1. Modal Auxiliaries
Chapter 7

2. What’s a Modal?
Modals are helping verbs used along with verbs to express guesses, expectations, ability, permission, possibilities, necessity, or inferences about situations.
The modal you choose shows how certain (or not) you are that something is true or is going to happen.
Many modals have more than one meaning

3. Common Modals (7-1): Can - Jack can answer that math problem.
Could - He could pass the class if he put more effort into his work.
May - We may finish this chapter tomorrow.
Might - He might take classes over the summer.
Should - Wendy should get a job. She is always complaining about money.
Had Better - You had better take the trash out before you go play!
Must - You must pass your tests if you want to pass this class.
Will - Jan will be at the party tonight. He promised to come.
Would - If you would close the door, I would appreciate it.

4. Form These modals have only ONE form (hooray!):
Modal + Simple form of verb
Jack can answer that math problem.
He could pass the class if he put more effort into his work.
We may finish this chapter tomorrow.
He might take classes over the summer.

5. Modal + To (7-1) Some modals are followed by To + Simple form of verb:
Have to - I have to attend the meeting on Friday.
Have got to - He has got to learn how to drive now that he lives in Houston.
Be able to - Jan is able to change the oil in her car.
Ought to - You ought to review your notes every night.

6. Listening Practice
Complete Exercise 3, p. 179

7. Practice
Make a sentence using a modal + the verb COME (Leo ____________ tonight.):
May
Should
Ought
Will not
Could not
Might
Had better
Has
Has got
Is not able

8. Expressing Ability: Can & Could (7-2)
Can expresses ABILITY in the present or future:
Rick can speak three languages.
My class can use English verb tenses correctly.
Her writing students can write a five paragraph essay.
The negative form of can may be written: can’t, cannot, or can not:
She can’t speak Vietnamese.
He cannot come to the party tomorrow. He has to work instead.
They can not write a paragraph well. That’s why they are in level 2.
In spoken English, CAN is usually unstressed where CAN’T IS stressed. Often the /t/ at the end of CAN’T is not heard. As a result, even native speakers sometimes have trouble hearing the difference between CAN and CAN’T and sometimes have to ask for clarification:
I can read. vs. I can’t read.
She can come. Vs. She can’t come.

9. Listening Practice – Can vs. Can’t
Complete Exercise 7, p. 181

10. Expressing Ability: Can & Could (7-2)
The PAST form of CAN is COULD:
John could speak three languages by the time he was 12. Now he can speak six.
Mary could paint very well. (No mention of present ability with this indicates Mary is probably dead)
Anna could sing beautifully in high school, but she hasn’t practiced for years.
The negative form of COULD is COULD NOT or COULDN’T:
I could not do math well in grade school.
He couldn’t come to the party last weekend.
ABILITY can also be expressed (informally) with BE ABLE TO:
He can pass the class if he tries. Vs. He is able to pass the class if he tries.
He could not attend class yesterday. Vs. He was not able to attend class yesterday.

11. Practice Complete exercise 5, p. 180
Complete Exercise 8, p. 181 – WRITE your answers

12. Expressing Possibility: May/Might/Maybe (7-3)
MAY and MIGHT express POSSIBILITY in the present or future. They have the same meaning and thus can be used interchangeably:
We may have a quiz Thursday. Vs. We might have a quiz Thursday.
She always complains about money. She may get a job. Vs. She might get a job.
Than was smiling when he got his test back. He may have done well. Vs. He might have done well.
The negative form of MAY is MAY NOT. The negative form of MIGHT is MIGHT NOT. These negatives are NOT contracted:
I am very busy tonight. I may not grade your quizzes tonight. Vs. I might not grade your quizzes tonight.
John has to work overtime. He may not come to the party. Vs. He might not come to the party.
MAYBE (spelled as one word) is an adverb that means “possibly.” It can only come at the BEGINNING of a sentence:
He is early. Maybe he is excited to be here. Vs. He may be excited to be here.
It is cloudy. Maybe it will rain. Vs. It may rain.

13. Expressing Permission: May & Can (7-3)
MAY and CAN are used to give permission. Both have the same meaning, but MAY is more formal than CAN:
Yes, you may use your notes on the quiz.
You can have a break once we get through the next two charts.
MAY NOT and CANNOT (CAN’T) are used to deny permission (to say “no”)
No, you may not use your notes on the test.
No, you can’t have another break. We just had one 20 minutes ago!

