Activity book by Kemova KS

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?

• I’m sorry but somebody else is sitting there.

3. – Could you lend me five dollars?

• I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money right now.

4. – Will you help me, please?

• Okay. What’s 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. Mike’s 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:

Он чуть было не разбил вазу. Он чуть было не порезался. Он чуть было не простудился.

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 mustn’t 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.

Express your doubt that a person performed an action in the wrong way.

Model: The children didn’t behave well at the party.

You: The children can’t have misbehaved at the party. They have always been so polite and friendly!

1. The travel agent spelled your name in the wrong way.

2. Mr. Coleman didn’t understand you in the way you meant it to be.

3. The housemaid didn’t lay the book where it used to belong.

4. The agent didn’t give you correct information about employment opportunities.

5. Despite many years of experience he didn’t handle the matter properly.

Assignment 6.

Some of your friends’ recent achievements took you by surprise. Express your incredulity with the help of modals:

Model: My teacher confused the modal verbs ‘can’ and ‘may’.

You: She can’t have confused the verbs. She teaches you grammar!

1. Maria has sizably slimmed down in a short time.

2. Peter has made much headway on his career.

3. John has given up using obscene words.

4. Your granny has at long last learned to use the remote control.

5. Your friend, Jared, has travelled around the world.

6. Your 60-year-old uncle has recently made up his mind to become an artist.

7. Your shy friend Lisa has turned into a beauty and is now dating several men.

Assignment 7.

Express your surprise that a person did not perform an action. Extend the context by explaining why the news surprises you.

Model: A: Mike didn’t find the way to the shop.

B: He can’t have failed to do it! I drew a map with all necessary information on it.

1. Mary didn’t produce a good impression on her prospective employer, so she was rejected.

2. Kate didn’t lend a helping hand to Moris, a friend of you both.

3. Your neighbor pretended not to recognize you and passed without greeting.

4. Your friend didn’t find the book that you asked her to buy.

5. Your boss never heard about Scott Fitzgerald.

6. As your sister says, your mother didn’t notice the present you left for her.

Assignment 8.

Besides using the verb to fail (as in the previous exercise) speakers may resort to other lexical means to avoid negation with must or double negation with can in the meanings of strong probability and doubt respectively. Using the cues below, make up sentences with must to express strong probability referring to the past:

Model: the teacher/ not to mention your name when taking attendance.

The teacher must have left out your name when taking attendance.

1. Alex and Nadia/not to catch the train.

2. He/ not to see anything of Mary last month

3. Mike’s parents/not to hear anything from Mike for two weeks

4. The candidate/not to have any other option but to concede his defeat.

5. My teacher of Spanish/not to be in Spain

6. The employee/not to be aware of his boss’s presence

7. The servant/not to feel at ease during the conversation

8. The young scientist/not to consider this detail relevant for the research.

Assignment 9.

Imagine that you come home to find a stranger sleeping peacefully on your sofa. Fearlessly, you decide to wake him up and find out what he is doing in your flat. What kind of questions will you ask in surprise? Use the modal verb can to express surprise in special questions. For example, “What can you (possibly) be doing here?”

Clues: to get in the flat, to get hold of the keys, to have something in view, to open the door.

Assignment 10.

Imagine that you are to teach the difference between can and may in the meaning of possibility. Provide larger contexts for the following phrases to bring out the difference for your students.

You can find books in the library. You may find books in the library.

You can solve the problem in a number of different ways. You may solve the problem in a number of different ways.

You can take the horse to the water but you cannot make him drink. I may take the dog for the weekend. I can take the dog for the weekend.

I can arrange your meeting with Mr. Moore. I may arrange your meeting with Mr. Moore.

Assignment 11.

Tell your friend or relative about events you had during the day quoting what other people told you. Use the following as a basis:

Model: He said, “You must work more”

He said I must work more.

1. “You may use my home library while you are doing your course of English literature”, Mrs. Carter said.

2. “You must turn in your papers in due time”, Professor McKinley warned us.

3. “You may have been misled into thinking that education is no longer a value”, Father supposed.

4. “It could be difficult to obtain this job not having the necessary qualifications”, the recruiter said.

5. “You needn’t worry about him. He ought to pull through”, Lisa [your friend’s girlfriend] said.

Assignment 12.

Explain the people’s behavior by supposing what they were doing at the moment.

Model: He must have been doing something.

