Cambridge Lower Secondary Science ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS WORKBOOK 8 Sample

Page 14

English skills and support

For example: I think water will turn to ice at zero degrees Celsius. I think silver might melt at a lower temperature than iron. I don’t think aluminium will oxidise in water. Do you think this experiment will work well? Do you think this experiment might fail?

Modal verbs

PL E

Note: we cannot use might with I don’t think.

Modal verbs are a special type of verb that go before normal verbs in a sentence. Modal verbs show that things are certain, probable, possible or impossible.

There are many modal verbs and each one has a different function or functions. Here are some of the most common modal verbs.

This modal verb shows: •

an ability to do something

M

can

SA

that something is possible.

Sound can travel through air. (Sound has the ability to travel through air.) Water can be a solid, liquid or a gas. (It is possible for water to be a solid, liquid or a gas.)

cannot (can’t)

This means the opposite. It means: •

you are not able to do something

that something is not possible.

7 Original material © Cambridge University Press 2021


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