Modal VerbsTeaching Modals to

Low-Level ESL Students

Julian EliasSac State English Language Institute

& Cosumnes River College

single-word, principal, true modals

• can• could• will• would• should

• may• might• must• shall

Important?Necessary?

phrasal modals / modal phrases / modal-like

expressions• have to• have got to• ought to• had better• know how to

• be going to• be able to• be about to• be to• be supposed to• be allowed to• be permitted

to

difficult vocab.• auxiliary• modality• participle• infinitive• semimodals• defective*

*A defective verb is a verb with an incomplete conjugation, or one which cannot be used in some other way as normal verbs can. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.

difficult vocab.• ability• advice• advisability• necessity• obligation• permission• possibility• probability

• auxiliary• modality• participle• infinitive• semimodals• defective

difficult vocab.• ability• advice• advisability• necessity• obligation• permission• possibility• probability

Suggestion #1:Have your students

look up &/or translate these

words.

• infinitive

Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman

“Modal auxiliaries are among the more

difficult structures ESL/EFL teachers have to deal with.”

Folse“Modals are small but

important words or phrases that allow the speaker or

writer to include nuances of meaning for verbs.”

“A modal rarely has just one meaning, and rarely is one meaning expressed by

only one modal.”

BarryModals “carry a wide range of different meanings and

nuances of meaning…, [and] the meanings are very

hard to spell out in exact and predictable terms.”

easy / not

confusing

so-so difficult /

confusing

simple present

2463.16%

923.68%

513.16%

0 0

present progressive

2155.26%

1231.58%

37.89%

25.26%

0

simple past

1642.11%

1231.58%

821.05%

25.25%

0

future 1334.21%

1231.58%

1128.95%

25.26%

0

nouns & pronouns

1128.95%

1026.31%

1334.21%

410.53%

0

modals 37.89%

25.26%

1950%

821.05%

615.79%

informal grammar survey38 low/low-intermediate students

common low-level mistakes

• Sam did be late yesterday.• Why did Sam is late yesterday?• I was slept last night.• She was closed the window ten

minutes ago.• Are they ate pizza for dinner last

night?• What did they ate for dinner last

night?• Does Kate usually has a salad for

lunch?• What did Kate usually has for

lunch?• David is often lift weights.• Why did she spent the day at home

yesterday?

• am/is/are/was/were + present participle– I am play soccer. (I am playing ….)

• do/don’t + base form– Do you playing soccer? (Do you play…?)

• does/doesn’t + base form– He doesn’t playing soccer. (He doesn’t

play….)• did/didn’t + base form– I’m not played soccer. (I didn’t play….)– I wasn’t play soccer. (I didn’t play….)– I wasn’t played soccer. (I didn’t play….)– Did he plays soccer? (Did he play…?)– He didn’t played soccer. (He didn’t play….)

Azar & Hagen – Ch. 12Modals, Part 1: Expressing Ability• Using can• Pronunciation of can &

can’t• Using can – questions• Using know how to• Using could – past of

can• Using be able to• Using very & too• Using two, too & to• More about

prepositions: at & in for place

will, be going to, may &

might are in Chapters 10 &

11

Azar & Hagen – Ch. 12Modals, Part 1: Expressing Ability• Using can• Pronunciation of can &

can’t• Using can – questions• Using know how to• Using could – past of

can• Using be able to• Using very & too• Using two, too & to• More about

prepositions: at & in for place

Good information & exercises, but…

phrasal modal

phrasal modalonly if enough timeonly if enough timeonly if enough time

Most low-level students have a lot

of trouble with phrasal modals.

modal vs. phrasal modalwill

• I/You/She/He/It/We/ They will eat.

• I/You/She/He/It/We/ They will not (won’t) eat.

• Will (Won’t) I/you/she/ he/it/we/they eat?

• Why will (won’t) I/you/ she/he/it/we/they eat?

be going to• I am going to eat.• You/We/They are

going to eat.• She/He/It is going to

eat.• I’m not going to eat.• You/We/They aren’t

going to eat.• She/He/It isn’t going

to eat.

be going to

• Am I (not) going to eat?• Are (Aren’t) you/we/they going to eat?• Is (Isn’t) she/he/it going to eat?• What am I going to eat?• What are you/we/they going to eat?• What is she/he/it going to eat?Past tense:• was/wasn’t/were/weren’t going to eat

modal vs. phrasal modalcan

• I/You/She/He/It/We/ They can drive.

