STARTBODY

Teach English in Shicheng Zhen - Changzhi Shi

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Shicheng Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Changzhi Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.

Modal verbs are a subgroup of auxiliary verbs that, when paired with another verb, expresses ability, permission, possibility or obligation, hereby conveying the speaker's opinion about or attitude towards what is being expressed. Modal verbs include ‘could', ‘should', ‘might' and ‘may'. For example, the modal verb ‘must' can express a speaker's sense of obligation - ‘I really must finish that project' - and how probable a speaker thinks something is - ‘You must be feeling awful'. Modal verbs are problematic for learners for various reasons. They have various uses and irregular negative and past forms. For example, the past of ‘must' depends on its function and can be either ‘had to' or ‘must have'. Exploring examples of the use of modal verbs from authentic texts will help learners build their confidence in using them. These verbs are sometimes called anomalous finites or special finites verbs, because they have negative forms ending in –n’t and are not used with to do. will not – won’t need not – needn’t could not – couldn’t The past form takes the bare infinitive of have and the past participle of the verb: You could have been the person who stops her. The modal verbs are uninflected verbs, which means, they get no –s ending in the third person singular in present tense: Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings: CAN We use ‘can’ to express mental and physical ability. Sometimes ability depends on the circumstances: She can speak French fluently. (mental ability) Can you lift this box? (physical ability) I cannot see it from where I sit. (ability depending on circumstances) We use to ask for permission in informal English, but in order to express permission in formal English, we use the modal ‘may’: Can I borrow your dictionary? May I borrow your dictionary? We also use for polite request: Can you lend me £20? The infinitive form of ‘can’ is ‘to be able to’: Peter is able to understand me very well. The missing form of ‘can’ is supplied by the appropriate form of ‘to be able to’: He won’t be able to read it because he does not know English. Their negative form cannot/can’t suggest that something it is not allowed to or not permitted to. Stop! You can’t do this! COULD As well as being the past form of ‘can’ we use ‘could’ to discuss alternatives and options: We could have a picnic on the beach or we could invite everyone to a restaurant. We use also to make more polite request: Could you bring me the bill, please? Further, ‘could’ points to the past time only when the context or situation shows that the reference is to past time. ‘Could’ implies a permanent ability in the past: When Katy was young, she could ski very well. To express a single act ‘was/were able to’, ‘managed to’ is used: I was able/ managed to swim across the river. The use of ‘manage’ suggests difficulty, need for effort: There was so much food, I couldn’t manage (to eat) it all. ‘Could’ is correct in the negative and with the verbs of the sense: The door was locked and I couldn’t (could not) open it. ‘Could’ in the past may also indicate permission: I could put it wherever I liked. MUST We mostly use ‘must’ for one particular occasion: We must do it now. It is used for an immediate or future obligation, duty: We must fill in the visa form as quickly as possible. We use for a strong recommendation: You must see the new James Bond film. Moreover, we use for making intelligent guesses and deductions: She must be Melanie’s twin sister. They are almost identical. The negative form of the ‘must’ expresses prohibition, used in mainly written rules and regulations: You must not speak on your mobile while you are driving. For deduction in the past we use ‘must have been’/’can’t have been’: He must have been disappointed not to pass. His teacher can’t have been pleased either. For negative deduction we use ‘can’t be’ and not ‘mustn’t be’. It is incorrect: Correct: My parents want me to revise all weekend–they can’t be serious. Incorrect: My parents want me to revise all weekend–they mustn’t be serious. ‘Must’ represents an obligation imposed by the speaker, but when the obligation is external, it is imposed by the external circumstances and we use ‘to have to’ instead: You must stay the night. – I press you to do so You have to stay the night. – You cannot get back tonight. USED TO It is used to express something that existed or was done in the past: I used to go to this school. The interrogative and negative is formed with or without ‘did’, especially the literary language prefers the forms ‘did’: They did not use to work here. Did you use to live in this house? The most usual negative form is built with ‘never’: You never used to treat me like this. MAY It is used for asking and giving permission: May I help you? Yes, you may. Their negative form is ‘may not’, used to deny a particular permission: May I borrow your toothbrush? No, you may not. ‘May’ can be replaced by ‘to be permitted to’ or ‘to be allowed to’: Nobody was allowed to enter this room. It is used to express a possibility with which doubt or uncertainty is mixed: Take your raincoat, it may rain. ‘May I’ is generally considered more polite than ‘Can I’ MIGHT Can be used to express permission in the past: Might I say something here? It is used for making polite request: Might I borrow your pen a moment? If ‘might’ is used instead of ‘may’ it indicates some hesitation or diffidence on the part of the speaker. It makes a more personal appealing form. ‘May’ is the