A1 Let me start with the first unit, which refers to the use of the BE verb in English. The verb BE is a verb which is very independent, it talks about state or quality Uses: Ø
To describe or qualify people, animals, places or things:
Rose is tall Michael is handsome The city is beautiful Loja is clean The dog is angry Jipiro park is big The TV is new The flowers are beautiful Ø
To talk about professions or occupations:
Tracy is a lawyer Jason is a doctor He is an architect They are dentists Ø
To name things, people, animals or places:
This is a bird That is a tree This is Mary This is the forest It is a table The verb BE is used in all the forms, and it works alone, without the help of any auxiliary, it means that it doesn’t need any auxiliary to form it’s negative forms or questions. Aff. I
Neg. am
I
Questions am
Am
I
You Are They
we
Is
He She It
Where You We they he she it
are
is
You We they he she it
What are NOT
Who Why When
is
In English we form sentences by using a subject (any pronoun or noun), to this subject we add a verb and a complement: S V He is
C a teacher
S V Carlos is
C a good student
The subject can be a pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they) or a noun (house, hospital, David, Loja, student, father, mother, park, etc) The verb has to agree with the noun we use, that is: for singular subject, singular verb, for plural subject, plural verb. The house is beautiful The houses are beautiful In the first example, the noun house, is singular, so the verb has to be singular (is). In the second example the word houses is plural, so we have to use a plural verb (are) The complement can be a noun, an adjective or an adjective + noun He is an architect (noun complement) Loja is beautiful (adjective complement) They are good friends (adjective + noun complement) When the sentence is singular, we use the article a / an which mean exactly the same, the difference is in the use, that’s to say, if the word that follows starts with a consonant, we use a. But if the words that follows the article, starts with a vowel sound, we use an He is a lawyer My friend is a musician It is a market This is a computer This is a program He is an architect It is an apple David is an artist But when the sentence is plural, we don’t use the article You are architects My friends are musicians
They are pencils Also, when the complement is an adjective, we do not use the article even if we have a singular sentence. He is handsome Loja is small My sister is tall
no no no
He is a handsome Loja is a small My sister is a tall
However, when the sentence is singular and the complement is an adjective + a noun, we do use the article He is a handsome man no He is handsome man Loja is a small city no Loja is small city My sister is a tall girl no Ms sister is tall girl In these examples, the complement is an adjective + a noun, handsome, small, tall are adjectives, that qualify the nouns: man, city, girl Another important thing to remember is that the adjective is never pluralized, and that it is used before the noun. They are beautiful houses These books are interesting
no no
They are beautifuls houses These books are interestings
Full negative forms of the verb to be
I am not a singer. He is not a receptionist. She is not a nurse. It is not my book. We are not not musicians. You are not
a shop assistant.
They are not taxi drivers. Contracted negative forms of the verb to be
I'm not
a singer.
He
isn't
a receptionist.
She
isn't
a nurse.
It
isn't
my book.
We aren't
not musicians.
You aren't
a shop assistant.
They aren't
taxi drivers.
SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE The simple present tense is one of the most common tenses in English. There are only two basic forms for the simple present tense; one ends with -s and the other doesn't. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":
Subject
Verb Form
Example
I
simple form
I sing
You
simple form
You sing
He
simple form + S
He sings
She
simple form + S
She sings
It
simple form + S
It sings
We
simple form
We sing
They
simple form
They sing
In other words, only THIRD PERSON SINGULAR subjects (he, she and it) have to have a verb with -S.
-S or -ES? With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in...
How to make the 3rd person singular
Example
s
Add -ES
He passes
z
Add -ES
She dozes
sh
Add -ES
She wishes
ch
Add -ES
He watches
consonant + y
Change Y to I, then add -ES
It flies
[anything else]
Add -S
He sings
To make negative sentences you need to use the auxiliaries DO and DOES and add the word NOT between the auxiliary and the verb, which has to be used in simple form for all the persons. I DO NOT speak Spanish / You DO NOT speak Spanish We do not speak Spanish / They DO NOT speak Spanish And for the third persons: She DOES NOT speak Spanish. He DOES NOT speak Spanish. The cat DOES NOT drink milk. YES / NO questions with the verb BE (am, is, are) When writing yes / no questions with the verb BE we have to take in consideration the change of the subject and the verb. In a sentence the order follows the structure (subject + verb BE + Complement) He is a doctor. In a yes / no question with the verb BE the structure goes like this (verb BE + subject + complement +?) Is he a doctor? * Don’t forget the question mark (?) at the end of the question.
