Understanding Modal Verbs and English Grammar

Modal Verbs in English

Obligation:

• Must (deber, tener que)
• Have to (tener que)

Must is used for orders and strong obligations, while have to is often used in a more general sense.

Prohibition:

• Mustn't (no deber)
• Can't (no poder)

Mustn't is more commonly used.

Necessity:

• Need to (necesitar)

Permission:

• Can (poder)
• May (poder)
• Could (podría)

Can and could are used more informally, while may is more formal.

No Necessity:

• Needn't (no necesitar)
• Don't have to (no es necesario que...)

Recommendations, Advice, Opinions:

• Should (deberías)
• Ought to (deberías)

Negative recommendations: Shouldn't and Oughtn't

Ability:

• Can (present)
• Be able to (future)
• Could (past)

Understanding Advice, Nouns, and Suffixes

A piece of advice: un consejo
Advisable: aconsejable
Advise: aconsejar (verb + object)
Advice: consejo (noun)

Suffix -ness:

• Thoroughness
• Conscientiousness
• Single-mindedness
• Carelessness
• Laziness

Suffix -ity:

• Ability
• Creativity
• Sensitivity

No Suffix:

• Method
• Care
• Gifted

Passive Voice

Here are some examples of how to form the passive voice:

• Makes - are made
• Made - were made
• Will make - will be made
• Would make - would be made
• Has made - have been made
• Had made - had been made
• Will have made - will have been made
• Would have made - would have been made
• Is making - are being made
• Was making - were being made
• Can/may/might/must/should make - can be made
• Can have made - can have been made
• Is/are going to make - is/are going to be made

Phrasal Verbs with "Take"

• Take something away from someone
• Take back (your words)
• Take (someone) in
• Take on (a new employee)
• Take over (your life)
• Take up (a hobby)

Reported Speech (Indirect Style)

Here's how to change verbs and time expressions from direct to indirect speech:

• Talk - talked
• Talked - had talked
• Have talked - had talked
• Will talk - would talk
• Am talking - was talking
• Will be talking - would be talking
• Have been talking - had been talking
• Can - could
• May - might
• Must - had to
• Today - that day
• Yesterday - the day before
• Tomorrow - the next day
• Tonight - in the evening
• Now - at the moment
• Last night - the night before

Communication Styles Between Men and Women

Men tend to focus on the core message, while women often elaborate on details. Women tend to use an informative and emotional style, preferring euphemisms. Men often make direct statements, while women may ask questions. For men, speaking can be synonymous with a problem, while for women, it can be a solution. Beyond physiology, biology, and genetics, the element that contributes most to misunderstanding between the sexes is language. Are we condemned not to understand each other due to our different attitudes toward language? In my opinion, for men, the important thing in a conversation is the information; for women, what really matters is the emotion.