Language Focus: Using Modal Verbs to Make a Suggestion

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From the course by University of Pennsylvania

English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

560 оценки

University of Pennsylvania

English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

560 оценки

Welcome to English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. To enroll in this course for free, click on “Enroll now” and then select "Full Course. No certificate." If you want to get a Coursera Verified Certificate for free, please fill out the Financial Aid form. This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in improving their English skills in the sciences. In this course, you will explore some of the most innovative areas of scientific study, while expanding your vocabulary and the language skills needed to share scientific information within your community. In unit 1, you will learn how to preview texts and practice some of the language used to make comparisons when talking about global warming and climate change. In unit 2, you will examine the chemistry of climate change and the language of cause and effect. In Unit 3, you will learn about some of the impacts of Climate Change and the language used to describe these effects. In Unit 4, you will learn reading strategies that can help you explore the science behind some new energy systems. In the final unit, you will investigate practical advances in Nanotechnology that help slow down climate change, while developing your own research skills in English. Unless otherwise noted, all course materials are available for re-use, repurposing and free distribution under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution license. Supplemental reading materials were provided by Newsela, which publishes daily news articles at a level that's just right for each English language learner.

From the lesson

Discovering Cleaner Energy Sources to Power the World

New Discoveries in Renewable Energy4:49

Expert Interview: Dr. Yang - Capturing Waste Heat to Create Energy4:31

Language Focus: Using Modal Verbs to Make a Suggestion6:39

Unlockable Achievement 80:09

Meet the Instructors

Jack Sullivan
Director of Programs
English Language Programs
Alyssa Swanson
Intensive Program Manager
English Language Programs

Hello, in the previous video, you listened to an expert

interview about capturing waste heat to create energy.

In this language focus video we are gong to look at modal verbs.

Modal verbs include words like can, should, might and several more.

Using modal verbs help you to describe how you feel about a situation

in a more precise way.

Modal verbs can be used in different ways.

In this video we will look at the modals we use to make a suggestion.

We'll talk about the structure of modal verbs and

the meaning of different types of modals.

Then we'll look at some examples.

In order to talk about modal's the very first thing you have to do is define verb.

A verb is the word that tells an action or a state of being in a sentence.

Run, walk, think and be are all verbs.

Now we can define modal.

A modal is a special type of verb usually used with another verb that

describes ideas such as making a suggestion, giving advice or

talking about the probability, the chance of something happening.

We're going to look at modals for

making a suggestion in four modal verbs in particular.

Should, can, and might, and must.

First, let's look at the grammar from four modal verbs.

And then, we'll talk about the differences between these four.

The grammar for most modals is quite simple.

Use only one modal and put the modal in front of the verb in a sentence.

Let's see an example.

In the previous video you listened to an expert

talking about capturing extra heat and using it as energy.

In this instance, you capture extra heat for energy.

We should first identify the verb.

Did you find it?

It's capture.

Now, we just need to put our modal right in front of the verb.

Let's try could for suggestion and remember we can add only one modal.

That gets us this sentence, you capture waste heat for energy.

Because we have add a model for suggestion, could,

the sentence now means that we are making a suggestion.

The person we are talking to could follow our suggestion or they could not.

Let's look at another example.

The government builds some wind farms.

Can you find the verb?

That's right.

It's builds.

Now let's imagine that we are answering the question.

What can the government do with a suggestion?

The government might build some wind farms.

Notice that the s from builds has gone.

When we use a modal verb, we use the base form of the verb, build, in this case.

Okay, so now we know the structure of using modal verbs.

Let's look at the different modals we can use.

When you're making a suggestion you can use different modal verbs.

Use must, should, shouldn't, could or might,

depending on how strong your suggestion is.

For example, if you want to make a strong suggestion, then use should.

Countries should reduce the amount of carbon emissions.

In this case we are making a strong suggestion.

We have included must in this video even though must is not really a suggestion.

It is an obligation, something that you have to do.

However, because climate change is such an important subject,

many people use must when they are making a suggestion about what to do.

You must take action to stop climate change now.

Sometimes we are not so certain about our suggestion.

In these cases, we use a weaker suggestion, like could or might.

You could open more recycling sites.

You might start composting at home.

We can also use should to make negative suggestions.

These are also strong suggestions but we use should not or

must not to tell people not to do something.

For example.

You shouldn't invest more money in fossil fuels.

So in this video, we looked at the modals we use to make a suggestion.

We talked about the structure of modal verbs and

then the meaning of different types of modals followed by some examples.

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