Are they students? Here we have more examples of the subject / verb change: Statement: You are from Ecuador. Question: Are you from Ecuador? Statement: He is a good student. Question: Is he a good student?
Statement: It is a good song. Question: Is it a good song? Answering Yes / No questions with BE. If the answer is "Yes", we always use the long form. Example: Yes, I am. If the answer is "No", we either use the long or the contracted form (short form). Example: No, I am not - No, I'm not. Here we have more examples: Question: Positive answer: Negative answer:
Are you a student? Yes, I am No, I am not / No. I’m not
Question: Positive answer: Negative answer:
Is he a good student? Yes, he is. No, he is not / No, he isn’t
Question: Positive answer: Negative answer
Are they teachers? Yes, they are. No, they are not / No, they aren’t
A2 Good morning dear students, today I’m going to explain what concerns to unit 2, I will start with something about Adjectives. Read the following rules and explanations to have a better idea of what they are and how they work in a sentence. ADJECTIVES Ø Ø Ø
Adjectives are words used to describe nouns. Adjectives give more information about a noun. Use adjectives to make your writing more interesting.
1. "Fast, fun, new, old, red, ugly" are all adjectives. They describe a noun. EXAMPLES: It's a fast car. It's a fun car. It's a new car. It's an old car. It's a red car. It's an ugly car. 2. Adjectives can come BEFORE the NOUN (adjective + noun) EXAMPLES: It's an expensive bicycle.
It's a racing bicycle. It's a red bicycle.
3. Adjectives can come AFTER the verb BE. (BE + adjective) EXAMPLES: Baseball is an exciting game.
Baseball is interesting. It's an interesting game.
4. Past participles (verb 3) can also work as adjectives. EXAMPLES: The man is tired.
The exhausted man fell asleep. He was worn out by work today.
5. Adjectives can be hyphenated. EXAMPLES: The computer-generated error message made the program freeze. My friend isn't very good at do-it-yourself projects. 6. Numbers can be used as adjectives. EXAMPLES: That's a three-ton truck. The man is a thirty-seven-year-old trucker. In his 20-year career, he's never had an accident. 7. Adjectives can be used to compare things. EXAMPLE: Cats are softer than dogs. My cat is the cutest cat I know. An adjective describes how something 'is'. For this reason, we usually use the verb 'to be' when using adjectives. Adjectives are used to describe nouns. Example: He is a good doctor. Rule: Adjectives describe nouns. The adjective is always invariable. Example: beautiful trees, they are happy Be careful! • • •
Adjectives don't have a singular and plural form OR a masculine, feminine and neuter form. Adjectives are always the same! Never add a final -s to an adjective. Adjectives can also be placed at the end of a sentence if they describe the subject of a sentence. Example: My doctor reads difficult books. NOT!!: difficults books Rule: Adjectives are placed before the noun. Example: a wonderful book very interesting people
•
Be careful! Don't place an adjective after the noun
NOT!!: a book wonderful very people interesting.
STATEMENTS WITH BE AND HAVE Ø
BE is used to talk about occupations That woman is an architect. Francis is a mechanic. They are lawyers. We are taxi drivers.
Ø
The verb BE is also used to talk about nationalities My friend is American. Susan is Colombian. They are Ecuadorians. He is Canadian.
Ø
Also the verb BE is used to talk about age. The girl is 10 years old. My mother is 60. Catherine is 23.
Ø
Also it is used to talk about height My sister is 4 feet 5 inches tall. His brother is 1,89 meters tall.
Ø
The verb BE is also used to talk about feelings The man is sad. We are not angry. The teacher was happy.
Ø
Also you use the verb be to talk about looks and appearances She is beautiful. He is handsome. That woman is ugly.
Ø
Also is used to talk about skills The man is intelligent. She is talented. They are clever.
The verb HAVE, on the other hand is used in the following situations: Ø When we want to talk about physical appearance She has curly hair. My niece has green eyes He is bald Ø
Also we use HAVE to talk about possession They have a big house
-
The man has some important information Charles has a new car
It is important to remember that: •
To make negative sentences with the verb HAVE, we use the auxiliary do/does. She doesn’t have long hair They don’t have big houses My sister does not have classes today.
