1 Special uses of should

• We often use should in that-clauses after verbs connected with suggestions, requests or orders:

I suggested that he should take a break.

They insisted I should take a pay cut.

• Other verbs we often use with should include: demand propose urge require recommend decide maintain warn

• We also use should in that-clauses after adjectives connected with importance, e.g. it is important that..., or personal reactions, e.g. I was surprised that...:

It's essential that you should contact us as soon as you have any information.

• Other adjectives we commonly use with should in this way include: important necessary surprising normal sorry horrified interesting worried

• We use should have to talk about the past: He found it astonishing that anyone should have wanted to buy such an ugly present.

• We sometimes use should in purpose clauses after conjunctions like so that, in order that, in case, for fear that, lest:

They spoke quietly so that nobody should hear what they were saying. He disguised himself lest he should be recognised.

• We also use should before certain verbs, e.g. imagine, think, say, hope, to express concepts about which we are not certain:

I should imagine we'll be home for dinner.

2. Modals in the Past Could, would, might

• Could and would are the only two modals we commonly use on their own to refer to the past:

I could drive a tractor before I knew how to drive a car.

(= ability) We couldn't leave the building during the

lunch break. (= permission): Every morning I would get up early and feed the chickens. (= habitual behaviour) I wouldn't do what I was told. (= refusal)

• We also use might occasionally: In those days, they came for lunch and might stay on for supper. (= possibility)

Modal Perfects

Other modals may refer to the past when used with the Perfect (have + -ed). We use modal Perfects in three ways:

• to speculate about events in the past, or imagine the opposite had happened:

I would have talked to him but I didn't have time.

You should have told me you were coming.

They ought to have informed us of the change.

We were lucky - the whole thing could have ended in disaster.

You needn't have gone to so much trouble.

You might have warned me.

• to talk about past events when we are not sure whether they happened or not:

I can't find my diary anywhere -1 suppose I could have left it at home. (= it's possible) She may have phoned my office after I left. (= it's possible) She can't have left already! (= I don't think she has) She must have given it to someone else. (= I'm almost certain) They might have gone home by now. (~ it's possible) They should have got there by now. (= I think so)

• to talk about possibility in the present and future. This is a form of the Future Perfect:

You should have already gone through immigration by the time I get to the airport.

Ex.8. Rewrite each of the following sentences in each pair (a-b) using should and one of the words listed. You may want to change the form of verbs:

Example: incredible a The new trainer wants to hand in his notice already? I just don't believe it.

It's incredible that the new trainer should want to hand in his notice already.

1 important normal

a Some students tend to feel a little homesick in their first week here. I can understand that.

b Children must be taught the difference between right and wrong. I believe that strongly.

2 odd bewildering

a Why has he 'complained now, right at the end of his course? I

just can't work it out. b I wonder why she left without saying anything. I'd really like to know.

3 insisted warned

a 'Don't let your feelings run away with you, will you?' said the youth club leader. b "We simply must go to the police about this latest attack,' said a bystander.

Ex.9. Add a suitable word to fill each of the gaps:

Many people want to be pop stars in order (1) people should

mob them in the street and faint in front of them, but the Spice Boys have taken to donning disguises whenever they go out (2)fans (3) recognise them. One of the group even goes around in a Mickey Mouse mask for (4) that he should (5)recognised. They always lock their bedroom doors at night in case someone should (6) to get in, and they never announce their immediate plans so that (7) should know where they're going. Girlfriends, sadly, are out of the question in (8) female fans (9) become jealous. They're not even allowed to read the papers (10) they should read a bad review.

Ex.10. Fill each of the gaps with a suitable word or phrase:

1. It shouldn't us more than half an hour to get to the airport.

2. Last night's match could into a complete fiasco.

3. The chairman insisted that all shareholders should of the

board's decision in writing.

4. She just her mind despite all our pleas, would she?

5. You should that into account before you went and spent all your money.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING EXERCISES: Do Exercises 1,3,6 pp.77-80 from the exercise book by V.Kaushanskaya.

TOPIC 17. The Verb. PASSIVE VOICE

Form of the Passive:

• We form the passive using be in an appropriate tense or form + the past participle of a transitive verb:

A small sum of money was stolen from the cash box.

They ought to have been punished more severely.

Having been beaten in the semifinal, she flew home the next day.

• In spoken English, we sometimes use get instead of be in the passive:

They got told off for making so much noise.

• However, get + -ed is more common with an active meaning similar to 'become' in phrases like get dressed, get married, etc.

Reasons for using the Passive:

• In English, the topic or subject matter is commonly at the beginning of the sentence, and new ' information about the subject is normally at the end. In an active sentence, the 'agent' (the person or thing that performs the action) usually comes first and is the subject of the sentence:

Subject (Agent) Action Result

Olympiakos scored the first goal.

This active sentence is principally about Olympiakos.

• In the passive, the result or thing affected by the action comes first and is the subject of the sentence:

Subject (Result) Action Agent

The first goal was scored by Olympiakos.

This passive sentence is principally about the goal.

• We choose between active and passive because of the topic we are talking about, especially when reporting information.

An English football supporter, interested in the fortunes of the England team, is likely to report:

We got beaten in extra time.

A German supporter, more interested in his team, is likely to report:

We beat them in extra time.

• Other reasons for using the passive include:

- the agent is unknown or obvious: I was born in 1982.

- the agent is 'people or things in general': Coffee will be made available after the meal. - the agent is a long phrase: Helen was surprised by all the messages of sympathy that she received.

Some verbs cannot be used in the Continuous.

• avoiding references to ourselves and making a statement impersonal:

We can't possibly complete this work overnight. becomes: This work can't possibly be completed overnight. (= the work is the problem, not us)

• avoiding 'you' in orders and rules:

You must give in your application before the end of the week, becomes: All applications must be given in before the end of the week.

• in factual writing when the focus is usually on events, achievements, etc. rather than agents: Vaccination had been pioneered two hundred years earlier.

• Not all be + -ed forms are passive. They may be adjectives:

The dog has been depressed since the TV broke down.

• We avoid passive constructions with be being or been being, although they sometimes occur in spoken English:

Avoid: The road will have been being repaired for months, use They will have been repairing the road for months, or: The road will have been under repair for months.

Agents and objects with the passive