Modal Verbs in English: Uses, Examples and Vocabulary for Festivals and the Environment
Modal Verbs in English: Uses and Examples
| Modal | Uses | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Can (present) | Ability | You can swim very well. |
| Request | Can you help me wash the car? | |
| Possibility | I can lend you my car. | |
| Suggestion | You can bring something for my party. | |
| Be able to (future of can) | Ability | Don't worry. I will be able to find the street. |
| Can't | Inability | He is very nervous. He can't sleep. |
| Prohibition | You can't eat sweets before dinner. | |
| Disbelief | That can't be your father. He looks very young. | |
| Could | Past ability | My mother could dance when she was a child. |
| Polite request | Could you pass me that book, please? | |
| Polite suggestion | We could visit him next week. | |
| Possibility | My sister could come to the party. | |
| May (more likely) / Might (remote possibility) | Possibility | It may / might be a sunny weekend. |
| May | Polite request | May I borrow your dictionary, please? |
| Would | Formal request | Would you come with me to the wedding? |
| Offer | Would you like some coffee? | |
| Must (obligation, not for everyone) | Obligation, strong necessity | She must wear a uniform at her school. |
| Certainty that something is true | My cousin has broken his leg. It must hurt him very much. | |
| Have to (obligation, for everyone) | Obligation, necessity | You have to study hard if you want to get good marks. |
| Need to / Needn't | Obligation, necessity / Lack of obligation or necessity | I need to buy some meat for dinner. You needn't take the bus to attend the conference. |
| Don't have to | Lack of obligation or necessity | We don't have to attend the conference. |
| Mustn't | Prohibition | You mustn't step on the grass. |
| Should / Ought to | Advice, opinion | She should / ought to tell them the truth. |
Vocabulary: Festivals and Traditions
- Ancestor: antepasado
- Cancel: cancelar
- Celebrate: celebrar
- Cheer: aclamar
- Claim: asegurar o afirmar
- Commemorate: conmemorar
- Complain: quejarse
- Concerned: preocupado
- Costume: disfraz
- Cultural event: acontecimiento cultural
- Culture shock: choque cultural
- Custom: costumbre
- Disguise: disfrazarse
- Dress up: disfrazarse o ponerse elegante
- Dress up in traditional costumes: vestirse con trajes tradicionales
- Emotional: emotivo o conmovedor
- Endangered: en peligro de extinción
- Ethnic group: grupo étnico
- Exciting: emocionante
- Expense: gasto
- Extravagant: extravagante
- Fall on deaf ears: caer en saco roto
- Family get-together: reunión o fiesta familiar
- Feel emotional: emocionarse
- Festival: fiesta o festival
- Give gifts: dar regalos
- Identity: identidad
- Increasing: creciente
- Join in the celebrations: participar en las fiestas
- Joyful: feliz o alegre
- Leaflet: folleto
- Local: vecino
- Local/national celebrations: fiesta local o nacional
- Look forward to: estar deseando o esperar con impaciencia
- Maintain: mantener
- Marriage: matrimonio
- Occur: celebrarse o suceder
- Offer congratulations: dar la enhorabuena
- Otherwise: de lo contrario
- Outskirts: afueras
- Parade: desfile
- Party-goer: fiestero
- Perform: interpretar o actuar
- Postpone: aplazar o posponer
- Provide: proporcionar u ofrecer
- Religious: religioso
- Religious ceremony: ceremonia religiosa
- Remember: acordarse de o recordar
- Remind: recordar
- Say prayers: rezar
- Serious: serio
- Slave: esclavo
- Spectator: espectador
- Take part in: participar en
- Take place: celebrarse o tener lugar
- Tense: tenso
- Tension: tensión o tirantez
- Threat: amenaza
- Trademark: marca
- Turn up: aparecer o presentarse
- Unique: único
- Vary: variar
- Venue: local o lugar para celebrar un acontecimiento
- Viewer: telespectador
- Wave flags: agitar banderas
- Wedding: boda
My Trip to Granada
When I was eleven, I went on a trip to Granada. It was one of the best trips for me.
When we arrived, we settled into the hotel, and then we went to visit an important place in Granada, where bull tournaments were celebrated. The guide handed us leaflets to guide us to the most visited places by tourists. The guide claimed that we would see everything. The first place was the Plaza Nueva. Then we went to the Alcaicería, a street full of shops selling pottery and souvenirs of Granada. This was the old Arab souk.
The next day we went to the Albaicín with its cobbled streets and its balconies. Then we went to the Realejo, which is the old Jewish quarter of Granada. It has a unique style, tapas bars, and many charming places. Some people were dressed up in costumes on the streets, and my class cheered.
Finally, we visited the gardens of the Alhambra. That was the place I liked most, with its spectacular views.
Vocabulary: The Environment
- Acid: ácido
- Acid rain: lluvia ácida
- Aerosol sprays: aerosoles
- Alternative power sources: fuentes de energía alternativas
- Bottle banks: contenedores de botellas
- Deforestation: deforestación
- Destroy: destruir
- Devastate: arrasar
- Drought: sequía
- Ecology: ecología
- Endangered species: especies en peligro de extinción
- Environment: medio ambiente
- Exhaust fumes: gases de escape
- Extinct: extinguido
- Fertilisers: fertilizantes
- Flood: inundación
- Greenhouse: invernadero
- Pollution: contaminación
- Waste: residuos
- Chemicals: productos químicos
- Lead: conducir
- Fumes: humos
- Hybrid cars: coches híbridos
- Glass, paper: vidrio, papel
- Global warming: calentamiento global
- Reduce: disminuir
- New products: nuevos productos
- Recycling: reciclaje
- Rubbish: basura
- Save resources: ahorrar recursos
- Smog: niebla con humo
- Throw away: tirar
- The ozone layer: la capa de ozono
- Toxic waste: residuos tóxicos
- Planet: planeta
- Protect: proteger
- Public transport: transporte público
- Rubbish dumps: vertederos
- Solar energy: energía solar
- Use materials: utilizar materiales
- Wave power: energía de las olas
Protecting the Environment
There are many possible solutions to improve the environment, although people do not always apply them. I recycle waste, and I do not waste much water or electricity. There are many ways to protect the environment.
We should protect endangered species, recycle paper, glass and metal, save water and energy, drive hybrid cars, and plant trees. We shouldn't use aerosol sprays, throw away recyclable materials, destroy the ozone layer, waste water, or devastate the rainforest. There are also public transport, alternative energy sources, etc.
The causes of pollution of the planet produce damage such as acid rain and climate change. I think that if we all work together, we can reduce pollution and live in a better world. In this way, future generations will not have a world where there are so many diseases caused by pollution.