•
Also if you want to make a question using the verb HAVE, it is necessary to use the auxiliary DO/DOES at the beginning of the question and the verb in basic form. Do you have classes today’ Does she have a nice smile? Do they have a car?
INFORMATION QUESTIONS -
Who is the teacher? Mary is the teacher
-
Where are all the people? They are in the living room
-
What is your name? My name is Monica
-
When is the conference? The conference is next Friday
-
What time is the meeting The meeting is at 5 PM
The first example, asks about a person, “WHO” asks for the name of the person, “Mary” is the answer for this question. In the second example the word “WHERE” ask for the place, “in the living room” is the answer for this question. In the next example we have the word “WHAT” which in this case asks the name of the person “Monica” is the answer for this question. The word in the next question asks about time “WHEN” is this word, the answer for this question is “next Friday” Finally, we have the question with the word “What time” which asks about the exact hour for an event. The answer for this question is “at 5PM”
If we make these questions with the verb BE we use the QUESTION WORD (who, what, where, when, what time) followed by the verb BE + a complement
WHO WHERE WHAT WHEN WHAT TIME
is are
the teacher the doctor the name is the conference is the game
Also, you can form these kinds of questions by using a QUESTION WORD (who, what, where, when, what time) followed by an auxiliary (Do or Does), followed by a verb in the simple from and finally we add a complement, like this. WHO WHERE WHAT WHEN WHAT TIME
DO
I YOU WE YOU THEY
know? work? do? study? come?
However, when we ask about the subject of the sentence, we do not use auxiliary. Example: Who knows the answer? Who wrote the letter? What comes next? And finally remember to use the third person form of the verb in examples similar to the above, that’s to say, when we ask about the subject of the sentence. Who knows the answer? Mary knows the answer Who wrote the letter? Gonzalo wrote the letter What comes next? The musical number comes next. In all the questions we ask for the subject of the sentence, that’s to say, who does the action, so the answer is the subject of the sentence.
A3 Section 1: Definition of Count and Non count nouns Count or Non-count? The main difference between count and non count nouns is whether you can count the things they refer to or not. Count nouns refer to things that exist as separate and distinct individual units. They usually refer to what can be perceived by the senses. Examples: table chair
finger remark
bottle girl
word award
candidate
Example sentences: I stepped in a puddle. (How many puddles did you step in? Just one.) I drank a glass of milk. (Glasses of milk can be counted) I saw an apple tree. (Apple trees can be counted) Non count nouns refer to things that can't be counted because they are thought of as wholes that can't be cut into parts. They often refer to abstractions and occasionally have a collective meaning (for example, furniture). Examples: anger education
courage leisure
progress precision
furniture weather
warmth
Example Sentences: I dove into the water. (How many waters did you dive into? The question doesn't make any sense; therefore water is non countable.) I saw the milk spill. (How many milks? Milk cannot be counted.) I admired the foliage. (How many foliages? Foliage cannot be counted.) Think of the batter from which a cake is made. Before you put the batter into the oven, it can't be divided into parts because it's a thick liquid. Once it has been baked, it becomes solid enough to be cut into pieces. No count nouns are like cake batter; count nouns are like pieces of cake. Note: Since the issue is complicated and almost no rule is absolute, there will be exceptions to the above definitions; however, we can show some general patterns. Bear in mind that what is countable in another language may not be countable in English, and vice versa. USES OF COUNT AND NON-COUNT NOUNS
Pluralizing The Rule From the definitions of mass and count given above you may have already guessed the rule for pluralizing them: • most count nouns pluralize with -s • no count nouns don't pluralize at all This rule works for all of the nouns in the lists of examples in the first section. Check this rule for yourself before reading further. An Exception to the Rule For a number of nouns, the rule needs slight revision. Certain nouns in English belong to both classes: they have both a no count and a count meaning. Normally the no count meaning is abstract and general and the count meaning concrete and specific. Compare: Count • • •
I've had some difficulties finding a job. (refers to a number of specific problems) The talks will take place in the Krannert building. (refers to a number of specific lectures) The city was filled with bright lights and harsh sounds. (refers to a number of specific lights and noises)
Noncount • She succeeded in school with little difficulty. (refers to the general idea of school being difficult) • I dislike idle talk. (refers to talking in general) • Light travels faster than sound. (refers to the way light and sound behave in general) Note: A special case of the use of no count nouns in a count sense has to do with classification. Sometimes a usually no count noun can be understood as one item separate and distinct from other items of the same category. The nouns that function in this way often denote foods and beverages: food(s), drink(s), wine(s), bread(s), coffee(s), fruit(s), and so on. Examples: • There are several French wines to choose from. (= kinds of wine) • I prefer Sumatran coffees to Colombian. (= kinds of coffee) • We use a variety of different batters in our bakery. (= kinds of batter) A recent entry into this class is homework, which at least among some students has the count plural homeworks in addition to its non count use. (For example, "You're missing three of the homeworks from the first part of the course.") Because this usage is not firmly established and is likely to be considered nonstandard, you should check with your instructor before using it in writing.
