Modal Verbs
Assignment 1.
Decide who the speakers may be friends, relatives, colleagues, strangers, senior people etc. Pay attention to formal and informal modal verbs used to request action or permission.
1) Could you please tell me about savings accounts?
Of course.
2) May we sit here?
Im sorry but somebody else is sitting there.
3) Could you lend me five dollars?
Im sorry, but I dont have any money right now.
4) Will you help me, please?
Okay. Whats the matter?
5) Can I borrow your dictionary?
Of course you can.
6) Could I use your pencil?
Yes, you can.
7) Can you help me with the task?
Yes, sure.
8) Could you answer the phone for me?
Certainly. What shall I say?
Assignment 2.
A. What is the difference between may + perfect infinitive and might + perfect infinitive? Place these phrases in the contexts below using the verb to hurt.
1) I can see no reason for his leaving so abruptly. He .. to learn that his project needs improving. If so, it was meek and childish of him to act this way.
2) Mikes parents are known for their reckless driving. They are much more careful when their child is in the car. But yesterday on the way to school they had an accident. The child ! Thank God, the safety belts held him tight in his seat.
B. Translate the following sentences:
. . .
Search the web (using a query system or a corpus) to collect more verbs typically used with might to express unreality.
Assignment 3.
What could these people reproach each other for? Use the following cues or speak from your experience.
Mother to her son (to read more, to help around the house, to be more diligent, to do his studies well, to look after his siblings, to see his grandparents more often)
Friend to friend (to lend support, to warn in advance about something, to put in a word for somebody, to stand up for somebody, to cheer somebody up)
Spouse to spouse (to spend more time with the children, to be have more patience with the children, to ask for a higher salary)
What could your parents, friends or spouse reproach you for?
Assignment 4.
As you remember, using must and can one should be careful to avoid negation (with must) or double negation (with can) in the meanings of strong probability and doubt respectively. Using verbs with the prefix mis- is one of the ways to deal with the problem.
Make sure you know the meanings of the prefix mis - and complete the gaps with the following verbs choosing the right form:
to misinform
to mishandle
to mistake
to misrule
to misjudge
to mistreat
to misconstrue
to mislead
to misbehave
to mislay
1) You mustnt deliberately . the police, give them false information, waste their time or obstruct them.
2) Tourists asking for advice on whiskey often or not informed at all.
3) The management cannot escape their responsibility for .. these issues simply by saying we will do better in future.
4) The country is doomed if it continues to .
5) Sometimes students work gets lost or ..
6) Phil .. some things, but has got much of the information right.
7) Lifeson claimed it was him who by the police.
8) If you make a decision that you think could .. by the examiner, explain your reasons while you drive.
9) I have a real issue with parents with unruly kids that .. in public.
10) For example, some people with learning disabilities may behave unusually or have movement disorders that could for epileptic seizures.
Assignment 5.
