Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[puzzle]

Dear teachers,
Modal verbs are sometime puzzling. Can you help me with the following exercises:
1. John: We have to get to the theatre by seven o'clock. What time do you think we shouldleave?
Sarah: I think we need toleave home at six oclock, or we won't arrive there in time. Can we use shall for the second blank? And can we use must for the third blank?
2.George： I don't feel well. The doctor told me that I ought to give up smoking. He also gie me the medicine. Do you think it'll do me any good?
Amy: If you follow the doctor's advice, it should help you. For the first one canwe you "should" or " must"? For the second can we use "will"?
3. Sam: How can I grow thinner, Mum?
Mum: Well, you have toeat food with plenty of fiber that helps you digest better. And you should stop drinking cola or eating sweet food.
Sam: Does it mean I shouldn't eat my favourite fried chicken any more?
For the first one , can we use "should",for the third can we use "can't"?
Thank you very much!

[Carolyn Payne]

1. John: We have to get to the theatre by seven o'clock. What time do you think we should leave?
Sarah: I think we need to leave home at six oclock, or we won't arrive there in time.
Question: Can we use "shall" for the second blank? NO
And can we use must for the third blank? YES
Go to the "Grammar Lessons" and check out "Understanding and Using Modal Verbs #19, 21 and 34"

2.George： I don't feel well. The doctor told me that I ought to give up smoking. He also gave me the medicine. Do you think it'll do me any good?
Amy: If you follow the doctor's advice, it should help you.
Question:For the first one can we you "should" or " must"? YES
For the second can we use "will"? YES
Go to the "Grammar Lessons" and check out "Understanding and Using Modal Verbs #25"

3. Sam: How can I grow thinner, Mum?
Mum: Well, you have to eat food with plenty of fiber that helps you digest better. And you should stop drinking cola or eating sweet food.
Sam: Does it mean I shouldn't eat my favourite fried chicken any more?
Question:For the first one , can we use "should"? YES (recommendation)

for the third can we use "can't"? NO

Check out the Grammar Lessons in the "Stuff for Students" section. The explanations are very clear.

Have a nice day!

[puzzle]

Dear teachers,
I have gone over the grammar lessons, but I have more questions.
1. My father 's birthday is coming , what shall I get for him?
� Can we use "should" here? If we can say" what shall I get for him?", why can't we say " what time shall we leave?".
2. In this grammar lessons there is a sentence like this:"May my friends go to the party with me?"
"No, they may not." But in our grammar books , we often say , No , you can't." Because "may not " means " they possibly not".
3. And also "There are no lights and no one is answering the doorbell.
They must not be at home."
We can't use must not here, because must not means "forbidden", we will use "can't" which express possibility.
Which is right?
Thank you very much!

[redset]

You picked a good username, puzzle! Modal verbs are tricky, and the only real way to understand them is to learn them all and how they're used in different situations.

1) Shall is mainly used in British English as far as I know, it's not as strong as should. When you're asking for suggestions or advice, should implies that there's a 'correct' decision, a course of action which would be better than others:

'Should I say thank you?' "Of course you should, it would be rude not to."
'Which way should I go?' "Take this street, the other one has heavy traffic."

It can also be used casually when you're asking for general ideas:

'What should I get for lunch?' "How about a sandwich?"

Shall has the same feel as should does in this last example.


2) May can mean possibly (I may eat a cookie), but it's also used to ask permission and grant (or deny it):
'May I eat a cookie?' "No you may not! You'll ruin your appetite!"
It can also be used to politely ask for something (where you're not actually asking for permission):
'May I have the mushroom risotto?' "Certainly madam, would you like any wine with your meal?"

3) Must can also be used to talk about probability - it means that whatever you're talking about has to be true (or not true, if you're saying must not):

'You must write to me!' - you are required to write to me / I really want you to write to me.
'You must be the repairman!' - I'm expecting a repairman, you look like one... you must be the repairman then! It has to be true.

[peterteacher]

Dear Puzzle,

The key point to remember is that words like "may" and "mustn't" have more than one meaning. Just like thousands of other words in English have more than one meaning. You know, just to keep things difficult

And "what time shall we leave?" is perfectly good English.
o(^^)o
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