WOULD
Form a sentence using “would” to make a polite request or offer
Example: “Would you mind opening the window?”
Form a sentence using “could” to express past ability
Example: “My grandfather could fix any engine when he was young ”
Form a sentence using “have to” to express obligation
Example: “The flight leaves early, so I have to wake up at 5 a.m.”
Name three of the six basic meanings that modal verbs can express.
Modal verbs can express ability, possibility, permission, obligation, advice and necessity
Form a sentence using “would” to describe a repeated habit or routine in the past
Example: “Every summer, we would visit our grandparents' farm.”
Form a sentence using “could” to make a polite request
Example: “Could you hand me that book, please?”
Form a sentence using “have to” in the negative to express absence of obligation.
Example: “You don't have to bring anything, we already have plenty of food.”
What two grammatical behaviors do all modal verbs share regarding negation and questions?
They are invariant auxiliaries that precede the negative particle “not” in negation and precede the subject in yes/no questions
"If I won the lottery, I would buy a house by the beach” What specific use of would is this?
Habitual predictive would, hypothetical situation
How does “The keys could be in the car right now” differ from “The keys could have been in the car yesterday”?
Both express possibility
The difference is the time reference, formed by the structure: could + be for present possibility, could + have been for past possibility.
Is “have to” a central modal or a semi-modal? Justify
Semi-modal. It inflects for tense and agreement (has to / had to) and needs “do” to form negatives and questions
What immediately follows a modal verb in a verb phrase?
A modal is followed by a bare infinitive of the main verb
“I would take the job if the salary were better” is deontic or epistemic?
Deontic: obligation or duty enforced by rules
Epistemic: logical necessity or deduction from evidence.
E
1- “The lights were off. They couldn't have been home.”
2- “I couldn't finish the exam in time.”
Explain the difference
1- Negative deduction about the past
2- Specific action that was not completed
"Have to" can substitute "must" in past constructions, why? account for the grammatical gap
"Must" has no past-tense form, so it needs a substitute to express past obligation. "Have to" fills that gap through its inflected past form "had to"
What separates central modals from semi-modals grammatically?
Central modals: invariant, no inflection. Precede the subject directly in quest/neg.
Semi-modals: take inflections for tense, agreement, and -ing. Need “do” to form quest/neg.
Difference between would expressing intention and would expressing insistence
Intention: most common, neutral form of volition, often blended with prediction
Insistence: rare, strong form of volition that implies willfulness and usually carries a critical or exasperated tone
Explain two uses of could that do not require past-time reference.
Possibility: could can describe something possible right now, not just in the past
Polite requests: could is used to soften a present-tense request or ask for permission in the moment
Use "have to" to make an ambiguous sentence based on the meanings mentioned
Ex: “I have to leave by six”
Obligation: someone else set a rule
Necessity: the situation itself demands it
Define deontic, epistemic, and root modalities
Give one example for each
Deontic: obligation, necessity, or duty enforced by rules or laws
Epistemic: logical necessity or strong deduction based on evidence
Root: control, ability, and circumstances that involve agency