Topic: Meanings of Modal Vverbs

Day 4: Suggestion and Obligation

Let¡¦s continue to talk about the different modal verbs that have similar meanings. Let¡¦s master the usage of modal verbs!

Suggestion: Could and May

Ø The most common way to offer suggestion or give advice is to use could.

¡¥I think you could try to complain to the Customer Service Department.¡¦

à Complaining to the Customer Service is a possible way to solve the problem.

Ø May can also be used to offer suggestion and give advice, but it is less commonly used.

Joseph: I hate my parents. They never understand me.

Daisy: You may tell them what you think. I believe they will be willing to listen to you.

Exercise:

Decide whether the meaning of could in each of the following sentence is suggestion or not.

1.You could try to find the books in the library.

a.yes

a.no

Ans: a

1.Could I borrow your pencils?

a.yes

a.no

Ans: b

1.I could speak Mandarin when I was young

a.yes

a.no

Ans: b

1.Although time is limited, I hope that you could finish that.

a.yes

a.no

Ans: b

1.If you want to find some literature for this project, you could go to the library.

a.yes

a.no

Ans: a

Obligation: Must, should and shall

Should and Must are most commonly used to express obligation. Should is generally used to express someone¡¦s responsibility to fulfil an obligation. Compared with should, must is used to express someone¡¦s insistence on fulfilling the obligation. For example,

Those who are responsible for this project must stay.

is more powerful than

Those who are responsible for this project should stay.¡¦

You can find more examples about using must and should to express obligation below.

Must

Ø give an order

Mother: Judy, you must finish your homework before dinner.

à The mother orders the child to do her homework.

Ø talk about a legal requirement

Passengers must wear a seatbelt.

à The law requires any passengers to wear a seatbelt.

Ø stress the importance of some actions

I failed in the exam. I must work harder next time.

à It is important for me to work harder, because I want to pass the exam.

Should

Ø to talk about appropriate behavior

You should go to school every day.

à Going to school every day is appropriate behaviour.

Ø to talk about suggestion and advice

You are very ill. You should quit smoking.

à To quit smoking is a piece of advice for getting healthy.

Shall

Ø A special meaning of ¡¥shall¡¦ is to talk about a strong obligation. This meaning only applies in formal documents such as job contracts or legal documents.

In a job contract¡K

The employee shall complete any tasks assigned by the Senior Manager.

In a legal document¡K

The person who destroys the public facilities shall be fined.

à The subjects in the above examples have to follow the rules strictly.Exercise

Fill in each blank with must, should or shall.

You ___________ take a shower everyday.

Students _____________ study hard for their examinations.

You __________ not play with fire, it¡¦s dangerous.

Time is limited, so let¡¦s do the things that we _____________ do first.

You want to go to the university, don¡¦t you? If so, you _________ work hard to get good results.

Earth is our home, we ___________ not destroy the environment.

According to the document, an employee ________be entitled to a maximum of 1 days¡¦ paid sick leave per month.

Passengers _____________ not eat on the train.

Ans:

should

should

must

must

must

should

shall

should, must