Unit 11 The Modality System
Check Your Understanding
1. F
2. F
3. F
4. T
5. F
In-Class Activities
1.
(1) The modals used are underlined as in the following paragraph:
(1)Whether tell the truth to the patient should depend on what kind of character the patient is. (2) If the patient is strong, optimistic and hopeful to his/her own life, we should tell him/her the truth. (3)Otherwise, if the patient is pessimistic, sentimental and hopeless, we should keep silence. (4)If the patient loves his/her own life very much, we should let him/her know how many time left in his/her life. (5) Then the patient should have enough time to make a perfect arrangement or schedule during the rest time.(6) An optimistic person, after hearing the bad news, should be able to shake the sorrow by themselves, then, they should be stronger to live on, or to do the last things they want to do properly. (7)And they should be able to face to death smilingly as they come to the end with no regret.
(2) Not all the identified modals are appropriately used. In fact, the student keeps using the modal verb “should” all the time. Specifically
The “should” in Sentence (1) is unnecessary; the “should” in Sentence (2), (3) and (4) are properly used; the “should” in Sentence (5) could be replaced by the modal “could”; the two cases of “should” in Sentence (6) and the “should” in Sentence (7) could be replaced by the modal “might”.
(3) Open to discussion
(Hints: L1 transfer may have caused the misuse of the modal verb “should” in some of the cases identified above. In Chinese, we use “应该” too frequently.)
2. (1) The speculations or conclusions made about the past are underlined as in the following paragraph:
(1) In 1927, a Peruvian surveyor must have been astonished to see lines in the shape of huge animals and geometric forms on the rocky ground below his airplane. (2) Created by the ancient Nazca culture, these beautiful, clear-cut forms (over 13, 000 of them) are too big to be recognized from the ground. (3) However, seen from 6, 000 feet in the air, the giant forms take shape. (4) Toribio Mexta Xesspe may have been the first human in almost a thousand years to have recognized the designs. (5) Since their rediscovery, many people have speculated about the Nazca lines. (6) Without airplanes, how could an ancient culture have made these amazing pictures? (7) What purpose can they have served? (8) One writer, Erich von Naniken, has a theory as amazing as the Nazca lines themselves. (9) According to von Daniken, visitors from outer space brought their civilization to the Earth thousands of years ago. (10) When these astronauts visited ancient cultures here on Earth, the people of those cultures must have believed that they were gods. (11) Since the Nazcans could have built the lines according to instructions from a n aircraft, von Daniken concludes that the drawings might have marked a landing strip for the spacecraft of the ancient astronauts. (12) Von Daniken writes, “The builders of the geometrical figures may have had no idea what they were doing. (13) But perhaps they knew perfectly well what the ‘gods’ needed in order to land.”
(2) “Must have” is often used to express a logical guess based on facts; while “may have”, “might have”, “could have” are used to speculate or express possibilities, when we are less certain about a past situation.
(3) Examples:
a) His plane was large and difficult to handle. He may not have been able to handle such a large plane in difficulties.
b) His lack of confidence might have contributed to his failure in the job interview.
c) I was so hungry I could have eaten the whole pie myself.
d) After examining the evidence, the investigation committee concluded that Oswald must have killed Kennedy.
3. (1) Open to discussion
(2) In the first public sign the modal “should” expresses a tentative condition in conditional clauses; in the second public sign the modal “would” expresses a weak volition imposed on all visitors, external contractors, and EMBS workmen; in the third public sign the modal “must” expresses a strong volition imposed on all employees.
4. (1) The modal “can” used in the first ad expresses a factual or logical possibility; while the modal “could” used in the second ad also expresses a theoretical or hypothetical possibility.
(2) The use of modals greatly adds to the persuasiveness of both advertisements or the power of persuasion. Specifically:
The first ad could be understood as “You will be able to stay in touch with the people and information you rely on condition that you have the fast wireless connection to the Web or more;” while the second ad could be understood as “A 500 mile per hour office will surely bring you a huge sum of profit which is really hard to imagine.”
5. (1) The modal “should” in the e-sentence conveys a sense of putative supposition.
(2) The modal “will” in the h-sentence conveys a sense of insistence.
