Modal verbs Be/ore we had television, people WQuid make their own entertaiument. Ellery morning my fa ther would leaue lIle house be/ore J woke. In general it is safer to say used to. > B B Used to U se d 10 expresses the ide a that something h appened regularly or continued over a period of time in the past. J used to come here when I was a child. Bmma used to halle a bicycle, but then she sold it. Be/ore we had lelel/i si on, people u,<ied to make their own entertainment. J ll sed 10 come her e means that at one period I came h ere regularly, but th~n I sto pped . Used to is pronounced I'ju:st tal. There is no present-tense form. (Nor rUSHtt-e(Jrm? he, e /l8W. ) We use did in negatives and que stions. There didn't use to be so much crime as there is today. What kind of books did you use to read as a child? NUTE We can use never In fh e negative. There never used to be so much crim e. Used lI o t to IS rather formal. 71l ere used n' ol to be so much crime. C Used to and be I get used to Compare used to do and be used to doing. We u se d to live in the country. But then we moved LO London. (::::: At one time we lived in the country.) \rV e' re used to living in London now. But at first it was quite a shock, after 1 life in the country. (::::: Living in London no longer feels strange to u s.) ;lI We can also say get used to to talk about becoming marc familiar with something. I still find driving in Britain quite difficult. I'll neuer get used to driving i on the left. Sarah had neuer seen herse lf as a manager, but she soon got used to being I in c harg e. 83 Dare ~ 11 B Dare is a mixture of forms. We sometimes use it as an ordinary verb and sometimes as a modal verb. It takes an infinitive with or wi rh out to. NOI many people dare (10) walk aLong here at nighl. No one dar es (to) protest/ dare protesl. Only four of us had dared (to) accept the challenge. 84 Modal verb + phrase If you dare to do something, you are bra ve enough to do it. If you daren't, then you are too afraid to do it. Dare is more common in negatives and question s than in po si tive statements. The negative forms are don 't/doesn't/didn't dare or daren' l/dare not (present) and dared not (past). This place is so expensive. [don't dare (to) look!] daren't look at the bill. The police didn't dare (to) approach /dared not approach the building with the gunman inside. In questions we can use do, or we can usc dare as a modal verh. Do you dare (to) say/Dare you say what you're thinking? We can also use would with dare. 1 wouldn't dare (to) take the risk. Would enough people really dare (to) resist armed troops? We use How dare . ? for an angry protest. Just get lose , will you? "" Whae.! How dare you speak to me like that? NOTE Americans normally use a lo-infinitive with dare. 84 Modal verb + phrase , , We cannot use two modal verbs together. (NOT l-mit;ltt-ean-gtil-lhe-d<>y-tJff) Instead we use a phra se like be able to, be allowed to, or have La after a modal verb. I might be able 10 get the day of! I'll have to ask my boss. We aren't children, are we? We ought to be allowed to decide for ourselves. It won't be bu.sy, so we shouldn't have Lo queue. In the old days people used to have to wash clothes by hand . Will you be able to find your way without a map? 85 Overview: the use of modal verbs • Verb can U se Ability > 80A Opportunit y> BOA Request> 79B Offer of help> 79B Permission :> 75 Asking permission:> 75A General poss ibility> 79D Imp os sibili ty> 76B Example ] call play the piano We can walch TV ill the evenings. Can you help' me, please? Call I help'you? You can go now. Can] ask a question? Malhs can be fun. The story can't he true. 119 Modal ve rbs Verb U se Example 1 . ~ could Past abilit y> SO I could play lhe piano when J was fiVe; Possible ability> SOC If (had a camera, I could take a photo. S ug ges ti on> 79A We could meet tar er. Request> 79B Co u ld you help me plea se? A sk ing permission> 75A Could I ask a qu es tion? Pa st permiss ion> 75C You could park he re years ago. Possibility > 79 The plan could go wrong. must Necessity> 71 You must be ca reful. Lo gical certainty> 76B, C You mllst be tired. need When something is not We needn't hur ry. ne cessa ry > 73 should The right thing to do > 74 You should revise before lite exam. Probability > 77 It should be fine tomorrow. ought The rIght thing to do > 74 You ought to revise b efo re lh e exam. ma y Pos sibility > 78 The plan may go wrong. Un ce rtain imention > 78A We may mov e house. Permission> 75 May I ask a question? might Possibility > 78 Th e: plan might go wrong. Uncertain inte ntion> 78A We mig ht move hou se. Reques t/ criticism> 78 C You might help me . will The future > 54 Th e pO SI will be here soon. Assumption> 76A The ieller will be som ew here in thi ~ fll e. would A possible situation > OJ A holiday would be great. A past re fu sal> 62B Til e. doorman wouldn't let us in. Looking forward from the No pne h, ew whal would past > 62B happen next. Past habit s> U lA Every weekend we would go La th e cinema. , shall Asking what 10 do > 54E Wh at shall we do ? The future > 54A I slJa ll be awa y next week. dare Being brave enough > 83 I didn't dare cl imb up. 120 r· . The passive • 86 Introduction Compare the acti ve a nd passive sente nce s. Active: My brother faxed the doc ument . Pass ive: The document was faxed by my brother. We can choose to IiIlk about my brother and what he did, or about lhe document and what happen ed to it. The two structures have the same me aning but the focus is different. The choice between ac ti ve and pa ssive often depend s on what is old or new informati on in the co nt ex t. > 88A And th e passive is sometimes more impersonal in style. > 8B B In the active sentence, the person doing the ac Lion ( my brother) is the subject, and we use an active verb. In th e passive sent.ence, the subject is what the action is directed at (the docu.me nt ), and we use a passive verb. A pa ssi ve verb ha s a form of the auxiliary verb be (was) and a passive participle (faxed). N