Grammar
1) Modal Auxiliaries
Modal auxiliaries are specialauxiliary verbs that express the degreeof certainty of the action in the sentence, or the attitude or opinion of the writer concerning the action. Somecommon modal auxiliaries are must, can, will, and should.
Practice
Complete each sentence with what you thinkthe most appropriate of the four choices given.
1. _________go to school tomorrow?
A. Must you to B.Have you to
C. Do you have to D. Do youmust
2. ________ known the truth?
A. Might John B. May John have
C. Could John have D. CanJohn
(We don’t use may / might in aquestion when they refer to possibility.)
3. I can’t find therecorder in the room. It ____ by somebody.
A) may have been taken away B) mayleave
C) may take away D) must have taken away
4.He____ the 9：20 train because he didn‘t leavehome till 9:25.
A) can reach B) could catch
C) may not catch D) couldn’t have caught
2) Verbless Clauses
A verbless clause meansclause-like construction in which a verb element is implied but not present.Such clauses are usually adverbial, and the omitted verb is a form of be.
e.g. John believes the prisoner innocent.
In this sentence the italicizedsequence is a verbless clause, which we assume is a reduced version of theto-infinitive clause:
Johnbelieves the prisoner to be innocent.
Thefollowing sentences contain further examples of verbless clauses (italicized):
l Heconsidered the girl a good student.
l Whenever in trouble, Bill rang his girl-friend.
l Hemarried her when a student at Harvard.
Practice
Rewritethe following sentences, using verbless clauses.
1. Whenyou are in doubt, tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astoundyour friends.
2. Whenit is heated, metal expands.
3. Ifit is true, it will cause us a lot of trouble.
4. Wheneverit is possible, they should be typed.
3) The infinitive vs. the -ing participle
There arecertain words in English that are usually followed by an infinitive or gerund.
The infinitive
Certain words are followed by an infiniteverb with or without “to”.
| Use and Word Lists | Example |
| after certain expressions (without “to”) | Why not go to the cinema? |
| after certain verbs (without “to”) | I can swim. |
| after certain verbs (with “to”) | He wants to swim. |
| after certain verbs with interrogatives (infinitive constructions) | They don’t know how to swim. |
| after certain verbs with objects (without “to”) | He made her swim. |
| after certain verbs with objects (with “to”) | They wanted him to swim. |
| after certain adjectives and their comparisons | It’s easier to swim downstream. |
| after nouns deriving from the verbs mentioned above | We made a promise to swim. (derived from the verb “to promise”) |
The -ing participle
Certain words are followed by an –ing form.
| Use and Word Lists | Example |
| after certain adjectives | He’s afraid of going by plane. |
| after certain prepositions | Before going to bed he turned off the lights. |
| after certain verbs | I enjoy cooking. |
| after certain verbs with prepositions | I am looking forward to seeing you again. |
| after certain nouns | We had problems finding our way back home. |
Words followed either by infinitive or –ing form
| Use and Word Lists | Example |
| same meaning | I started to read. / I started reading. |
| same meaning but different use | She forbids us to talk. / She forbids talking. |
| different meaning | He stopped to smoke. / He stopped smoking. |
| infinitive or present participle | I saw him go up the stairs. / I saw him going up the stairs. |
Practice
Completethe sentences with the proper forms of the verbs given.
1. After ________ (discuss) the matter for an hour, thecommittee adjourned without __________ (have reached) any decision.
2. I distinctly remember ___________ (pay) him. I gavehim $2.
3. ___________ (Lie) on this beach is much morepleasant than ____________ (sit) in the office.
4. I tried ___________ (pacify) him but he refused____________ (pacify) and went on _______________ (grumble).
5. He made me _____________ (repeat) his instructions___________ (make) sure that I understood what I was _______ (do) after he hadgone.
6. Do you feel like ________ (go) to a film or wouldyou rather __________(stay) at home?
7. It is easy __________ (see) animals on the road indaylight but sometimes at night it is very difficult __________ (avoid)__________ (hit) them.
8. I knew I wasn’t the first __________ (arrive), for Isaw smoke _________(rise) from the chimney.
9. You’ll never regret _________ (do) a kind action.
10. The car began __________ (make) an extraordinarynoise so I stopped __________ (see) what it was.