14. Practice
Complete Exercise 10 and 11, p. 183

15. Using Could to Express Possibility (7-4)
One meaning of COULD is a past ability:
How was the test? Could you answer all the questions?
I could only answer a few of them. I could not remember most of the algebra formulas!
Another meaning of COULD is possibility (present or future):
Why is she sleeping in class?
She could be tired from working all night. Vs. She may/might be tired from working all night.
We are getting through this chapter quickly.
We could finish it on Thursday. Vs. We may/might finish it on Thursday.
Note: when COULD is used to express a present or future possibility, the meaning is the same as may/might

16. Practice Complete Exercise 15, p. 185
Complete Exercise 16, p. 185 – WRITE TWO (2) sentences for each situation

17. Polite Questions: May I, Could I, Can I (7-5)
May I, Could I, and Can I are used to ask polite questions. The questions ask for someone’s permission or agreement:
May I go to the movie on Friday?
Could I leave early today?
Can I have a cookie?
PLEASE is often added to either the end of the questions or before the main verb to be polite:
May I PLEASE go to the movie on Friday? Vs. May I go to the movie on Friday, please?
Could I please leave early today? Vs. Could I leave early today, please?
Can I please have a cookie? Vs. Can I have a cookie, please?
Note: Can I is INFORMAL.

18. Polite Questions: May I, Could I, Can I (7-5)
Possible Answers to Polite Questions:
Yes - No
Yes, of course - I’m afraid not
Yes, Certainly - Certainly not
Of course - Of course not
Sure (informal) - Nope (informal)
Okay (informal) -
Uh-huh (yes) - Uh-uh (no)
* - I’m sorry, but not

19. Practice Complete Exercise 19, p. 187
With the person next to you, complete Exercise 20, p. 188

20. Polite Questions: Would You, Could You, Will You, Can You (7-6)
To ask for someone’s help or cooperation, we use WOULD YOU, COULD YOU, WILL YOU, and CAN YOU:
Would you please erase the board for me?
Could you please hand out these papers?
Will you please tell Mohammad what he missed in class last week?
Can you please open the door for me?
Notes:
WOULD YOU and COULD YOU are considered more polite (and formal) than WILL YOU and CAN YOU.
MAY is NOT used when YOU is the subject of a polite question:
May you please open the door? (incorrect)
May you go to the movie with me? (incorrect)

21. Practice
Make an informal and a formal question for each situation. Use YOU as the subject:
You’re in a room and it is getting very hot.
You’re trying to listen to the news on TV, but your friends are talking too loud and you can’t hear the television.
You’re in a restaurant about to pay your bill and you notice the bill is more than it should be. The server has made a mistake.

22. Practice
With a partner, complete exercise 23 – WRITE your answers to 2 or the 3 situations

23. Expressing Advice: Should and Ought To (7-7)
SHOULD and OUGHT TO have the same meaning: “This is a good idea/good advice”
Your room is a mess. Your roommate tells you:
You should clean your room. / You ought to clean your room.
You are tired of taking the bus to school. Your friend tells you:
You should learn how to drive. / You ought to learn how to drive.
The negative of SHOULD is SHOULD NOT (SHOULDN’T)
You went to a party instead of studying, so you failed the last test. Your friend tells you:
You should not have gone to the party. You should have studied instead.
OUGHT TO is usually NOT used in the negative (ought not to)
SHOULD can be used in questions = Should + Subject + Main Verb
I don’t understand this grammar lesson! What should I do?
I got offered a job, but the pay is bad and the hours are terrible. Should I take it?
OUGHT TO is usually NOT used in questions

24. Expressing Advice: Should and Ought To (7-7)
MAYBE can be used at the beginning of a sentence with SHOULD/OUGHT TO to “soften” the advice:
I failed the last test because I didn’t understand the grammar ruled, but I was too scared to ask for help.
You should go to the tutoring center if you are too scared to ask the teacher for help.
Speaker is giving definite advice – he/she believes going to the tutoring center is a good idea and a definite solution to the problem.
Maybe you should go to the tutoring center if you are too scared to ask the teacher for help.
Speaker is making a suggestion – going to the tutoring center is one POSSIBLE solution among many to the problem.

