Search results for 'tag:Numbers tag:Modals' matching tags 'Numbers' and 'Modals'

Re: I have hoped that

Velimir — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:31:35 GMT

Hello everybody,

I'm going to revive this topic unjustlyÂ buried forÂ a longÂ time . IÂ haveÂ aÂ question about the verb "think" in the situation as described in previous posts for the verb "hope" .SurelyÂ thatÂ people, whateverÂ languageÂ theyÂ speak,Â oftenÂ faceÂ situationsÂ inÂ whichÂ their beliefs has just provedÂ to beÂ wrongÂ i.eÂ situations " IÂ haveÂ thought itÂ is ..but itÂ has justÂ provedÂ otherwise" . IÂ would expect thatÂ inÂ the englishÂ language itsÂ theÂ presentÂ perfect that I should use to describe the situation " fromÂ indefinite point inÂ the past up to now " but IÂ haveÂ rarely if everÂ metÂ any exampleÂ of "haveÂ thought"Â forÂ thisÂ situation andÂ many examples ofÂ "thought" inÂ its place (Searching Google and BNC has returned many examples of "have thought" in combination with modals like "would" , "should" , "might" etc but very small number of "have thought" alone). For example ,Â if I postedÂ thisÂ question a yearÂ agoÂ andÂ you didn'tÂ answer toÂ it, what would IÂ say now, after a year of waiting,Â given that I've never lost hope of getting the answer in the meantime :

I have thought you would respond ?

or

I thought you would respond ?

Thanks for your answers

Re: Modal "could"

CalifJim — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:15:00 GMT

Anonymous
How are they different? I think the number one use of "could" could be described as the past of "can" and the number two use can be described as, what I can say, an ellipted conditional structure. Right?

That seems reasonable.

Anonymous
With the modal "could," I don't think you ~~can't~~ can denote present? ability although it is possible to denote past ability. Right?

I'm not sure what you are asking, but if you intended the word "present", which I added, then again, what you say seems reasonable.

Modal "could"

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:13:08 GMT

Hi,
How are they different? I think the number one use of "could" could be described as the past of "can" and the number two use can be described as, what I can say, an ellipted conditional structure. Right? With the modal "could," I think you can't denote ability although possible to denote past ability. Right?

1.I thought you could do the job and I was right.

2. I think you could do the job right, not the person who came before you.

Re: grammar check!

AlpheccaStars — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:03:57 GMT

Ellisa:

This is a very long passage, and your other post seems to be even longer.

The editor at this web site makes it difficult to make corrections to long passages. Also, many teachers do not want to devote a long time working on a single post. If you post only one paragraph at a time, then different teachers can work on them and you will get your corrections faster.

Ellisa

Hello teachers!
I'm summarising a book which is about teaching methods.
I guess there are millions of errors.
Please ~~check those to right one~~ suggest corrections to my sentences.!
Thanks in advance!

13. Teaching grammar

There are two main ways to teach~~ing~~ grammar.(or you can say "ways of teaching grammar". The word "teaching" is a gerund, and must be used as a noun. In this example, it is object of the preposition "of")
One way is ~~both~~ planning grammar teaching in advance and relying on the coursebooks which can help us teach grammar. The other way is teaching grammar as a result of other work. In other words, it is ~~has~~ done as a peripheral activity. In this chapter, we will look at the various different ways to teach grammar. We will look at the range of activities which satisfy not merely efficiency but also ~~appropriacy~~ (not a word; you can use the adjective forms - a range of activities which are efficient as well as appropriate). . Lastly, we will discuss grammar books and their usages.

(You need to be consistent in using imperative versus declarative sentences)

A. Introducing grammar

The following ~~1 to 4~~ examples (, numbered 1 to 4,) are activities which represent a range of possibilities for introducing new grammar.

Ex1) It's making sentences using the present simple in the third singular. First, the teacher holds up a number of flashcards which are about a specific job. Then (? subject - the students )make sentences in ~~contained~~ present simple tense for ~~the~~ each pictures. It consists (or The exercise consists of) of three affirmative and three negative sentences. Then (? subject - the teacher )makes the students guess what kind of job it is. Once students are confident in ~~with~~ these sentences, the teacher asks them to think of one profession and make 6 sentences. Now, they can do activities guessing what profession is being described.

Ex2) It's using texts which contained (present tense) what the students are being taught (past simple irregular verbs). While the students read the text, they come across blanks that they must fill in with the past tense form of certain verbs. Then, (? subject - the teacher )makes them write these past tense verb forms down in the blanks and also write them phonetically using ~~which are shown~~ ~~their~~ phonemic symbols.