1. Joe didn’t answer his wife’s question. (He must have been dozing)

2. A man was stealthily walking up the street looking around. (He must have been doing something wrong)

3. He pushed the brakes but there was no avoiding the accident. (He must have been doing at least 100 mph)

4. It was my friend who answered the phone but I could hardly make out what he was saying. (He must have been chewing something)

5. Mary, a little girl, was struggling in her sleep. (She must have been having a nightmare)

Assignment 13.

Speak about how your plans changed and why following the model:

Model: You were supposed to take part in the concert, but you weren’t even able to attend the rehearsal.

I was to have taken part in the concert. I wasn’t able to sing as I came down with pneumonia.

1. Your trip to Cyprus was initially scheduled for June but you went there only in August.

2. You planned to start a CELTA course in spring, but decided to go for it after the graduation.

3. You arranged to meet your friend on Saturday, but he wasn’t able to come.

4. It was required of you to start working on Monday, but you appeared in the office only a week later.

5. My music class was timed to start at noon, but the teacher called up in the morning to cancel it.

Assignment 14.

What influences the choice of the infinitive after to be to in past-time contexts? Did the action take place when somebody was to do something? Complete the dialogues with the verbs given in brackets choosing a simple or perfect infinitive.

Dialogue 1:

-Michael, do you happen to know who is assigned to supervise this new project?

-I can’t be sure. I recall, Peter was to (be) in charge of it, but then he was sidelined from management at all.

Dialogue 2:

- Hasn’t Joe come over to the party yet?

- To my knowledge, he was to (turn) up at half past seven. Look downstairs, he must be somewhere in the crowd.

Dialogue 3:

• I fear Mary might be late for the plane, the boarding will be over in 10 minutes.

• I rang her up in the morning, she told me the taxi was to (pick) her up at 3. She must have got stuck on the way here.

Assignment 15.

What meaning does the modal verbs ought to and should convey? Decide what unites the contexts in which ought to is used. Think of more situations where ought to is appropriate.

1. Treat a man as he is, he will remain so. Treat a man the way he can be and ought to be, and he will become as he can be and should be (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe).

2. You should read this new book.

3. Every sentence should start with a capital letter.

4. You ought to have some respect for basic manners.

5. You ought to help the needy.

6. We have done things that we ought not to have done.

7. A man can do what he ought to do; and when he says he cannot, it is because he will not.

8. You shouldn’t sit in the draught, you may catch cold.

9. He didn’t instruct me what I should do in such a situation.

10. You ought to abide by the rules of society.

11. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4:17)

12. You ought to apologize.

13. The courts ought to treat black and white defendants in exactly the same way.

14. Many people felt that America ought not to take part in the war.

Assignment 16.

Imagine your profession is one of the following. What instructions or advice would you give in the following situations? Make sentences using the cues and the modal verbs must (not), have to (don’t have to), should (not).

1. Experienced teacher of English talking to a student-teacher

prepare an outline of each class

bring bulky realia to class or make PowerPoint presentations

foresee difficulties the students might face

use English to explain rules of grammar

come to class unprepared

sustain the students’ motivation

handle emergencies with tact

go to every expedient to make learning all entertainment and fun

2. Doctor talking to a patient

cut down on meat

persuade your wife to quit smoking

establish a sleep pattern

cut out meat from your diet

join an expensive health club

protect yourself from secondhand smoking

eat junk food

have a sedentary lifestyle

walk the stairs instead of using a lift

opt for a weight loss

Assignment 17.

Complete the following dialogues with needn’t have done or didn’t have/didn’t need to do.

Dialogue 1:

- Sweety, you (to call up) our neighbours for help. I could have set up this fir-tree myself.

- I know. But you were out doing the shopping for the Christmas party. I thought I might make you a surprise.

Dialogue 2:

- Jake, you (to water) the lawn. It was raining from 3 to 5 this morning.

- Oh, I know, but it’s the process that appeals to me!

Dialogue 3:

- How did you get to the stadium before me?

- I (to take) the bus today, my work mate Jane kindly gave me a lift.

Dialogue 4:

- How have you been today?

- Nasty. My boss told me off for chatting on ICQ, luckily I (to work) extra hours.

Assignment 18.

Complete the following jokes with the given idioms:

You could do worse than.

I could do with (to be used twice).

