But, first of all (prima di tutto), what is a modal verb?
A modal verb is also known (conosciuto) as a helping verb. It gives additional information about the main verb (verbo principale) that follows it. CAN is also a modal verb!
We can use ‘must’ in a sentence (frase) to talk about something we need to do (abbiamo bisogno di fare). For example, ‘I must get my hair cut before my meeting tomorrow’. In this sentence, we can see it is important for me to get my hair cut before the meeting. Maybe I want to make a good impression on my boss!
Usually when we use the word ‘must’ it is because the speaker has decided something is necessary to do.
When we are talking about possible causes of a situation or action, we can use the word ‘must’ to show we are fairly (abbastanza) sure of the reason behind something. For example:
In this example, the speaker is sure that Sally is the person who took the cookies. Maybe Sally loves cookies or has a history of taking food from the kitchen. Whatever (qualsiasi) the reason, the speaker has decided that it was Sally who took the cookies.
The negative is MUST NOT = MUSTN'T and refers to prohibition
You can take a look at the following video for more details (dettagli)
And now... try to do some exercises! Copy or print (stampare) and paste (incollare) them on your exercise books. Write in the comments if you have any doubts... and keep an eye on the blog because in the next days I'm going to publish something else!
https://elt.oup.com/student/project3rdedition/level3/unit6/grammar/exercise2?cc=global&selLanguage=en
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/modals/must_not2.htm
A modal verb is also known (conosciuto) as a helping verb. It gives additional information about the main verb (verbo principale) that follows it. CAN is also a modal verb!
Its structure is very easy!
We use MUST to show two things: necessity or possibility.
NECESSITY
We can use ‘must’ in a sentence (frase) to talk about something we need to do (abbiamo bisogno di fare). For example, ‘I must get my hair cut before my meeting tomorrow’. In this sentence, we can see it is important for me to get my hair cut before the meeting. Maybe I want to make a good impression on my boss!
Usually when we use the word ‘must’ it is because the speaker has decided something is necessary to do.
- You must give up (smettere) smoking, it's bad for you.
- You must drive carefully.
- You must study the last two chapters before the test.
POSSIBILITY
When we are talking about possible causes of a situation or action, we can use the word ‘must’ to show we are fairly (abbastanza) sure of the reason behind something. For example:
The cookies are missing (sono spariti). Sally must have taken them (li deve aver presi).
In this example, the speaker is sure that Sally is the person who took the cookies. Maybe Sally loves cookies or has a history of taking food from the kitchen. Whatever (qualsiasi) the reason, the speaker has decided that it was Sally who took the cookies.
- Look at all of that snow. It must be really cold outside.
- It's five in the morning and you still haven't gone to bed? You must be tired!
- Jack must be home. I heard a noise coming from his room.
MUSTN'T
The negative is MUST NOT = MUSTN'T and refers to prohibition
- You mustn't use your smartphone while (mentre) you are driving.
- You must not open the gift until (fino a) it is your birthday.
- We must not tell anyone.
And now... try to do some exercises! Copy or print (stampare) and paste (incollare) them on your exercise books. Write in the comments if you have any doubts... and keep an eye on the blog because in the next days I'm going to publish something else!
https://elt.oup.com/student/project3rdedition/level3/unit6/grammar/exercise2?cc=global&selLanguage=en
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/modals/must_not2.htm
