Unit 4

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Unit 4

Modals [2]

Complex modal forms; dare and need; had better; be allowed to; be supposed to; other verbs with modal meanings

Which modal verbs
do you remember?

Remember?

The modal verb can change the meaning of a sentence.

Listen to the extract. 

Match the sentence beginnings and endings

1. Anybody trying to do that would have been seen from the street below.

2. After that they might

3. So someone else must

4. Do you think he might

5. But of course, he might

6. I suppose he could

7. The driver must

8. The forensic team should

have opened the door from the inside.

be hiding some information from us.

have finished examining the building by now

have been expecting them and the he was part of the gang

have been lowered by the rope rom the roof.

have been waiting nearby.

be lying.

Modal verbs

Modal verbs are a type of auxiliary verbs, which defines

• ability
• necessity
• obligation
• possibility
• predictions
• and more!

Possibility

• If you want to talk about a present situation happening as you speak, use:
  might / may / could + be + present participle (verb-ing)

• He might be lying, you know.
  
• He could be talking to his teacher as we speak.

• If you want to talk about situations/activities that were possibly happening in the past, use:
  might / may / could + have been + present participle (verb-ing)

• He might have been lying all this time.
  
• He could have been talking to his teacher.

Possibility

• If you want to talk about a future situation that might be going on, use:
  might / may / could + be + present participle (verb-ing)

• He might be arriving tomorrow.

• Or we can say that something has already finished in the future. Then we use
  might / may / could + have + past participle
• He could have already left the country by the time when we arrive.

Regret or criticism

If you want to talk about something that didn’t happen in the past and you want to show regret or criticism, use:

should / ought to + have + past participle

• We should / ought to have told our teacher sooner.
  
• They should not have gone to that concert.
  

Dare and need

• If you are afraid to do something because of the outcome, you can use daren’t
  
• I daren’t tell her I want to break up.

• If something is not obligatory or necessary, you can use needn’t.
  
• We needn’t bring our books to school this week.

Had better

• We can use had better ('d better) instead of should or ought to, when we want to say that something is not a really good idea or to give a strong advice:
  
• You’d better not go there alone.
  
• We’d better go to bed early.

Be supposed to

• If you want to talk about a less strong obligation than with should or ought to, or want to suggest that events do not happen as suspected, you use be supposed to.
  
• You are not supposed to do that.
  
• This trip was supposed to be cheap. (but it isn’t)

More modal verbs

• is to / are to = obligation (formal): No one is to leave this class.
  
• be required to = obligation: Everybody present was required to fill in a form.
  
• manage = ability: How did they manage to get in?
  
• have succeeded in = ability: They have succeeded in finding a cure for that disease.
  
• be prepared to = willingness: Are you prepared to give up everything for your lover?
  
• refuse to = unwillingness: She refused to do that.
  
• it follows that = conclusion (formal): From what we have seen, it follows that we need more funds.
  
• conclude that = conclusion: From what we’ve seen, we can conclude that we need more money.

I think I understand the different modal verbs and how to use them.

Yes

Mostly. but I don't need any help.

Mostly, but I still would like some help.

Not at all and need some help.

Continue

In pairs / groups of three:
Continue working on exercises 3.1 - 3.4 on pages 35 - 37.

Check the answers with the key in the back of your book.

Extra practice with Reading and Use of English part 4?

Do the exercise on page 38 as well.