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Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Revisão Técnica:
Prof.ª Me. Fátima da Penha Furlan
Revisão Textual:
Prof. Esp. Bruno Reis
Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission
& Possibility
· Theoretical Contents
· Grammar – Can / Can’t
· Grammar – Could / Couldn’t
· Grammar – May / May not
· Grammar – Might / Mightn’t
· Phonetics - “a” sound
In order to have a good performance and make satisfactory use of the information about
the grammar topics, it is important to read all the theoretical contents presented in the unit,
pay a lot of attention to the examples given, do all the exercises that are suggested in the
systematization and reflection activities, and also read the extra material, which will help you
improve your knowledge. There are several exercises with answer keys! Therefore you can
do your self-assessment!
It is also fundamental to watch the Narrated Presentation (Apresentação Narrada) and the Video
Lecture (Videoaula), for both summarize important concepts about the topics of the unit.
Also remember that learning a new language is a hard task, but it is not impossible once you
do the activities suggested and spend some hours studying. As it is always said, there are no magic
formulas or magic potions that perform miracles other than your own effort and persistence.
To accomplish this, organize a standardized routine and avoid accumulating contents and
activities to be done at the last minute. In case you have any doubts, do not hesitate to use
the tools Message (Mensagens) or Chat (Fórum de dúvidas) to get in touch with you tutor.
You will see that your knowledge about the language will get richer and richer, your
difficulties will decrease, and you will notice that you can’t live in a globalized world without
mastering the English language.
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Contextualização
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Theoretical Contents
Mini dialog 2:
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Mini dialog 4:
A: Excuse me, please. Could you tell me how to get to the town centre?
B: First right, second left. You can’t miss it
A: Thank you.
B: That’s OK.
Disponível em: http://englishstandarts.blogspot.com.br/2012/08/examples-of-modal-verbs-in-texts-and.html. Acesso em:
18 out. 2014.
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Grammar – Can / Can’t
The modal verb can expresses or indicates ability, permission and general possibility.
The following table shows us how it is conjugated:
Important!
Note that the negative form when not contracted is just a single word.
can’t = cannot
If you want to talk about ability in the future, you have to use will be able to or its negative
form won’t be able to.
Well, once it was said the modal verb can expresses or indicates ability, permission and
general possibility; let’s see now examples of each one of these situations mentioned.
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
We can’t swim here on (Não podemos nadar aqui por conta dos tubarões.) *It isn’t safe.
account of the sharks.
Can you get to the top of the (Você pode subir no topo da montanha em um dia?) *Is it possible?
mountain in one day?
Important!
Focus – Hypothetical Situation, Polite Requests and Past Ability Fonte: Thinkstock / Getty Images
Check-in at a hotel
David Yes, I can wait. I am not in a hurry.
Clark Sorry, sir. The hotel is fully booked
David It is just a single room, for one night
Clark Just one night? Which date exactly, sir?
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David It’s April 21st. I will arrive at 12 o’clock.
Clark Eh... I have a single for that date. Could you tell me your name, please?
David David Lewis. I work for the government.
Clark Oh, really? I think you have stayed with us before
David Yes, this is my third time in Paris.
Clark Will you be paying by credit card?
David Yes. It is Visa. Do you accept Visa?
Clark Yes, sir. What is the number?
David It’s 4335-1713-6094.
CURTIN, J.; VINEY, P. Survival English. Oxford: Heinemann, 1994.
Hypothetical situation:
Could you run the business by yourself? (Você poderia administrar o negócio sozinho?)
I could get you a copy. (Eu poderia conseguir uma cópia pra você.)
Using could you? or couldn’t you? is a very good way of introducing a request.
Polite request:
Could you show me the way? (Você poderia me mostrar o caminho?)
Could you please send me an application form? (Você poderia, por favor, enviar um formulário?)
Could you come and mend a leak in a pipe? (Você poderia vir e consertar um vazamento em um cano?)
Couldn’t you come a little earlier? (Você não poderia vir um pouco mais cedo?)
She could play the piano when she was just (Ela podia tocar piano quando tinha apenas cinco anos)
five years old.
However, it’s possible to find other uses of could, such as the following cases.
Could is also used together with the Perfect Infinitive when the action was not performed or
when we don’t know whether it was performed or not.
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Important!
By using the construction above, we can also show some kind of irritation or reproach for the
non-performed action. But, in this case, it’s necessary to stress the word we want to emphasize.
You could have told me!
(Você poderia ter me contado!)
Take a look at the following table and see how easy it is to conjugate the modal verb could.
It is the same for all pronouns (I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They).
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Renting a car
Clark Yes, ma’am. For how long?
Natalie For three days.
Clark All right. Where do you want to leave the car?
Natalie Can I leave it at the downtown office?
Sure, you can leave our cars at any of our offices. What kind of car would you
Clark like to rent?
Natalie Can I see your brochure?
Clark Here you are.
Natalie How about this one?
Clark Ok. May I see your driver’s license?
