3.3 A common error

CAN you guess what today's lesson will be about?

The hint is in the table on the right.

Poll

The lesson topic MIGHT be...

• verb tenses

• noun forms

• modal verbs

• passive voice

Modal Verbs

What are MODAL VERBS?

Modals, or modal auxiliary verbs, such as may, might, could, should, and must are used before the infinitives of other verbs to add meaning connected with certainty or obligation or freedom to act.  Modals are not usually used to say (a) that something definitely exists or (b) definitely happened.  We use them to talk about things which we expect, which are not possible, which we want to happen, which we are not sure about, or which we think are necessary. 

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a modal verb?

• will

• play

• may

• should

Grammar Explanation 1

• Modals have no ‘s’ in the third person singular

  He might wear his uniform today. (NOT He might wears his uniform today)

•  After modals, we use the base form of verbs.

  You must do your homework (NOT You must to do your homework)

Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

• Students can to reading this question.

• Students can to read this question.

• Students can reading this question.

• Students can read this question.

Multiple Choice

Which is the correct question form?

• Should he writes a preposition after a modal verb?

• Should he to writes a preposition after a modal verb?

• Should he write a preposition after a modal verb?

• Should he to write a preposition after a modal verb?

Fill in the Blanks

Grammar Explanation 2

• Progressive, perfect, and passive forms are also possible.

  He must be working very hard.

  She shouldn’t have copied that homework assignment.

  Graded work cannot be written at home.

•  Maybe’ should not be confused with ‘may be’.  Although similar in meaning, maybe is an adverb, and may be is a modal followed by the base form of the verb be.

  Maybe she is upstairs

  She may be upstairs.

Adding Tone

In addition, in argumentative essays, modals can be used to control the tone of your ideas.  For example, words such as must and should show a reader what your opinion on a matter is.  On the other hand, words such as can, could, may, might, and would can be used to avoid making sweeping statements or to make an opposing opinion sound weaker.

Example (adding tone)

While some people may say that uniforms don’t help them get better grades, the evidence clearly shows that schools must enforce a strict uniform policy.

Add an appropriate modal or phrasal modal to each verb in parentheses. More than one answer may be possible.

Poll

Which do you prefer?

Studying on a google Document (Eg. the PASSIVE VOICE lesson we did recently).

Or

Studying in Quizizz (Eg. today's MODAL VERB lesson)

• Google Docs is much better than Quizizz

• Google Docs is a little better than Quizizz

• No preference

• Quizizz is a little better than Google Docs

• Quizizz is much better than Google Docs

Open Ended

Do you have a question?

Is there anything that you do not understand about MODAL VERBS?