"Modal Verbs- Obligation, Prohibition, Deduction"

Thursday 20^th

Hi! What’s up?

Hey! What’s the matter lately? There’s been two weeks without having the six of you in class! Last week Óscar and David were absent and this week Pilar and Óscar were absent too!

It seems that Óscar was ill. So was David last week. David, too.

Well done guys! You did homework. And it was very good.

We continued talking about rules.

·           Why do you think it’s important to have rules and regulations?

·           Have you ever broken a rule?

·           What did you do?

·           Why did you do it?

We express obligation and prohibition like this:

Obligation	Must  (“I must”, when you impose the obligation yourself. “You must”, when somebody tells you what to do). I must wash my hair. “You must wash your hair”, said my mother.	Have to  (usually for rules  or laws) I have to wash my hair. (My mother told me so)
Prohibition	Mustn’t /Can’t / isn’t- aren’t allowed to
No necessity	Don’t / doesn’t have to
Advice / recommendation	Should / shouldn’t Ought to / ought not to

We played a game called “The holiday game” to revise “going to” and types of holidays.

It went like this:

We’re going on a safari and we’re taking a sword because … if a wild animal attacks, we can defend ourselves.

We’re going on a beach holiday and we’re taking thread and needle because … if our swimming costume is torn we can mend it.

We studied modal verbs to express possibility (likelihood).

	Affirmative	Negative
Certainty	Must He speaks English very well. He must be from England.	Can’t Sue can’t be ill because I saw her this morning in the street.
Possibility	May / Might / could He may / might / could be in a traffic jam because he is never late.	May not / might not He may /might not know that the meeting was today.

Can’t is the negative of must when we express possibility.

Could isn’t used in the negative to express possibility.

May and might have a similar meaning. Although “might” is “less possible”

We played a game called “out of context” so as to practise how to express possibility and certainty with modal verbs.

Unfortunately, player 2 cheated by glancing (having a look) at their opponents’ cards and this made player 6 upset, annoyed, angry!

All of you have been awarded the same points in the game.

For homework and the “Holiday game”.

Player 2 didn’t come to class, so he didn’t do homework, but he was very good at spelling and vocabulary.

GAME 6                                              

Player 1	6
Player 2	6
Player 3	6
Player 4	----
Player 5	----
Player 6	6

Modal Verbs

Rules and Possibility

Thursday 13^th

Here we are again!

So, you forgot you had to choose a topic from the photocopy: “Talk about it”.

It seems that only Pilar remembered to; that’s why I gave her two points for our games.

Anyway, you chose a topic and you talked about it for a minute.

Your topics for conversation.

Alejandro’s favourite sport is handball. He likes the feeling of “diving” (that’s jumping in the air to try to hit the ball). He doesn’t like basketball because you don’t have as direct a contact with your opponent as you do in handball.

Pilar likes different kinds of music. Her favourite pop band is “One Direction”.  Not only do they sing very well, but they are also gorgeous! (Very attractive).

In her opinion the most relaxing kind of music is classical music.

Laura told us about her last holiday. She first went on a cruise with her classmates. They really enjoyed it. They went on board at Barcelona’s harbour and from there they continued sailing across the Mediterranean sea. She liked Italy, especially Venice but what she liked the most (her favourite) thing was hanging out (spending time) with her classmates. After that, she went to the village and enjoyed her time with her buddies. (Pals, folks, fellows, friends)

Andrea told us about her views (opinions) on friendship and about her best friend. They met so long ago that they know each other’s defects very well. But they accept them, somehow. Quoting Andrea (in Andrea’s words) “A friend is somebody you can trust and somebody who accepts you as you are.”

We’ll have to wait until next Thursday to listen to David and Óscar’s topics. So, guys don’t forget to choose a topic and prepare a short talk about it. Topics are on the back of the photocopy about the “If” race. Page 169 & 194

Then we had a communicative game using “may/might” to express possibility in the future.

It consisted of picking out (selecting) a card from a deck of cards and making correct sentences similar to these ones:

·         I’m going to take an umbrella because it might rain.

