Grammatik im Kontext 7

Modal Verbs 1 Present and Future

Requests
can, could, may, might, will, would, Can you do some overtime next week as were going to be very busy? Could you fill in the application form and return it by Monday? May I ask whos calling please? Might I take a look at your newspaper? Will you tell the manager that Im waiting for him? Would you please send this letter by express post? Its urgent. - The use of might here is very formal

Offers
can, could, may, shall, will, would I can work your shift for you if you like. My father could help you with your homework. Hes a maths teacher. May I take your coat? Shall I give you a lift to the office as its raining? Ill take the letters. The Post Office is on my way. Would you like me to do that for you?

Suggestions
can, could, might, shall, should Can I make a proposal? We could commission a report on the subject. You might try asking John. He knows a lot about computers. Might I put forward another idea? Shall we postpone the meeting until tomorrow? We should leave in good time. - The use of might here is very formal

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Permission
can(t), could, may (not) All the staff can take the day off on Friday. You cant go in now. Mr Smith is busy. Could I take a day off on Friday? Only authorised personnel may enter the building site. You may not leave the exam room until told to do so.

Ability can, cant The new secretary can type at 45 words per minute. I cant swim.

Duty and advice

should(nt), ought (not) to You look exhausted. You should go to bed earlier. You shouldnt smoke so much. You ought to buy a new alarm clock. This one doesnt work. He ought not to treat her like that.

Obligation and necessity

have to, must (not), need to She has to wear protective clothing and a helmet on the building site. (obligation) Well have to hurry if we dont want to miss the train. (necessity) Visitors must report to reception as soon as they arrive. (obligation) I must do something about the garden its in a terrible state. (necessity) Both switches must be on before the machine will work. (necessity) Employees must not use the telephone for personal calls. (obligation/prohibition) He needs to work harder or hell get the sack.

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Absence of obligation or necessity (dont) have to, (dont) need to, neednt We dont have to work overtime if we dont want to but theres a very competitive atmosphere in the office so a lot of us do anyway. (absence of obligation) You dont need to pay all the money at once. You can pay in instalments. (absence of obligation) The company doesnt need to employ any new workers this month. (absence of obligation) You neednt finish the report until Friday. (absence of necessity) neednt and dont need to are interchangeable in the present form.

Deductions about the present

cant, must, will That cant be the new manager. I was told he was bald. Its Monday morning. There must be someone at the office. Listen, someones sounding a car horn outside. That will be the taxi.

Speculation / prediction (future)

may (not), might (not), shall (not), should (not), will / wont Several people may / might be made redundant as a result of the recession. She may not have time to attend the meeting. He might change his mind. Our team might not win. We shall know the results by the end of the week. I shant pass the exam; Ive done no revision at all. Shes very ambitious so she should do well in her job. We shouldnt be late. Theres not much traffic. The police are letting the traffic through: we wont be stuck here much longer. He will become Managing Director in the next round of promotions. What terrible service! We wont e back here in a hurry! In a few years from now the 35-hour working week should have become common practice.

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Grammar point 1
Two of the sentences below express similar meanings. Which ones? 1. Delia may have a lot of money, but she isnt happy. 2. I dont know if Delia has a lot of money or not, but I know she isnt happy. 3. Although Delia has a lot of money, she isnt happy. In sentences with a present time reference, the structure may (not) + verb , but ..... is another way to express although + present tense or even though + present tense verb. A. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. You must use between three and eight words, including the word given. 1. Although Joe is not easy to work with, hes an excellent salesman. but Joe .... hes an excellent salesman. 2. I appreciate good food although Im not much of a cook myself. may I may . I appreciate good food. 3. Although this product is expensive, it will last longer than other models on the market. durable This product .. than other models on the market. 4. He doesnt have the right to smoke in non-smoking areas even though hes the boss. that He .. give him the right to smoke in non-smoking areas. 5. Although she works in the office next to mine, we have very little contact with each other. adjoining We we have very little contact with each other.