Ex3) This is aimed to show the differences between ~~reporting~~ direct speech and reporting things that were said in the past. The teacher draws ~~Draw~~ two people on the board. One, whose name is Jack, is holding a phone and smiling ~~whose name is Jack~~. The other is just standing. The teacher gives the ~~Give~~ students the information that Jack is talking to a girl who he met in the school canteen. Then, the teacher asks the students what Jack tells his friend while taking on the phone. The answers might be in the present form such as ' She says I'm really nice'. In this process, the teacher makes sure that the students understand how 'you' changes to 'I'. The teacher now tells the students that Jack is back home and he was spurned by the girl. He is telling to his mother that 'She said I was really nice' which is past form. The teacher can write both past and present forms on the board to help students.

Ex4) Here, the language which the students are ~~were~~ going to study is ~~was~~ embedded in the texts which they read. The teacher makes the students read the story first. After confirming that they ~~are~~ fully understanood the story by asking comprehension questions, the teacher asks them to make bad or insensible statements using the story. Then, the ~~get~~ students to come up to the board and write the sentences. ~~so that T~~he sentences have to use the modal auxillary "should," such as ~~ncluding~~ 'Should have p.p.' or' Shouldn't have p.p'.(especially here.)

Re: Modals, Quiz, FCE

Planet Hopper — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:25:12 GMT

I don't think you understood what I meant. Maybe you could read a reply before looking down on anyone here, these places are for debating. More than half of the English speakers in the world are not native, prejudice should stay at home. By the way, I'm Canadian :), but, right, I wasn't born one.

The point is: I defend should as the right choice in number 3

I am not asking anyone's place of birth before reading the answer..

Re: Modals, Quiz, FCE

Fandorin — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:12:58 GMT

Planet Hopper
I don't agree with the answer on number 3

You've got to in this sentence means the obligation is strong. It is more common sense to think of it as a piece of advice, we don't have context clues to infer strong obligation.

So, I think there is no enough circumstances. Have got to may mean necessity too. Let's wait for natives to explain.

Re: Modals, Quiz, FCE

Planet Hopper — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:01:05 GMT

I don't agree with the answer on number 3

You've got to in this sentence means the obligation is strong. It is more common sense to think of it as a piece of advice, we don't have context clues to infer strong obligation.

reporting on permanent, on-going, or relevant content

Anonymous — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:51:00 GMT

Hi,
1. Would you say if a person is reporting on a content that is permanent, on-going, or relevant in content nature, the reporting word could be both present and past and also, do you feel both present and past tenses are OK in the that-clause?

He said/says his house is/was in Chicago.
He said/says his favorite hobby is/was playing chess.

2. Do you feel all three ar OK? Or just the modal 'would'? I think this deals with intentions and am not sure an intention can be said to be that of on-gong in nature.

His utterance: "I want/will go to the party tomorrow"

He said that he will/would/wants go to that party tommorrow.

3. we are not sure if his house is in Chicago for some reason for a number one exam ple, would you say, what I would call a reporting word should be in present tense?

His utterance: "My house is in Chicago"
He says his house in Chicago at yesterday's party.

Re: What is an infinitive complement?

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:58:35 GMT

i really don't know exactly the "how" and the "why" the following examples are called infinitive complement so, study it by observing my examples:

here are some examples of infinitive complements:

It's important to memorize your pin number.
It's sometimes helpful to eat chicken soup.

(Anyways, the words in bold letters are the infinitive complements, one of the uses of these is when you are giving a suggestion, you use them to substitute the modal verb should).

other examples of infinitive complements:

It's useful + the infinitive verb
it's best "
it's helpful "

i hope i was helpful : )

conditional

Anonymous — Wed, 28 May 2008 01:46:31 GMT

Hi, Two questions, if I may.

1. Is this a correct conditional?

Note that the priests had to look after their own fellowship with God if they were to minister to others.

To follow what I call "traditional patterns", it seems logical to write it as:

Note that the priests would have had to look after their own fellowship with God if they were to ministr to others. -- Is "would have had" allowed for a number 2 "were' conditional?

If I were president, I would give more money to ...

Can it be?

If I were president, I would have done more for the workers in the company.

2. Can we use a modal like 'can' in an if-clause?

If I can have more people in this project, I will (would??-- not possible??) be able to finish it on time.

Thanks.