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2.5.3: Modal Verb Form Errors Analysis and Structure Exercise

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    122027
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    Modal Verb Form Errors Analysis and Structure Exercise

    Exercise 38:  Make all necessary corrections in verb forms in the sentences, please.

    1. He musts goes to the doctor for the cut on his head.

    2.  We will going to the movie tonight with our friends.

    3.  I can't not go with you this evening to your brother's house.

    4.  Children should not be play with matches.

    5.  We was able to fix the flat tire on our car yesterday.

    6.  My big brother could ate a lot of food when he were a boy.

    7.  Tonight we are going to play Nintendo, and then we will be watch a video movie.

    8.  He might not sees the spider on his shirt.

    9.  I could be played football when I was a young man.

    10.  It may raining tonight.

    11.  His sister must goes to school every day next week.

    12.  The boys and their father would worked on the farm all day when they was younger.

    13.  He oughts to learns to fixes his car by himself in order to save some money.

    14.  We had to do a lot of homework tomorrow evening.

    15.  The company told the employees that they would be work overtime next week.

    16.  The boys is going to working on their homework later this evening.

    17.  He have to finishes his homework before he can goes to the party with his friends.

    18.  He must finishes his composition before he cans goes outside to play.

    19.  They will be study for their exam this weekend.

    20.  He must always eats all the food on his plate before he can leaves the table.

    21.  He should has finished his homework by now.

    Modal and Quasi-Modal Verbs

    Can                            Ability to do something         Present or future

    To be able to                    I can drive a car.
    (am, is, are)              
                                             My wife is able to drive a car.
    __________                        ____________________                      _______________

    Will / Won't (Will not)          Future action                          Future

    To be going to           I will help you clean your apartment.
    (am, is, are)              
    (gonna)                     We are going to study tonight.

                                      Will = Volunteer / Promise
                                      Going to = Plans
    __________               _________________________    ________________

    Used to                     Past situations; no longer exist;   Past
    (useta)                      used by native speakers to
                                      introduce repeated situations
                                        in the past

                                      I used to live in Massachusetts.                          

                                      I used to travel a lot.
    __________                _________________________      ______________

    Would                       Repeated actions in the past        Past                        

                  I used to live with my parents. I would eat my mother's food every day.
                  I would go fishing with my father. I would attend school every day.

    __________               _________________________      ______________ 

    Could                         Ability to do something         Past ability

    To be able to               For a single event in the past,
    (was, were)
                    use was/were able to; for repeated
                                        past events, use could.

                  When I went to Victoria, I was able to visit Butchart Gardens.            

                  When I was a boy, I could play baseball every day.

      

    Would / Could          Polite requests                          Present or future 

                         Would you open the window for me?                   

                         Could you come at 3:00 instead of 4:00, please?

    _____________         _________________________      ______________

    Would rather ... than          Preference                                   Present or future
           'd rather ... than             
                                               I'd rather eat chicken than beef.
    Would rather not do           She'd rather not study tonight.

    ____________                       __________________________    _______________

    May                           Permission                                      Present or future
                                      Possibility (50/50 chance)

                                     You may drink coffee in class. I
                                     give you permission.

                                     It may be sunny next week. It's possible.

    _____________           _________________________             ______________

    Might                         Possibility (50/50 chance)             Present or future

                                        We might go to a movie next Friday.
                                      It's a possibility. Maybe we will and
                                      maybe we won't.

    _____________           _________________________              _______________

    Should                        Obligation, desirability,              Present or future
    Ought to
                        expectation
    (ordda)
                  

                                You should stop smoking in order to
                                keep your lungs in good condition. -- obligation                          

                                You should teach your children to speak
                                your native language.  -- desirability                           

                                When you go to Disneyland, you should
                                have a good time. -- expectation

                                You ought to wash your hands before
                                you eat food. -- desirability

           Should and Ought to have exactly the same meaning.  Both are used equally.  However, native speakers tend to use should in writing and ought to in speaking.

    Had better                Strong obligation or desirability         Present or future
    Had better not

    (‘d better or better)  You had better study for the test.                  

                                     You had better not drink and drive.

    ___________             _____________________________            _____________

    To be supposed to    Obligation or plan of action                Present, past, or
    (am, is, are)
                                                                             future
    (was, were)
                 You are supposed to do your homework
                                    every night or you will get into trouble with
                                    the teacher.

                                    We were supposed to eat in a restaurant
                                    last Friday evening, but we decided not to.

    ___________             _____________________________            _____________

    To be to be             Obligation or plan of action                Present, past, or
    (am, is, are) to be
                                                                  future

                                       You are to be in class at 9:00 a.m. daily.
    To be to do
    (am, is, are) to do
        You were to skip lines on the composition you wrote last night.

                                     The mechanic is to repair my car tomorrow.

    _____________          _____________________________            _____________

    Must                   Conclusion, probability, inference            Present or future                    

                              You come from Viet Nam, so you must speak Vietnamese.

                              He hasn't eaten all day long, so he must be very hungry.

                              She's only 16 years old and she drives a Porche. Her father
                              must have a lot of money.

    ____________      ______________________________              _____________

    Must                   Absolute obligation or necessity         Present and future
    Have to
    (hafta)
                    You must put gas in your car if you want to drive it.

    Has to
    (hasta)                You have to take care of babies all the time.

                                He has to change the oil in his car on Saturda

                         My sons have to clean their rooms whenever they live at home.

    Have/Has Got to       Absolute obligation or necessity         Present or Future
    (‘ve godda
    or ‘ve gotta)
    (s’ godda
    or ‘s gotta)

                                I have got to correct a lot of homework papers tonight.

                              We have got to clean the house before our guests come.

                              My sister has got to take medicine three times a day. 

    _________        _______________________________     ____________

    Had to                Obligation or necessity in the past            Past of must and
    (hadda)                                                                                    have to

                              He had to take his daughter to the hospital
                              last night because she had a high fever.

                              He had to change the flat tire on his car last night.

                              I had to write this handout for my students.

    _________          _______________________________             ____________

    Must not             Negative conclusion or prohibition           Present or future
    (musent)

                             You must not drink and drive.

                     You must not use bad language in class.

                             The girl won't eat. She must not be hungry.

                             Children must not play with matches and knives.

    __________        _______________________________             ____________

    Not have to        No obligation or necessity at all             Present, past, or
    (not hafta)                                                                            future

                              You don't have to come to school on Saturday.

                              When you lived with your mother, you didn't have to cook.

                              You won't have to do any homework during vacation.

                              I didn’t have to work when I was a young boy.                   

                              I won’t have to come to college during the summer.


    This page titled 2.5.3: Modal Verb Form Errors Analysis and Structure Exercise is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Don Bissonnette.

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