25. Expressing Advice: Should and Ought To (7-7)
Another Example:
I have been very lonely since I moved to Texas. I am not used to living alone.
You ought to get a dog.
The speaker is sure getting a dog would solve the problem. (The speaker probably thinks this is the best solution)
Maybe you ought to get a dog.
This is ONE POSSIBLE solution to the problem. (Many more solutions exist that may work just as well if not better than the suggested one.)

26. Practice
Complete Exercise 25, p. 191 with a partner

27. Expressing Advice: Had Better (7-8)
HAD BETTER has the same meaning as SHOULD/OUGHT TO:
You should study more. / You had better study more.
He ought to work harder. / He had better work harder.
HAD BETTER has more of a sense of urgency than SHOULD/OUGHT TO. It implies a WARNING about possible bad consequences if the advice is not followed (do this, or else…):
You failed the last test. You had better study more. (If you don’t study more, you will fail the class)
You finished that writing assignment too fast. You had better proof-read your work. (If you don’t proof-read your work, you may not find the mistakes you made by rushing and end up with a bad grade)
The negative form of HAD BETTER is HAD BETTER NOT:
You have already been late to class twice. You had better not be late to class again! (If you are, you’ll be marked absent)
You had better not forget to take out the trash young man! (If he does, he will be in trouble)
Had is often contracted onto the subject in spoken English:
You’d better not forget to take out the trash young man!
He’d better work harder.

28. Practice
Complete Exercise 27, p. 192 – write 2 answers for each situation
Complete Exercise 28, p. 192

29. Expressing Necessity: Have To, Have Got To, Must (7-9)
HAVE TO, HAVE GOT TO, and MUST have the same basic meaning – the idea that something is necessary or mandatory:
I have to go to HEB after work. I have nothing to cook for dinner.
He has got to do his homework. It’s due tomorrow!
You must turn your cell phone off for the test. It’s the teacher’s rule.
HAVE TO is used more frequently both in writing and speech than the other two modals.
HAVE GOT TO is informal and only used in conversation.
MUST is typically used in rules, instructions, or when talking to young children:
You must have a photo ID to get past airport security.
You must look both ways before crossing the street.

30. Expressing Necessity: Have To, Have Got To, Must (7-9)
HAVE TO is used in questions (HAVE GOT TO & MUST are not typically used in questions:
Do we have to know all the information from the chapter for the test?
When do we have to register for spring classes?
HAVE TO + Form of DO is often used in questions:
Where do we have to go to buy the textbook?
Why did he have to retake the class?
To express past necessity, we use HAD TO:
He had to go to the doctor yesterday because he had a fever.
The class had to do a lot of homework last night.
HAVE TO, HAS TO, and HAVE GOT TO are often reduced when pronounced:
Have to – hafta - I have to (hafta) go to the store tonight.
Has to – hasta - He has to (hasta) do his homework.
Has got to – gotta - They have got to (gotta) review for the test tomorrow.

31. Lack of Necessity – Do Not Have To Prohibition – Must Not (7-10)
DON’T/DOESN’T HAVE TO expresses the idea that something is NOT necessary:
I filled my car with gas this morning. I don’t have to fill it with gas tonight.
She got an “A” on the draft of her essay. She doesn’t have to revise it.
We studied very hard for the test. We don’t have to worry about passing it.
MUST NOT expresses prohibition (DO NOT DO THIS!!!):
You must not touch a hot stove.
You must not talk to other students during a test.
You must not copy information from the internet and use it in your writing assignments.
MUST NOT can be contracted to MUSTN’T (the first “t” is not pronounced)

32. Practice Complete Exercise 33, p. 195 – WRITE your answers

33. Making Logical Conclusions – MUST (7-11)
MUST can express necessity (see chart 7-9)
You must study hard if you want to pass this class.
MUST can also express a logical conclusion
We just got our tests back. Wu is smiling. She MUST have gotten a good test score.
The speaker’s logical conclusion based on the evidence of WU smiling after her getter her test back is that she got a good score. In this way, we can consider a logical conclusion to be the “best guess” a person has as to why someone is doing something or why something is the way it is
The teacher just told us to put up our books, notes, and phones. We MUST be having a quiz.
Evidence = teacher told class to put up their things – Logical conclusion (best guess) is that the teacher is going to give a quiz.
MUST NOT can express prohibition (see chart 7-10)
You must not wade in the river. There are alligators in it.
MUST NOT can also express a negative logical conclusion
Jorge moved when Vy sat down next to him. He must not like her.
My college roommate named her first kid Ariel. She must not have been thinking about all the “Little Mermaid” jokes children would make about her name.