(3) The modal “would” can be used to express willingness, insistence, characteristic activity, probability and hypothetical meaning in main clauses. The modal “would” in c-sentence conveys a sense of willingness.
(4) The main characteristic of the underlined verbs is that they are all mental verbs. These verbs usually express various emotions, attitudes, or cognitive states that are intrinsically personal, and thus they commonly co-occur with modals expressing a personal stance.
6.
(1) The four “shall”(s) are all used in the legal sense, though there is still some subtle difference among them. The two shall“ (s) in a-sentence and c-sentence are used to express mandate and compulsion, while the two “shall”(s) in b-sentence and d-sentence are used to express certainty and emphasis.
(2) In the usual sense the modal “shall” is often used to express non-volitional future and it always goes with the 1st person. Sometimes it is also used to express a weak volition on the part of the speaker in the 2nd and 3rd person or an intermediate weak volition in the 1st person. However, in the legal or quasi-legal sense the word “shall” is used to express a strong volition and the subject going with it could be varied as in the four sentences.
(3) Apart from the word “shall,” the word “may” is likewise frequently used in legal documents. For example:
A.
a) The parties concerned may appeal against the judgment or written order rendered in a retrial of their case (in the legal sense).
b) You may park your car here if you like (in the usual sense)
B.
a) If some of the facts in a case being tried by the People’s Court are already evident, the Court may pass (in the legal sense)
b) You may keep the book for a month. After that you must come and return it to us (in the usual sense).
Note: In the usual sense “may” is often used to express possibility or permission; while in the legal sense is used to express a formal or official authorization.
Post-Class Tasks
1. a. C b. B c. C d. C e. C f. C g. D h. D i. D j. C
2. .a shall b. mustn’t c. shall d. Wouldn’t e. Could
f. might g. won’t h. shall not i. could j. may
3. “Must” and “have to” both express obligation but must expresses an obligation imposed by the speaker while have to expresses an external obligation, i.e. one imposed by the external authority or circumstances. Specifically
A a. The sentence “You must clean your own boots” means these are my orders.
b. The sentence “You will have to clean your boots” means someone (the army, for example) will be obliged to clean your boots
B a. The sentence “Children must obey their parents” means the speaker recognizes it as a matter of necessity that children obey their parents.
b. The sentence “Children have to obey their parents” means the speaker states it as a matter of fact that children obey their parents for some external reason.
C a. The sentence “You mustn’t drive so fast” means it is wrong or foolish of you to drive so fast.
b. The sentence “You don’t have to drive so fast” means it is quite unnecessary, as matters stand, that you should drive so fast.
4.
Example:
A: Will the company give out prizes?
B: It may give out prizes.
A: Will the prizes be cheap?
B: They could be cheap.
A: Will I be chosen as a winner?
B: You might be chosen as a winner.
A: Will this company take my money and give me nothing?
B: They might not give you anything.
A: Will I win a cheap prize?
B: You could win a cheap prize.
5. Sentence a (You shall leave the room) is the least polite, and Sentence c (You need to leave the room) is the most polite; whereas Sentence b (You must leave the room) lies in between as regards the politeness involved.
In Sentence a, the modal verb “shall” expresses a strong volition imposed on the listener;
In Sentence b, the modal verb “must” expresses the speaker’s authority the listener should respect or obey;
In Sentence c, the verb “need to” is similar to the modal verb “have to” expressing an external obligation.
6. Sentence a “Will you come to our party this weekend?” could be paraphrased as:
It is possible for you to come to our party this weekend? Or Is it possible that you come to our party this weekend?
Sentence b “You must arrive at seven tomorrow morning” could be paraphrased as:
You are obliged to arrive at seven tomorrow morning. Or You are supposed to arrive at seven tomorrow morning.
7. Put the following Chinese sentences into English.
a. We all tried to stop him smoking in bed, but he would do it.
b. How dare you accuse me of lying!
c. He can’t have slept through all that noise.
d. The work may have been difficult, but at least it was interesting.
e. You needn’t have brought wine---we have got plenty.
f. He shall be given a fair trial.
g. Won’t you come in for a minute?
h. You must feel tired after your long walk.