dummy it / modals

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Today:

dummy it 

modals (recap)

Test in test-week P2:

reading: please bring dictionary E-D

EIM: unit 5,6,7 and 8; voca (D-E and E-D) (vocabulary bank) and grammar

Grammar:

Modals

Dummy it

Past Simple versus Past Perfect

Past Perfect Passive versus Past Perfect Continuous

Future Continuous versus Future Perfect

Conditional Clauses (not the mixed conditionals)

When is a
past perfect passive used?

Why do we use passives?

Academic/formal writing

To change the focus

When who or what causes the action is unknown or unimportant or obvious or 'people in general'

Ex. The police arrested him - He was arrested (by the police)

Past Perfect (passive)

How: had + past participle 

When: an event took place in the past before another past event 

Passive: had been + past participle 

past perfect: 

The police had never arrested me before I went to that party        

past perfect passive:

I had never been arrested before I went to that party           

Standard English word order building blocks:

Subject

Object

Verb

'dummy it' / empty subject 

It takes Mike thirty minutes to get home 

It is difficult to wake up early / [to wake up early] is difficult / waking up early is difficult

There are three kinds of chocolate 

there is a burning building over there 

Rewrite using a dummy it
Being kind to people is fun.

Dummy it

doesn't always refer to something: e.g. it is nice to meet you

common structures:

it + be + adjective + (to) infinitive

it + verb + (to) infinitive

Modal verbs

Modals

Should 

Could  / can / cannot

Would  / will / won't 

Must

Might

May

Pick which is true

1. he/she [verb] + s applies to modals just like all other verbs
2. The modal is the main verb in every sentence
3. The meaning of modals is irrelevant
4. Modals only change for past/present and affirming/negating

Modal verbs

They never change their form. You can't add "s", "ed", "ing"...

They allow speakers to express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability

present tense: modal + infinitive (without "to")

e.g. I can run fast

past tense: modal + have + past participle, had

 can --> could, will --> would

e.g. He must have been rich, 

he must leave --> he had to leave

Can / could

Shall / Should

May

Will / would

Might

must

to talk about a skill or ability

For obligation

to ask for and give permission (or not)

to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did

To talk about a possible future event

To talk about a certain event in the future 

For advice

We have not been invited to the party, so I think we [modal] go

The book is wonderful, you really [modal] read it

Modal verbs:

can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must

They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. They have a great variety of communicative functions.

SB:p 63 & WB:p 50

Any Final Questions?