Imperatives, Modals and Conditionals

Modal Auxiliaries

A major way that English speakers encode their attitudes is through a set of auxiliary verbs called the modal auxiliaries (modal is an adjective derived from the noun mood).  Modals are used in other Germanic languages, but are actually somewhat rare in world languages.  In many languages, these ideas are carried by verbs that are conjugated just as other action verbs are conjugated.  Non-native speakers may well have difficulty with the English forms.

Activity 7.3: Exploring Modals

Read each sentence carefully.  Then select the letter of the sentence which has the same meaning.

Click on your selection. Correct answers will turn green, errors will turn red. After making your selections, go to the discussion in Moodle and explain why the particular answer for each sentence is correct. (Why is the correct answer correct? Why is the wrong answer wrong?)

Discussion Question: Compare your answers with another student.  Did you agree on the best synonym for each sentence?  Explain orally why you rejected the other options.  Make a list here of the various attitudes that are tied up into the modal auxiliaries:

Imperatives, Modals and Conditionals - Page 4