...MODAL VERBS IN COMMUNICATION There is no communication among people without expressing their attitudes to what they say and to one another. It means that we cannot manage without modals in everyday life. But those who speak English as a foreign language may have great difficulty choosing the correct modal verb to express exactly what they want to. These are the most common situations in which modals are helpful: 1. Asking for permission: Can I ask you a question, please? (informal) Could I (possibly) ask you a question, please? (more polite) Can’t / Couldn’t I ask you a question? (if you want to put extra pressure on someone to give a positive answer) I wonder if I could ask you a question. (very polite) May I ask you a question, please? (formal) Might I ask you a question, please? (very formal) 2. Giving / Refusing permission: You can park your car here. (informal) You may park your car in this area. (formal – usually written) You can’t / mustn’t park your car here (informal, prohibition) You may not park your car here (formal – usually written) You needn’t do it. (permission not to do) 3. Making requests / instructions / orders: Can you explain this to me? (informal) Could / Would you explain this to me? (more polite) Will you explain this to me? (polite instruction) You must explain this to me. (very strict) Can I have some water? (informal) Could I have some water? (polite) May I have some water? (formal) Might I have some water? (very formal) ...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...COVER PAGE Table of contents Introduction 3 Chapter 1 Modal and Semi-Modal Verbs: Theoretical Aspect 4 1.1. Modal and Semi-Modal Verbs and Their Different Interpretations 4 1.2. Syntax, Morphology and Scope of semi-modal verbs 7 Chapter 2: Semi-Modal Verb GET: Practical Aspect 12 2.1. Usage: Tense and Aspect 12 2.2. Different Uses of Semi-Modal Verb GET 14 Conclusions 19 Bibliography 20 Introduction Human language is truly unique as it allows us to talk about things beyond here and now. The way we do so is through the Tense, Aspect and Modality systems of natural language. Modality is what this paper is about. Roughly speaking, modality allows us to talk about events that may not have happened, but are desired or required. Modality is completely autonomous unit, and it affects our language usage in many ways. Tense and Modality are undeniably interconnected: what used to be a possibility a month ago may not be one today. Tense and Aspect are likewise related: a punctual event that took place yesterday may not hold at present, but an event (or state) that is more durative may still hold. The primary function of modal verbs is to enable us to talk about possibilities and necessities. We can talk about the ways the world should be, were there peace on Earth, how it might have been, would Christopher Columbus not have landed in America, etc... This ability to go beyond...
Words: 5494 - Pages: 22
...Business Correspondence Abstract: As a variety of English, English of business correspondence has its unique grammatical features. This paper discusses the grammatical features in English business correspondence from sentence types, sentence structures, the location of adverbial phrases, tense, aspect, subjunctive mood , compound words, modal verbs and passive voice. Key words: grammar; feature; business correspondence. 商务函电英语的语法特点 摘要: 商务函电英语作为一种有自己特点的英语，有其独特的语法特点。本文从句子类型、句子结构、状语的位置、时与体、虚拟语气、复合词、情态动词和被动语态八个方面探讨了商务函电英语的语法特点。 关键词：语法；特点；商务函电 Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Sentence types of English of business correspondence 1 2.1 Declarative sentences 1 2.2 Imperative sentences 2 2.3 Interrogative sentences 2 3. Sentence structure of English of business correspondence 3 4. The locations of adverbials of English of business correspondence 4 5. The use of tense and aspect of English of business correspondence 5 6. The use of subjunctive mood of English of business correspondence 5 7. The extensive use of compound words of hereby category in English of business correspondence 6 8 The use of modal verb in English of business correspondence 7 9. The use of passive voice in English of business correspondence 7 10. Conclusion 7 Works cited 8 The Grammatical Features in English Business Correspondence Guangdong University of Foreign Studies 2007 Huangjin Tutor: Professor Guo Guihang 1. Introduction The English in business...
Words: 3242 - Pages: 13
...specialists named after Abdulla Avloniy Theme: Modal verbs in English GRADUATION PAPER Submitted by: Familiya va ism Scientific advisor: Familiya va ism TASHKENT 2012 Сontent Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….3 Chapter I. Functions of the modal verbs and their characteristics in the English language 1. Functions and types of the modal verbs……………………………. 2. Understanding the functions of modal verbs in English……………. 1.3. Morphology and syntax of modal verbs………………………………… Chapter II. Methods of teaching modal verbs to schoolchildren 2.1. The difficulties in teaching modal verbs 2.2 Different types of utilization of the English modal verbs 2.3. Context use of the modal verbs 2.4. Range of forms of the modal verbs in English Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… The list of used literature……………………………………………………… Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….......?? The list of the used literature…………………………..................................?? Introduction Modal verbs are the types of verbs which gives specific meaning to the main verb added and it is used to define and describe different situations expressed in the sentence. There are different types of modal verbs which can be conjugated in...
