MODAL VERBS 101 | Baamboozle - Baamboozle | The Most Fun Classroom Games!

English 20 Public

Basic rules and uses for modal verbs

Study Slideshow

Name as many MODAL VERBS as you CAN

1CAN 2COULD 3MAY 4MIGHT 5MUST 6HAVE TO 7 OUGHT TO 8SHALL 9SHOULD 10WOULD 11 WILL

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FACT ABOUT MODAL VERBS: Shall, ought to and may aren't very popular nowadays. True or false?

TRUE. The use of these 3 modal verbs has dropped dramatically in the last 40 years. Curious fact: they all are rather formal

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SHALL is only used with "We" and "I". True or false?

True. It's often used to make an offer.

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A MV sometimes requires another verb. True or false?

FALSE! A MODal verb MODifies another verb. So you ALWAYS need a MV + Verb. (I SHOULD DRINK more water).

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MV conjugations are tough to learn. True or false?

FALSE! There are no conjugations for MV. No musting, no canning, no woulding ;)

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Form the negative by simply adding NOT. True or false?

TRUE! You must NOT forget this! No, you CAN'T! (You can also use the contraction)

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Questions with MV use the "inversion". You put the modal at the the front. True or false?

True: CAN you believe this? ;)

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They are always followed by the bare infinitive ("play": not "to play")

Yes... but not exactly! Remember we have a couple of exceptions "OUGHT TO" AND "HAVE TO"

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We can use 2 MV together to make a sentence. True or false?

FAAALSE! Never ever ever 1MV + 1V (I MIGHT EAT pizza this evening)

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SHOULD and OUGHT TO have the same meaning

Yes... but not exactly. "Ought to" is a bit more formal. Perfect for your essays, reports and letters of application.

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HAVE TO and MUST have the exact same use. True or false?

False. When expressing obligation, "MUST" is used exclusively in the present tense, for self-imposed obligations and laws/rules.

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Is this sentence correct? I must leave the hotel room by noon.

Yes! When speaking about RULES, you ought to use "must".

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Can you come up with a rephrasing for "You mustn't park here".

Parking here is forbidden. You are not allowed to park here.

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"SHOULD + HAVE + PARTICIPLE" expresses regret or critisism. True or false?

YES! You should have listened to me, I told you so... ;)

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The "d" in the following sentence stands for "would": YOU'D BETTER!

Nope! It's YOU HAD BETTER (més et val). Very informal and rather threatening!

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MAY, MIGHT AND COULD can be used to express doubt and uncertainty.

Yes! You might be a good student after all ;)

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