I couldn’t care less.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

1. One day at school he gave a bright boy a sum in algebra, and, although the problem was comparatively easy the boy couldn't do it.

The principal then said, “……………….. At your age George Washington was a surveyor.”

The boy looked him straight in the eyes and replied :

“Yes, sir; and at your age he was President of the United States.”

2. Married for many years, Paul had been ignored by his wife, Liz, for some days, so eventually he confronted her with what he perceived as the problem.

“Come on Liz, admit it,” he ranted, “You only married me because my granddad left me $6 million, didn't you?”

“You really are silly, Paul,” retorted Liz loudly, “…………………… who left it to you.”

3. I told my mom …………………… a haircut, and my mom goes, "Oh, I can cut your hair for you.” “Really? Hmm, I've got pictures when I was 11 that say you can't.”

4. Fay is sitting at a hotel bar waiting for her husband to arrive when a man approaches her.

“Hi, honey,” he says. “I see ……………… a little company?”

“Why?” asks Fay, “do you have one to sell?”

5. Bernard goes to see a local priest. “Something terrible is happening to me, Rabbi. I must talk to you about it.”

The priest asks, “So what's wrong, Bernard?”

Bernard replies, “I’m sure that my wife Sarah is poisoning me.”

The priest is surprised by this and says to Bernard, “I'm sure you can’t be right.”

But Bernard pleads, “I'm telling you, I'm certain Sarah’s poisoning me and I don’t know what to do.”

The priest shrugs his shoulders and says, “OK, if I can talk to Sarah, I might be able to find out what’s happening. I can then let you know what I’ve discovered.”

Bernard says, “Thank you. What would I have done without you?”

A week later, the Rabbi calls Bernard and says, “Well, I contacted Sarah – in fact I spoke to her on the phone for over three hours. Do you want my advice now?”

Bernard replies, “Yes, please.”

"……………………………… take the poison!"

Assignment 19.

State the difference between modal verbs in each point and build the phrases into contexts.

1. You mustn’t use this computer.

You don’t have to use this computer.

2. You shouldn’t have bought so much food.

You needn’t have bought so much food.

3. You didn’t have to come so early.

You were not to come so early.

You mustn’t come so early.

4. You should have asked your parents for help.

You could have asked your parents for help.

5. He couldn’t accept that offer.

He couldn’t have accepted that offer.

6. You don’t have to use the dictionary.

You needn’t use the dictionary.

7. You shall do as you are told.

You must do as you are told.

You ought to do as you are told.

8. I may as well accompany him.

I may accompany him.

Assignment 20.

Give oral or written answers to the following questions.

1. Where will you be in ten years? What will you be doing? What can, must, should you do to achieve your aims? What could you have done differently?

2. Do you have relatives or friends in other parts of the world? What could they be doing now? Do you think people should maintain contacts with distant relatives? What do you feel you must, should, ought to do for your relatives?

3. What must, should you do to ensure your financial stability? What might you do if you suddenly came into a large sum of money?

4. Was it your own choice to take up this kind of education? What might have influenced you? Where could, might, may you apply your linguistic skills? What should, must you do to improve your English? Do you think you may want to get a second higher education?

5. What could, should (not), must (not) be done to improve the relationship between the world’s nations? What could have been done differently over the past ten years (in your country or the world)? What might, could, may deteriorating relations lead to?

6. Do you hold a job? Do you enjoy a good relationship with your boss? What should, must you do to improve understanding? What might your boss do for the same purpose? What shouldn’t you have done? And your boss?

Means expressing unreality

Assignment 1. Give advice to people in the following situations:

1. A person wants to enter this university

2. A person wants to improve his knowledge of English

It is important / essential / necessary that …

My recommendation / advice is that …

I suggest that …

Assignment 2. Are you an environmentally conscious person? What do you do within your household to save the environment? Finish up the sentences giving your ideas what should be done about the problem. Make use of the key words below; elaborate on each suggestion.

It is essential that…

It is important that…

It is required that…

I would put forward a proposal that … should …

There must be a law stipulating that … should …

Key words: to turn off appliances/unneeded lights, to ensure proper insulation, to recycle, to use reusable plates/utensils instead of disposable ones, to install water-saving devices on your faucets, to use public transportation, to sort out garbage, etc.

Assignment 3. In the following material providing advice to travelers, incorporate each sentence in parentheses into the next sentence as a noun clause. Mind the use of means expressing unreality.

