Modals 1

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Modals 1

Modals or modal auxilaries are helpful verbs we add to express certain things, like obligation, permission or prohibition. In Dutch we call them: 'hulpwerkwoorden'

You probably already know these verbs, but maybe not when we have to use them. Have a look:

I must drive on the left in England

We have to get out of the museum before it closes at 5 pm

You should try a call your mum, she is probably worried.

We ought to go home early today.

Could I borrow a pen, miss?

You may leave the classroom early.

You can't go in there, all the walls have just been painted!

I'd love to come to the cinema but I _____ hand in this assignment tomorrow.

1. must
2. have to
3. can

You _____ hit your sister again! Do you understand?

1. mustn't
2. can
3. don't have to

_____ I borrow your black dress tonight, please?

1. Can
2. Must
3. Mustn't

You _____ memorise the whole thing. Just try to remember the key points.

1. mustn't
2. have to
3. don't have to

You _____ park your car here for a maximum of 30 minutes.

1. must
2. don't have to
3. can

Strong obligation (1)

Must:   When? In present and future situations

- The speaker is the one who imposes the obligation. In other words he is the one who tells somebody what they must do. 

- You can also use must for laws. 

  You must clean up this mess at once! 

  You must stop when the light turns red. 

Strong obligation (2)

Have to / have got to (informal use only)   When? In present and future situations

- The speaker is not the one who imposes the obligation. In other words somebody else tells somebody what they must do. 

Example:  The teacher told me  that I have to write down these words.

  

Had to   when? In past situations and in 'reported speech' (indirecte rede)

- The past tense of have to. Someone else imposes the obligation.

Example:  My dad said that I had to come home early. 

I had to finish my meal before I was allowed to leave the table. 

Strong obligation (3)

Other ways to express obligation (without modals): 

- To make someone do something 

- To be compulsory 

Examples:  

The teacher made the pupils write down the entire sentence.     

English is compulsory at secondary school. 

Weak obligation 

Should /ought to    

- Present and future situations

- Often used for criticism or regret, because an action didn’t happen.

I really should visit granny more often. 

Should have + past participle / Ought to have + past participle 

- Past situations

I ought to have told John the truth sooner. 

Asking for and giving permission 

Can – the word you usually use for permission 

Could -  is more polite  (and past tense of can)

May – is formal 

Examples: 

Can I go to the toilet, please? 

Could I ask you for some assistance? 

May I bother you for some salt? 

Other ways to express permission (no modals):  

- To allow someone to ..  

- To permit someone to ..  

- To let someone ..  

Examples:  

Dad allowed me to buy a new pair of jeans.  

The police permitted Jon to leave the prison.  

I let the kids play in the sandbox, even though it rained.  

Prohibition (Dutch: verbod)

 Mustn’t/ can’t  

- Present and future 

- You use this when something is forbidden 

You can’t smoke in restaurants in Holland. 

They musn't jump of that bridge, the water below is too shallow!

Was not to / couldn’t 

- Past expressions of prohibition

I couldn’t go into that road because there were road works. 

I wasn’t to open the presents before Christmas morning. 

Other ways to express prohibition (no modals): 

- To forbid someone to .. 

- To ban someone from …-ing something 

- To not allow someone to … something 

- To not permit someone to … something 

- To not let someone … something 

- Imperative (Dutch: gebiedende wijs) 

 

Examples: 

Mother forbids me to speak to strangers. 

The prisoner was banned from going to his dad’s funeral. 

James wasn’t allowed to use a knife. 

The teacher didn’t permit us to use a dictionary. 

Dad doesn’t let me drive his car to school. 

Don’t tease your brother! 

Extra exercise

Go over 1 or both of the exercises below to practice with the modals of obligation, necessity & permission.

• Exercise 1
• Exercise 2

When you are done, show the teacher your results. Then you can move on to do exercises 1-6 in your workbook.

Unit 3.2

Now, do exercises 1-5 + grammar extra 

When you are done, do exercise 6. It is a Use of English exercise (part 4, Key Word Transformation), so make sure you revise what you have to do here before starting by looking at the explanation in Exam Folder 1 again.

If you want to know more about the grammar of this unit, or perhaps prefer a Dutch explanation, watch the videos on the next slides.