Words: 8632 - Pages: 35
...The modal verbs are:- CAN / COULD / MAY / MIGHT / MUST / SHALL / SHOULD / OUGHT TO / WILL / WOULD Modal | Example | Uses | Can | They can control their own budgets. We can’t fix it. Can I smoke here? Can you help me? | Ability / Possibility Inability / Impossibility Asking for permission Request | Could | Could I borrow your dictionary? Could you say it again more slowly? We could try to fix it ourselves. I think we could have another Gulf War. He gave up his old job so he could work for us. | Asking for permission. Request Suggestion Future possibility Ability in the past | May | May I have another cup of coffee? China may become a major economic power. | Asking for permission Future possibility | Might | We'd better phone tomorrow, they might be eating their dinner now. They might give us a 10% discount. | Present possibilityFuture possibility | Must | We must say good-bye now. They mustn’t disrupt the work more than necessary. | Necessity / Obligation Prohibition | Ought to | We ought to employ a professional writer. | Saying what’s right or correct | Shall (More common in the UK than the US) | Shall I help you with your luggage? Shall we say 2.30 then? Shall I do that or will you? | Offer Suggestion Asking what to do | Should | We should sort out this problem at once. I think we should check everything again. Profits should increase next year. | Saying what’s right or correct Recommending action Uncertain prediction | Will | I can’t see...
Words: 359 - Pages: 2
...winter-spring 6. Thematic group: time 7. Polysemy :earth 8. Unusual collocations Contrast: 9. Parallel constructions (+sentences with and without them) 10. Words with negative connotation 11. Tenses 12. Antonyms: traitors-heroes 13. Symbols: life-death, winter-spring 14. Thematic group: time 15. Polysemy :earth 16. Unusual collocations Ernest Hemingway Rhythm is expressed by: 1. Choice of images 2. Choice of words 3. Thoughts 4. Parallel constructions 5. Repetition of – key words (death, earth) * modal verbs Rhythm is expressed by: 6. Choice of images 7. Choice of words 8. Thoughts 9. Parallel constructions 10. Repetition of – key words (death, earth) * modal verbs Categorical tone: 1. Modal verbs 2. Short declarative sentences 3. Repetition of words, structure, images, thoughts Categorical tone: 4. Modal verbs 5. Short declarative sentences 6. Repetition of words, structure, images, thoughts Specific composition: 1. Arguments 2. Shift of tenses 3. Growing hope (words, sentences, shift of tenses) 4. Contrast:- lexical (word-formation) * Stylistic (ever, never, always) 5....
Words: 283 - Pages: 2
...prefers the simple tenses) express"eternal"states or frequent events future actions Progressive Tenses (ongoing,happening right now) Verbs that express general states do not normally take progressive forms Keep Verb Tenses Consistent, However, some sentences with more than one action do The Perfect Tenses: require you If an action began in the past and continues into to switch VERB verb tenses. the present (or its effect TENSE does ), use the Present (Meaning) Perfect tense. If one action in the past precedes another, and need to clarify or emphasize the time sequence, then use the Past Perfect tense. In a more subtle example, you can use the Past Progressive to describe a background event , while you use Simple Past to describe a more important event in the foreground .(语 义不在一个层级) PRESENT PROGRESSIVE PAST PROGRESSIVE FUTURE PROGRESSIVE Still In Effect… PRESENT PERFECT= HAVE/HAS + Past Participle the Present Perfect indicates either continued action or continued effect of a completed action. only to clarify or emphasize a sequence of past events. BUT if the sequence is already obvious, we often do not need Past Perfect. The Earlier A sequence of verbs with the same subject does not require Past Perfect. Rather, use Action(also indicate the Simple Past for all the verbs. continued effect ) PAST Clauses linked by and or but do not require the Past Perfect as a general rule. PERFECT=HAD + Past Participle ...
