Search results for 'tag:Modal verbs tag:Grammar' matching tags 'Modal verbs' and 'Grammar'

Re: A few English Grammar Questions !! Need help..

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 16:59:31 GMT

1. Â Â Â Â A group IS ... Â (Not important who is in the group). A group is a singular, countable noun.

3.Â Â Â Â Both wrong. Â Â Â Â She went home half an hour ago. Given, finished time requires simple past UNLESS it relates to another action in the past. e.g. She had gone home before the others arrived.

4.Â Â Â Â She has sold... Â Indefinite (no time) past. Done, but we don't know (or care) when.

5Â Â Â Â Ditto

6. Â Â Â Â Have you ever ...? Â Indefinite past. We don't know when.

7. Â Â Â Â Mmmm, this one is elementary ! Â Do you .... Â ALWAYS requires the infinitive form. e.g. Do you live..., Do you like..., Do you do... Do you have...?Â

I could write a whole grammar book on how to differentiate the 6 modal verbs and their MANY uses. I suggest you buy one.Â Â Â Â Good luck :)

Re: Can and Could in possbility and ability context

Marius Hancu — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:42:55 GMT

>In the Englishpage.com website in its Modal Verb Tutorial section, of all the list functions of the modal 'could', I could not find anything that said 'ability' although it had the 'past ability' category. Why is that?

Always post the link, so we don't have to look for it:

http://www.englishpage.com/modals/could.html

You have:

I could run ten miles in my twenties.

I could speak Chinese when I was a kid.

listed in the past ability there, but you can easily turn them into present/future ability:

I could still run ten miles anytime these days.

I could speak Chinese again, if you bring two or three Chinese to my table, to spark my recalling of the language.

Could is a modal verb, you can move it from past time to future time with no difficulty.

Instead of reading a lot of grammar, better start reading fiction. All these uses are there, you just need to exercise imagination. English doesn't have a very formal grammar, so it's no use to spend a lot of time on the theory of it. Better focus on the applications and their exceptions, which are infinite.

Re: Analysis sentence

Clive — Wed, 07 May 2008 12:10:28 GMT

Hi,

Sentence A . It takes all sorts ( to make a world ) ( saying ) used to say that you think somebody's behaviour is very strange or unusual but that everyone is different and likes different things. ( Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary [ 7 th edition ] ).

it takes all sorts ( to make a world ) ( saying ) - subject / main clause

used to - modal verb

say - verb

used to say - I'd call it 'a verbal phrase'.

that you think somebody' behaviour is very strange or unusual - subordinate clause / noun clause

but - a conjunction, joining subordinate clauses.

that everyone is different and likes different things. - subordinate clause / noun clause

Hello Grammar Teacher/Teachers,

1. I have attempted partly, could you help me to break down Sentence A into clauses, phrases and so on ?

2. What is the part of speech of the underlined word ,' but '?

Could you define the underlined word,' but ' as well ? nevertheless, on the other hand.

Best wishes, Clive

Analysis sentence

bhikkhu1991 — Wed, 07 May 2008 08:36:16 GMT

it takes all sorts ( to make a world ) ( saying ) - subject / main clause

used to - modal verb

say - verb

used to say - ?

that you think somebody' behaviour is very strange or unusual - subordinate clause / noun clause

but - ?

that everyone is different and likes different things. - subordinate clause / noun clause

Hello Grammar Teacher/Teachers,

1. I have attempted partly, could you help me to break down Sentence A into clauses, phrases and so on ?

2. What is the part of speech of the underlined word ,' but '?

Could you define the underlined word,' but ' as well ?

Thank you.

With best wishes.

Re: Easy but long...)))

Yankee — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:20:51 GMT

Hi Pres1dent

You should break up long posts such as this one into several short posts. That way it's much easier for other people to comment.

I've made suggestions. Some of the sentences in these exercises don't sound terribly natural, so there are also suggestions in places where there were no asterisks (**).