A Revision of the Rule These exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be revised: count nouns and nouns used in a count sense pluralize; non count nouns and nouns used in a non count sense do not. The two possibilities in each half of the rule require different choices. If you know that a particular noun must be either count or no count and cannot be both, you need to decide only if it is possible to pluralize the noun. On the other hand, if you know that a particular noun may be
used in either a count or no count sense, then you need to decide whether it is appropriate to pluralize. To summarize, we may put the rule in a chart, like this: Pluralizes with -s Count Noun Count Use No count Noun No count Use
Doesn't Pluralize
XX XX XX XX
much, many, a little, a few much - many much: non countable nouns (milk, marmelade, money, time etc.) many: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmelade, dollars, minutes etc.) How much money have you got? How many dollars have you got?
a little - a few a little: non countable nouns (milk, marmelade, money, time etc.) a few: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmelade, dollars, minutes etc.) He has a little money left. He has a few dollars left.
A few and few, a little and little These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to. A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a positive way: • "I've got a few friends" (= maybe not many, but enough) • "I've got a little money" (= I've got enough to live on) Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way: • Few people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors) • He had little money (= almost no money)
Graded Quantifiers They are like comparatives and hold a relative position on a scale of increase or decrease. INCREASE (0% to 100%)
With plural countable nouns: many
more
most
With uncountable nouns: much
more
most
DECREASE (100% to 0%) With plural countable nouns: Few
fewer
fewest
With uncountable nouns: little
less
least
Examples:
There are many people in Poland, more in India, but the most people live in China. Much time and money is spent on education, more on health services but the most is spent on national defense. Few rivers in Europe aren’t polluted. Fewer people die young now than in the nineteenth century. The country with the fewest people per square kilometre must be Australia. Scientists have little hope of finding a complete cure for cancer before 2010. She had less time to study than I did but had better results. Give that dog the least opportunity and it will bite you. Quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns
Some adjectives and adjectival phrases can only go with uncountable nouns (salt, rice, money, advice), and some can only go with countable nouns (friends, bags, people). The words in the middle column can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. With Uncountable Nouns How much? a little a bit (of) a great deal of a large amount of a large quantity of
With Both How much? or How many? no/none not any some (any) a lot of plenty of lots of
With Countable Nouns How many? a few a number (of) several a large number of a great number of a majority of
Note: much and many are used in negative and question forms.
Example: How much money have you got? How many cigarettes have you smoked? There's not much sugar in the cupboard. There weren't many people at the party. They are also used with too, (not) so, and (not) as There were too many people at the party. It's a problem when there are so many people. There's not so much work to do this week. In positive statements, we use a lot of: I've got a lot of work this week. There were a lot of people at the concert.
A4 The Simple Past Tense. The regular Simple Past is formed by adding "ED" to the base form of the verb. (Base: walk + ED = walked) The irregular Simple Past is left up to the irregular verb to decide. Irregular verbs must be memorized and used until they are learned. There are many lists of irregular verbs in English. Students can learn a few every week until they know the most common. Irregular verbs also have irregular past participles, discussed later. Five to ten minutes a day reinforces these forms. Example: • go -- went • speak -- spoke • give -- gave Forming a positive sentence In the simple past tense, positive or affirmative sentences are made using a verb in past. Of course, you have to use a subject, and a complement too. In the chart bellow you have the corresponding example. Negatives and Questions in the Simple Past Tense In the simple past tense, negative and question forms are made using the auxiliary verb "do" (in its past form, "did") followed by the simple form of the main verb. Forming a negative sentence Negatives in the simple present are formed by adding didn't (informal) or did not (formal) before the simple form of the verb. This works for all the verbs except BE. The verb BE is an exception to this; in the case of BE, we just add n't (informal) or not (formal) after "was" or "were": In this case, we do not need an auxiliary as when we use other verbs different than BE.
