English Grammar Essentials: Modals, Phrasal Verbs, Compounds

Understanding English Modals, Verbs, and Compounds

Modal Verbs and Their Core Uses

• Can

  • Ability
  • Making suggestions
  • Asking for favors
  • Expressing certainty that something is impossible

• Be Able To

  • Ability in the past, present, and future

• Could

  • Skill in the past
  • Polite requests

• May

  • Probability or possibility (greater than 'might')
  • Politely asking for favors

• Might

  • Probability or possibility (less than 'may')

• Would

  • Asking favors (more formal)
  • Making offers or invitations

• Must

  • Obligation or necessity (e.g., law)
  • Certainty that what is said is true

• Have To

  • Obligation (common usage worldwide)

• Need To

  • Expressing need

• Need Not

  • No obligation or necessity

• Must Not

  • Prohibition or ban

• Do Not Have To

  • No obligation or necessity

• Should

  • Advice or opinion (most common use)

• Ought To

  • Advice or opinion (hardly used in negative and interrogative forms)

• Shall

  • Offering to do a favor

Perfect Modals: Expressing Past Actions

• Should / Ought To Have + Past Participle

  • Criticism of a past action
  • Criticism of a past situation that should not have occurred

• Must Have + Past Participle

  • Certainty that something has happened

• May / Might Have + Past Participle

  • Assumption about a past event

• Could Have + Past Participle

  • Ability to have done something that was not done
  • Certainty that something could have happened

• Need Not Have + Past Participle

  • An unnecessary past action

Common Verb-Preposition Combinations

• Accuse of: To blame someone for something
• Apply for: To make a formal request for something
• Complain about: To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something
• Hear of: To learn about something or someone
• Laugh at: To mock or ridicule someone or something
• Laugh with: To share laughter with someone
• Listen to: To pay attention to sound or advice
• Participate in: To take part in an activity or event
• Protect from: To keep safe from harm or danger
• Provide with: To supply someone with something
• Replace with: To substitute one thing for another
• Rely on: To depend on or trust someone or something
• Walk by: To pass something or someone on foot

Forming Compound Adjectives and Nouns

• Noun/Adjective + -ed

  • right-handed (using the right hand)
  • two-edged (having two edges; having both good and bad effects)

• Adjective or Adverb + Past Participle

  • low-paid (underpaid)
  • well-known (famous)

• Adjective, Adverb, or Noun + Present Participle

  • good-looking (handsome)
  • never-ending (without end)

• Adjective + Noun

  • last-minute (done or occurring at the last possible moment)

• Noun + Adjective

  • homesick (longing for home)
  • world-famous (famous throughout the world)

• Noun + Past Participle

  • suntanned (having skin darkened by the sun)

• Noun + Noun (Compound Noun)

  • air-conditioning (a system for controlling the temperature and humidity of air)