Modality is the language user’s attitude towards the world. It is related to things such as certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity and ability.
In the English Grammar Profile, there are essentially the same two points in the category of Modality at B2 for the same form. Point 144 is defined as: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: perfect form of ‘must’ to make deductions about the past. and point 166: PAST AFFIRMATIVE must have’ + ‘-ed’. For example: He had come such a long way, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could […]
MUST HAVE + past participle Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 143 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘used to’ without a following verb where the previous main verb is understood. For example: They don’t make them like they used to. *In the EGP examples, the sense of this structure refers to things in the past that are no longer true. It can refer to repeated
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In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 138 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: could as the past form of ‘can’ in reported speech For example: Victim support arrived at our door and told us that we could expect to write off the next five years to grief. TED The following clusters from iWeb were searched with varying the spaces between said|told * * * could 1 SAID HE COULD 13770 1 SAID
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In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 137 in MODALITY is defined as: negative forms of ‘can’t’ and ‘cannot’ to guess, predict and deduce. This point is an extremely difficult point to locate because it heavily relies on usage. The use of ‘can’t’ is A1 by default, but not ‘cannot’ which has not been given
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able to do something (used as a modal verb)
having the skill, intelligence, opportunity, etc. needed to do something
A2 OXFORD
BE + able | allowed + to-INFINITIVE Read More »
In this post, we explore modality with two adjectives followed by infinitives. Here is an imperative example of telling someone with emphasis not to forget or fail to do something: Be sure to check the weather before you go to the airport. listen And here is an extremely advanced modification of an assertion, a bit like a negative superlative comparison: There’s nothing more certain to ruin a beautiful relationship than marriage.
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Something that is not needed can be expressed with ‘need not’. For example: But while we are determined by history, it is my personal belief that we need not be trapped by history, and we need not be the victims of history. TED In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 126 in the category of MODALITY is: need NEGATIVE However, in the English Vocabulary Profile, this is listed at A2 with the following example: You needn’t bring any food. iWeb search for need
There are three negative points in the English Grammar Profile at C2 Modality that are quite rare. Point 215 is defined as: negative form ‘ought not to’ Point 226: CONTRACTED NEGATIVE ‘oughtn’t’ (without ‘to’) + verb Point 235 ‘ought’ + subject + ‘not to’ + verb to form (rhetorical) questions, often in formal contexts. *Point
OUGHT (negative OR questions) Read More »
The structure ought to have + past participle is used to talk about things which were supposed to happen but did not, or to express regret or criticism. Here are some examples with the most common past participles: You ought to have known better than to trust him. He is a liar. She ought to have done her homework before
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In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 180 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘ought to’ with ‘really’ to add emphasis. A search on iWeb for clusters with lexical verbs: 1 REALLY OUGHT TO KNOW 254 2 REALLY OUGHT TO GET 136 3 REALLY OUGHT TO GO 76 4 REALLY OUGHT TO CONSIDER
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 192 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘THERE OUGHT TO BE” to talk about desired states of affairs. An iWeb search for: there ought to be* * * 1 THERE OUGHT TO BE A WAY TO 66 2 THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW AGAINST 33
Point 145 in the category of MODALITY and ELLIPSIS is defined as: ‘ought to’ without a following verb where the previous main verb is understood. There is an important note in the comments section of the EGP: This is a very low-frequency form in both the learner and native speaker data. There’s only one example
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In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 91 in Modality is defined as: ‘ought to’ with ‘you’ to give advice. This depends on usage but at the same time we could add our own vocabulary range criteria to ensure it marks higher complexity. As you can see most of the 20 most frequent lexical verbs
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In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 124 in the category of modality is defined as using:
the fixed expression ‘I must say’ to give emphasis, usually about something positive.
“Will you please” is a polite phrase that asks someone to do something for you. It expresses your desire, choice, willingness or consent. It also implies that you expect the person to agree to your request. For example: Will you please pass me the salt? Will you please be quiet? Will you please come with
In the English Grammar Profile, using the word ‘dare’ is b2-c2 and rare. The other strange thing is that some of the most common Ngrams (words found together) are C2 and less common seem to be B2 according to Cambridge research. For that reason, the complexity checking ability around this vocabulary item should be taken
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Here’s a student example of an adjective followed by a ‘that’ clause. However, I am sure that the most useful English for you is American English. PELIC Korean male level 4 writing In the sentence above, the phrase “I am sure that” is an example of epistemic modality. Epistemic modality is a type of linguistic modality that deals with a
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Here are two student examples of using semi-modal ‘have to’ to express either a strong suggestion or that something isn’t required or necessary. Another thing is you have to make sure that you have included signal words to help the reader. PELIC Arabic female level 3 writing class. I mean if someone wears something, you don’t have to wear that because she or he wears it. TLC male Spain B1 speaking test. Listen to
have got to | have to | don’t have to Read More »
The modality of “could” refers to its ability to express possibility or potentiality in English. When used in this context, “could” indicates that something is possible or feasible but not definite or certain. It suggests that there is a chance or opportunity for something to happen, but it is not guaranteed. In the English Grammar
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In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), there are three similar points in the category of Future expressions with ‘BE’ at B2 in the English Grammar Profile. 47 ‘be due to’ and, more formally, ‘be to’ talk about things that are scheduled or expected. 53 OBLIGATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS WITH ‘BE TO’ 56 present form of ‘be’
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