1.

MODAL VERBS

Modal verbs are a special type of auxiliary verb that complement or change the meaning of the main
verb in the sentence. The most used modal verbs are can, could, may, might, must, should (ought to),
shall, will and would. They can express certainty, possibility, request, will, obligation, permission,
deduction, assumption, need, ability, and also indicate the tone of the conversation: formal or
informal.

In many cases, these verbs have similar meanings. However, it is extremely importante to learn which
should be used in each situation. Some characteristics of modal verbs are:

• They are not inflected. The same verbal form is used for all people (I, you, he, she,

it, we, you and they).

• They cannot be used in progressive tenses (continuous tenses) in English.

• They do not receive the -ed ending relative to verbs in the past.

• In negative sentences, not is added right after the modal verb, and that’s all.

• For interrogative forms, modal verbs do not require any other auxiliary verb.

• They are not preceded or followed by the particle to (infinitive indication), except for ought to.

Now that we’ve talked about the structure of modal verbs, let’s study each one separately.

1. Can: Ability, Permission, Request, Possibility/ Habilidade, Permissão, Pedido, Possibilidade.

Ex: My son can swim very well.
Can I use your phone, please?
Can you help me, please?
Smoking can cause cancer and lung diseases.

2. Could: Past ability, Permission, Request, Suggestion, Possibility/ Habilidade passada,

Permissão, Pedido, Sugestão, Possibilidade.
Ex: Melania could play the piano when she was only 5 years old.
Could I see your driver’s license please?
Could you say it again, please?
They could try to fix the car themselves.
She could be the one who stole your credit card.

3. May: Permission, Possibility, Probability / deduction, Expressing wishes/ Permissão,

Possibilidade, Probabilidade/dedução, Expressão de desejos.
Ex: May I leave the room now?
It may rain on the weekend.
Jack is not at school today. He may be sick.
May God bless you!

4. Might: Probability / deduction, Possibility/ Probabilidade/dedução, Possibilidade.

Ex: Gordon might arrive late today.

5. Must: Obligation, Prohibition (mustn’t), Probability / deduction/ Obrigação, Proibição

(mustn’t), Probabilidade/dedução.
Ex: You must obey your parents.
You must not eat in the classroom.
Karol looks very pale. She must be sick.

6. Should and Ought to: Advice/ Conselho.

 Ex: You should / ought to go to bed earlier if you want to get enough sleep.

7. Will: Prediction, Spontaneous decision, Promise/ Previsão, Decisão espontânea, Promessa.

Ex: I think France will win the World Cup.
The phone is ringing. I will answer it.
I will always love you!

8. Would: Asking for permission, Request, Offer, Invitation, Past habit/ Pedir permissão, Pedido,
Oferta, Convite, Hábito passado.
Ex: Would you mind if I closed the door?
Would you please bring me a glass of water?
Would you like something to drink?
Would you like to go to the movies with me?
When I was a child, I would watch cartoons every Saturday morning.

USES OF “LIKE”

Like is one of the most used words in English. It has a very flexible range of uses and meanings.
In addition to being a verb, like can be a noun, a preposition, and even a suffix.
A. As a verb
One of the main uses of like is as a verb, to indicate preference or taste for something.
Ex: Do they like ice cream?
Oh yes, they love it!
The verb like, in this case, can be followed both by an infinitive or a gerund.
Ex: She likes to sunbathe.
She likes sunbathing.

One of the most common associations to the verb like occurs with the modal verb would,
indicating na action not necessarily related to the past tense, but rather to a desire or a will. In
this case, would like is followed by a verb in the infinitive.
Ex: What would you like to do today?
I’d like to go to the hairdresser and get my hair cut.

It is also possible, with the structure to look like,cto indicate the appearance of someone or
something. Temporal agreement depends on the intention of the interlocutor.
Ex: What does your boss look like?

Another common association with the word like is with the verb to be, indicating traits of a
person or to compare similar characteristics of different objects or people.
Ex: What’s your girlfriend like?
She is jealous and insecure. She is always trying to find out who I’m texting.

B. As a noun: As a noun, like is used to talk about things that someone enjoys.
Ex: Playing cards together is one of their likes.

C. As a preposition: Most of the time, like compares two things.

Ex: Sarah, like her mother, has blue eyes.

As a preposition, like can also introduce a símile (a stylistic device to compare two different
things).
Ex: Yumi sings like an angel.
D. As a suffix: Like can also be used as a suffix with a large number of nouns; it means “to have
characteristics of”. It is typically used to transform common nouns into adjectives.
Ex: It’s incredible. These robots are very lifelike.

E. Informal uses: Like is very common in North American everyday conversations. When someone
is thinking about what to say and wants to fill the silence with something, like is the most
commonly used word.
Ex: I don’t know… like… I want to, but then again, I’m kind of scared of doing business with
them, you know?

The word like can also be used to replace “for example” and “such as”. Thus, When used in this
way, it must precede a noun or a nominal phrase.
Ex: Have you been to any European countries, like Italy, France, Spain or Russia?

The expression if you like is used to give suggestions or offer something.

Ex: If you like, we can try the lobster.

Feel like is also a very common combination of words in spoken English. It is equivalent to have
a desire, want or inclination for something. It is followed by a noun or a verb in the gerund.
Ex: She felt like adopting the little cat.

2. PHRASAL VERBS
Definition: A phrasal verb is a combination of two or three words including a
base verb. The whole phrase acts as a verb that is different fromthe base verb used.

Intransitive and Insapareble

a) It's time to get up!
b) We need to check in and get our boarding pass
c) I normally go back to work after lunch, at 1.30 p.m.
d) The teacher told us to sit down because the test was about to start.
e) I never wake up before 9 on Saturdays.

Transitive and Separable

If the object is a PRONOUN, it MUST BE placed BETWEEN the verb and the particle
f) I just want to have a shower and put on my pajamas.
g) Could you take off your shoes, please? / Could you take them off, please?
h) You have to give up coffee if you want to sleep better..
i) Tell the kids to turn off the TV and go to bed. It's a school day tomorrow.
j) Let's turn on the heating.

Transitive and Insepareble

k) I want to go on studying English until I become very fluent.
l) I need to look for my keys.
m) We need somebody to look after the baby if we want to go to the wedding.

4.
Countable: A countable noun, as its name already tells, is one that we can count. It has both a
singular and a plural form.
Examples
person > people
letter > letters
datum > data
goose > geese
blanket > blankets
calf > calves

Uncountable noun: An uncountable noun, likewise, is one that cannot be counted without the
aid of a specific measurement unit that enables its quantification. Thus, it can Only be used in
the singular.
Exemple:
Money, information, luggage, milk, flour, homework
The recipe says we need some flour, water, and sugar.