Modal Verbs: Structural Rules and Syntactic Framework

Section role: supports the 'Mapping the Modals' section while the teacher formalizes the grammatical framework on the board and links back to the diplomatic challenge. Slides: (1) Title — 'Mapping the Modals'; (2) Core Rule 1 — bullets: No -s in the third person, example with 'must'; (3) Core Rule 2 — bullets: Always followed by the bare infinitive without 'to', contrast 'should go' versus 'should to go'; (4) Ability Spectrum — bullets: can vs could, concrete examples; (5) Permission and Request — bullets: may vs can in formal vs informal contexts; (6) Obligation and Advice — bullets: must (strict rule) vs should (recommendation); (7) Possibility — bullets: might, may, could indicating degrees of likelihood; (8) Dialogue Analysis — bullets: short sample dialogue, identifying speaker intent; Closing slide: 'Why was must too strong for the intern?' — handing control back to the teacher for discussion. This material is part of a English foreign-language class for students in United States learning English. Regardless of the material's language, the key terms and examples being taught must be written in English, not in the students' native language.

Lara de Teachy