Model: (A driver must keep to the right-hand side of the road)

In the United States and many European countries, it is essential that a driver keep to the right-hand side of the road.

1. (He or she has to drive on the left)

In Japan and England, however, it is mandatory that …………….. .

2. (People should remove their shoes before going inside a house.)

In some places, such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, it is important …………………. .

3. (People should keep their shoes on.)

In other places, it is expected ……………… .

4. (People must not eat pork products.)

In some places, religious laws demand that …………………… .

5. (Pork products must be avoided.)

This is because in olden times, the hot weather required …………… because of strong possibility of food contamination.

6. (A waiter should be summoned by whistling.)

In some places, it is suggested …………… .

7. (A traveler ought to learn about customs in various places.)

Logic suggests …………………… .

Assignment 4. Below is a review left by a businessman for the hotel he stayed in while on business. Now he wants to share his experience with his relatives and friends. Speak on the part of the businessman making his story more emotional. Use the clues given.

I enjoyed the position of the hotel away from the bustle of the city. This and the sea view were the only things that I liked about this hotel.

I booked two rooms, only to be told that one of the rooms got registered in the system. The service staff were rude and unprofessional. The housekeeping service appeared only 3 days later despite umpteen calls from the clients. Every other minute, there were people complaining at the front desk about how their electrical appliances were not working or how dirty the room was. The hot water kettle had to be on the floor in order to be plugged in. There was no remote control for the TV. My stay was really terrifying because I had so many bug bites which caused intense itch and discomfort during my business meetings. The breakfast buffet was marginal. Some of the food wasn't fresh. Everything was fried – chicken, sausages and hash browns! I asked for brown bread and was told they did not serve brown bread. Silverware, glasses, and plates were sometimes in short supply. After guests had finished their breakfast at the hotel so-called cafe, the waiters didn't do the clean up, they just picked up the dishes and let all food residues remain on the table for the next guest. Not recommending it to anyone.

It is wonderful/strange/ singular/absurd/terrible/monstrous/queer/odd/natural that … should …

It infuriated/outraged/startled/surprised/puzzled me that … should …

I was shocked/sorry/pleased that … should …

Assignment 5.

Answer the following questions using patterns from the previous exercise:

1. What are you recollections of the first day in the university?

2. What cultural differences between people have you spotted while travelling?

3. Is Moscow your native city? If you are not a Muscovite, what was your first impression of Moscow?

4. Do you know people who have ever worked as volunteers for nonprofit organizations? Does anything in this activity seem to you surprising, praiseworthy, strange, absurd or singular?

Assignment 6.

Express your fear or apprehension of some future event. Use subjunctive mood forms or modal verbs as required.

Model: I fear that I may/might/can/could/will be reprimanded for my actions.

1. You are not prepared for the test in grammar.

2. You are putting on weight.

3. Yesterday you were too tough on your date who was half an hour late.

4. You don’t know whether your skills are enough to obtain the job.

5. You are not sure whether your mother-in-law will like your present.

6. Your friend’s snobbish manner drives you crazy.

7. You don’t have time to pack your suitcase as the train leaves in an hour.

Assignment 7.

Is there anything that you fear in life? Related to your personal life, relationships with people, education or work? Do you know English equivalents for various phobias? What are these people afraid of? Complete the sentences paying attention to verb forms after expressions of fear.

1. An agoraphobic is a person who fears he … if he … .

2. A claustrophobe is a person who fears he …

3. A hydrophobe is a person who fears that a tank full of water … .

4. A nyctophobe is a person who fears that something catastrophic … .

5. A toxiphobe is a person who fears he … .

6. A xenophobe is a person who fears that … people … .

Assignment 8.

You are irritated by the way people behave in the following situations. What would you say to them? Choose an idiom from the list and use an appropriate grammatical structure to express your annoyance.

Model: I wish you would call a spade a spade (call things by their proper names).

Idioms: to have a change of heart about somebody, to drag one’s feet on something, to get a life, to beat about the bush, to eat away at somebody.

1. A person doesn’t want to say openly what he has to say. He irritates you by making innuendos that clearly show he can’t bring himself to start an open talk.

2. You subordinate is wasting time instead of putting serious effort into the project. You want him to accelerate the process.

3. Your brother is always worrying about everything. Everything seems an obstacle for him.

4. Your sister is constantly nagging her husband for whom you have deep respect.

5. Your friend obviously disapproves of your common friend, Tom, who is a good fellow.

Assignment 9.

