Modal Verbs

S3 Grammar: Modals
Name: _____________________ Class & Class no.: _____________
Modals
Use Form Examples
must (strong), The governing bodies of individual

have to (x sports must decide who is eligible.
Obligation
modal verb) Everyone has to register their
name and address in order to vote.
mustn’t/can’t You mustn’t take off your mask
when you are present in a public
Prohibition place.
You can’t leave your hotel room
before you quarantine ends.
should, ought You shouldn’t speak to your mother
Suggestion (moral to like that!
obligation) You ought to take care of your
children.
need to, must, That poor fish — the tank really
Necessity/ Lack of have to needs cleaning.
necessity You needn’t put the air-conditioner
on.
can, could, We can try that new restaurant next
Suggestion (advice, would, might week.
recommendation) It would be a good idea to watch a
movie this weekend.
can, will, Can you speak up, please?
would, could Would you lend me your
Request membership card, please?
can, can’t, She can speak French, but she

could, couldn’t can’t speak English.
Ability/lack of ability Mozart could play the piano at five.
Can, may New research suggests that adding

(academic), a Pfizer or BioNTech booster shot
Possibility could, might, may yield greater protection.
may
can’t, could, You must be tired after the quiz.
must, may, He can’t be the senior doctor, he’s
Speculation might far too young.
1
S3 Grammar: Modals
Use Form Examples
Obligation must (strong),

have to (x
modal verb)
Prohibition mustn’t/can’t
Suggestion (moral should, ought

obligation) to
Necessity/ Lack of need to, must,

necessity have to
Suggestion (advice, can, could,

recommendation) would, might
Request can, will,

would, could
Ability/lack of ability can, can’t,

could, couldn’t
Possibility Can, may

(academic),
could, might,
may
Speculation can’t, could,

must, may,
might
2
S3 Grammar: Modals
1. Predict the missing words and justify your predictions.

2. Listen to the poem and fill in the missing words.
The Road Not Taken

BY RO BERT F RO ST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Question for thoughts
3
S3 Grammar: Modals
1. What is the speaker in the poem doing?
2. What does the speaker encounter?
3. What decision does the speaker have to make in the poem?
4. Infer the season. How do you know?
5. Describe the conflict the speaker feels.
6. Explain why the reader doubts he’ll ever come back to travel the first road.
7. Analyze the last stanza. What does the speaker mean by ―Somewhere ages
and ages
hence”?
8. Formulate an idea of what you think the road may represent. Explain why you
think
that.
9. Propose a reason for the ―sigh” the speaker has at the end of the poem. What
are
some of the reasons he may be sighing? Explain your answer.
10. Propose a meaning for the line ―that has made all the difference.ǁ What are
some of
other meanings of that line?
11. Which interpretation do you prefer? Why?
Answers
1. He is walking down a road in a forest.
4
S3 Grammar: Modals
2. A fork in the road.

3. He has to decide which road to travel down.
4. It is probably in the fall because he says there are yellow leaves on the road –
leaves turn yellow in the
fall.
5. He can’t travel down both roads and wants to. He has to make a decision about
which road to take, so
he feels anxiety about making the right decision.
6. One road will lead to another and he’ll have traveled on so far that it will be too
difficult to come back
to the first road.
7. The speaker is imagining that at some time in the distant future, he’ll be telling this
story about the
roads and the decision.
8. Answers may vary. Sample student answer: The road could mean choices the
speaker has to make in
life. One decision leads to another and you never really know how it’s all going to
turn out until you are at ―the end of the road” or at the end of your life looking back.
9. Answers may vary. Sample student answer: The speaker may be sighing with
regret because he
made a poor choice; the speaker may be sighing with relief that he made a good
choice. The sigh can
be a positive thing or a negative thing. The reader doesn’t really know.
10. Answers may vary. Sample student answer: It could mean that by choosing that
road, he had a great
life and it was a good decision. It could mean making that choice was the turning
point in his life and
maybe it wasn’t such a good decision. He really won’t know until he finishes his life.
11. Answers will vary.

Modal Verbs

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S3 Grammar: Modals

Name: _____________________ Class & Class no.: _____________

Use Form Examples

must (strong), The governing bodies of individual

can, can’t, She can speak French, but she

Can, may New research suggests that adding

Use Form Examples

Obligation must (strong),

Suggestion (moral should, ought

Necessity/ Lack of need to, must,

Suggestion (advice, can, could,

Request can, will,

Ability/lack of ability can, can’t,

Possibility Can, may

Speculation can’t, could,

1. Predict the missing words and justify your predictions.

The Road Not Taken

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And both that morning equally lay

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Question for thoughts

1. What is the speaker in the poem doing?

2. What does the speaker encounter?

3. What decision does the speaker have to make in the poem?

4. Infer the season. How do you know?

5. Describe the conflict the speaker feels.

11. Which interpretation do you prefer? Why?

2. A fork in the road.

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Name: _________ Class & Class no.: _