Natalie I have an International Driver’s License and a French one.
Clark Fine. Thank you. Now, do you want a personal accident insurance?
Natalie Sure
Clark Right. How do you want to pay?
Natalie American Express, please.
Clark That’s fine.
CURTIN, J.; VINEY, P. Survival English. Oxford:Heinemann, 1994.
In the dialog we could notice that can and may are being used to ask for permission. However,
we have to consider that when Natalie is asking the clerk, she makes use of can (Can I leave it at
the downtown office?; Can I see your brochure?) and when the clerk asks her to see her driver’s
license, he makes use of may, which implies a certain degree of formality or hierarchical matters.
The modal verb may is used to indicate a factual possibility or ask for permission in a formal way.
Factual possibility:
He may like to talk (Talvez ele goste de conversar Mayn´t is
about astrology. sobre astrologia.) a spoken
form of
He may tell his wife. (Talvez ele conte à sua esposa.)
“May not”.
Ann may know Tom’s address. (Talvez Ann saiba o endereço de Tom.)
Permission:
He may leave the office as soon as I have (Ele pode deixar o escritório assim que eu tiver
finished the reports. terminado os relatórios.)
He says we may leave the office as soon as we (Ele diz que podemos deixar o escritório assim que
have finished the reports. tivermos terminado os relatórios.)
May I use the fax machine now? (Posso usar a máquina de fax agora?)
It is also possible to use “may” in speculations about actions in the past. In this case, it is used
with the Perfect Infinitive.
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
They may have lost their keys. (Talvez eles tenham perdido suas chaves)
Take a look at the following table and see how easy it is to conjugate the verb.
It is the same for all pronouns (I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They).
In the dialog, the possibilities (or chances) are very remote or unlikely. That’s why might is
used instead of may. May would state a possibility only without raising any doubts.
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Grammar – Might / Mightn’t
We use the modal verb might to refer to a weakened possibility. This means that might
increases the doubt.
The price of Apple notebooks might go down next (O preço dos computadores portáteis da Apple talvez
month. diminua no próximo mês.)
He mightn’t believe your story. (Talvez ele não acredite na sua história.)
*Might they be waiting at the station? (Eles talvez possam estar esperando na estação?)
*Do you think they are waiting at the station? (Você acha que eles estão esperando na estação?)
*Is it likely they are waiting at the station? (É provável que eles estejam esperando na estação?)
*The question with might is less frequent. It’s more common to replace might with “Do you think…?”; “Is it likely…?”
Take a look at the following table and see how easy it is to conjugate the verb. It is the same
for all pronouns (I, You, He, She, It, We, You, They).
Important!
Trouble arises mainly when may and might convey possibility. Both words can carry this
meaning, but there’s a slight difference between them.
May simply states the possibility or likelihood, while might emphasizes the conditional
nature of the possibility, introducing a greater level of uncertainty.
Examples:
He may go to the theater tonight. *Stating the possibility
(Ele pode ir ao teatro hoje à noite.)
Now you face a big challenge: to read the following text, which presents a lot of Modal Verbs
and answer the questions related to it. It’s a very interesting story!
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Text – The Story of Helen Keller: The Girl Who Could Not See, Hear or Speak
I’d like you to know the story of Helen Keller, who could neither see
nor hear from the time she was a baby. Yet the brilliant girl was able to
overcome all those handicaps, to graduate from a college with honors and
become a useful citizen.
I must say there was nothing wrong with Helen Keller when she was
born. Her father and mother were very proud of their pretty baby, who
tried to say “pa-pa” and “ma-ma”.
For nineteen months Helen grew bigger and stronger. She was able to
walk when she was a year old; she could say a few words.
But one day the child fell ill. She must have been very ill. For days
she was laid up with a high fever and soon the parents learned that their
darling would never be able to see and hear.
The little child was now doomed to a life of silence and darkness. She
could not hear what was said to her and did not know how to talk. She
was unable to play with other children.
When Helen was 6 years old her parents took her to Baltimore and then
to Washington to famous doctors to find out if they could do something to
make her hear and see again, but the doctors could do nothing. The child
was hopelessly deaf. Dr. Bell said the Kellers should address the Perkins
Institution for the blind in Boston and ask if they could send someone to
help the child.
It was a wonderful day for Helen Keller when Ann Sullivan arrived in
March 1887 to take charge of the child who could neither hear nor speak.
Helen was nearly seven, Ann Sullivan was past twenty.
Ann Sullivan found a way to make herself
understood. She gave the child a doll, and
taking Helen Keller’s hand she slowly spelled
out “d-o-l”. The child learnt for the first time
that things must have names.
When Miss Sullivan later spelled into the
little girl’s hand the word “w-a-t-e-r” and
then let the water from the pumps run over
her hand, a new light seemed to brighten the
face of the child. During the next 3 months,
she learned 300 words and could even put
some of them into sentences.
