Module 1

Lesson 1: Modals of Permission

Content/ Big Ideas
Modals or modal auxiliaries are helping verbs combined with other verbs to indicate mood or tense. Modals are
better understood by learning their functions. Among their functions are to express the possibility, to show
ability, to express necessity, or to give to ask permission. Some examples of modal of permission are can, may,
and could.
To better understand them, let us categorize our learnings and start with the first type of modal which is, the
Modal of Permission.

Permission (can, may, could)- ‘can is most often used to ask for or give permission but ‘may’ and ‘could’ are
also possible even though they are not used as often as can.
Examples of Modals that request permission:
1. Can you lend me your pen?
2. May I ask you a question?
3. Could I open the door?
You may be confused about modals that have the same spelling, but they apparently have different meanings.
To get you out of that confusion, here are the modal of permission and their differences. Study table 1.1 below.
Modal Meaning Specific Use
can to express ability I can speak a little French.
can to request permission Can I borrow a pen?
may to express possibility I may be home late tonight.
may to request permission May I ask you a question?
could to express ability I could open the door.
could to request permission Could I open the door?

Lesson 2: Modals of Prohibition and Obligation

Prohibition (can’t and mustn’t/must not)- is used to show that something is prohibited or not allowed. ‘Can’t’
usually gives the idea of something that is against the rules. ‘Mustn’t’ usually means that is the speaker who is
setting the rule.

Example (s) of Modals that express prohibition:

1. You can’t go to work without a tie.

2. You can’t drive in this country unless you are over eighteen.
3. You mustn’t use your phone in class.

Obligation (have to and must)- this are both used to express obligation. There is a slight difference in the way
they are both used. You use the modal ‘have to’ when you don’t have any choice. On the contrary, you use the
‘must’ when it is your decision to do so.

 I have to stay at home or I’ll get sued for going against the government’s mandate. (I have no choice)
 I must stop smoking. It’s costing me too much money. (It’s my decision)
 ‘Have to’ shows that the obligation comes from someone else, not the speaker. This is usually referring
to a rule or a law.

Example: We have to be at the airport at least two hours before the flight.

I have to work on Saturday.

They have to wear their uniforms at school.

 ‘Must’ shows us that the obligation comes from the speaker.

Examples: I must hand in my thesis by tomorrow.

I really must call my parents.

I really need my work.

 Special cases like ‘don’t have to’ shows that there is no obligation. You can do something if you want
but it is not an obligation. This word is still a modal that belongs to the category of obligation.

Examples:

You don’t have to wear a tie to go to that restaurant but it would be nice.

You didn’t have to call me. I could have got a taxi.

Students don’t have to wear uniforms to school.

Lesson 3: Prosodic Features of Speech

The prosodic features of speech are stress, intonation, volume, pause, and tempo.

Stress – is the emphasis given to a syllable or a word. A stressed syllable or word is usually spoken with
slightly increased volumes and comes after a slight pause.

Intonation – is the melodic pattern of speech or the rise and fall of a pitch to achieve rhythm.
Volume – is the loudness or the softness of sound. It is generally used to show emotions like anger, fear, and
excitement.

Pause – is a temporary stop signaled by the division of thought or by a comma or period.

Tempo – is the rate of speech. It indicates the relative speed or slowness of utterance.

Module 2

Lesson 1: Conditional Sentences

Content/ Big Ideas

Types of Conditional Sentences

Conditional Sentences are constructed using two clauses – the if (or unless) clause and the main clause. There
are four types of conditional sentences that will be discussed here. It is important to understand and study each
because it conveys a different meaning. Some conditional sentences refer to general truths and others to
hypothetical situations that might need a well-structured statement for a better understanding.

