MMaayy II bboorrrrooww yyoouurr ccaarr,, pplleeaassee??