I. Grammar Exercises
1 Articles
1. *(The)* equipment of from Blake & Co is very good. They sell it to ** various different companies
2. Where are *the* newspapers? They are on *the* desk.
3. There is ** ~~much~~ a lot of built-in furniture in our kitchen. *The* furniture makes *the* kitchen comfortable.
4. We are interested in buying ** the/ - machines from British companies.
5. *The* tools of Blake & Co tools are of ** high quality.
6. We~~âve~~ received *~~the~~ an* enquiry for ** three machines ~~lately~~ recently.
7. ** Last month our manager went to St. Petersburg by train. He ~~went there by~~ took *an * express train. *The* train had no stops.
8. If you want to get accommodation(s) at *a *hotel in Nice in the summertime you must reserve *the* room in advance. ** Nice hotels are full during the summer ~~time~~.
9. The seller didnât agree to give us *a* discount as their goods were in *a* great demand at that price.
10. We are interested in buying ** compressors for *a* new shop in *~~the~~* a large plant in Siberia. *The* shop is already under construction and the customers requires the goods urgently, as they must complete the construction of the shop by the end of the year.

2 Prepositions
1. She is sitting *on at* the table and ~~speaking~~ talking *on* the phone. She is making an appointment on for Friday.
2. They met Mr. Black *in* his office. The meeting began at 10 oâclock and lasted ** ~~(for?)~~ two hours.
3. *The* other day Rossexport received an enquiry for the motors of Johanson & Sons.
4. The train will arrive with a delay ~~for~~ of 40 minutes. Will you go to the departure lounge and wait for the announcement?
5. -Can you give us a discount *for/on* a large order?
- As we have done a lot of business with you, we can give you a small discount.
- In that case, weâd like to have a discount of 7%.
6. The charge for a room in this hotel is not very high.
7. They offered to deliver the pumps *in* ~~(of?)~~ four lots of 12 pumps each in at regular intervals of 5 months. (at regular 5-month intervals)
8. Youâve reserved a single and a double room ~~for you~~ for two nights on the fourth floor. These are modern rooms with private baths. They donât face the street.
9. -Iâd like a suit for office wear.
-Try *on/-* this one in for size. (OR: Try this one on for size.)
10. The seller offered the goods *at* CIF terms and payment collection. (This sounds clunky. I'd just say this: The seller offered the goods CIF.)

3 Degrees of comparison
1. The Sony TV set is more expensive than the Akai TV set. Itâs one of the most expensive TV sets.
2. Are our cars as convenient as German cars? (In my opinion, reliable would be a more logical choice of words.)
3. This is the busiest airport Iâve ever seen.
4. I come later on Mondays ~~later~~ than on other days.
5. ~~*More often*~~ we give a discount to buyers most often if we have known them for a long time.

4Verb times
1. Now you *see* Mr. Black in his office. During the day he *looks* through English newspapers and *discusses* business matters. Now he is reading a letter. Later, he *is going to phone* the manager of the company.
2. -What model are you interested in?
-Model BC5 *meets* our requirement.
3. The fact *is* I sent you our offer last week. In my letter I asked you to study it and give us your answer but we havenât received it yet.
4. -*Will* the plane to Moscow leaves on time? /Will the plane to Moscow be leaving on time?
-There is a delay but it probably *wonât be* over 30 minutes
5. Good morning, Mr. Black. Iâm glad to see you. I havenât seen you since we met in London
6. How long *~~it takes~~* (will it take?) me to get there?
-Itâll take you about half an hour to get there at this time of the day. There is a lot of traffic now. Look, bus 79A *is coming.*
7. Have you discussed the terms of delivery yet?
8. Jack arrived at the theatre about 7 oâclock. Ten minutes later he was sitting in the stalls and watching the performance.
9. Rossexport started shipping the goods nine months after we *(had) signed* the contract. (Past perfect is OK, but not necessary.)
10. I donât know when our accountant ~~comes~~ will be back

5Reported speech It's often difficult to judge reported speech without also knowing what the direct speech was.

1. Mr. Black said it hadnât taken us? long to discuss the price. (It sounds as though the sentence need 'them' rather than 'us'.)
2. The office manager said you would go ~~on business~~ to London on business soon.
3. Mr. Black asked if Mr. Taylor was staying with us.
4. Mr. Black wants to know what discount Mr. Smith can give us(?).
5. Mr. Black said your prices were very high and they couldnât accept them.
6. Mr. Black asked who Mr. Brown was waiting for.
7. Mr. Black wanted to know if Nancy had translated the letter.
8. Mr. Black says to look through the quotation from Dunn & Co.
9. Mr. Black said not to send the fax to Smith & Co.
10. Mr. Black asked if their goods met Mr. Smithâs requirements.

