MODAL VERBS 1: OBLIGATION, NECESSITY AND LACK OF NECESSITY.

What are modal verbs? They are auxiliary verbs that cannot be used as a main verb. They express modality, that is to say, they can express ability, possibility, necessity or another condition. As auxiliary verbs, they do not work without another verb. This other verb always goes after the model verb in the sentence and it is in the infinitive form (without “to”). They cannot be conjugated.

For Spanish speakers, this is really difficult since they do not have an exact translation into our language. They have a meaning, and sometimes it is very difficult to understand them.

In this post, I will try to summarise some modal verbs to express obligation, necessity and lack of necessity.

MUST/ MUSTN’T: we use it when:  

1. We decide for ourselves that something is necessary, obligatory or prohibited.

• For example: I must answer my emails.

2. We express strong opinions. 

• For example: We must meet more often.

3. We give instructions, especially in writing. 

•  For example: Mobiles phones must be switched off for take-off and landing.

HAVE TO/ NEED TO: we use them for an obligation, imposed by someone else

• For example: You have to say where you got the information from/ Yu need to write a report

We also use must, have to and need to to express general necessity.

• For example: We must try to talk to each other more/ We have to reduce our dependence on technology/ We need to take control of our lives.

Apart from expressing these meanings, must can also be used to give advice and recommendations and to make deductions in the present. We will see these meanings in next posts.

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to all my students that have passed their Trinity College London exams!

90% of them have achieved their objective: to have their certificate.

It has been a real pleasure teaching you during the course and I hope to see you on the next level!

ISE II (B2): Examples of the controlled written part of the exam

Here you have some examples of the controlled written part of your exams so you can have a look at them calmly. You only have to click in the following link and save the archive.

EXAMPLES OF CONTROLLED WRITTEN EXAMS

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

A lot of, many and much. Few and little.

In this post we are going to learn the difference between a lot of, lots of, many and much on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the difference between few and little since it is a very problematic topic for non native speakers of English. I hope my explanation is useful for you.

To speak about large quantities of something we use a lot of, lots of , many and much. All of them mean in Spanish "mucho". So, what's the difference between them? In teh following table you have it summarized:

 As you can see, there are two main differences:

1. A lot of and lots of can be used in affirmatives, interrogatives and negatives while many and many can only be used in negatives and questions

2. A lot of and lots of can be used with countable and uncountable nouns while many is used with countable nouns and much with uncountable nouns.

To speak about small quantities we use few and little and its variations: very few and very little, a few and a little.

The only differencee between these two words, as you can see in the table, is that few is used with countable nouns and little is used with uncountable nouns.

These are the general rules. However, we have to take into account the following notes:

1. We almost never use much and many in positive sentences, we almost always use a lot of or lots of. 

Example: I have much money. (Incorrect because the sentence is positive / affirmative) àI have a lot of money. (Correct)

2. With the word "times" we use many times more than a lot of times / lots of times. It sometimes means frequently or often. Example: That is my favourite book. I've read it many times. 

3. While few and little usually have positive meanings, very few and very little have negative meanings. 

Example: He is sad because he has very few friends. (Countable noun) 

                They have very little knowledge about politics. (Uncountable noun)

The superlative form in English

We use superlative adjectives to compare more than two things since they express the extreme or highest degree of a quality. Forming the superlative of an adjective is very similar to the comparative form but we only have one way of forming superlatives.

Generally, we use the or a possessive adjective before the superlative form.

Examples:
           Blue whales are the largest whales
           What was your best subject at school?

The rules for making superlative adjectives are almost identical to the rules for making comparative adjectives. They are:

        A. One syllable words: we add -est to the word. Remember that it is sometimes necessary to double the final consonant, specifically when the word ends in vowel + consonant.

       Examples are: strong to the strongest and big to the biggest.

       B. One syllable words ending with an -e: we only add -st like fine to the finest or rare to the rarest.
 
       C. Two syllable words ending with a -y: we change the -y to an -i and add -est. Two examples are crazy to the craziest and silly to the silliest.

       D. Two and three syllable words: we use most or least. Examples include most desirable and least expensive.

Finally, we also have to take into account that there are three forms that are irregular. In the following table you have them summarized:

Adjective	Superlative
good	the best
bad	the worst
far	the furthest / farthest

  

How do we compare adjectives in English?

We use comparative to compare things. For this, we use two structures, although the formation of comparatives depends basically on the number of syllables in the adjective.  

      1. As + adjective + as
      2. Adjective + than

In this post, we will revise these two structures and we will also learn how the number of syllables influences the formation of comparatives. Let’s see these two structures separately: 

       1. As…as: 

When comparing with as… as, the adjective that we use in the middle does not change. That is to say, we do not add anything and we do not have to take into account the number of syllables making this form of comparison the easiest one.

Examples:

         She's twice as old as her sister.

         He's not as stupid as he looks!

       2. Adjective + than

When comparing with than, some changes are necessary, depending on the number of syllables of the adjective.

         A. One syllable adjectives: we add –er to the adjective

             My sister is much taller than me.

             It's colder today than it was yesterday.

Note: If the word ends: consonant-vowel-consonant, then the last consonant is usually doubled in the comparative. Examples: big-bigger, fat-fatter, hot-hotter.

       B. Two syllable adjectives ending in -y: we change the -y to –i and then we add -er

            She's looking happier today. 

         This grammar topic is easier than the last one.

   C. Other two syllable adjectives and adjectives with three or more syllables: we use more with the unchanged adjective

          The shops are always more crowded just before Christmas. 

       Is there anything more boring than reading about grammar? 

Finally, we also have to take into account that there are three forms that are irregular. In the following table you have them summarized:

Adjective Comparative good better bad worse far further / farther