22nd April

Writing:   Formal, informal and neutral language for writing email

Grammar: Modals of obligation

Modal	Meaning	Example
can	to express ability	I can speak a little Russian.
can	to request permission	Can I open the window?
may	to express possibility	I may be home late.
may	to request permission	May I sit down, please?
must	to express obligation	I must go now.
must	to express strong belief	She must be over 90 years old.
should	to give advice	You should stop smoking.
would	to request or offer	Would you like a cup of tea?
would	in if-sentences	If I were you, I would say sorry. Modal verbs are unlike other verbs. They do not change their form (spelling) and they have no infinitive or participle (past/present). The modals must andcan need substitute verbs to express obligation or ability in the different tenses. Here are some examples: Past simple Sorry I'm late. I had to finish my math test. Present perfect She's had to return to Korea at short notice. Future You'll have to work hard if you want to pass the exams. Infinitive I don't want to have to go. Past simple I couldn't/wasn't able to walk until I was 3 years old. Present perfect I haven't been able to solve this problem. Can you help? Future I'm not sure if I will be able to come to your party. Infinitive I would love to be able to play the piano. Modals are auxiliary verbs. They do not need an additional auxiliary in negatives or questions. For example: Must I come? (Do I must come?), or: He shouldn't smoke (He doesn't should smoke).

Grammar: Mini quiz: Modal quiz, click here


Practice: How to: Describing a process using modals


Listening: TED Talks:   "There's a flip side to everything"

Speaking: Derek Sivers worksheet

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Watch the video: Changing ideas

Hello, do you live in the UK? And, if you do, have you noticed many differences between your country and the UK? The weather is one thing that people normally mention as a big difference but I think there are deeper differences. Have you noticed any differences between the law in the UK and your country and  ___________? Because there are differences from country to country and from time to time.

For example when I was a child we didn't have to  ___________     ___________ when we drove in a car. We used to kneel up on the back seat and wave to the car behind, something that would be ___________ nowadays and definitely against the law.

Also when I was younger attitudes to  ___________ were quite different. It wasn't allowed to drink and drive a car; it was against the law but people didn't really consider it to be a serious crime as they do nowadays.

Another difference was  ___________at school. When I was at school if a teacher entered the room we all had to immediately stand up straight to show respect, but I don't think there's any of that any more.

As well, when we were children we all had Sunday clothes, "Sunday Best" and when we went to church we had to dress very  ___________. These days I don't think many people go to church and if they do, jeans are certainly all right. In fact I think as a country we dress quite  ___________. You can see people wearing jeans in the theatre, even at the opera. But it's only in ... up to the mid nineteen sixties when women weren't   ___________ to go into smart restaurants wearing trousers, you won't find that any more. In fact, I think there's just the Ritz restaurant in London that still has a  ___________and that's for men, not women. Men still have to wear jackets and ties to go to the Ritz. But on the whole things have changed quite a lot since I was young.

Have you noticed any differences between  ___________ and laws from your country to the UK? If you have, would you like to write and tell us about them?