Simple past statement I had a car. You ate my toast. He was here yesterday. They were in the park.
Informal negative
Formal negative
I didn't have a car. You didn't eat my toast. He wasn't here yesterday. They weren't in the park.
I did not have a car. You did not eat my toast. He was not here yesterday. They were not in the park.
Forming a yes/no question Yes/no questions are also created using the auxiliary did. This time, the auxiliary is placed before the subject. The verb BE is an exception; in this case, we move BE before the subject. Here are the rules: Yes/no question Simple past statement He brought his friend. They had a party. You were here. She was sick.
Did he bring his friend? Did they have a party? Were you here? Was she sick?
Forming a WH- question WH- questions (using words such as "what", "when", "where" etc.) are also created by putting the auxiliary did before the subject (or moving BE, as explained above). Then, you add the WHword at the beginning. Here are some examples:
Statement The building fell down. They lived in Vancouver. The store was closed. They were wolves.
Yes/no question
WH- question
Did the building fall down? Did they live in Vancouver? Was the store closed? Were they wolves?
Why did the building fall down? Where did they live? Why was the store closed? What were they?
FORM OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE WITH REGULAR VERBS The form is the same for all persons. Pronunciation spelling I> played /d/ arrive/arrived You > arrived /d/ wait/waited He > worked /t/ stop/stopped She > dreamed/dreamt /dri:md/ or /dremt/ occur/occurred It > posted /Id/ cry/cried We > stayed / cried / watched
You > shopped / wash / talked They > pronounced /open / knock Pronunciation of the regular past verbs in the regular past always end with a -d in their spelling, but the pronunciation of the past ending is not always the same: play/played /d/ The most common spelling characteristic of the regular past is that -ed is added to the base form of the verb: opened, knocked, stayed, etc. Except in the cases noted below, this -ed is not pronounced as if it were an extra syllable, so opened is pronounced: open /oupend/, knocked /nokt/, stayed: /steid/ arrived /araivd/ /d/ Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced /d/: /b/ rubbed; /g/ tugged; /dz/ managed; /l/ filled; /m/ dimmed; /n/ listened; vowel + /r/ stirred; /v/ loved; /z/ seized. The -ed ending is not pronounced as an extra syllable. work/worked /t/ Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced /t/: /k/ packed; /s/ passed; /t竏ｫ/ watched; /竏ｫ/ washed; /f/ laughed; /p/ tipped. The -ed ending is not pronounced as an extra syllable. dream/dreamed /d/ or dreamt /t/ A few verbs function as both regular and irregular and may have their past forms spelt -ed or -t pronounced /d/ or /t/: e.g. burn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill, spoil.
