COMPREHENSION Based on the reading, write T for true or F for false. 1.
Lincoln didn’t have much formal education.
2.
Lincoln’s short speech surprised the audience.
3.
Lincoln was confident and believed his speech would go down in history.
THINK ABOUT IT Discuss the questions with a partner or in a small group. 1. What do you think it was like to be an American at the time of the Civil War? Give your reasons. 2. T he Gettysburg Address was one of the greatest speeches in American history. What qualities does a great speaker need, in your opinion? Explain.
6.1 Modals in the Past—Form EXAMPLES
EXPLANATION
“I should have prepared the speech more carefully,” thought Lincoln. To form the past of a modal, we use Southern farmers could not have become as rich without slaves. modal + (not) + have + the past participle. Lincoln probably could have been elected again, but he was assassinated. Africans should not have been brought to the U.S. to work as slaves.
To form the passive of a modal, we use modal + (not) + have been + the past participle.
Pronunciation Note: Informally, have in past modals is often contracted to ‘ve and sounds like the word “of.” Sometimes it is reduced to just the schwa sound /ә/. These words are written in very informal writing as shoulda and coulda.
EXERCISE 1 Fill in the blanks with the words you hear to complete the conversations.
6.2
1. A: Did you read the story about Lincoln before class? B: No. I didn’t have time. A: You
should have read
it. Our lesson depends on it.
B: I studied American history in high school. A: Then you
about Lincoln and the Civil War.
B: Yes, I did. 2. A: Lincoln was a wonderful president. B: I agree. Without him, slavery A: Farmers B: I guess they just wanted to make money. They
much longer. slaves. That was terrible! rich without slaves.
It’s hard to believe that’s how people were. continued Modals in the Past Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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