New test on Present Simple

grammarteacher Oct 5

I’ve produced a new test for my Present Simple lesson. Nothing very complicated but you might still enjoy it.

https://englishgrammarsecrets.com/present-simple/business-english-grammar/

 

New quiz on WISH

grammarteacher Oct 6

https://englishgrammarsecrets.com/wish/business-english-grammar/

The English Modal Verbs

 

Modal verbs are special kinds of verbs in English. They show things like ability, possibility, permission, and so forth. For example: Birds can fly. --> Can is a modal verb. It shows ability.

Modal verbs are special because they cannot be used alone. They must always be used with another verb in its base form. For example:  "Birds can" is not a complete sentence. It simply means birds have some ability, but we don’t know what ability. We must use another verb after can: Birds can fly. Some more examples: Correct: I can see you now. Incorrect: I can you now.   Correct: He can open the door. Incorrect: He can the door.   Correct: You can start the lesson! Incorrect: You can the lesson! So here's a quick exercise to test your understanding: Quick Exercise 1 Explain in your own words: What are modal verbs? What’s special about them? Give a correct example and an incorrect example.

Short Story – Good for Christmas:

 

Reminder:

The semi-modal verb had better has a similar meaning to should and ought to, but it is stronger.

If you say, “He had better arrive on time!” you mean that the best thing is for him to remember, because if he does not, it will be a problem. There will be negative consequences if he does not arrive on time (for example, you will be upset or he will be in trouble).

We only use had better in the simple present because it talks about the best thing to do in the present or in the near future. Remember that we don’t change the form of had better. We don’t add “-s,” “-ed,” or “-ing.”

Short Story – Good for Christmas:

Oscar and Rose are very excited for Christmas and opening their presents. They want to help get ready.

“The star is missing!” says Oscar. “We had better put it on top of the tree.”

“Yes,” Rose agrees, “and we had better make some snacks for Santa Claus in case he’s hungry after delivering all those presents!”

“We had better be very good today. If not, we won’t get good presents!” says Oscar, sounding a little worried.

“Yes. We had better eat all our vegetables today!” agrees Rose.

“Definitely. We are going to behave so well! Oh, Daddy needs to clean the garage today. We had better help him!” Oscar says.

“That’s a good idea,” replies Rose. “We’ll help Mommy with dinner, too.”

“Wow, being good is a lot of work!” says Oscar. “Mommy and Daddy had better notice it and tell Santa Claus!”

Semi-Modal Verbs

 

Semi-Modal Verbs Semi- means partly. So semi-modal verbs are "verbs that are partly like modal verbs." Semi-modal verbs have this name because they are partly like modal verbs and partly like regular verbs. This is because they show the same meaning as modal verbs, but they follow the grammar of regular verbs. Almost every modal verb has a semi-modal verb with a similar meaning. For example, can is a modal verb. Be able to is a semi-modal verb. Both verbs express an ability to do something. Examples:  Can: She can sing very well. Be able to: She is able to sing very well.   Can: I can lift the box. Be able to: I am able to lift the box.   Can: You can run fast. Be able to: You are able to run fast.   So as you can see, the semi-modal verb be able to expresses ability just like can, but it is used in different situations. If we use be able to in the simple present, it sounds much more formal than can. Now this is just the tip of the iceberg! It's important to know and practice all modal verbs and semi-modal verbs. They may seem similar, but there are important nuances that set them apart. So becoming proficient in these special verbs is a giant step towards correct and natural English!

Can - Could - May - Three modal verbs

 

The three modal verbs used to ask for (or give) permission are: Can (casual) Could (polite) May (formal) Can is the most informal, and may is the most formal. Could is in between. It can sound a little rude or impolite to use can if you are in a formal situation or do not know the person you are talking to very well. May specifically refers to what is allowed. In other words, it talks about what the rules say is okay, or what the person being asked feels is okay. This is the most polite and correct way to ask permission, and to give it. For example, a reporter who is interviewing someone will try to be as polite as possible. She doesn’t know the person she is interviewing, and she wants to show respect. She says: “May I ask you some questions, please?”  She will not say, “Can I ask you some questions?” This is too informal! The person responds: “Yes, of course you may.” This is because the person being interviewed doesn’t know her, either. He also wants to be polite! Remember that the most formal way to ask for permission or to give permission is with may. May is an important modal verb in English. It has additional useful meanings. Make sure you know it well and use it properly.

 

Answer to a question grammarteacher Oct 1 Jupiter, ________ planet in our solar system, has a powerful gravitational field. to be the largest is the largest the largest for the largest You don’t need in a verb in this clause. So the answer is simply The largest You could add a verb but then you would need to add ‘which’ Which is the largest Another answer would work if you added a few words which is known to be the largest