Miss Sullivan loved her pupil who was so quick to learn. She lived with
Helen, played with her and worked with her every hour of the day. By
means of the hand language, Helen and her teacher were able to talk to
each other.
Helen learned to read books that were printed for the blind with raised
letters. She also learned to use the typewriter to write what she wanted to
say.
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When Helen was 10 she was determined that she would learn to
speak. At first she learned only the sounds of the letters of the alphabet,
but soon she was able to say words and sentences.
In the story of her life Helen Keller writes “I shall never forget the
surprise and delight I felt when I uttered my first connected sentence: “It
is warm.”
At first she had much difficulty with her speech, but Ann Sullivan
understood what Helen [was] trying to say. Helen practiced speaking day
after day until at last she developed a clear voice.
Later she was able to speak before large crowds
which came to hear her whenever she lectured.
At the age of 20 Helen Keller passed all the
difficult entrance examinations to Radcliffe College.
Helen did extremely well in her classes and was
able to keep up with the other students. Helen
wrote The story of my life while she was in college.
In her writings and lectures Helen did everything
she could to help and encourage others who were
blind.
Important!
In the text there are other Modal Verbs, which will be studied in the next units. However, they are
also in bold type for you to memorize and familiarize yourself with them since now.
*Shall, should, must, would
Text comprehension
Question 1: What things was Helen Keller able to do despite her handicaps?
Question 2: How many words did Helen learn in a period of 3 months? What could she do
with them?
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Vocabulary
baby bebê
brilliant brilhante
overcome superar
handicap(s) impedimento(s)
useful útil
citizen cidadã(o)
wrong errado
proud orgulhoso(a)
bigger maior
stronger mais forte
child criança
children crianças
fever febre
parents pais
silence silêncio
darkness escuridão
deaf surdo(a)
blind cego(a)
nearly quase, aproximadamente
sentence(s) frase(s)
language língua
typewriter máquina de escrever
voice voz
crowd(s) multidão(ões)
lecture(s) palestra(s)
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Phonetics - “a” sound
The vowel “a” in English has several sounds. The vocabulary studied presents some of its
possible sounds. It’s impossible to guess which sound this vowel has if you have never heard it.
But a good dictionary will help you whenever you need.
Let’s memorize some words from the vocabulary with their particular sound for this letter.
/ eɪ / /æ/ / ɑː /
baby handicap *both “a” darkness
language *the first “a”
parents
Explore
Check the new words in the following link:
http://www.wordreference.com. You will be able to listen to all of them in order to
practice and improve your English!
Sound / æ /:
apple, back, bad, attic
Sound / ɑː /
dark, bark
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Material Complementar
Here are some suggestions for further readings and extra exercises to be done in order to
review the grammar topics studied in the unit. Following the tips, you’ll improve your knowledge
about the English language and won’t stop growing anymore!
Online Dictionaries :
• http://www.onelook.com/
• http://www.teclasap.com.br/
Music Videos:
Adelle – I can’t make you love me
https://youtu.be/sLfWPLLn-QI
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
Celine Dion – Water from the moon (Can’t you see that I’m going out of my mind?)
https://youtu.be/pLfy1XiQpEU
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
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Edwin McCain – Couldn’t ask for more
https://youtu.be/ulrTpG4rLQE
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
John Lennon – Imagine (You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one)
https://youtu.be/RwUGSYDKUxU
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
Kelly Clarkson – Dark side (Everybody’s got a dark side. Do you love me? Can you love mine?)
https://youtu.be/H5ArpRWcGe0
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
Maroon 5 – Won’t go home without you. (I may not make it through the night)
https://youtu.be/E4jFVPsTEfM
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
Parmalee – Close Your Eyes (I might wanna close your eyes for this)
https://youtu.be/IHIy2DcgHKY
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Smash Mouth – Walking on the sun (You might as well be walking on the sun)
https://youtu.be/uM2z60kDdZo
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
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The Calling – Could it be any harder
https://youtu.be/PWp6OuMtbTw
Acesso em: 22 fev. 2018.
Answer Key
1. Could; 2. could; 3. will be able; 4. might; 5. may; 6. might; 7. can; 8. might; 9. May; 10. can’t
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Unidade: Modal Verbs – Ability, Permission & Possibility
Referências
Bibliografia Básica
COE, N.; PATERSON, K.; HARRISON, M. Oxford practice grammar: -basic. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008.
SOUZA, A. G. F. Leitura em língua inglesa: uma abordagem instrumental. 2. ed. São Paulo:
Disal Editora, 2010.
Bibliografia Complementar
AZAR, B. S.; HAGEN, S. A. Understanding and using English grammar. 4. ed. Pearson/
Longman, 2009.
CRYSTAL, D. ; SPRES St. M. Spell it out: the singular story of English spelling. Profile Editor
. (E-book)
LIMA, T. C. S.; KOPPE, C. T. Inglês: a prática profissional do idioma. Curitiba: IBPEX, 2008.
(E-book)
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Anotações
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