English Exercises 9th Grade.

English Exercises to Practice

 9th Grade.

Modals Verb Rules

There are certain rules which surround the use of modal verbs, for example the word ‘to’ must never be used after a modal verb. Learning these rules and how a modal verb can function within a sentence can greatly help you in forming grammatically correct sentences.

Will

The verb “will” is used to express:

§  Promise: Don’t worry, I will be here.

§  Instant decision: I will take these books with me.

§  Invitation/Offer: Will you give me a chance?

§  Certain prediction: John Smith will be the next President.

§  Future tense auxiliary: Tomorrow I will be in New York.

Shall

The verb “shall” is used to express:

§  Asking what to do: Shall I get the phone? Or will you?

§  Offer: Shall I call a cab?

§  Suggestion: Shall I call again on Thursday?

Would

The verb “would” is used to express:

§  Asking for permission: Would you mind if I opened the window?

§  Request: Would you make dinner?

§  Making arrangements: Would you be available at 6 pm tonight?

§  Invitation: Would you like to go out sometimes?

§  Preferences: Would you prefer the window seat or the aisle?

Should

The verb “should” is used to express:

§  Advice: You should visit your dentist at least twice a year.

§  Recommending action: You really should go to the new museum on Main Street.

§  Uncertain prediction: I posted the cheque yesterday so it should arrive this week.

§  Logical deduction: I’ve revised so I should be ready for the test.

Ought to

The verb “ought to” is used to express:

§  Advice: You ought to have come to the meeting. It was interesting.

§  Logical deduction: 30$ ought to be enough for the taxi.

Must

The verb “must” is used to express:

§  Obligation/necessity: I must memorize all of these rules about tenses.

§  Deduction: She lied to the police. She must be the murderer.

Mustn’t

The verb “musn’t” (must not) is used to express:

§  Prohibition: You mustn’t smoke in this restaurant. It’s forbidden.

May

The verb “may” is used to express:

§  Possibility: Richard may be coming to see us tomorrow.

§  Ask for permission: May I borrow your dictionary?

Might

The verb “might” is used to express:

§  Slight possibility: It looks nice, but it might be very expensive.

§  The past form of “may” in reported speech: The President said he might come.

Can

The verb “can” is used to express:

§  Ability: David can speak three languages.

§  Permission (informal): Can I sit in that chair please?

§  Offers: Can I carry the luggage for you?

Could

The verb “could” is used to express:

§  Request: Could I borrow your dictionary?

§  Suggestion: Could you say it again more slowly?

§  Ability in the past: I think we could have another Gulf War.

§  Asking for permission: Could I open the window?

Have to/has to

The verb “have to/has to” is used to express:

§  External Obligation: You have to take off your shoes before you get into the mosque.

Don’t/ Doesn’t have to

“Don’t/Doesn’t have to” is used to express:

Is not necessary: You don’t have to do all the exercises, only the first one.

Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:

can	could	may	might	will
would	must	shall	should	ought to

Modals are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use an 's' for the third person singular.

2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?').
3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Probability:

First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

For example:

·        It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.

·        I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.

·        This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!

We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability.

For example:

·        She can speak six languages.

·        My grandfather could play golf very well.

·        I can't drive.

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary or unnecessary, or to give advice.

For example:

·        Children must do their homework.

·        We have to wear a uniform at work.

·        You should stop smoking.

We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission. We also use modal verbs to say something is not allowed.

For example:

·        Could I leave early today, please?

·        You may not use the car tonight.

·        Can we swim in the lake?

Habits

We can use 'will' and 'would' to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did in the past.

For example:

·        When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.

·        John will always be late!