LESSON 4 - EXPRESSING SUGGESTION, OBLIGATION, PROHIBITION & PERMISSION

In English, we can use certain modal verbs to give the sentence a new meaning.

SUGGESTIONS

To express suggestions, we use SHOULD.

-I think that Mary should listen to what John says. -The boys should train harder to get better results. -You should not start the project without the rest of the group.

We use COULD to express a suggestion with a sense of possibility.

-You could fix your car with those tools. -Mary could enter to the voice competition if she wanted. She has a great voice.

OBLIGATION & STRONG RECOMMENDATION

To express an obligation, we use MUST and HAVE TO.

-I must take care of y parents. -You have to clean your room before you leave.

We can also express strong recommendations with MUST and HAVE TO in conditional sentences.

-I think that Sarah must study hard to get admitted at the school. -You have to be polite if you want to keep your job.

American English prefers the use of HAVE TO, while the British English prefers the use of MUST.

WATCH OUT!

MUST NOT and DO NOT HAVE TO do not have the same meaning as their positive form.

-We must not leave the room until the office comes back. (prohibition) -They do not have to wait for the transport to leave the school. (option/possibility)

PROHIBITION

To express a prohibition, we use MUST NOT and CANNOT.

-Liza must not enter to the studio without her parents' permission. -Ray cannot tell anything about the competition until the authorities announce it.

PERMISSION

To ask or give permission, we use CAN, MAY, COULD and MIGHT.

Asking  Can I enter to the room? (friendly) Could Claudia come with her friends? (polite) May I tell you something important? (more polite) Might Dereck talk in front of the King? (very polite) Giving You can stay here all the time you want. (friendly) You may leave the flowers on the table. (polite) You might tell Andrew to come. (very polite)

Let's summarize the expressions we have seen so far.

You should stay with your mom. - suggestion. Laura could sing better if she practiced. - suggestion. I must / have to wash the dishes. -  obligation. You must / have to speak louder if you want them to hear you. - strong recommendation. We must not / cannot shout in the church. - prohibition Can / could /may / might I bring a friend for dinner? - asking permission You can / may / might have lunch with us. - giving permission.

EXERCISES

Use the words to build a sentence in the form asked in parenthesis.

Example:  You / stay not / up / late (suggestion) You should not stay up late.

1.Mark / help / his friends / with History (suggestion) 2.The girl / take a shower / before lunch (obligation) 3.People / smoke not / in public places (prohibition) 4.You / sing / a song / with me (give permission) 5.I / sing / you / a song (ask permission) 6.Andrea / change / her attitude / to be more respected (strong recommendation) 7.The group / keep studying / to win the school trip to England. (strong recommendation) 8.You / wait / outside / until the teacher arrives. (give permission) 9.We / intervene / the conversation / without permission (prohibition) 10.The director / let / me / go home now (asking permission)