6Modal verbs
1. Can I offer you a cup of tea?
2. -~~Must~~ Do I have to go to the office every day?
-No, you ~~mustnât~~ don't.
3. -~~May~~ Can I invite businessmen to the conference room?
-No, you ~~mustnât (or mightnât?)~~ can't. It ~~must~~ has to be cleaned.
4. When can you look through it?
5. -Why are you so late?
-Because I had to phone the British company.
6. -Why did Mr. Smith go to London last month?
-He was/had to sign a contract there.
7. If the manager doesnât have to stay late at the head office today, he will be able to meet Mr. Smith
8. We received your offer 5 days ago ~~wand~~ but we ~~couldnât~~ haven't been able to study it (yet).
9. Who can make good coffee?
10. You are to contact Black & Co next Monday.

Easy but long...)))

Prez1dent — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 12:01:57 GMT

Hello!
My mother is studying in University. She was given this testing. I've solved this English testing for her but I'm not sure if it is alright. Could you check it? Sorry, it's quite long.

I. Grammar Exercises
1 Articles
1. *The* equipment of Blake & Co is very good. They sell it to ** different companies
2. Where are *the* newspapers? They are on *the* desk.
3. There ** much built in furniture in our kitchen. *The* furniture makes *the* kitchen comfortable.
4. We are interested in buying ** machines from British companies.
5. *The* tools of Blake & Co are of ** high quality.
6. Weâve received *the* enquiry for ** three machines lately.
7. ** Last month our manager went to St. Petersburg by train He went there by *an * express train. *The* train had no stops.
8. If you want to get a room at *a *hotel in Nice in summer time you must reserve *the* accommodation in advance. ** Nice hotels are full during summer time.
9. The Seller didnât agree to give us *the* discount as their goods were in *a* great demand at that price.
10. We are interested in buying ** compressors for *a* new shop of *the* large plant in Siberia. *The* shop is already under construction and customers require goods urgently, as they must complete the construction of the shop by the end of the year.

2 Prepositions
1. She is sitting *on* the table and speaking ** the phone. She is making an appointment on Friday.
2. They met Mr. Black *in* his office. The meeting began at 10 oâclock and lasted ** (for?) two hours.
3. *The* other day Rossexport received an enquiry for the motors of Johanson & Sons.
4. The train will arrive with a delay for 40 minutes. Will you go to the departure lounge and wait for the announcement?
5. -Can you give us a discount *for* a large order?
- As we have done a lot of business with you we can give you a small discount. In case weâd like to have a discount of 7%.
6. The charge for a room in this hotel is not very high.
7. They offered to deliver the pumps *in* (of?) four lots 12 pumps each in regular intervals of 5 months.
8. Youâve reserved a single and a double room for you for two nights on the fourth floor. These are modern rooms with private baths. They donât face the street.
9. -Iâd like a suit for office wear.
-Try *on* this one in size.
10. The Seller offered the goods *at* CIF terms and payment collection.

3 Degrees of comparison
1. The âSonyâ TV-set is more expensive than the âAkaiâ TV-set. Itâs one of the most expensive TV-sets.
2. Are our cars as convenient as German cars?
3. This is the busiest airport Iâve ever seen.
4. I come on Monday later than on other days.
5. *More often* we give discount to the Buyers if we have known them for a long time.

4Verb times
1. Now you *see* Mr. Black in his office. During the day he *looks* through English newspapers, *discusses* business matters. Now he is reading a letter. He *is going to phone* the manager of the company.
2. -What model are you interested in?
-Model BC5 *meets* our requirement.
3. The fact *is* I sent you our offer last week. In my letter I asked you to study it and give us your answer but we havenât received it yet.
4. -*Does* the plane o Moscow leaves on time?
-There is a delay but it probably *wonât be* over 30 minutes
5. Good morning, Mr. Black. Iâm glad to see you. I havenât seen you since we met in London
6. How long *it takes* (Will it take?) me to get there?
-Itâll take you about half an hour to get there at this time of the day. There is a lot of traffic now. Look, bus 79A *is coming.*
7. Have you discussed the terms of delivery yet?
8. Jack arrived at the theatre about 7 oâclock. Ten minutes later he was sitting in the stalls and watching the performance.
9. Rossexport started shipping the goods nine months after we *had signed* the contract.
10. I donât know when our accountant comes back

