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Modals of Necessity and Suggestion

The document discusses different modal verbs used to express necessity, obligation, and suggestion in English. Modals of necessity include must, have to, and need to which show something is required rather than optional. Modals of suggestion are should, ought to, and had better. Should is the most common way to suggest doing something. Had better implies there will be consequences if the advice is not followed. Ought to suggests an action could be good but is not commonly used.

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Mujahed Brijieah
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315 views6 pages

Modals of Necessity and Suggestion

The document discusses different modal verbs used to express necessity, obligation, and suggestion in English. Modals of necessity include must, have to, and need to which show something is required rather than optional. Modals of suggestion are should, ought to, and had better. Should is the most common way to suggest doing something. Had better implies there will be consequences if the advice is not followed. Ought to suggests an action could be good but is not commonly used.

Uploaded by

Mujahed Brijieah
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Modals of Necessity and

suggestion
Modals of Necessity
Let's read about how to express necessity or obligation. The modal verbs “must,” “have
to” and “need to” show that something is not optional; it is necessary.
Must is the strongest and most serious modal verb of the three and is most common in
writing. It is unusual to use “must” in questions.
Examples:
You must bring your student ID with you when you have a final exam.
You must stop at a red light.
You mustn’t make any noise at the library.
Have to / need to
Rule: have to or need to + base form
We use have to to talk about obligation and necessity (you can’t say no).
Example: I have to work today.
I need to finish my work before midnight.
Modals of Suggestion
Should
Using the modal of advice should is the most common way to suggest something to someone in
English. The pattern is should + base verb. The negative form, should not, often gets contracted to
shouldn’t.

● You should tell your boss about the report.


● They should start getting ready to go because the bus leaves at 4:00.
● She shouldn’t smoke outside because people are eating on the patio nearby.
Ought to

Ought to is a modal expression that is not commonly used. However, it has a similar
meaning to should. It means that it could be a good thing to perform the activity referred
to by the following verb:

Examples:

She ought to be kinder to her sister.

You ought to show your report card to your parents.


Had Better

Had Better
Use had better + base verb to make a stronger suggestion than should. This modal of advice is used when
someone thinks the other person really should follow the suggestion, implying that there will be more
serious consequences if the advice isn’t taken.

Had better is a modal expression that is often contracted to ’d better. The negative form, had better not, is
also often contracted to ’d better not.

● We had better let someone know about the problem.


● He’d better study for the test because he’s failing the class.
● I’d better not eat another cookie because it will ruin my dinner.

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