34. Practice
Complete Exercises 37, 38, and 40, p

35. Tag Questions w/ Modals (7-12)
Tag questions are common with these modals: CAN, WILL, SHOULD, COULD, WOULD:
She can pick me up from the airport, can’t she?
You will remember to study, won’t you?
He should have the information, shouldn’t he?
We could go to the movie, couldn’t we?
They would enjoy the book, wouldn’t they?
Tag questions are also common with A FORM OF DO + HAVE TO/HAS TO/HAD TO:
I have to do the laundry before I can watch TV, don’t I?
I don’t have to do the dishes, do I?
Ann has to retake the class she failed, doesn’t she?
I don’t have to retake a class I pass, do I?
They had to leave the party early, didn’t they?
You didn’t have to leave so soon, did you?

36. Practice You can answer these questions, ____________________ you?
Melinda won’t tell anyone our secret, ______________she?
Alice would like to come with us, _________________ she?
I don’t have to do more chores, ____________ I?
Steven shouldn’t come to the meeting, _________________ he?
Flies can fly upside down, _______________ they?
You would rather have your own apartment, ______________ you?
Jill has to renew her driver’s license, ___________ she?
If you want to catch your bus, you should leave not, ________________ you?
Ms. Baxter will be here tomorrow, _________________ she?
You couldn’t hear me, ______________ you?
We have to be at the doctor’s early tomorrow, ________________ we?

37. Giving Instructions: Imperative Sentences (7-13)
Am imperative sentence has NO subject. The subject is understood to be “you” (the person the speaker is speaking to.
An imperative sentence is used to give commands, give directions, and make polite requests.
(Teacher to student) Put that phone up NOW! (command)
(Navigator to driver) Take the next left and then go straight for three blocks. (directions)
The difference between a command and a request likes in the speaker’s tone of voice and the use of PLEASE.
(Teacher to student) Please erase the board for me.
(Asking a stranger) Can you tell me how to get to the Natural History Museum, please?
Note: Please can come a the beginning or end of a request
The simple form of a verb is used in imperative sentences.
To make a negative imperative use DO NOT + simple form of verb:

38. Listening Practice
Complete Exercise 45, p. 201

39. Making Suggestions: Let’s and Why Don’t (7-14)
LET’S and WHY DON’T are used to make suggestions about activities for you and another person to do:
What do you want to do today?
Let’s go to a movie. / Why don’t we go to a movie?
How do you want to split up the project?
Let’s each write one of the paragraphs. / Why don’t we each write a paragraph
WHY DON’T YOU is used to make a friendly suggestion or give friendly advice:
I am afraid I am going to fail the test because I don’t understand modals!
Why don’t you ask the teacher for extra help?
I have finished my homework early. What should I do?
Why don’t you read a book?

40. Practice Make a suggestion using Let’s or Why Don’t We:
Where should we go for dinner tonight?
Who should we ask to join us for dinner?
What time should we meet at the restaurant?
Where should we go afterwards?

41. Practice Make a suggestion with Why Don’t You: I’m freezing
I feel like doing something fun this weekend. Any ideas?
I haven’t done my assignment for Professor Lopez? It’ll take two hours, and class starts in one hour. What should I do?
I’ve lost the key to my apartment, so I can’t get in. My friend is at the library. What am I going to do?

42. Stating Preferences: Prefer…to, Like…Better Than, Would Rather (7-15)
PREFER….TO, LIKE…BETTER THAN, and WOULD RATHER are used to state preferences – something you like MORE than something else:
Prefer + Noun + To + Noun:
I prefer tulips to roses.
I prefer dogs to cats.
Prefer + -ing Verb + To + -ing Verb:
I prefer reading to watching TV.
I prefer hiking outdoors to walking on a treadmill.
Like + Noun + Better Than + Noun
I like apples better than oranges.
I like Houston better than Kansas City.
Like + -ing Verb + Better Than + -ing Verb
I like swimming better than running.
I like taking classes in person better than taking classes online.
Would Rather + Simple Form of a Verb (+ Than + Simple Form of a Verb)
I would rather read (than watch TV).
He would rather fail the class (than study hard enough to pass)
Would + Subject + Rather + Simple form of a Verb (+ or ________)
Would you rather watch TV or read?
Would you rather fly or drive?

43. Practice
Complete Exercises 52 and 55, p