This is a mind map about the main use of modal verbs in English: you can find it online.
https://app.wisemapping.com/c/maps/620567/public
Study it and try to focus on the meanings and the main differences between English and Italian.
If you want you can draw a map with the main uses which you cannot remember and write sentences in English where you use them.
When we make deductions or speculations in the present we can use these structures:
” Tom is not here” ” I know – he must be in his office . He never leaves it before 7 ”
We use MUST + BASE FORM when we are sure about an event
We can also use CAN’T + BASE FORM
If we are not sure we can use : MAY/MIGHT/COULD + BASE FORM
“She is not at work ” ” she may be at home ” or “she might not feel well ”
I am less sure : ” She might be at home” We use might or could when we are less sure.
Watch the video:
When we make deductions or speculations in the pastt we can use these structures:
” Tom was not here yesterday” ” I know – he must have been in his office . He never leaves it before 7 ”
We use MUST + HAVE+ PAST PARTICIPLE when we are sure about an event
We can also use CAN’T + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
If we are not sure we can use : MAY/MIGHT/COULD + HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE
“She was not at work ” ” she may have been at home ” or “she might not have felt well ”
I am less sure : ” She might have been at home” We use might or could when we are less sure.
Study this introduction to Modal Verbs : Modal Verbs from Carmen Torres
Link online : https://www.slideshare.net/torrestorres/modal-verbs-1133347
It provides you with the main features of modal verbs in English and you should be aware that in English we do have more verbs that can translate some Italian verbs.
Watch the video about the main modal verbs:
When you have to study them, try to remember to find a sentence that can help you summarize the meaning.
Obbligation? Necessity? Lack of obbligation? Suggestion? Ability? Request? Permission?
There are some verbs that have similar meanings to must or can/could, write them down and study them.
Must: to have to/ to be necessary/ to be obliged to
Can: be able to/ to be allowed to/
Could: be able to/manage to / succeed in+v+ing/ be allowed to
May/Might: be likely to
The verbs will have to be put into the tense and you need to be able to know how to form the past tense, the present perfect , the future and the main tenses in English.
Here are some examples of the uses with the modals and the verbs that can replace them in some tenses:
ABILITY
***I can swim I could swim I am able to swim I was able to swim I have been able to swim
I will be able to swim
PERMISSION
*****I can go I could go I am allowed to go I was allowed to go I have been allowed to go
I will be allowed to go
OBBLIGATION
******I must go I had to go I will have to go
LACK OF OBBLIGATION
********* It is not necessary for you to go You don’t have to go You don’t need to go You needn’t go
SUGGESTIONS
***************It would be a good idea to go You should go
POSSSIBILITY
****************I may go I might go I could go Perhaps I will go I am likely to go
In the next post we will check modals dealing with the meaning of making deductions in the present and in the past.
When we talk about obbligation and necessity we use the modal verb Must.
If your teacher is giving you instructions or your mother is telling you what she wants you to do we use the verb Must:
“Remember you must study all the irregular verbs”
” Before you go out you must do your homework.”
Now watch the video where a teacher is explaining the meanings of some modal verbs:
The modal verb Should is usually used for asking for advice and giving advice. It is also used for talking about expectations.
When we give advice we can use also must , but we mean strong advice on behalf of the person who is speaking.
For example if you really like a film and you think a fried should see it you can give advice by saying
” You should see the film. It is one of the best films I have ever seen”
” You must see the film” , here the speaker is suggesting that it is really worth seeing this film ( strong advice)
Ought to is similar to should but it is more formal.
We use mustn’t/ must not when we say that you cannot do something, you are not allowed to do something.
It’s 2 o’clock now: you mustn’t go out with your friends. You must do your homework
You musn’t touch my mobile phone : it’s mine!!
This verb is not a modal verb: we use it in the present, in the past and other tenses in which we cannot use the verb must meaning obbligation and necessity.
I live far from the city so I have to commute to work every day ( a habit and a necessity)
What time did you have to leave yesterday?
George had to go to work late yesterday ( an event in the past)
Jack will have to help me next week ( future event)
When we use ” have to ” in the present or in the past we must remember to use the auxiliaries do/does and did in questions and negative forms.
