1 | MCO MODULE--ST

UNIT 11 : AUXILIARY VERBS / MODALS

 Not all verbs express action.
 Verbs that do not express action are either verbs or auxiliary verbs
 An auxiliary verb is a helping verb.
 It is always before a verb
 She has done her work.
 It regulates the tense of its sentence.
 We could see the sun rising in the east ( past tense )
 Common auxiliary verbs :
am , are , be ,can , could , had , has , have ,is , may
might, must , shall, should ,was , were, will , would

Modals Functions/Usage Examples

1. To express the ability of a Most birds can fly except

living or non-living thing penguin.
Can
To give or refuse permission They can have breakfast
now

You cannot tell her the

secret.

To make a request Can you help me carry this

table?

Could
To express possibility Mother could have waited
for us

2. To express possibility I may buy a present for

Linda

We might go for a picnic

May/might
today
To give or ask permission
May I borrow your car?
You may leave now.

 Modals or auxiliary verbs are used with another verb to express possibility, permission,
obligation, determination, refusal, etc. Can, could, will, would, must,
 might, may, shall, should are all termed ‘modals’.
 Modals Functions/Usage Examples

Will you please open the door?

Would you please open the door?
Will, Would To ask for assistance
Could you please carry the table?
Could, can To ask polite questions
Can you please carry the table?

Have to,
I have to study tonight
Must To express necessity
She must go to the clinic today.
need

Should, You are tired, you should take a rest.

To express advice
Ought to Your dress is dirty, you ought to wash it.

EXERCISE 1

Read these sentences

1 I am going jungle trekking tomorrow.

2 The boys are camping beside the river.

3 He will be cutting the grass on Sunday.

4 Old newspapers can be recycled.

5 We could see the rainbow after the rain.

6 The workers had cleaned the drains last week.

7 The strong wind has blown the dried leaves away.

8 The flood victims have gone back to their houses.

9 We must keep our school clean.

10 The flowers were planted all along the garden path.

EXERCISE 2

Fill in the blanks with the correct verbs given in the box.

does can are is am have has was had do were did

1 This man working as a lawyer in the same firm where my father works.

2 My father a bad cold last week.

3 Carter and Jack meeting n Kuala Lumpur next week.

4 Dashima all the cooking at home.

5 My father and mother gone out for a wedding dinner.

6 They always their homework together.

7 I always on time because punctuality is a good habit.

8 That boy caught cheating during the test last Monday.

9 They having a picnic by the seaside today.

10 Azlina the ironing and cleaning yesterday morning.

11 My father taking my brother to the dentist. They will be back in an

hour.

12 The new laws protect the wildlife from illegal hunters.

EXERCISE 3

Fill in the blanks with can, cannot, may or may not to make meaningful sentences.

1. Too much rain.......................cause floods in low-lying areas.

2. It is too noisy that we................................hear the announcements.

3. He is very angry that he.........................join us for dinner.

4. “Do you think you....................keep a secret?” asked Fatimah.

5. It is already 3.00pm. He.......................come for the lesson.

6. The camel............................travel for days without drinking water.

7. You..............write to us at this address or send an email.

8. She must stay in the hospital. The doctor says she.......................have dengue.

9. I am afraid I.........................make any changes because the date of the competition

has been fixed.

10. Pak Musa..........................be thin, but he is very healthy.

EXERCISE 4

Rewrite the following sentences using ‘may’.

1. Could I possibly get a lift?

2. Do you mind lending me your bicycle?

3. I would like to speak to the teacher.

4. Could I have your permission to go out?

UNIT 12 : VERB-TO-BE
 It consists of “am”, “is”, “are”, “was” and “were”.
 The base form is “be”; the progressive form is “being”; and the participle form is
“been”.
 Functions :
o The verb “to be” has two main functions: as the main verb and as the helping
verb.
o As a helping verb, it functions to indicate progressive tenses and passive
sentences.

1. Verb “to be” as main verb.

Depending on the subject and the tense, the verb “to be” changes its form into “am”, “is”,
“are”, “was” “were” or “been”.

Thus, we have:

1. I am a teacher.
2. He was our guest speaker last year.
3. He is good at English.
4. They are in the room now.

In this case, the verb “to be” functions as the main verb.

2. Verb “to be” as helping verb.

i. Verb “to be” indicates progressive tense (continuous tense). Thus we have:

1. He is learning English.
2. She is being childish now!
3. They are cooking for the party tonight.
4. She was sleeping when I dropped by yesterday.
VERB-TO-BE

Subject Present Tense Past Tense

Singular
He
is Was
She
It
Salleh
I am Was
Plural
You are Were
We
They
The girls

EXERCISE 1

Fill in the blanks with ‘am’, ‘is’ and ‘are’.

1. Neither she nor I going to the concert.

2. Either she or they to take the things to your house afterwards.

3.Too much salt bad for you for it will give you high blood pressure.

4. The town council proposing a law to make every house owner pay extra tax. I

think everyone will object.

5. The children going to get the best opportunities in life.

6. Every man and every woman to help to make this scheme a success.

7.He can never give up politics because politics in his blood.

8.The policemen setting up road blocks everywhere to catch the robbers.

9.There a number of chairs in the canteen. You can take one of them.

10.The owner of the three houses not here today.

EXERCISE 2

Fill in the blanks with ‘was’ or ‘were’.

1. The prices of the things he bought very high.

2. Every boy and every girl in the school asked to help in the concert last

month.

3. Neither he nor I wrong in this matter. So, do not blame either of us.

4. Not only his friends but also his enemies praising him for his honesty at a

ceremony two years ago.

5. There very little variety in the food they served in the canteen.

6. The crew and passengers treated to dinner when they landed on the

island.

7. His family always eating durians when they visited their grandparents in

the village.

8. The class quietly doing their work when the teacher went to the office.

9. “The Beautiful Garden” written by a Malaysian author three years ago.

10. The people busy selling ‘ keropok’.

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