MODALS PART 1 2º ESO

Hello my dear students of 2º ESO!!

Today we're going to learn about the modal verbs. They're very easy to use but we need to know how they work and the differences of meaning that they have.

1. Here's a list of the modal verbs we're going to see today:

•  can/can't
•  could/couldn't 
•  must 
•  mustn't
•  should/shouldn´t
  

2. Modals are different from normal verbs and they have some things in common:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.
2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?').
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

3. Structure of the modals:

These modals follow the same structure, which is the following:

AFFIRMATIVE: SUBJECT + MODAL + VERB + COMPLEMENT. 

Example: She can play the piano.

NEGATIVE: SUBJECT + MODAL + NOT + VERB + COMPLEMENT

Example: James can not/can't play football.*

*As you can see, with the modals we can use an abbreviated form in the negative structure. (can not=can't, could not=couldn't, must not =mustn't, should not =shouldn't). You need to be careful with the spelling of the abbreviated forms. 

INTERROGATIVE: MODAL + SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT?

Example: "Can she play the piano?"

4. We're going to classify the modal verbs according to what they express: ability, ability in the past, possibility, obligation, prohibition and advice.

Ability

We use can to talk about ability or could to talk about the ability in the past. 

Example:

•  I can speak six languages.
•  When I was a child, I could run very fast. 

Possibility and impossibility

We use could to show that something is possible, but not certain:

They could come by car. (= Maybe they will come by car.)
They could be at home. (= Maybe they are at home.)

We use can to make general statements about what is possible:

It can be very cold here in winter. (= It is sometimes very cold here in winter.)
You can easily get lost in this town. (= People often get lost in this town.)

We use can't or cannot to say that something is impossible:

That can't be true.
You cannot be serious.

Obligation

must

Must expresses a strong obligation or necessity. It often shows us that the obligation comes from the speaker (or the authority that wrote the sentence). 

I must phone my dad. It's his birthday today.
(Teacher to student) You must hand in your homework on Tuesday or you will lose ten per cent of your mark.
(Sign on a plane) Seat belts must be worn by all passengers.

Prohibition

must not/mustn't

We use must not to talk about what is not permitted. It is common on public signs and notices informing people of rules and laws.

Visitors must not park in the staff car park.
Baggage must not be left unattended.
Guests must not make noise after 10 p.m.

We use mustn't particularly when the prohibition comes from the speaker.

(Parent to child) You mustn't say things like that to your sister.
(Teacher to student) You mustn't be late to class.
I mustn't let that happen again.

Advice

We use should and shouldn't to give advice:

You should send an email.
You shouldn’t go by train.

And that is all about modal verbs for now!! In the next part we're going to learn about a couple of modal verbs that are a little rebel and don't work exactly as the ones we've seen today.

Also, in case you still have some doubts about modal verbs, here you have a couple of explanations in Spanish. 😉

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VBFy1CZzhYio4un0UrJDoZVkN9lPyHZ1/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VBFy1CZzhYio4un0UrJDoZVkN9lPyHZ1/view?usp=sharing


If you have any doubts about this, you can leave a comment in this blog entry.

Kind regards from your English teacher!