Видеоучебник / Английский язык / Подготовка к ЕГЭ по английскому языку. Часть 2 / Modal verbs

Modal verbs

Урок 34. Подготовка к ЕГЭ по английскому языку. Часть 2

В ходе данного урока учащиеся выучат определение понятия «модальный глагол». Также они узнают, какие функции могут выполнять различные модальные глаголы. В конце урока ребята смогут закрепить полученные знания на практике.

Конспект урока "Modal verbs"

– Hello, our dear friends!

– Welcome to our grammar lesson!

– We are glad to see you.

– Today we would like to start our lesson with the dialogue.

– Let’s listen to this dialogue right now.

– Daddy, do you really have to go there?

– Yes, of course, sweetie! I must go there, or I will be fired.

– You may call them and say you don’t feel well.

– I can do that, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.

– Okay. In this case, you shall do it in the way you want.

Now, boys and girls, I would like to draw your attention to the words in bold.

Have to, must, may, can, shall. What are these words?

The answer is simple!

These words are “modal verbs”.

What is a modal verb? What modal verbs are there in the English language? When can we use them? You’ll find the answers to these questions in this lesson.

So, today in the lesson we will:

● learn the definition of the term “a modal verb”;

● talk about modal verbs in English;

And

● put the knowledge into practice.

First, let’s answer the question:

What is a modal verb?

A modal verb is a verb, which a speaker or writer can use to express certainty, possibility, permission, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability, probability, requests, offers and advice. Each modal verb can have more than one meaning, which depends on the context of the sentence.

There are 9 basic modal verbs in the English language.

And they are: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should and must.

There are other verbs with modal meanings, although they don’t have all the features of a full modal verb.

And they are: ought to, have to, need.

Modal verbs never change their form. We cannot add -s, -ing or -ed to them.

For example:

She can hear the music from his room sometimes.

NOT:

She cans hear the music from his room sometimes.

Modal verbs are always followed by the bare infinitive.

For instance:

We should clean up the garden.

NOT:

We should to clean up the garden.

Modal verbs come before the subject in questions and are followed by “not” in negations.

For example:

Should Julia eat more fruit and vegetables?

You must not (or mustn’t) make noise after 9 o’clock.

Pay attention! Modal verbs don’t have tenses in the normal sense. When followed by a normal bare infinitive, they refer to an uncompleted action or state. When followed by the bare perfect infinitive, they refer to a completed action or state.

As we’ve already mentioned before, modal verbs can perform different functions. We can use them to express obligation, duty, necessity. In this case, we use the following modal verbs: “must”, “have to”, “should”, “ought to”.

“Must” expresses duty or strong obligation to do something. We generally use “must” when the speaker himself has decided that something is necessary or essential.

For instance:

Seat belts must be worn even in the back of the car.

“Have to” expresses strong necessity or obligation. We usually use “have to” when objective circumstances make us do something.

For example:

I don’t like this school, because I have to wear a uniform.

Pay attention! “Had to” is the past form of both “must” and “have to”.

“Should” and “ought to” are used to show duty or weak obligation.

For instance:

Jake, you should clear away the mess in the kitchen.

I ought to phone my parents.

To show absence of necessity, we can use: “don’t have to”, “don’t need to” or “needn’t”.

“Don’t have to”, “don’t need to” and “needn’t” express something, which isn’t necessary to do in the present or future.

For example:

Kate, you don’t have to dress formally today.

They don’t need to go if they don’t want to.

Cans of soup needn’t be kept in the fridge.

Pay attention! We can use “needn’t have done” to express something, which wasn’t necessary to do in the past, but it was done.

For instance:

You needn’t have cooked so much food. We weren’t hungry!

“Didn’t have to” is used to show something, which wasn’t necessary to do. We don’t know if it was done or not.

For example:

Liam didn’t have to pay for the food.

We can also use modal verbs to express permission, prohibition. In this case, we use such modal verbs as “can”, “can’t”, “may”, “mustn’t”.

“Can” and “may” are used to ask for or to give permission. The only difference between them is that “may” is more formal than “can”.

For instance:

Students can use calculators during the exam.

May I leave the room, please?

“Mustn’t” and “can’t” are used to show that you’re not allowed to do something, because it’s forbidden or against the rules or law.

For example:

You mustn’t park outside the entrance.

Ella, you can’t go to the club! You are too young.

We can use modal verbs to express possibility. In this case, we use: “can”, “could”, “may”, “might”.

To express general or theoretical possibility, we can use:

can + present infinitive

For instance:

Going to the theatre can be boring sometimes.

To express possibility in a specific situation, we can use:

Could/may/might + present infinitive

For example:

The dog might bark when we pass by the gate.

Pay attention! We can use “can”, “could” and “might” in questions but not “may”.

For instance:

How difficult can it be?

To refer to something in the past that was possible but didn’t happen, we can use:

Could/might + perfect infinitive

For example:

They could have taken a taxi home instead of walking and getting wet.

We can also use modal verbs to express ability or inability. In this case, we use: “can”, “could”, “couldn’t”, “was able to”, “wasn’t able to”, “will be able to”, “won’t be able to”.

“Can” expresses ability in the present or future.

For instance:

I can sing one song in Polish.

“Could” expresses general or repeated ability in the past.

For example:

When I was young, I could easily touch my toes.

“Couldn’t” may be used to express any kind of inability in the past, repeated or specific.

For instance:

Amy couldn’t read or write when she was five.

“Was able to” expresses ability on a specific occasion in the past. “Wasn’t able to” expresses inability.

For example:

Only one person was able to beat the record.

I wasn’t able to find all the answers to the questions.

To express ability or inability in the future, we can use “will be able to” or “won’t be able to”.

For example:

You will be able to speak perfect English very soon.

She won’t be able to concentrate.

Modal verbs are used to express criticism. In this case, we can use such modal verbs as “could” and “should”.

“Could” and “should” are used to express criticism in the present or past.

For instance:

James could at least be polite to Janet. (present)

You could have called to say you would be late. (past)

You should call Jennifer back. (present)

I should have studied harder when I was young. (past)

Modal verbs can express advice. In this case, we use: “should”, “ought to” or “shall”.

The modal verb “shall” is used to ask for advice.

For example:

Shall I enter the competition?

“Should” and “ought to” are similar in meaning, but “ought to” is more formal than “should”.

For instance:

You should stop drinking alcohol.

You ought to abide by the rules.

“Should” is much more common in negatives and questions than “ought to”.

For example:

He shouldn’t speak to his parents in that way.

Should we keep a seat for Danielle?

To express certainty, probability or deductions we can use the following modal verbs: “will”, “ought to”, “should”, “must”, “can’t”, “could”, “couldn’t”, “might”, “may”.

Now look at the table, please!

When we are 100% certain about something, we can use “will”, “must”, “can’t” or “couldn’t”.

For instance:

The kids will be thrilled when we tell them we’re going to Disney World.

He must be a chef.

He can’t be a businessman.

Jim couldn’t have cooked dinner. He has been at work since morning.

When we are 80% certain about something, we can use “should” or “ought to”.

For example:

There should be a very big crowd at the party.

The weather ought to get better tomorrow.

When we are 50% certain about something, we can use “could”, “might” or “may”.