phrases – Teacher Julieta

Modal Verb/Phrase	Meaning	Example	Grammar Pattern
needn’t	no obligation	You needn’t come to the party if you don’t want to.	need not + base verb
must	strong obligation	I must finish this report by tomorrow.	must + base verb
ought to	strong recommendation (very formal)	You ought to apologize for your behavior.	ought to + base verb
should	advice/suggestion/ weak obligation	I should study for the exam.	should + base verb
can	permission	Can I use your pen, please?	can + base verb
be required	necessary	A valid passport is required to enter the country.	be + required to + base verb
be not required	not necessary	A tie is not required for the interview.	be + not required to + base verb
be allowed	permission	You are allowed to smoke in this area.	be + allowed to + base verb
be not allowed	prohibition	You are not allowed to smoke in this area.	be + not allowed to + base form
be supposed to	expectation/ weak obligation	We are supposed to arrive at 8:00 AM.	be + supposed to + base verb
be not supposed to	not allowed	You are not supposed to use your phone in class.	be + not supposed to + base verb
it’s illegal to	against the law	It’s illegal to park here.	it’s illegal to + base verb
it’s against the law	against the law	It’s against the law to steal.	it’s against the law to + base verb
it’s polite	socially acceptable	It’s polite to say “please” and “thank you”.	it’s polite to + base verb
it’s impolite	socially unacceptable	It’s impolite to interrupt someone.	it’s impolite to + base verb
it’s best to	advice/suggestion (positive)	It’s best to arrive early for your interview.	it’s best to + base verb
it’s best not to	advice/suggestion (negative)	It’s best not to eat too much junk food.	it’s best not to + base verb

Modal Verb/Phrase

Meaning

Example

Grammar Pattern

needn’t

no obligation

You needn’t come to the party if you don’t want to.

need not + base verb

must

strong obligation

I must finish this report by tomorrow.

must + base verb

ought to

strong recommendation (very formal)

You ought to apologize for your behavior.

ought to + base verb

should

advice/suggestion/ weak obligation

I should study for the exam.

should + base verb

can

permission

Can I use your pen, please?

can + base verb

be required

necessary

A valid passport is required to enter the country.

be + required to + base verb

be not required

not necessary

A tie is not required for the interview.

be + not required to + base verb

be allowed

permission

You are allowed to smoke in this area.

be + allowed to + base verb

be not allowed

prohibition

You are not allowed to smoke in this area.

be + not allowed to + base form

be supposed to

expectation/ weak obligation

We are supposed to arrive at 8:00 AM.

be + supposed to + base verb

be not supposed to

not allowed

You are not supposed to use your phone in class.

be + not supposed to + base verb

it’s illegal to

against the law

It’s illegal to park here.

it’s illegal to + base verb

it’s against the law

against the law

It’s against the law to steal.

it’s against the law to + base verb

it’s polite

socially acceptable

It’s polite to say “please” and “thank you”.

it’s polite to + base verb

it’s impolite

socially unacceptable

It’s impolite to interrupt someone.

it’s impolite to + base verb

it’s best to

advice/suggestion (positive)

It’s best to arrive early for your interview.

it’s best to + base verb

it’s best not to

advice/suggestion (negative)

It’s best not to eat too much junk food.

it’s best not to + base verb

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A New Year, new opportunities to improve your English! It’s time to start thinking about New Year resolutions.

A resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something in the future. In English there are different ways to talk about our resolutions depending on how determined we are to accomplish them.

There are different websites with useful information about how to make and keep New Year’s resolutions. However, here I’m going to talk about the grammar behind talking about our resolutions in English.

In the table below you can find some useful sentence starters that you can use to talk about your New Year’s resolutions.

Sentence starter	Meaning	Example
(+) I’m going to + base form (-) I’m not going to + base form	It’s a plan or intention for the future	I’m going to practice English every day. I’m not going to eat junk food.
(+) I‘m planning to + base form	Things that you are almost definitely going to do. Things that you have already scheduled or made some preparations for.	I’m planning to take English classes during the summer.
I hope to + base form I‘d like to + base form	Things you want to do but you it’s not a definite plan	I hope to travel more. I’d like to lose weight.
I might + base form I may + base form I‘m thinking about + gerund	Things you are considering, but you’re not sure if you will do it or not.	I might travel to Brazil. I may apply to grad school. I’m thinking about changing careers.

Practice time

Choose 1 item per column.
Write the names of each item in order. For example: hamburger, wine, mountain, Whatsapp.
Repeat step 2 two more times.
Swipe left to find out your resolution.
Use the sentence starters in the chart below and the words in the New Year’s resolution generator to make your sentences.

Examples:

I’m going to stop taking selfies after zumba.

I’m not going to stop taking selfies after zumba.

I hope to stop taking selfies after zumba.

I‘m thinking about stopping taking selfies after zumba.

Share your resolutions with us.