When we are talking in the present and we are focussing on what is required to do and what is not required to do or it is not necessary to do we must be careful when choosing the right form:
“Kevin! You musn’t touch the wires- they are dangerous”
don’t/doesn’t have to:
“Tomorrow I am not going to work so I don’t have to go to bed early tonight ” ( It is not necessary for me to go to bed early tonight)
This verb can be considered a sort of semi-modal verb:
Positive form : I need to leave early ( I have to leave early ),it is similar to the verb to have need is followed by to+infinitive
Interrogative form: Do you need to leave home early every day? ( we use the auxiliary do/does in the simple present)
In the present simple form need can be a modal verb or not : it is used to say that it is not necessary to do something.
“You needn’t go to school tomorrow ” ( it means that it is not necessary to go to school)
You could also say ” You don’t have to go to school tomorrow ”
http://baladre.info/english/sedaviwebfront/mustshould.htm
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3401
http://englishservice.cz/download/Must%20have%20to.pdf
http://www.teachya.com/grammar/intermediate/must_should_have_to.php
Summer has finished and we are going to start a new learning adventure together: are you ready? How do you feel about it?
Which are your hopes? Why did you decide to come to our school? I am looking forward to meeting you all and I hope that we will have fun!!
I wish you all the best on your ” Back to School Day” on 15th September!!
Your English Language Teacher
Tiziana Angiolini
September is here! pic.twitter.com/LFa9OhGNnW
— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) 1 settembre 2017
Definitely not sleepy at all this morning! pic.twitter.com/pFAhoOcP9E
— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) 14 settembre 2017
What do you know about Apartheid in South Africa? When did it start and why?
Have you ever read any books or short stories by the novelist Nadine Gordimer?
Search online and find out more information about her and her country .
Now watch these two videos about Nadine Gordimer : in the first video she talks about the issue of racism
” The Moment before the Gun Went Off“
What do you know about September 11th? You were not born and maybe you do not know much about this event which changed the history of the world.
Every year people in the USA and all over the world remember what happened on this day. One of the main landmarks of New York- the Twin Towers- were destroyed and thousands of people died in a terrorist attack on 11th September 2001.
Now watch and listen to this poem by the poet Billy Collins : it is about those who died in this sad event. Every year their names are repeated and remembered and the place is now a Memorial where people from all over the world go to when they are in New York.
Since that day the world has changed and we have become afraid of people we do not know but we will never forget
New York City. #September11 (via @U2 on Instagram) pic.twitter.com/A6R1plr0so
— Rita Machadø (@nesimachado) 11 settembre 2017
Have ever thought about a world where everybody is aware of the importance of global issues and the environment?
Now check online this interesting post on Twitter: what do you think of the man who is cleaning the beaches?
Wayne is cleaning up North Somerset’s beaches and he’s on a mission to litter-pick the ENTIRE coast of the UK 👏pic.twitter.com/9MyWPdUzFt
— BBC Springwatch (@BBCSpringwatch) 8 settembre 2017
Now think about your daily routine : what do you do when you buy food or anything you need ? Do you think about the materials which have been used and which need recycling? When you are in a place on holiday, do you care about the natural landscape and all the living creatures that live there?
Now think about the words which are used when we talk about the environmnt and pollution. Which are the first words that come to your mind?
Check online and do some activities :
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/vocabulary-lesson-environment.php
Write a short article about your ideas and feelings when you think about the Earth and how human beings are polluting the natural environment.
https://pixabay.com/en/tea-mint-herbs-cup-aromatic-plant-2391082/ CCO Creative Commons Licence
Watch the video : what have you learnt about the origins of this drink?
What kinds of tea are mentioned in the video?
What do you like drinking : green tea ? Do you have tea with lemon or tea with milk?
Watch the second video: do you do the same things in your country?
Now search online about tea and how much tea the English people drink. What is the typical drink in Italy?
Goodbye, summer 2017 pic.twitter.com/TCXpIeJhKM
— PEANUTS (@Snoopy) 4 settembre 2017
Which images do you associate to Autumn? Do you know the American word for Autumn? It’s Fall: why?
Now look at this painting : what does it present? How do you feel? Does this painting have any message for us?
Try to describe what the painter focussed on in this painting: how do you perceive nature? What colours have been chosen? Why?
Attribution :By Oles333 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Michał Gorstkin-Wywiórski [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Vincent van Gogh [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AVan_Gogh_-_Pappelallee_im_Herbst.jpeg
Claude Monet [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons