Modal Verbs

Listen to the information about modal verbs. Read and listen at the same time. You should listen many times. Listen TWO TIMES before you use your phone to translate.

Words in This Story

modal verb - a verb (such as can, could, shall, should, ought to, will, or would) that is usually used with another verb to express ideas such as possibility, necessity, and permission

auxiliary verb - a verb (such as have, be, may, do, shall, will, can, or must) that is used with another verb to show the verb's tense, to form a question, etc.

attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something

certainty – n. the state of being or feeling about how likely it is that something will happen

conditional – adj. showing or used to show that something is true or happens only if something else is true or happens

past participle - the form of the verb that is used with "have" in perfect tenses and with "be" in passive constructions

arrogant – adj. having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people

unstressed – adj. not having an accent

syllable – n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced

For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.

This week we are going to show you how to give advice using modal verbs. Modal verbs (called modals for short) are auxiliary verbs that express a speaker's attitude and the strength of that attitude. For example, "He should visit Prague."

In this sentence, should is the modal verb, and visit is the main verb.

The simple form of a verb goes after a modal. Do not add the third person "s" to a verb after a modal. It would sound strange to say "He should visits Prague" or "He should to visit Prague." The correct way is "He should visit Prague."

There are about 17 modals in English—grammar experts do not agree on an exact number. Today we will focus on three common modals used for giving advice: should, ought to, and had better.

Using should

Let's start with should. Should has multiple meanings. It can be used to express certainty, such as, "He should be here by five o'clock." Should can be a substitute for the conditional word if. You might hear someone say, "Should you need help, just ask me."

But more often, we use should to give suggestions and friendly advice, such as "You should apply for that job" or "You should try that new restaurant."

The past form of the modal should is should have + the past participle. For example, "I should have brought my wallet." Notice that the main verb brought is in the past participle form. Use should have to express regret, or a negative feeling about the past. Imagine you trusted someone and that person later cheated on you. You could say, "I should have known better than to trust him." The Beatles used the expression in a popular song.

I should have known better with a girl like you

That I would love everything that you do

And I do

Hey hey hey

Using ought to

The next modal we will talk about is ought to. Ought to is another modal for giving advice. Sometimes ought to sounds more like "otta" as in this romantic song by Al Green.

Sit back down and talk to me

About how you want to be

You ought to be with me

Yeah you ought to be with me

Ought to is similar in meaning to should, but it is not used as often. In modern American English, ought to is seldom used with the past tense or in the question form.

Using had better

Let's move on to had better. Had better is stronger than should and ought to. Had better carries an indirect threat. For example, if you said, "You had better finish the report," you are not making a polite suggestion. You are making an indirect threat. In other words, if you don't finish the report, you are in trouble. Authority figures sometimes use had better when speaking to people below them. Parents also use this form often.

Listen to cartoon character Malory Archer. Malory is the head of a spy agency. People think she is arrogant and heartless. Listen to her tone when she uses had better.

Oh for—I'll send up some help.

And Missy, you had better watch it!

As you can hear, Malory is not making a polite suggestion. She is threatening someone in a lower position.

Had better is not always impolite, it could express a sense of urgency as in, "Your plane is leaving! You had better run!" In other words, "If you don't run, you will miss your flight." Had better has no past tense or question form.

Modals in rapid speech

Should, ought to, and had better can be difficult for English learners to hear. Native speakers often shorten these words in casual conversation. In rapid speech, modals seem to disappear because they are shortened and often fall on unstressed syllables.

We will read some examples for you. The first sentence will be in slow, careful speech. Then we will read it again in rapid, informal speech.

I should have been listening to what she had to say.

I shoulda been listenin' ta what she had t' say.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

You otta be ashamed of yourself.

You had better decide what you want to do.

You'd better decide whatcha wanna do.

That's all the advice we have for you today. There is much more to learn about modals. We will cover them in more detail in future episodes. Until then, you should practice modals with British punk band, The Clash.