post/posted /ﾉｪd/ Verbs which end in the sounds /t/ or /d/ have their past endings pronounced /Id/: posted, added. The -ed ending is pronounced as an extra syllable added to the base form of the verb. Spelling of the regular past The regular past always ends in 窶電, however, depending on the ending of the verb we have different rules for forming the past. arrive/arrived Verbs ending in -e add -d: e.g. phone/phoned, smile/smiled. This rule applies equally to agree, die, lie, etc. wait/waited. Verbs not ending in -t add -ed: e.g. ask/asked, clean/cleaned, follow/followed, video/videoed. stop/stopped Verbs spelt with a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter double the consonant: beg/begged, rub/rubbed, occur/occurred In two-syllable verbs the final consonant is doubled when the last syllable contains a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter and is stressed: pre'fer/preferred, re'fer/referred. Compare: 'benefit/benefited, 'differ/differed and 'profit/profited which are stressed on their first syllables and which therefore do not double their final consonants. In
American English labeled, quarreled, signaled and traveled follow the rule. In British English labelled, quarrelled, signalled and travelled are exceptions to the rule. cry/cried When there is a consonant before -y, the "y" changes to "i" before we add -ed: e.g. carry/carried, deny/denied, fry/fried, try/tried. Compare: delay/delayed, obey/obeyed, play/played, etc. which have a vowel before -y and therefore simply add -ed in the past. FORM OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE WITH IRREGULAR VERBS The form is the same for all persons I >} You > He > took > She > shut > the suitcase It > sat on > We > You > They > Notes on the past form of irregular verbs Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs (about 150 in all) do not have past forms which can be predicted: shut/shut A small number of verbs have the same form in the present as in the past: e.g. cut/cut, hit/hit, put/put. It is important to remember, particularly with such verbs, that the third person does not change in the past: e.g. he shut (past); he shuts (present). sit/sat The past form of most irregular verbs is different from the present: bring/brought, catch/caught, keep/kept, leave/left, lose/lost. USES OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE 1. Completed actions We normally use the Simple Past Tense to talk about events, actions or situations which occurred in the past and are now finished. They may have happened recently: · Sam phoned a moment ago. or in the distant past: · The Goths invaded Rome in A.D. 410. A time reference must be given: · I had a word with Julian this morning. or must be understood from the context: · I saw Fred in town. (i.e. when I was there this morning) · I never met my grandfather. (i.e. he is dead) When we use the simple past, we are usually concerned with when an action occurred, not with its duration (how long it lasted). 2. Past habit Like used to, the simple past can be used to describe past habits: · I smoked forty cigarettes a day till I gave up. 3. The immediate past We can sometimes use the Simple Past without a time reference to describe something that
happened a very short time ago: · Jimmy punched me in the stomach. · Did the telephone ring? · Who left the door open? 4. Polite inquiries, etc. The Simple Past does not always refer to past time. It can also be used for polite inquiries (particularly asking for favours), often with verbs like hope, think or wonder. Compare: · I wonder if you could give me a lift. · I wondered if you could give me a lift. (more tentative/polite) ADVERBIALS WITH THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE The association of the Past Tense with adverbials that tell us when something happened is very important. Adverbials used with the past tense must refer to past (not present) time. This means that adverbials which link the present (before now, so far, till now, yet) are not used with past tenses. Some adverbials like yesterday, last summer and combinations with ago are used only with past tenses: ·
I saw Jane yesterday/last summer.
Ago, meaning 'back from now', can combine with a variety of expressions to refer to the past: e.g. two years ago; six months ago; ten minutes ago; a long time ago: ·
I met Robert Parr many years ago in Czechoslovakia.
The Simple Past is often used with when to ask and answer questions: ·
When did you learn about it? - When I saw it in the papers.
When often points to a definite contrast with the present: ·
I played football every day when I was a boy.
Other adverbials can be used with past tenses when they refer to past time, but can be used with other tenses as well: adverbs: I always liked Gloria. · I often saw her in Rome. · Did you ever meet Sonia? · I never met Sonia. adverbial/prepositional phrases: We left at 4 o'clock/on Tuesday. ·
We had our holiday in July.
adverbial clauses: I waited till he arrived. ·
I met him when I was at college.
as + adverb + as: I saw him as recently as last week.
A5 Hi dear students, I hope you continue studying ENG. 2 and I hope it's being easy to understand the contents, and remember, if you have any problem, you can ask us and we will be very glad to help you. Today we are going to study the Modal Auxiliary can and should, they are modal Auxiliaries, here we have how to use them. Can Modal verbs give special meanings of ability, possibility, certainty, advice, obligation, asking permission, etc. to different situations. We form the negative by adding not or n't to the modal. The modal auxiliary CAN shows ability or possibility to do something. Can is a modal auxiliary used to: 1. 2. 3.
express ability or possibility to do something. express requests in the sense of a favor. ask for or give permission.
