MASTER PROGRAM IN PEDAGOGY OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN

LANGUAGE

ORAL EXPOSITION:
“PROBLEMS THAT STUDENTS HAVE WITH MODAL VERBS”

AUTHOR: LLUMIQUINGA GUAMÁN, LUIS IVÁN

PROFESSOR: MG. AGUINAGA, MARÍA ISABEL

AMBATO, OCTOBER, 2020

 CONTENTS

• REVIEW OF MODAL VERBS

• SYNTACTIC PROBLEM
• MEANING PROBLEM
• SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH
 REVIEW

CATEGORIZATION OF MODALS:
• Modals of ability, permission and possibility: can, could, may and might

• Modals of advice and necessity: must, should, dare, need, have to, had better, had best,
have got to, ougth to and be supposed to.

• Modals for expressing future time: shall, will, would, and be going to.
MODAL VERB USAGE EXAMPLE
Ability I can play the piano.
Can Permission You can go outside when you want.
Possibility She can´t be Julia. She is in Paris.
Ability She could swin when she was 14 years old.
Could Permission You could stay late tonight.
Possibility Peter could be the team leader.
Possibility I think she may win the singing competition.
May
Permission May I go home now?
Possibility It might rain later so take an umbrella.
Might
Past of "may" He said he might change his mind.
Necessity I must send this letter today
Must Obligation You must fulfill the terms of your contract.
Prohibition She mustn´t let the dog sleep on her bed.
Future I shall see him tomorrow.
Shall Suggestions and
Shall I tell him now or later?
Requests for advice.
Should Advice You should stop thinking about the problem.
Will Future time Prices will go up next summer.
Past of "will" He told me he would come.
Would Prediction in past I thought it would rain any minute.
Future in the past I knew you would help him.
It is a composition written to indicate that something is not necessary:

New technology has made my life much easier. I must not go to work by foot, I take
the car instead. When I come home I must not warm up the room because the heating
has done it automatically.

• Do the sentences with the modal verb express the meaning Intended by the writer?

• Is there a syntactic problem or a meaning problem?

 SYNTACTIC PROBLEMS
• Modal + to infinitive verb
I can to play the piano. I can play the piano

Modals do NOT need “to” infinitive form Need base form= modal + infinitive without ´to’

 Reason: Spanish does not have a set of modals as English modals:

same
deber should/ought to
poder can/could Not share grammatical characteristics
tener que must/have to

Example:
2nd. P.S. of “deber” Debes ir al cine dos veces a la semana.

Advice/recomendation infinitive

You should to go to the cinema two time in the week.

You should go to the cinema two time in the week. correct
• Add “s” or “es” after modal verb
She can plays the piano. She can goes out tonight.

• Never put: “s” or “es”

• Use the base form of the verb:

She can play the piano. She can go out tonight. correct

Reason:
He plays
Present S. She goes 3rd. Person Singular
It rains

Example:
Incorrect correct

He can plays soccer. He can play soccer.

She could goes out tonight. She could go out tonight.
It might rains. It might rain.
• Double modal: modal + modal
modal + modal

I will must do my homework tonight. Not two modal verbs together

I will do my homework tonight.

correct
I will have to do my homework tonight.

Reason:
will = simple future I will can travel to Europe next month.
will + modal in future
will = modal I will must do my homework tonight.

Correct use of modals in future:

modal + be able to

will + be able to I will be able to use modal verbs.

correct
would + be able to I would be able to speak English in the future.
• Modal in the past

I can went to the party. I can go to the party. (Present/Future)

I could go to the party. (Possibility)
I could have gone to the party. (Past)
Cannot use a verb in past modal + have + v.p.p.
tense after a modal.

You will bought a new car. You will buy a new car.
You would buy a new car.
• “Do” or “Does” auxiliary in negative form and questions

He doesn’t can play tennis. Use do or does + not in negative statements.

He can play tennis.

He can’t play tennis. correct
He cannot play tennis.

Does he can play tennis? Use do or does in questions.

Can he play tennis? correct

Reason: Use of auxiliary “do” or He doesn’t play tennis.

“does” + not in negative They don’t do the homework.
form and questions Does he play tennis?
 MEANING PROBLEMS
• Incorrect use of Must Not

To indicate something is not necessary: Example:

I bought a house last month, so I must not rent an apartment. Grammatically

correct

n
o

Express absence of
necessity
y
e
s
I bought a house last month, so I don’t have to rent an apartment. correct
• Select an inappropriate modal

Not appropriate for a given context: Example:

Intended to express
You must go on vacation.
advice

Strong
obligation

Advice

You should go on vacation. correct

Not convey writer

Reason: Confusing intention
 Suggestions for teaching modal verb mistakes

Switch between ordinary and modal verbs. Students can build faster reflexes in deciding if they need “s”,
“es”, “doesn’t” or not.
Example:
Ordinary verb modal verb

He swims well. (can) He can swim well.

She doesn’t smoke. (must) She mustn’t smoke.

Does she know? (should) Should she know?

• Introduce the meaning of Ability with can (elicit students…)

Write professions, or show pictures of the professions.

Ask the question: What can a(an) …pilot…do?

Student: A pilot can fly an airplane.

: When I was younger, I could swim 300 meters without stopping.

: Now I can only swim 50 meters.

• Guess the meaning of gestures (modals of Possibility)

Students guess what each gesture means.

Students take a turn acting out a sentence using gestures of their own creation (“I am hungry”,
“pay attention”)

Other students make guesses about the meaning of the gestures using
various modals:

: He might be saying, ‘he is hungry’

: He could be telling us “to pay attention”.

 DEBATE QUESTION

• How would you correct the mistakes that students make

with modal verbs?
THANK
YOU