Mastering English Modals and Grammar Structures

Modal Verbs and Verb Forms

Past Ability: Used the third form of the verb.

Certainty and Ability

• Certainty: Must
• Ability (Present): Can (e.g., "I can study.")
• Ability (Past): Could, was able to, couldn't
• Ability (Future): Will be able to

Possibility

Use: Can, might, may, could.

• Past Conditional: Could (e.g., "I could study German at Soos Bay four years ago.")

Impossibility

Use: Can't, couldn't.

Speculation

• Positive Certainty (+): Must
• Possibility: May, might, could
• Negative Certainty (-): Can't/Couldn't

Obligation

• Present: Must (+++), have to (+)

Lack of Obligation

• Present: Don't have to, needn't, don't need to
• Past: Didn't have to, didn't need to, needn't have
• Other Tenses: To have to, to need to

Necessity

• Present: Need, to need
• Past: Needed, needed to
• Other Tenses: Need

Prohibition

• Present/Future: Mustn't, can't
• Past: Couldn't, wasn't/weren't allowed to
• Other Tenses: To be allowed to

Advice and Recommendations

• Present: Should, ought to, had better
• Past: Should, ought to

Warnings and Intentions

Use: Had better (not)

Permission

• Present: Can, be allowed to
• Past: Could, be allowed to
• Other Tenses: To be allowed to

Defining Relative Clauses

Use that in place of who or which when there are no commas. If the pronoun (who/that/which) is the subject, it can be omitted. Use whose, where, or when; that cannot be used here.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Do not use that. Do not omit the pronoun. Use a comma before the clause.

Verbs + Gerunds and Infinitives

• Gerunds: regret missing
• Infinitives: regret to tell

Had Better

Use: 'd better, 'd better not.

Common Prepositions

Use: about, against, for, from, in, on, to, with.

Examples: agree with, complain about, help with, insist on, listen to, listen for, participate in, recover from, rely on, resign from, search for.

Vocabulary Enhancements

General Terms

• Advice/Suggestions: Use appropriate terms.
• Career/Job: Stop working, remove.
• Success/Achievement: Largest $\rightarrow$ Biggest.
• Sand: Sand.

Phrasal Verbs

• Catch up: Reach the same level.
• Fill in: Complete.
• Go over: Explain.
• Go through: Check.
• Pick up: Pick.
• Give out: Sharing.
• Set up: Get ready for something.
• Sign up: Sign a contract.
• Turn up: Increase.
• Warm up: Prepare for a performance.
• Call off: Call out.
• Sell out: Sell.

Adjectives and Nouns

• Caring: Careful.
• Dependable: Reliability.
• Industrious: Employee (Work).
• Cooperative: Collaborative.
• Energetic.
• Flexible: Adaptable.
• Friendly, Sociable.
• Hardworking.
• Imaginative: Creative.
• Kind: Friendly.
• Trust: Reliable, entrusting.
• Sociable.

Verbs

Compose, copy, download, perform (making), promote, record, release, share.

Prefixes/Intensifiers

• Re-: Do again.
• I-: Do wrongly.
• Over-: Too much.
• Under-: Not enough.
• Non-: Not with.