Grammar point 2
1. What time periods do the words in bold below refer to the past, the present or the future? a. Jenny will sleep for at least 10 hours after shes been on night duty at the hospital. b. My boss will interrupt when Im giving a presentation at a meeting or a conference. c. All the computers are down, so we might as well let the staff go home early. 2. Which sentence shows that the speaker finds someone elses behaviour annoying? - will + verb can be used with a present meaning to describe a persons typical habits or behaviour. - will + verb can also be used with a present meaning to show that you find another persons behaviour irritating.

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- might or may as well + verb is used with a present meaning to show that you have a lack of alternative options and are not very enthusiastic about the suggestion you are making.

Grammar point 3
Match the beginnings of the sentences below with the ending (a or b). 1. Interest rates should rise over the next few months. 2. Interest rates will probably rise Over the next few months. a. in which case my loan will be even harder to pay back. b. in which case our savings will grow.

- The structure should + verb is usually used only to predict future events which the speaker sees as positive. - Other structures are chosen to predict events which the speaker sees as neutral or negative, for example: It will probably rain tomorrow. I expect it will rain tomorrow. Its likely to rain tomorrow.

B. Circle the appropriate verb to fill the gap below. If both are suitable, circle both. 1. Dont worry; the taxi will be . here any minute now. a. should be b. will probably be c. both 2. No planes in this fog. I think we . back to the hotel. a. should take of b. will take off c. both a. should go b. might as well go c. both 3. Pete endless cups of coffee when hes working. a. is forever drinking b. will drink c. both 4. They havent delivered the materials I need to finish the job, so I .. go home. a. may as well b. should c. both 5. Claire . Late for meetings. a. is always showing up b. will show up

c. both

6. My husband . in a very bad mood when he gets home from work. a. might as well be b. will often be c. both 7. Our transport costs . Substantially this year. a. will probably rise b. should rise c. both 8. Youve missed the last bus now, so you . the night and sleep on the sofa. a. will stay b. might as well stay c. both

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C. Read the whole text below, then complete it by writing an appropriate modal verb in each gap. In some cases, more than one modal verb may be suitable. The first one has been done as an example. (0) The days when employees used their firms internet system to send e-mails to friends or book holidays online (0) may / might / will soon be gone. New regulations mean that your employer (1) .. now read your e-mail and monitor which websites you have been visiting. They (2) .. also monitor and record your telephone calls. The regulations state that, in general, employees (3) . be informed that their e-mails and internet use (4) be monitored by their employer. However, employers (5) .. tell staff that monitoring is taking place if they suspect that an employee (6) .. be using the companys computer systems for unauthorised purposes, such as sending personal emails. Understandably, many employees are worried that monitoring (7) uncover personal information which they would prefer their bosses not to know. The most useful thing that concerned employees (8) do is to ask their employers to issue guidelines explaining how and why they (9) monitor email and internet use. If they refuse, you (10) assume that they (11) . be reading everything already. In that case, if you still feel you really (12) .. be online for your friends, while you are at work, you (13) think carefully about what you are doing. You (14) bring a laptop into work and use your own internet service provider although then you (15) .. get into trouble for wasting company time. Alternatively, you (16) .. as well accept the inevitable and stop using company computers for private use. You (17) always head for the local cybercaf at lunchtime instead of having a sandwich at your desk.

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Word formation: prefixes over and under

The prefixes over- and under- can be added to verbs, adjectives or, less frequently, nouns. Put the words below in the correct part of the chart, adding the prefix(es) that can be used. The first three have been done as examples. active age charge cut developed draw employed estimate graduate indulge nourished paid populated privileged qualified rated rule see sleep staffed take time tone view

over overactive . . .

under underage..... ...

both overcharge, undercharge. . .

Often the prefix over adds the meaning too much or to too great an extent and the prefix under adds the meaning too little or insufficiently, for example: So you mean to tell me that you only paid 100 for exactly the same watch as mine? I was obviously overcharged. I think the waiter must have undercharged me I paid much more for the same meal yesterday. Find words from the chart above to complete the collocations below. 0. an ..overpaid.. consultant 1. an ... city / area / region / country 2. .. members of society 3. .. children (from famine-stricken areas) 4. an imagination 5. drinking 6. (aid for) . countries