Words: 1425 - Pages: 6
...been continuing up to a time in the past or was important at that time in the past: Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours. He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager. We use will with the perfect to show that something will be complete at some time in the future: In a few years they will have discovered a cure for the common cold. I can come out tonight. I'll have finished my homework by then. We use would with the perfect to refer to something that did not happen in the past but would have happened if the conditions had been right: If you had asked me I would have helped you. I would have helped you, but you didn’t ask me. You didn’t ask me or I would have helped you. We use other modals with perfective aspect when we are looking back from a point in time when something might have happened, should have happened or would have happened. The point of time may be in the future: We’ll meet again next week. We might have finished the work by then. I...
Words: 992 - Pages: 4
...use of 了 as a modal particle Grammar structures involving the use of 了 Perfective aspect particle 了 in a complex sentence in lieu of the word ‘after’ The use of 才 ⚑ 1. The use of particle 了 as the perfective aspect particle a. When to use 了 (or when not to use it) is considered by many learners to be the most confusing grammar point in Chinese. b. Although the presence of 了 in a sentence often indicates that the action has occurred, it is NOT equivalent to the past tense in English. c. The Chinese language does not have tenses; instead, it has aspects (a linguistic/grammar term), which indicate the stages of an action. d. 了 can appear immediately after a verb (must be an action verb, not a static or non-action verb) to indicate the action has taken place or has been completed. Therefore, it is usually referred to as the perfective aspect particle. e. A completed action can occur in the future, meaning the action will have taken place at a certain point in the future. f. When to use the perfective aspect particle 了： Use 了 immediately after the verb when the action already occurred (in a past time frame) AND when i ii iii there is a modifier or a number before the noun, or the noun refers to a person . (In this sense, and only in this sense, the function of 了 is similar to that of a past tense.) Yesterday I drank three bottles of beer, so my wife was upset. ii 昨天我喝了三瓶 啤酒，所以我太太很不高兴。 past time frame but no action, hence no 了 iii past time frame action verb a number ...
Words: 1107 - Pages: 5
...Lecture 6 DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR Verbal Parts Outline: I. Indo-European verb-system II.. OE Verb: 1) grammatical categories: a) Person & Number; b) Mood; c) Tense; d) Aspect; e) Voice; 2) morphological classification of OE Verbs: a) strong verbs; b) weak verbs; c) preterite-present; d) irregular; III. Verb in Middle and Early New English: 1) strong verbs 2) weak verbs 3) other classes 4) development of analytical constructions 5) categories IV. Adverb. Degrees of comparison. I. Indo-European verb-system. The verb in IE is one of the oldest parts of speech. Therefore the development of the verb in any IE languages can be understood only if the old IE verb-system and its peculiarities are taken into account. The IE verb-stem had the following structure: consonant-vowel-consonant. The sounding of the vowel in the root was dependent on the conditions of the stress falling upon it. This vowel-variation, termed Ablaut, was primarily a phonetic process in IE. In Germanic languages it was widely employed as a grammatical means. The root-vowel could either change its quality (qualitative Ablaut), or its quantity/length (quantitative Ablaut). Indo-European Ablaut: possible changes of sounding Qualitative gradation: Quantitative gradation: o – fully stressed vowel (full grade) ō – prolonged...
Words: 3212 - Pages: 13
...Parts of Speech Pengertian, Bentuk-bentuk dan Macam-macam Nouns Pengertian Nouns Nouns (kata benda atau nomina) adalah kata yang digunakan untuk menunjukkan nama orang, tempat, hal, benda mati/ hidup, kualitas, gagasan, dll. Noun merupakan salah satu bagian dari parts of speech yang merupakan salah satu elemen dalam grammar bahasa inggris (tata bahasa inggris). Bentuk-bentuk Nouns 1. Concrete Nouns Concrete nouns yaitu kata benda yang berwujud, dapat dilihat atau disentuh. Contohnya: gold, iron, table, chair, dog, cat, book, pencil, pen, car, etc. Contoh kalimat: I bought a new book. She washes her car every afternoon. He borrows my pencil. I really love this cat. The chair in my room is broken. 2. Abstract Nouns Abstract nouns yaitu kata benda yang tak dapat dilihat atau di sentuh. Contohnya: agreement, kindness, statement,honesty, complaint, etc. Contoh kalimat: Thank you for your kindness. His statement is very explicit We have new agreement with our client from Dubai. I appreciate your honesty, you are a loyal man. I have a complaint from my customer. Macam-macam Nouns 1. Proper Nouns (Kata Benda Nama Diri) Contohnya: Adam, Surabaya, Medan, New York, Miami, New Orleans, Detroit, etc. Contoh kalimat: I go to Surabaya twice a week. New York is a big city. I visit my grandmother in New Orleans today. She gives Adam a new car. They have lived in Detroit for 4 years. 2. Common Nouns (Kata Benda Umum) Contohnya: stone (batu), iron (besi), diamond (berlian), sand...