more official request. As well as it is used to express a more remote possibility than ‘may’ and to speculate: It might be difficult to get a good baby-sitter. We also use in reported speech: She said you might go to the cinema. Moreover, it is used to express greater uncertainty: They might come by the night train. WILL We use ‘will’ for making predictions and talking about the future: You will have to get up very early. We also use when we make offers or decisions as we speak: Leave the washing up, I will do it later. ‘Will’ could be used to express habitual actions: Most days, I will normally take the early rain to Melbourne. With this modal we make request or give order: Will you drop me off in the front of the Lidl, please? It is used to talk about expected behavior: The cat scratched me when I tried to pick him up. Oh yes, he will do that with strangers. WOULD We use to make polite request: Would you look after my suitcase for a few minutes? With the modal ‘would we can talk about the past habits: When we were young we would sit on the bench near the playground. The ‘would’ is regarded a more polite form if it is followed by the verbs ‘like to’ or ‘to care’: I would like to eat a sandwich. In reported speech we use as the reported form of ‘will’ He said he would help me, but he did not. When we referring to past time followed by ‘rather/sooner’, the perfect infinitive is used: I would rather have gone for a walk. SHALL Shall is more commonly used to ask for suggestion: Shall I answer the phone? It can express refusal: If you have not given back my T-Shirt, you shall not have another from me. With this modal we also can express a promise: If you organize the opening night, you shall have a weeks’ holiday. ‘Shall’ can sometimes be used instead of ‘will’ SHOULD ‘Should’ is used to express recommendations: You should learn those irregular verbs by heart. We use to express surprise, indignation, disappointment, joy. In indirect question beginning with ‘why’: How should I know? I wonder why he should be cross with me It can be used in direct object clauses after ‘to insist’, ‘to recommend’, ‘to suggest’: I recommend that you should take care of you. It is used in sub – clauses after verbs and phrases indicating determination or willingness: They ordered that we should be present. OUGHT TO We use to express duty, moral obligation: Katy ought to phone her parents at least at Christmas. We use to give advice: You ought not to eat sausages. The ‘ought to’ modal acts as the modal ‘should’, the only difference between them it is followed by the short infinitive ‘to’, after ‘should’ we do not use it. You should not laughed at him. You ought to not laughed at him. ‘Ought to’ is used to make predictions based on previous experience or what is expected: Do not panic! There ought to be another bus. NEED TO It is generally conjugated in affirmative sentences as regular verb and followed by an infinitive with ‘to’: It needs to be done carefully. We use need to say something is necessary: We need to enroll everyone for the exam before the deadline. We use need not or do not need to say something is not necessary: You needn’t buy equipment, everything is included in the fees. ‘Need’ is used whether there is a strong element of negation or doubt: I wonder if we need be present. Common Errors Be aware of these four common errors when using modal auxiliaries: 1. Using an infinitive instead of a base verb after a modal Incorrect: I can to move this heavy table. Correct: I can move this heavy table. 2.Using a gerund instead of an infinitive or a base verb after a modal Incorrect: I could moving to the United States. Correct: I could move to the United States. 3,Using two modals in a row Incorrect: I should must renew my passport. Correct: I must renew my passport. Correct: I should renew my passport. 4.Leaving out a modal Incorrect: I renew my passport. Correct: I must renew my passport. Also, the following common errors when using modal auxiliaries in the present perfect tense: 1.Using had instead of have Incorrect: Jamie would had attended the party, but he was sick. Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick. 2.Leaving out have Incorrect: Jamie would attended the party, but he was sick. Correct: Jamie would have attended the party, but he was sick. Teaching technique Engage Phase Tell the students that you have chosen an animal from the zoo and they have to guess it. Give an assurance that all of them know the animal; possibly some must have even seen it before. They must ask questions starting with ‘can’ to guess the animal. The teacher reply with “yes, it can”, or “no, it can’t”, Start the game by passing the ball round the group and continue till students have asked several questions using “can”. Suggest words if they didn’t know the English words for what they want to say. . Activity 1 Ask the students to write in their notebooks five sentences on what they believe they can do. Activity 2 Ask the students to write three sentences about what they think they can’t do. Note: Move round the class to monitor students and provide help where needed. Study Explain to the students that when they write ‘can do’ sentences, they must write the truth. When they write ‘can’t do’ sentences, they should write what they can’t do. E.g. I can’t fly a plane. Activity 3 Role playing Engage Play a short documentary of animals in the wild showing their adaptive qualities to students Study Elicit key abilities of animals shown on the video using ‘can’ or ‘can’t’. Give ‘can do’ and ‘can’t do’ worksheet for the students to answer Activity 4 Pair students and ask them to create “Ability Table” of at least 7 domestic animals in their environment.  


ENDBODY