Multiple choice test: choose the correct variant.

1. I demand that she immediately _________ for what she just said.

1. apologizes

2. apologize

3. will apologize

2. Her employees treated Mrs. Redcheek as though she _______ a queen.

1. was

2. were

3. had been

3. I wish I _________ better today.

1. feel

2. felt

3. would feel

4. Mr. Jones moved that the meeting ____________.

1. would be adjourned

2. should be adjourned

3. was adjourned

5. If Mrs. Lincoln ________ ill that night, the Lincolns ___________ to the Ford Theatre.

1. had been, would not go

2. had been, would not have gone

3. was, would not go

6. It is high time you ________ the spelling of the word.

1. learned

2. had learnt

3. would learn

7. It infuriated me that she ____________ without paying attention to me.

1. should be reading

2. would be reading

3. were reading

8. As luck ____________, I got away with it.

1. should be

2. would have it

3. would come

9. __________________, don’t wait for me.

1. if should I be late

2. be I late

3. should I be late

10. If I ________, I __________ that Ferrari yesterday.

1. were rich, would have bought

2. had been rich, would have bought

3. were rich, would buy

11. If Nathan ­­­­­_________ my boss, my job _________ intolerable.

1. were, would have been

2. were to be, would have been

3. were to be, would be

12. I wish you ________ whistling.

1. to stop

2. would stop

3. stopped

13. If I had had more time, I ____________ after work.

1. were to have exercised

2. would exercise

3. could have exercised

14. I have arranged everything so that you ______________ working.

1. can start

2. might have started

3. should start

15. I was afraid lest he ­­­­­­­­­­­­__________ this important exam.

1. may fail

2. could fail

3. should fail

16. It is important to remember that Janine ____________ very differently from you.

1. thinks

2. should think

3. think

17. But for my mother I­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________ unhappy at home.

1. am

2. were

3. would be

18. ________ you then, you ________ in trouble now.

1. If she would help, wouldn’t be

2. if she had helped, wouldn’t have been

3. had she helped, wouldn’t be

19. Her portrait had been, as ________ , stamped on his heart.

1. it were

2. it is

3. to say

20. He felt nervous that things ___________wrong.

1. may go

2. would go

3. shouldn’t go

Assignment 10. Translate the following text into English using means expressing unreality (to be found in phrases in bold).

День ожидания

Был поздний вечер, когда Сэм вошел в комнату.

«Тебе давно пора спать!» - сказал я и увидел, что у мальчика был больной вид. «Что с тобой?»

«У меня болит голова»

«Необходимо, чтобы ты сейчас же пошел спать. Завтра утром я вызову врача»

Я очень переживал за него. Я жалел, что взял ребенка в эту поездку.

Когда пришел доктор, он померил мальчику температуру. «Сто два градуса», сказал он и принялся писать рецепт. Внизу врач сказал мне, что мне не о чем волноваться, но если вдруг возникнет необходимость, я могу связаться с ним в любое время.

Когда я зашел в комнату Сэма, я увидел, что он был мертвенно бледен, как будто только что увидел привидение. Я списал это на его болезнь и решил не мешать ему. Я выключил свет и закрыл дверь , чтобы он мог спокойно отдыхать. Если бы я тогда знал, что его беспокоит, я бы с ним поговорил.

Через два часа я зашел к нему в комнату, чтобы еще раз померить температуру. Меня испугало, что мальчик лежал в той же самой позе с таким же выражением лица, уставившись в пустоту.

«Температура нормальная. Ты скоро поправишься»

«Как ты думаешь, как скоро я умру?», неожиданно спросил он.

«Ты не умрешь! Что с тобой происходит?»

«Нет, умру. Я слышал, как доктор сказал «сто два градуса». В школе во Франции мальчишки рассказали мне, что человек не может жить с температурой больше сорока четырех».

Чудовищно, что ребенок прожил с такими мыслями целый день.

«Бедняга! Ты не умираешь! Это просто другой градусник. На этом градуснике нормальная температура девяносто восемь»

«Ты уверен?»

«Абсолютно. То же самое с милями и километрами.»

«Да, теперь я понимаю. Я боялся, что умру из-за такой высокой температуры»

На следующий день Сэм был опять тем же беззаботным (unconcerned) и веселым ребенком.