Words: 3247 - Pages: 13
...speech. Direct Speech / Quoted Speech Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted speech) Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for word. For example: She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations." or "Today's lesson is on presentations," she said. Indirect Speech / Reported Speech Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word. When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too. For example: Direct speech | Indirect speech | "I'm going to the cinema", he said. | He said he was going to the cinema. | Tense change As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on the left changes to the tense on the right): Direct speech | | Indirect speech | Present simple She said, "It's cold." | › | Past simple She said it was cold. | Present continuous She said, "I'm teaching English online." | › | Past continuous She said she was teaching English online. | Present perfect simple She said, "I've been on the web since 1999." | › | Past perfect simple She said she had been on the web since 1999. | Present perfect continuous ...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...Nouns Nouns - are simply the names we give to everything around us, whether it be a person, an event, a place or an object, etc. Every particular name used to define something is a noun. Examples are account, babies, cabbage, dad, ear, car, parents, cat, John and house. 1. The babies are so cute. 2. My ears are too small. Collective Noun - The names given to a group of noun to identify them as a whole. Examples are class of students, army of soldiers, choir of singers, crew of sailors, band of musicians, group of civilians, horde of zombies, flock of birds, group of mountains and group of mountain ranges. 1. A band of musicians have so many members. 2. The army of soldiers is very brave. Possessive Nouns - Nouns or pronouns can also modify themselves to show possession of another noun, usually by attaching’s’ to the end of the noun. Examples are John's school, John's car, Julian’s house, Sophia’s pencil, Faye’s book, Cat’s tuna, Elijah’s book, Joshua’s height, Sun’s ray and Worker’s fee. 1. John owns the school. 2. Sophia owns the pencil. Gender Of Nouns - Sometimes nouns have different forms for different genders, although this practice has been largely abandoned by the people who prefer to use the same noun for both genders. Masculine - a noun is said to be in the masculine gender if it refers to a male character or member of a species. Examples: actor, baron, boy, bachelor, groom, duke, son, prince, king and doctor. 1. ...
Words: 1953 - Pages: 8
...Longman English Grammar L G.Alexander Consultant- R A. Close, CBE Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England and Associated Companies throughout the world www longman com © Longman Group UK Limited 1988 All rights reserved, no part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers Distributed in the United States of America by Longman publishing, New York First published 1988 Twentieth impression 2003 BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA Alexander L G Longman English Grammar 1 English language - Text-books for foreign speakers 1 Title 428 2'4 PE1128 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA Alexander, L G Longman English Grammar/L G Alexander, consultant, R A Close p cm Includes index ISBN 0-582-55892-1 1 English language - Grammar - 1950- 2 English language Text-books for foreign speakers 1 Close, R A II Title PE1112A43 1988 428 2'4-dc19 87-22519 CIP Set in 8 on 9 1/2pt Linotron 202 Helvetica Printed in China SWTC/20 Louis Alexander was born in London in 1932 He was educated at Godalming Grammar School and London University He taught English in Germany (1954-56) and Greece (1956-65), where he was Head of the English Department of the Protypon Lykeion, Athens He was adviser to the Deutscher Volkshochschulverband...
Words: 162388 - Pages: 650
...They travel to their country house every weekend. 4. For things that are always / generally true. * It rains a lot in winter. * The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace. * They speak English at work. Verb Conjugation & Spelling We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person. Subject | Verb | The Rest of the sentence | I / you / we / they | speak / learn | English at home | he / she / it | speaks / learns | English at home | The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb: 1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person. * go – goes * catch – catches * wash – washes * kiss – kisses * fix – fixes * buzz – buzzes 2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES. * marry – marries * study – studies * carry – carries * worry – worries NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S. * play – plays * enjoy – enjoys * say – says Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Beand Modal...
Words: 1058 - Pages: 5