Darling you've got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go

If you say that you are mine

I'll be here till the end of time

So you've got to let me know

Should I stay or should I go

I'm Pete Musto.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

grammar – n. the system and structure of a language

novel – adj. new and different from what has been known before

expose – v. to show or uncover; to cause someone to be at risk

pattern – n. the regular and repeated way in which something happens or is done

practice – v. to do (something) often or repeatedly

consequence – n. a result of effect of an action

In recent months, health experts have released many statements on the new coronavirus that was first identified in China. These statements often include suggestions on how people can slow the spread of the virus.

Today on Everyday Grammar, we will explore the grammar behind some of this advice. Specifically, we will examine public health videos from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The CDC is the top public health protection agency in the United States.

Giving and asking for advice

Nancy Messonnier is the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. She also is an expert on vaccines.

In one video, she offers the following advice:

“The best way to protect yourself from 2019 Novel coronavirus is to avoid being exposed to the virus.”

In this statement, Messonnier is using an important sentence pattern for giving advice. Her sentence begins with the words “the best way to...”

In an earlier Everyday Grammar program, we explained that some nouns, such as the word 'way,' are often followed by an infinitive. These infinitives act like nouns in the sentence.

When Messonnier said, “The best way to protect yourself,” she used the infinitive to protect after the word way. Note that she then used the verb BE and another infinitive.

The basic pattern is as follows: “The best way + infinitive + BE verb + infinitive”

This is a common pattern for giving and asking for advice. It is useful in many situations – not just on health-related issues. Here is an example about those of you studying English.

“What is the best way to learn English?”

“The best way to learn English is to practice every day.”

Here is another example. Imagine yourself on vacation. You ask someone for directions:

“What is the best way to get to the airport?”

“The best way to get to the airport is to take the train.”

Modals for advice

Now, here is part of another video from the Centers for Disease Control. In it, the CDC’s Tom Chiller talks about ways to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Here are some things you should do:

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds...

Take extra measures to put distance between yourself and others...

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.”

Let us look at verbs that Chiller used.

Notice Chiller used the modal verb, should.

Should is a modal that, in the words of grammar expert Betty Azar, expresses advisability.

In other words, should tells another person that you are advising them to do something.

There are several modals that express advisability in English. They include should, ought to and had better.

Chiller could have replaced should with the words ought to – they are similar in meaning. But should is more common.

Had better also expresses advisability, but it has a different meaning than should and ought to. Had better suggests bad consequences if an action is not taken. In some cases, it can have a commanding, more threatening quality.

If you would like to learn more about modals, read our Everyday Grammar story called “You Had Better Learn Modals.” You can find it on our website, learningenglish.voanews.com.

Imperative statements and advice

Let’s think about some of the other words Chiller said:

“Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds...

Take extra measures to put distance between yourself and others...

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.”

When offering advice, Chiller made several kinds of imperative statements. The imperative, a kind of mood, is made from the base form of the main verb. The subject of the sentence, you, is left out.

Chiller could have given the same advice using the modal should. For example, he could have said, “You should wash your hands often.”

But, if you remember the video we listened to, Chiller already said, “Here are some things you should do.”

He did not use the word should again because he already said it.

Chiller’s advice is another useful pattern for English learners. You could use it to give advice in any number of ways. For example, if someone had asked you how to improve their English, you could say:

“Here are some things you should do to improve your English:

Practice speaking every day.

Write down new words.

Test yourself on words and grammar.”

Closing thoughts

Let’s end this report with an idea for you: The best way to learn new information is to practice using it.

Try writing some suggestions by using the patterns we explored. You can write us in the website’s Comments Section.

In the future, try looking for other kinds of patterns on the internet, in books and movies. Over time, you will notice that giving advice in English is not too difficult.

And that’s Everyday Grammar.

I’m John Russell.