Conditionals are simply a sentence that portrays conditions.

e.g. ‘If I see him, I will tell him.’
There are several structures in English that we call conditionals or the if conditionals. The word ‘condition’
means any situation or any circumstance, that If a particular condition is true, then there’s a particular result
occurring. Let us take for example a concept in Mathematics that will help you understand the concept.
e.g. if y=3 then 2y=6
If I see him, I will tell him. (There is a condition of possibility and a probable result)
In this English class, we are going to identify the Three Basic Conditionals plus the so-called Zero
Conditional. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often.
Conditional Type Usage If-Clause Main-Clause
1 Possible condition+ Present-simple will + base verb
Probable result
2 Hypothetical Past-simple would + base verb
condition+ Positive
result
3 expired past past perfect would have + past
condition + participle
possible past result
0 real condition + present simple present simple
inevitable result
 Lesson 2: First Conditional and Second Conditional

1. First Conditional – For real possibility

e.g If I win the lottery, I will buy a car.
In this conditional, we will talk about future events. We are talking about a particular condition/ situation in the
future accompanied by the condition of the future. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For
instance, you are at home. You plan to play frisbee in the afternoon, but there are some clouds in the sky and
you imagine that it rains. What will you do? Try to check out the table below.
If Condition Result
Present Simple will + base verb
If it rains, I will stay home
If the rain pours I will cancel our playtime.

2. Second Conditional – For unreal possibilities

e.g. If I won the lottery, I would buy a car.
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are still thinking
of a particular condition and its result, but there’s not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For
example, you do not exert effort in studying. Is it possible to top the class? No! No study, no top! But maybe
you will exert effort in the future, so you can think about topping the class in the future like a dream come true.
It’s not very (yet) real, but it is still possible.
Things to remember about this Second Conditional are its past tense of the verb, and it uses would. Sometimes,
we use could, should or might instead of would.
e.g. If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.
Past Tense (used instead of would)

If I got the jackpot car, I might stop walking on the streets.

If Condition Result
Present Simple would + base verb
If had a million dollars I would buy a big house.
If I were you I would drive more carefully in the rain.

Structure of Conditional Sentences

The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities.
Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this:
If I see her, I will tell her
I will tell her if I see her.
If you notice the comma in the first sentence, it’s because the if-clause comes first before the main clause. (A
comma is always correct in this case, but not always essential if the sentence is short). In the second sentence,
we do not normally use a comma.

Lesson 3: Third Conditional and Zero Conditional

You are now entering the last lesson for this module. This lesson will discuss the Third Conditional and the
Zero Conditional type of statements. Let us begin with…

3. Third Conditional – For no possibility

e.g. If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car.
The first and the second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We
talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why
There is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the
dream coming true. Last week you bought a lottery ticket but you did not win.
Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So, the condition
was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the Past Perfect
Tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use would have + past participle to talk about the
impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are
impossible now.
If Condition Result
Past Perfect would have + Past Participle
If It had rained yesterday, would you have stayed at home?
If It had rained yesterday what would you have done?
If I had seen Mary, I would have told her.
If Tara had been free I would have invited her.
yesterday
If they have not passed their teacher would have been sad.
their exams

Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought
a lottery ticket, you might have won.

4. Zero Conditional – For certainty.

e.g. If you heat ice, it melts.
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You
would be surprised if it did not.

Other examples for Zero Conditional:

 If I speak to John, he gets annoyed.
  I feel good the next day if I go to bed early.
 Lots of people come if Jenny has a party.
 She buys expensive clothes if she goes shopping.
 My daughter passes her exams if she works hard.
 David is sick if he drinks milk.
 The river freezes if it’s very cold.
 I like to visit the museums if I am in a new city.
 I cycle to work if the weather is fine.
 My flatmate cleans really well if she cleans the house.
 Everybody is grumpy if it rains a lot.

Summary of Conditionals
Here is a table to help you to visualize the basic conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% too literally. They
are just to help you.
Probability, Condition Example Time
100% zero If you heat ice, it melts any
50% 1st If I win the lottery, I will future
buy a car.
10% 2nd If I won the lottery, I future
would buy a car.
0% 3rd If I had won the lottery, I past
would have bought a car.

People sometimes call conditionals ‘if- structures’ or ‘if- sentences’ because there is usually (but not always)
the word if in a conditional sentence.