We use can to express ability. Mary can speak Chinese. Bill can play the piano very well. Can John drive a truck? Yes, he can. You can learn English if you study hard. Bill cannot go to the meeting. Can you go to the party? No, I can't. We use can or could to make a request which is more like asking a small favor. This expression is usually informal. Although the expression may seem like a question, it is not really a question. It is more like a request, which is not exactly a question. Can you turn on the radio? Can you bring me a cup of coffee, please? Can you come here a second? I want to show you this. It is common to use can to ask permission but in an informal sense. If we want to ask permission in a formal sense, we use may. Can I smoke? Can I turn on the TV? Can I have another piece of cake? The negative forms of can are cannot (just one word) or can't (the contraction). Examples: I can speak English (SĂŠ hablar InglĂŠs)
The doctor can see you at 3.00 ( El doctor le puede visitar a las tres. ) Can you speak german? (¿Sabes hablar alemán? ) Sintaxis affirmative: subject + can + verb negative: subject + can not / can't + verb question: can + subject + verb? short answer: Yes, subject + can / No, subject + can't Remember: There is no "s" in the third person singular. Incorrect: She can speaks French. Also, there is no "to" between the modal and the principal verb. Incorrect: They can to speak French.
Should Should is a modal auxiliary used to: 1. Give advice or a recommendation 2. Show a polite obligation. 3. Indicate that something will probably happen. 4. Express that something did not happen in the past and you wished it had happened. 5. You can also express opinion The negative forms of should are should not or shouldn’t (the contraction). It is very common to use should to give advice or a recommendation. You look very bad. You should see a doctor. I should eat less pizza. They should study more. You shouldn't eat those potatoes. They're very salty. You shouldn't smoke so much. Note: Another common way to make a recommendation is with the expression ought to. You ought to see a dentist. They ought to talk to the manager. We use should to show a polite obligation. We should arrive to work before eight o'clock. You should pay before you go in. Before Bill sees the doctor, he should fill out this form. Note: Another common way to show obligation is with the expression supposed to. You are supposed to read this book. You are supposed to wear a tie.
We use should in a situation that expresses that something is going to happen as an expectation. Bill should be here in ten minutes. It is Saturday. The theater should be full. This test should be easy. I studied a lot. We use the structure should + have + past participle to say that something was desirable or right but didn't happen. There is a feeling of regret. I should write to my parents.(present situation) I should have written to my parents.(past situation) I didn't pass the exam. I should have studied more. I went to the bank at six o'clock and it was closed. I should have gone earlier. I shouldn't have gone to the movie. It was terrible. Examples You should have a holiday. (Deberías tener vacaciones.) You shouldn't work so hard (No deberías trabajar tanto.) What do you think I should do? (¿que crees que debería hacer?) Syntaxis affirmative: negative: question: short answer:
subject + should + verb subject + should not / shouldn't + verb should + subject + verb? Yes, subject + should / No, subject + shouldn't
Have to We use it to express something that is necessary. To ask a question in the negative way, we have to use the auxiliary do. The past tense of have to is had to. El pasado es had to. Examples You have to drive on the right in the USA. (Tienes que conducir por la derecha en los EEUU.) I don't have to wear a uniform at school. (No tengo que llevar uniforme en la escuela.) Did you have to work yesterday? (¿Tuviste que trabajar ayer?) Syntaxis affirmative: negative: question: short answer:
subject + have to + verb subject + don't have to / do have to + verb Do + subject + have to + verb? Yes, subject + do ó does // No, subject + don't ó doesn't
HAVE TO
Have to / Has to = it is necessary Don't have to / Doesn't have to = it isn't necessary
AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES Affirmative sentences ( + ) NECESSITY: have to/has to means it is necessary. NEGATIVE SENTENCES Negative sentences ( - ) LACK OF NECESSITY: don't have to/doesn't have to means it is not necessary. You have a choice. QUESTIONS
SUBJECT MODAL
VERB
I you have to we they he she has to it SUBJECT MODAL I you don't have to we they he doesn't have she to it DO SUBJECT
clean get pick up have eat go work
Do
I you we they
Does
he she it
questions ( ? )
EXAMPLES
I have to clean my room. You have to get a new book. We have to pick up the laundry. They have to have a notebook. He has to eat dinner now. She has to go to work now. It has to work. VERB EXAMPLES I don't have to work on Saturday. work You don't have to do that. do We don't have to clean the car. clean They don't have to eat pizza. eat work He doesn't have to work tomorrow. go She doesn't have to go today. be It doesn't have to be that way. MODAL VERB EXAMPLES Do I have to clean my room? clean Do you have to get a new book? Do we have to pick up the get pick up laundry? Do they have to have a have to have notebook? eat Does he have to eat dinner now? go Does she have to go to work work now? Does it have to work?