·         I’m going to buy a Phrasebook because I might travel abroad next month.

·         I’m going to renew my passport because I might go to the USA next summer.

We reviewed how to express obligation and prohibition.

UK rules, OK?

Wow! Both groups had 13 correct answers out of 15! So, UK rules aren’t so different from Spanish ones.

Yes, In Spain you can drive a 49c.c. motorbike if you are 16. But in the UK, you have to be (obligation) 18 to drive a motorbike.

You got points for making correct sentences using “might”, also two more points for your guess on UK rules. And Pilar got two extra points for doing homework.

This is the result:

GAME 5                                              

Player 1	5
Player 2	----
Player 3	6
Player 4	8
Player 5	----
Player 6	7

 Grammar Exercises on Modal Verbs

Don’t forget to do the exercise on “must / have to”.

See you on Thursday!

Games and Songs

Thursday 6^th

Hi guys! Sorry for the delay in posting the blog!

Last week we did a competition! We played a board game with “if”.

You had to finish the sentences using the first conditional. Your good memory amazed (surprised)me! There were 16 sentences and you were able to remember how you had finished the sentences without looking at them!

My favourite was: “You’ll find the love of your life if you walk on the street.” Nice, but not very realistic, I’m afraid.

And also, “If he doesn’t have time today, he’ll do it tomorrow.”

We played a game called “yes /No” It consists of a set of cards with different questions on them that you have to answer. You aren’t allowed to say “yes” or “no” You can’t repeat the same answer all the time, either.

Pilar was very good because she was able to make Andrea say “No!”

We listened to a song called “The Monster” by Eminem and Rihanna.

And we found out (discovered) that:

·         They get along (are friends, have a good relationship)with the voices inside  their heads.

·         “Beggars can’t be choosey.”(poor people can’t choose. They have to take whatever they are offered)

·         They are “going cuckoo”(going crazy)

And we also did some work!

We started talking about rules and regulations.

·         If you don’t wear a crash helmet, you might get badly injured.

·         If you don’t use UV protection on the beach you might get sunburn.

·         If you misbehave in class, you will be punished by the teacher.

·         If you haven’t got a backstage pass, you can’t get into the after-show party.

GAME 4                                              

Player 1	9
Player 2	9
Player 3	7
Player 4	7
Player 5	8
Player 6	8

 Listening - Rules

A Political Party:" If we win the elections ..."

Thursday 30^th

Hi guys!

What will you do if you win the elections?

We created three political parties and presented our candidates. You made your speeches and, of course, you didn't forget to make promises.

My party “Hope For Youth”, didn’t get any votes! I promised that:

·         If we win the elections, we will reduce the car driving age to 15 and small motorbikes to 13.

·         If we win the elections, we will reduce the legal age for having tattoos to 13.

·         If we win the elections, we will give a free laptop computer to all students aged 13 and above.

·         If we win the elections, we will build more centres with skate parks.

What happened? Why didn’t you vote for me? Didn’t you believe my promises?

My competitors “Love and Peace” didn’t get many votes either. And the why did the winners win?

Was it because they promise to give you a credit card with a sum of money?

You shouldn’t be so materialistic! What about schools? Hospitals? Health care?

Yes. We worked on the first conditional.

We used if + present simple                                          will / won’t + infinitive

If it doesn’t rain on Saturday, we’ll go for a walk.

We won’t buy milk if there’s some in the cupboard.

You can begin with the “if” clause or not. When you begin with “if” you need to use a comma.

We continued talking about ability.

·         What are you good at?

·         What were you able to do when you were five?

·         What can you do now?

·         Will you be able to drive a car when you are 18?

·         Have you been able to find your pen?

And to finish the class, we talked about the best and the worst.

I must admit I’m getting old! I didn’t know who the best singers you mentioned were.

And, finally: our games!

GAME 3                                              

Player 1	8
Player 2	9
Player 3	9
Player 4	6
Player 5	6
Player 6	9

can-could-be-able