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Complete the gaps in the text with a word formed from the word given in the margin. All the words begin with over or under. The first one has been done as an example. Britain may be turning into a society of (0) .overtired. parents and (1) . children who lack the stimulus afforded by social contact with other family members. In the early 1990s, it was widely forecast that, by the turn of the century, large numbers of working people would be involved in family friendly options such as job-sharing or working from home. As it turned out, the numbers were greatly (2) . . A recent survey shows ESTIMATE that only one in fifty people is involved in job-sharing and less than one in four companies allow employees to work from home. What pundits did not foresee was the explosion in (3) working caused by the advent of the 24-hour society. A recent report (4) . this fact: almost a quarter of British employees now work at some point between 6pm and 6am, and sixty one percent of working families have one or other parent away from home during early mornings, evenings, nights or weekends. The charity which sponsored the report fears that this situation is (5) . family life in Britain and creating an (6) ... of children who are passed like batons in a relay race between shift-working parents, or even left unattended for long periods. In the past, most shift-work was in the manufacturing industry where workers earned (7) .. for working unsocial hours. However, the biggest increase in late-working in the past five years has come from the retail sector, where staff are rarely paid a premium for night work. As work of this type is typically (8) , it is difficult for staff to afford the necessary childcare while they work nights. Even administrative staff and managerial staff are now frequently expected to (9) . night work. Many would prefer not to, but fear that if they refuse, they will be deliberately (10) when it comes to time for a promotion or a salary review. LOOK PAY TIME MINE CLASS NIGHT SCORE TIRE ACHIEVE

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Adjectives and that clauses

Many adjectives can be followed by that clauses. They follow two possible patterns: 1. I am / we / they are + adjective + that clause Im amazed that he didnt take up the job offer. 2. It is / I find it / It seems / I think its + adjective + that clause I find it amazing that he didnt take up the job offer. All the adjectives below can be followed by that clauses. Put each adjective in the correct part of the chart. Five have been done as examples. Only two of the adjectives in the list can go in more than one part of the chart. adamant advisable anomalous apparent certain concerned convinced curious essential evident grateful imperative obvious peculiar possible positive sad vital

Adjectives Degrees of certainty

Pattern 1 certain, ... ...

Pattern 2 apparent, certain anomalous, .. . . advisable, . . .

Personal reactions or evaluating events or situations Degrees of certainty

adamant, ... . .. x

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. You must use between three and eight words, including the word given. 1. His reaction to the news was odd. peculiar I found like that to the news. 2. You must have the monthly sales report ready first thing tomorrow morning. essential It ..... be read first thing tomorrow morning.

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3. Pats eagerness to take on this project astonishes me so Im to take on this project. 4. This information must not be leaked to anyone before the press conference. confidential It is vital ... until the press conference. 5. I tried to persuade John to accept the promotion but he refuses to change his mind. adamant Timothy ... be promoted.

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Revision: present tense

Complete the sentences with the correct present tense form of the verb in brackets. 1. Dont disturb him at the moment he (think) about a problem at work. 2. I used to enjoy chatting to Jane, but these days she . forever complain) about something or other. 3. I .. (suspect) that my daughters new friends (have) a bad effect on her schoolwork. 4. We (have) Salmon for lunch, but I (presume) you (not want) any, Tom, since you .. (detest) fish. 5. And while were on the subject of mistakes, I (recall) you telling me that it would only take me ten minutes to get there, and I arrived an hour late. 6. A: He always . (wear) jeans and a T-shirt. Even when he (entertain) clients. B: Well he is the boss, he can do what he .. (want). A: True, but what ..(annoy) me is that his T-shirt (always come out of) his trousers so he . (continually tuck) it back in. 7. A: What on earth .. (you do)? B: I . (smell) the meat. I think it might be off. A: Let me try. No, I . (not think) so. It (smell) fine to me. 8. A: Dont interrupt me, dear. You ..... (always interrupt) when I.. (talk) to my friends. Its very impolite. B: It . (not matter). She .(seem) to me to be a very well-behaved child. 9. A: Look! .. (you see) that couple at that table over there? B: Yes, its Steve and Gloria. A: Surely they . (not see) each other again? I heard that they split up. B: Well judging by the way they .. (look) at each other, they (appear) to be back together again.