silent_sam
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silent_sam's Blog
November 30, 2007
Hello everyone,
Many students on this site have asked me to talk about “Modals”
Students are confused and don’t know how to use modals at first. Well I guess we will have to do a series on Modals to help you relax and use them with confidence. J
First, you need to know why we use modals in English …
Modals let us know the feeling, attitude or mood of the speaker. They help us understand the deeper meaning of a sentence even if we don’t hear the other person’s voice.
This is a list of modals in English:
May, Might, Should, Ought to, Had better, Be supposed to, Must, Have to, have got to, Will, Be going to, Can, Could, Be able to, Would, Used to
Now you should remember that each modal can have more than one meaning.
We will start with May:
1) “May” can be used as a polite request: this form is very polite and not used in day to day conversation very much … but it is good to know ;)
May I borrow your pen?
May I ask you name?
2) “May” can also be used to talk about certainty (when you are sure about something). When we use “may” in a sentence it mean 50% sure. Also remember Might has the same meaning … look at these examples:
John may be in the library.
(This means I am not sure if John is in the library or not. There is a 50% chance he is there)
Sarah might call you tonight.
(This means there is a 50% chance of a Phone call)
Kiyoko might visit Beijing next summer.
Kumar may be at home.
Ok this is the end of part one on modals. Hope this is helpful and I will post part two in a few days.
Have fun learning
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02:05 PM Mar 16 2008 |
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More entries: Modals Part 1 (6), Hear and Listen (7), Short travel log, See Look Watch (10), Some idioms (6), A late response (1), Apology (1), Traditions (4), Email requests (5), Blog 5 - Goodbye slang (5)