• I/You/She/He/It/We/ They cannot (can’t) drive.

• Can (Can’t) I/you/she/ he/it/we/they eat?

• Why can (can’t) I/you/ she/he/it/we/they drive?

be able to• I am able to drive.• You/We/They are able

to drive.• She/He/It is able to

drive.• I’m not able to drive.• You/We/They aren’t

able to drive.• She/He/It isn’t able

to drive.

be able to

• Am I (not) able to drive?• Are (Aren’t) you/we/they able to drive?• Is (Isn’t) she/he/it able to drive?• Why am I (not) able to drive?• Why are (aren’t) you/we/they able to

drive?• Why is (isn’t) she/he/it able to drive?Past tense:• was/wasn’t/were/weren’t able to drive

KNOW HOW TO

• I/You/We/They know how to drive.• She/He/It knows how to drive.• I/You/We/They don’t know how to drive.• She/He/It doesn’t know how to drive.• Do (Don’t) I/you/we/they know how to drive?• Does (Doesn’t) she/he/it know how to drive?• Why do (don’t) I/you/we/they know how to

drive?• Why does (doesn’t) she/he/it know how to

drive?

KNOW HOW TO

• I/You/We/They knew how to drive.• She/He/It knew how to drive.• I/You/We/They didn’t know how to drive.• She/He/It didn’t know how to drive.• Did (Didn’t) I/you/we/they know how to

drive?• Did (Didn’t) she/he/it know how to drive?• Why did (didn’t) I/you/we/they know how to

drive?• Why did (didn’t) she/he/it know how to

drive?

• Using should• Using have +

infinitive• Using must• Polite questions: May I,

Could I & Can I• Polite questions: Could

you & Would you• Imperative sentences• Modal auxiliaries

[review]• Summary chart• Using let’s

???

only if enough time

only if enough time

Azar & Hagen – Ch. 13Modals, Part 2: Advice, Necessity, Requests,

Suggestions

modal vs. phrasal modal (?)

must• I/You/She/He/It/We/

They must do __.• I/You/She/He/It/We/

They must not (mustn’t) do __.

• Must I/you/she/he/it/ we/they do __.

• Why must I/you/she/ he/it/we/they do __?

HAVE TO• I/You/We/They

have to do __.• She/He/It has to

do __.• I/You/We/They

don’t have to do __.

• She/He/It doesn’t have to do __.

HAVE TO

• Do (Don’t) I/you/we/they have to do __?• Does (Doesn’t) she/he/it have to do __?• Why do (don’t) I/you/we/they have to do

__?• Why does (doesn’t) she/he/it have to do

__?

HAVE TO

• I/You/We/They had to drive.• She/He/It had to drive.• I/You/We/They didn’t have to drive.• She/He/It didn’t have to drive.• Did (Didn’t) I/you/we/they have to drive?• Did (Didn’t) she/he/it have to drive?• Why did (didn’t) I/you/we/they have to

drive?• Why did (didn’t) she/he/it have to drive?

Using have + infinitive (have to/has to)

(a) People need to eat food.(b) People have to eat food.(c) Jack needs to study for his test.(d) Jack has to study for his test.

(a) and (b) have basically the same meaning.(c) and (d) have basically the same meaning. Have + infinitive has a special meaning: it expresses the same idea as need.

(e) I had to study last night. Past form: had + infinitive

(f) Do you have to leave now?(g) What time does Jim have to leave?(h) Why did they have to leave…?

Question form: do, does, or did is used in questions with have to.

(i) I don’t have to study tonight.(i+1) Jim doesn’t have to study.(j) The concert was free. We didn’t have to buy tickets.

Negative form: don’t, doesn’t, or didn’t is used with have to.

discussion topics/questions

• Pages 4-6• (Charts on pp. 2, 3, 9 & 10)• (“Common ELL Mistakes” on pp.

10-11)• Please get together with a

partner or a small group• We’ll come back together as a

whole group to share thoughts & ideas between 10:30 and 10:45

modals in low-level reading textbook(Active Skills for Reading Intro, 3rd ed.)

• On Face2Face, you can play games ___.• What can’t you do on Face2Face?• How long can you work in another

country?• Lifelong learning can help people ___.• Which of the following might Mr.

Salinas say?• After you take Workshop 2, you will be

able to ___.• At the end of Workshop 4, you will be

able to ___.