jueves, 19 de mayo de 2011

True Brit



We are very pleased to meet you. If you are a visitor to our blog, we expect you to go through all the sections and find out how to be a true British. We are going to show you the unspoilt beauty of British landscape; the rich variety of its weather and the British cherished traditions: afternoon tea at four, roast beef on Sunday, and warm beer until 11 pm and, of course, their courtesy, tolerance and sense of humour. You mustn't forget that. They do like a good laugh.

Have a look on the images above and learn about the British personality.

Introduction to Modal verbs

Before starting with the grammatical explanations, watch the following video and try to deduce some of the modal verbs that appear in it.


Listen to the next on line explanations

Can, could and to be able to



More on line explanations



Must, Have to, Have got to

Grammar activities

Ejercicios de inglésYou  smoke in here.
Ejercicios de inglésYou  stop to let the other cars pass.
Ejercicios de inglés You  pay to visit the museum.
Ejercicios de inglés You  wear a suit and tie on Fridays.
Ejercicios de inglés You  use your mobile phone in the concert hall.
Ejercicios de inglés You  give way at the round about.
Ejercicios de inglés You  drive faster than 90 km/hour.
Ejercicios de inglés You  walk to the beach. You can cycle.
Ejercicios de inglésYou  stop when the traffic lights are red.

Fill in the gap activites

1.  You  run faster if you weren't so lazy.
2.  You  leave the class before 1 o'clock.
3.  You  behave well in front of guests. Stop being silly.
4.  You look tired. You  have some sleep.
5.  You failed in your final test. You  have studied harder.
6.   I borrow your pen?
7.  We  watch TV so much.
8.  We  not climb those mountains when we were kids.
9.  The project  finish in two years time.
10.  Stop smoking! You really  not smoke.
11.  Sami  lift that heavy table. He is too weak.
12.  Muneera  come to the party, but nobody is sure.
13.  Laila  not swim when she was one year old.
14.  It's too cold. I  close the window.
15.  It  rain in the desert sometimes, but you can't depend on it.
16.  If I had enough money, I  travel with my friends but now I can't.
17.  I  to study well for the exam.
18.  I wish I  buy a new car but i do not have any money.
19.  I have no time. I  leave now. My parents are waiting for me.
20.  He  be friendly, but he is usually unfriendly.

Writing exercise

Look  at these images and write a short composition about one of them. You must use modal verbs and the dictionaries provided in this blog. Once you have finished, sent us your work to the following email adress: alfami2011@gmail.com.





Reading

The Origin of the Universe


Newton’s work gave a mathematical basis for the universe on a large scale. However, the data available at his time suggested a static unchanging universe. This could not be explained by the law of gravitation, since all bodies in the universe attract each other by the force of gravity. Newton realized there was only one solution to this problem: in a static universe matter must be uniformly spread throughout an infinitely large space. In 1826, Heinrich Olbers published a paper containing what is known as Olbers’ paradox: the universe had to be finite and uniform to avoid gravitational collapse. This assumption must have been wrong because it required perpetually bright sky on earth. Both Newton and Olbers incorrectly imagined space to be infinite and independent of the matter it contained. Einstein in his general theory of relativity (1915) proposed that the universe exists in four-dimensional space-time. This space-time is curved by the presence of matter and the matter moves following the resulting curves.
The discovery of expanding universe by Hubble in 1929 provided the starting point of our present understanding of the universe. Hubble made his discovery by analyzing the spectra of light from distant galaxies noting redshift, which he explained in terms of the Doppler effect: the sources were moving away from the observer. Moreover, he discovered a pattern in his data: the further away the galaxy, the greater the speed of away motion. This model may seem to place the Earth at the center of the universe again. However, it is the space itself that is expanding and the galaxies are situated in this space like dots in a ring. As the ring expands, the view from any dot is that other dots are moving away at a speed proportional to their distance. No single dot is at the center, but all dots see the same. Hubble’s discovery satisfies the cosmological principle that the universe should appear the same no matter where one is.
Expansion of the universe also implies that there once must have been a time when space and time were minutely small with all the matter and energy of the universe concentrated in this small volume.


Exercise 1.
In the above text find modal verbs which say that :
- something wasn’t possible
- something is possible now
- we are sure something is true now
  • we are sure something happened
  • something is obligatory


Exercise 2.
In which case does the modal verb express modality (M) and in which case does it express possibility (P) or certainty (C)?
Newton couldn’t use present-day technologies.
He had to rely on observation.
He must have been influenced by the data available at his time
He might have been mistaken.
Today we may rely on high-tech research procedures.
The expanding universe may be explained by big bang.


Exercise 3.
Put the sentences into Past Tense.
  1. I must begin now.
  2. You don’t have to come.
  3. You can’t mean it.
  4. You should help me.
  5. The data must be wrong.
  6. I can’t speak German.
  7. We may use calculators at the exam.
  8. You may be right.

Exercise 4.
Make the following text less resolute using may, might, can, could.

The universe originated as a minute but very hot body. The temperature has been continuously falling as the expansion has continued. Variations in background radiation discovered in 1992 explain why the universe formed into galaxies and stars. In a uniform universe there is no reason for a gravitational collapse at any point. The four fundamental forces in the universe originated from a single force. This force existed when the big bang occurred. As the universe cooled, the forces separated. Research into the future is only speculative. The universe will continue to expand indefinitely or an eventual contraction will occur.

Exercise 5.
Match sentences 1-5 with the explanations in a-e.

  1. They couldn’t / can’t have done it.
  2. They should have done it.
  3. They needn’t have done it.
  4. They might / may not have done it.
  5. They must have done it.

    1. They didn’t do it.
    2. They did it but it wasn’t necessary.
    3. I am sure they did it.
    4. I don’t believe they did it.
    5. I am not sure they did it or not.


Exercise 6.
Use suitable modal verbs to complete the sentences.

  1. However angry you are, you ………………… never talk to people like that.
  2. This report is urgent – you …………………. finish it by four o’clock.
  3. …………………. I help you with the report?
  4. John …………… have gone home, his PC is still on!
  5. You …………….. have checked the data, I did it yesterday.
  6. Something bad ……………. have happened to Joan, she has never been late like this.
  7. You ………………….. have deleted the file, you ……………… need it later.
  8. The secretary ………………… have already left, but I am not sure. Check her office.

Mix and Match activities




Modal verbs

The modal verbs include can, must, may, might, will, would, should. They are used with other verbs to express ability, obligation, possibility, and so on. Below is a list showing the most useful modals and their most common meanings:

Modal       Meaning                                   Example
can            to express ability                         I can speak a little Russian.
can            to request permission                  Can I open the window?
may           to express possibility                   I may be home late.
may           to request permission                  May I sit down, please?
must          to express obligation                   I must go now.
must          to express strong belief               She must be over 90 years old.
have to      to express obligation                   Children have to go to school.
should       to give advice                             You should stop smoking.
would        to request or offer                      Would you like a cup of tea?
would        in if-sentences                            If I were you, I would say sorry.