MODALITY – Page 3 – English Grammar Profiler

Can you believe it?

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 74 in MODALITY is defined: ‘can you believe’ to express surprise PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: Can you believe that my poor mother still did not know that she was dying? Mongol female level 4 grammar class. TLC SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE: Can you believe that only in Niger there are one point three million people who are in critical need of food and assistance due to corruption? female Sri Lanka B1 An iWeb search: 1 Can you believe it? 2387 listen 2 […]

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might not + bare infinitive

B1, MODALITY, NEGATIVE

You guys might not know this = B1 MODALITY NEGATIVE.
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 73 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘might’ negative form.

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I have to admit

B1, emphasis, fixed expressions, MODALITY

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 72 in the category of MODALITY is defined:

the fixed expression: ‘I have to admit’ for emphasis

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MUST (ellipsis of following verb)

B1, ellipsis, MODALITY, VERBS

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 71 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘must’ with the following verb ellipted where the previous main verb is understood *an ellipted subject is also B1. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: [The] coach must have a capability to solve problems of teammates, just as business managers must. Korean Female level 5 writing class EXPERT EXAMPLE: We can do this because we must. We did an iWeb search

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You must be | It must be

B1, conclusion, deductions, guess, MODALITY

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 69 in the category of MODALITY is defined: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: ‘must’ to guess and deduce, most commonly with ‘it must be’, or ‘you must be’. *We cannot ensure automatically that this form will point to the usage. We have deleted some ngrams that are obviously not the

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didn’t use to + INFINITIVE

auxiliary, B1, MODALITY, PAST, repeated, semi, true, VERBS

In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1: If something used to happen or a situation used to exist, it happened regularly or in the past but it does not happen or exist now. In the English Grammar Profile at B1: Point 60 in MODALITY: ‘used to’ to talk about repeated actions or states in the

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Could I?

B1, MODALITY, permission, QUESTIONS

Point 56 in the category of MODALITY: ‘could I’ to seek permission. An iWeb search for: . Could I * * *We have removed anything that is obviously not asking permission but still many entries contain questions related to possibility. 2 . COULD I GET A 93 MMA Conor McGregor asks for Jorge Masvidal

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may not

B1, MODALITY, NEGATIVE

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 94 in the category of MODALITY is defined:

‘may’ negative

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can be

B1, general, MODALITY, tendency, true

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 98 in the category of modality is defined:
GENERAL TRUTHS AND TENDENCIES: ‘can be’

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Could you possibly?

ADVERBS, B1, MODALITY, polite, QUESTIONS, request

B1 ‘Could you possibly…?’ acknowledges potential inconveniences, offering the person asked the option to decline or fulfill the request based on their circumstances. Learn how this usage expresses respect and deference while seeking assistance or information.

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WOULDN’T (past willingness)

B1, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, PAST, willingness

‘Willingness‘ = being prepared to do something (readiness). In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 105 in the category of MODALITY is defined: negative forms of ‘would’ to talk about willingness in the past. For example: Dad wanted him buried in the family plot in St Louis, but Pete wouldn’t allow it. Philomena Helen, come on! She wouldn’t wait for you. Edward Scissorhands The EGP examples include the bare infinitives ‘wait’ and ‘allow’. This is incredibly

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SHALL (question)

A2, advice, B1, British, FUTURE, MODALITY, offer, polite, QUESTIONS, suggestion

‘shall’ used to make suggestions, seek advice, or ask for permission, often with ‘I’ or ‘we’.

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MUST (ellipted subject)

B1, ellipsis, MODALITY, subject

B1 Point 116 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ellipted ‘must’ without a subject *Note the general B2 subject pronoun ellipsis A search in iWeb for: . must _VVI *also note that this grammar is either non-existent in PELIC student writing or very difficult to locate in TLC or on Google. The example come

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TO HAVE TO (infinitive form)

B1, FUTURE, infinitive, MODALITY, obligation

The phrase “to have to” is a common construction in English that expresses obligation, necessity, or requirement. Let’s break down 3 examples: I‘m going to have to get a job. listen In this sentence, “going to” indicates a future action. “Have to” means that the speaker is obliged or required to do something. It implies that getting a job is necessary

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may | might (modal verbs)

A2, affirmative, FUTURE, MODALITY, possibility, PRESENT, weak

In the context of the sentence “What may mean nothing to you, may be very important to me,” the word “may” is used as a modal verb to express possibility. The sentence is not referring to a specific time frame, but rather to a general situation where different people can have different opinions about the

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QUESTION TAGS (range)

A2, B1, CLAUSES, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, QUESTIONS, range, tags

There are a number of similar points for questionS in the EGP. Some are clearly different, while others get harder to differentiate. 18 QUESTIONS tags B1 increasing range of affirmative ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’ tags with negative main clauses. 19 QUESTIONS yes/no B1 use main verb ‘be’ + ‘n’t’ to form negative ‘yes/no’ questions. 20

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NEGATIVE QUESTIONS with MODAL VERBS

B1, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, QUESTIONS

Here’s a very advanced hypothetical conditional example of using a negative modal verb phrase in a question: If worms were evading the vibrations, wouldn’t they burrow deeper instead? listen Here are simpler examples of negative modal questions: Now who wouldn’t want that? listen Won’t you join me? listen Shouldn’t we save everything we can on the lifeboats? listen Question tags are also B1: Your life would be pretty different, wouldn’t it? listen Here are B2 examples: Wouldn’t that be cool? listen Why, if we knew this was going to happen every year, why couldn’t we just do something to make sure that we were safer?

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as you might (SHARED KNOWLEDGE)

B1, FOCUS, MODALITY, phrases, shared knowledge

Might is a modal verb that can express possibility, permission, suggestion or condition. In phrases like “as you might know”, “as you might expect”, “as you might imagine”, etc., it is used to focus the reader on shared knowledge or common sense, and to show respect or politeness by not assuming what the reader knows or thinks.

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there + MODAL VERB + BE

B1, complements, MODALITY, VERBS

Existential “there + BE” is a grammatical construction that asserts the existence or non-existence of something. It is usually followed by a noun phrase that is the real subject of the sentence. For example:
There is a book on the table.
There are many stars in the sky.
Modal verbs are verbs that express possibility, necessity, obligation, permission, etc. They can be used with existential “there + BE” to hedge claims or express hypothetical situations. For example:
There may be no simple solution to this problem.
There should be some food in the fridge.

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if CLAUSE + will CLAUSE (FUTURE CONDITIONAL)

A2, CLAUSES, conditional, CONJUNCTIONS, FUTURE, imagine, MODALITY, possibility, PRESENT, real

Listed at A2, the “future” or “first” conditional in English is a grammatical structure used to discuss possible future events. This structure often expresses a cause and effect relationship, with the effect (main clause) being conditional on the cause (if-clause). The typical structure is: “If” + present simple tense, “will” + verb (base form). The page provides examples of this structure from various sources, including student writings, expert examples, and lines from 1934 movies. It also discusses how different English Grammar Profile points highlight this grammar point.

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