5Reported speech
1. Mr. Black said it hadnât taken us long to discuss the price.
2. The office manager said you would go on business to London soon.
3. Mr. Black asked if Mr. Taylor was staying with us.
4. Mr. Black wants to know what discount Mr. Smith can give us.
5. Mr. Black said your prices were very high and they couldnât accept them.
6. Mr. Black asked who Mr. Brown was waiting for.
7. Mr. Black wanted to know if Nancy had translated the letter.
8. Mr. Black says to look through the quotation from Dunn & Co.
9. Mr. Black said not to send the fax to Smith & Co.
10. Mr. Black asked if their goods met Mr. Smithâs requirements.

6Modal verbs
1. Can I offer you a cup of tea?
2. -Must I go to the office every day?
-No. You mustnât.
3. -May I invite businessmen to the conference room?
-No, you mustnât (or mightnât?). It must be cleaned.
4. When can you look through it?
5. -Why are you so late?
-Because I had to phone the British company.
6. -Why did Mr. Smith go to London last month?
-He was to sign a contract there.
7. If the manager doesnât have to stay late at the head office today he will be able to meet Mr. Smith
8. We received your offer 5 days ago wand we couldnât study it.
9. Who can make good coffee?
10. You are to contact Black & Co next Monday.

Re: ''Should I not respect you?'' and ''Shouldn't I respect you?''

Jackson6612 — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 17:04:51 GMT

Yoong Liat wrote:
Hi Jackson

~~The~~ Sentences 2 and 3 are the interrogatives made from ~~the~~ sentence 1. ~~The~~ Sentence 3 is much more common than sentence 2. In grammar, a clause that is in the interrogative has its subject following 'do', 'be', 'have' or a modal verb. That means sentence 2 is grammatically correct. If that's the case, then sentence 3 is grammatically incorrect. If it is, then why is it used so frequently? Perhaps, it's just idiomatic.

I've made some alterations. I hope you agree with them.

Hi Yoong,

Thanks a lot for the corrections.

Best wishes, Jackson

Re: ''Should I not respect you?'' and ''Shouldn't I respect you?''

Yoong Liat — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:53:10 GMT

Hi Jackson

~~The~~ Sentences 2 and 3 are the interrogatives made from ~~the~~ sentence 1. ~~The~~ Sentence 3 is much more common than sentence 2. In grammar, a clause that is in the interrogative has its subject following 'do', 'be', 'have' or a modal verb. That means sentence 2 is grammatically correct. If that's the case, then sentence 3 is grammatically incorrect. If it is, then why is it used so frequently? Perhaps, it's just idiomatic.

I've made some alterations. I hope you agree with them.

Re: ''Should I not respect you?'' and ''Shouldn't I respect you?''

Yankee — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:11:28 GMT

Jackson6612 wrote:
1: I should not respect you.

2: Should I not respect you?

3: Shouldn't I respect you?

The sentences 2 and 3 are the interrogatives made from the sentence 1. The sentence 3 is much more common than sentence 2. In grammar, a clause that is in the interrogative has its subject following do, be, have, or a modal verb. That means sentence 2 is grammatically correct. If that's the case, then sentence 3 is grammatically incorrect. If it is, then why is it used so frequently? Perhaps, it's just idiomatic.

Hi Jackson

You left out an important sentence:
4. I shouldn't respect you.

The words should and not are contracted as shouldn't.

Basically, if you want to use that contraction in a question, the only option you have is to invert the subject and the contraction. That is also grammatically correct and standard.

Your sentences 1 and 2 are very formal and would be used primarily in formal written English.

Re: ''Should I not respect you?'' and ''Shouldn't I respect you?''

Bokeh — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 16:05:47 GMT

Jackson6612 wrote:
In grammar, a clause that is in the interrogative has its subject following do, be, have, or a modal verb.

The pronoun goes in the first possible position after do, be, have, or a modal verb. In a case where that verb is part of a contraction the first possible position is obviously after the whole contraction.