Modal verbs

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Good afternoon!

Koers2a

I should go VS I must go

Which one sounds more convincing?

I should go VS I must go
Which one sounds more convincing?

I should go

i must go

Not convincing 

Convincing 

A.  I can come over.

B.  I might come over. 

C.  I will come over. 

D.  I must come over. 

E.  I may come over. 

Which sentences sound convincing, and which do not?

Sentence A

Sentence B

Sentence C

Sentence D

Sentence E

Modal verbs

Lesson goals

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Name the most important Modal verbs

2. Know in which ways we use Modal verbs

3. Use Modal verbs in their respective ways

What are Modal verbs?

Modal verbs can drastically affect a sentence.

Look at this example:

I swim on Tuesday

If we add a Modal verb:

I can swim on Tuesday

The sentence changes completely!

What are Modal verbs?

There are quite a lot of Modal verbs. Let's go over the most important ones.

Can 

I can jump.

Could 

We could go to the cinema tomorrow.

May 

They may be coming to our house tomorrow.

Might 

It might rain on Friday.

Should

You should tell him.

Will

I will try my best.

Would

My parents wouldn’t give me any pocket money.

Must 

You must be quiet.

What are Modal verbs?

You put Modal verbs in front of the main verb in the sentence:

I must go to school tomorrow.

The main verb is always the stam!

More examples:

My baby brother should be asleep by now. 

She can speak three languages.

When do we use Modal verbs?

1. Likelihood

Her parents must be so proud.

My baby brother should be asleep by now. 

2. Possibility

Judging by the clouds, it might rain today.

She may become the youngest pro soccer player ever.

I could go if I wanted to. 

3. Ability

She can speak three languages

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. 

4. Asking permission

May I leave early today? 

Could I play too?

Can I come over?

5. Request

Would you get that box off the top shelf? 

Will you turn that music down? 

Can you go please?

Could you get that for me?

6. Suggestion/advice

You should try the lasagna. 

That guy should wear less cologne. 

When do we use Modal verbs?

7. Command

You must wash your hands before cooking. 

8. Necessity

You must pay for this in advance.

9. Habit

When I lived alone, I would fall asleep with music. 

I will arrive early and leave late to every meeting. 

Exercise

There are nine common ways we can use Modal verbs. For each way, write down two sentences using the right Modal verb. Use a different Modal verb for each sentence (if possible). Underline the Modal verb.

For example: Request: Could you leave my room?

but not:

Might I use the bathroom?

Pay close attention to which Modals you can and cannot use in certain ways!

 

Will you stop doing that?

What is my job?

Make groups of four. One group member thinks of a job. 

Using modal verbs, the member must make  three sentences regarding the job they chose. The other members must guess the job! If your fellow members aren't able to guess your job, you need to come up with  more sentences!

Example: Doctor

They must know a lot about treating people

They can listen to people their health issues

They will help you when there's something wrong

Lesson goals

At the end of this lesson you will be able to:

1. Name the most important Modal verbs

2. Know in which ways we use Modal verbs

3. Use Modal verbs in their respective ways