ote that the do cument is the object of the acti ve se nte nc e and the subject of the passive sentence. The p er s on doing the action is called the agent. In a pass iv e sentence, the agent can be added in a phr ase wi th by. The document was [axed by my brotlle r. We can end a s entenc e wi th the pass iv e ve rb and not mention the agent. The do cume nt was faxed . The important information here is the method of sending the document. It was faxed, not sent throu gh the pos t. Alt hough the passive is morc typ ic al of an impersonal style, it can al so occur in conversation. This house muSl be really old. "" Ye s, it was built in 1720. '¥f' it 87 Passive verb forms ~ . A Tenses A passive verb ha s a f orm of be and a pass ive participle, c.g. killed, cue. Lots of people are kill ed on the roads. The budget fo r the project has be en cut. The drugs wUl be destroye d. Be is in the same tense as th e equivalcm active form. Ac tive: Accident s killl Ol$ of people. ( present sim pl e) Passiv e: Lvts of peuple are killed. (pres ent si mple of be + participle) Activ e: Th ey've cut the budget. ( pre sent perfect) Passive: The hudget ha ./j been c ut . ( pr ese nt perfect of be + parriciple) 12 1 The passive The foll owing ve rb tenses and future forms can be passive. Active Pre sent simple They play the game. Pre sent conti nu ous They are playing the game. Present perfect They have played the game. rast simple They played til e game. Past continuous They were playing the game. rast perfect They had played the game. Future They will play the game. They are going to play the game. We can u se short forms. Passive The game is played. Th e game is being played . The gam e has been played. The gam e was play ed. The game was being play ed. Th e game had been played. The game will be played. The game is going to be played . Football is a ·very popular game. It 's played all over the world. The prisoners are free. They've been released. B Negatives and questions We use th e auxiliary ve rb in the same way as we do in active se ntences. In th e negative not comes after the fir st auxiliary. Motorists are not killed by cyc li sts. The money still hasn't been fOllnd. In a question th ere is inversion of the s ubj ect and the ( fir st) auxiliary. Has th e money been fOllnd? When was the fax sent? C Modal verbs in the passive 12 2 We can use (he passive ",ith a m odal verb (o r a phra se li ke u se d to or have to ). The pattern is modal ve rb + be + pa ss ive pa rticipl e. S tamp s can be bought at any post office. Animals should really be seen in th eir natural habitat. Many things that used to be done by hand ar e now done hy machin e. Negat iv es and que stions are formed in the usu al way. Anima ls s houldn't be kept in cage s. Must everything always be done at the last minut e? Do meals have to be prepared every day? 87 Pa ss i ve verb forms A modal verb can also go with the perfect and the passive together. The pattern is modal verb + have be en + passive participle. I can't find thaI leafle t. It musl have been throw" away. They've found a play that might hcwe been writlen by Shakespeare. Tllis bill ought to have been paid weeks ago. For modal ve rb s, > 70, o Phrasal and prepositional verbs in the passive Some phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs can be used in the passi ve. . Th e bwlding was knocked down last year. Has the doctor been sent for? The a dverb or preposition (e .g. down , for) comes after the participle. Note also verb + adverb + prepositioll, and verbal idioms with prepositions. Such out-oj-date practices should be done away with. The poor child is always being made fun of E Was broken: action or state? Was broken can be a passive verb form. The vase was broken by a guest. li e knocked it over. Here the vase was broken expresses an action. It is equiv al ent to Someone broke the vase. We can sometim es li se a participle such as broken before a noun, like an adjecti ve. Th ere was a brokell vase on the floor. We can also put the partic ipl e after b e. Th e vase was broken. it lay in pieces on the floor. Here the vase was broken expresses a stat e, not an action. Compare these two examples. Th e dru gs were hidden in co ntainers and then loaded onto the ship. ( pa ssi ve verb expressing an action: som eone hid the drugs) Th e drugs were hidden in tile ship, but the police didn't know where. (be + participle expressing a state: the drug s were in a secret place) 123 The passive 88 The use of the passive A Ordering info rmation One of these paragraphs is abou t the scientist J. J. Thomson, and the other is about the electron. TIIO MSON , Sill )0 5 1::111- 1 JOH N (I R46-1940) British physicist and mathematician and head of a group of researchers at the CavendIsh l.aboratory in Cambridge. Thom son discovered the elecrron. He is regarded as the founder of modem physics. El.F l.i ·1I0N A subatomic particle and one of the basic constituents of malter. The electron. was discovered by J.!. Thomson. It is found in all atoms and contains the smallesl known negative electrical charge. Compare the se two sent ences , one from each paragraph . Thomson discoIJered the electron. Ute eleelron was discovered by Thomson. The sentences have the same meaning . but they are about different things. The topic of the first se nt ence is Thomson. and rhe new informarion is that he discovered the electron. The topic of the second seme n ce is the electron, and [he n ew information is that its discoverer was Th omson. H. ere the choice of active or pa ss ive ve rb depends on the contex t. We usuaJly struc ture the sent ence in a way that enah lcs us to start with old i nforma tion and end with new. > 31-32 In the second sentence, we need to st art with tile el ec tron, and so we use the passive, B Typical co nt exts for the passi ve 124 We so metimes u se the pas sive in s peech . but it is mor e co mmon in wr iti ng, especia ll y in the impersonal style of textbooks and factual in formation. The paint is then pump ed inlO a large tahk, where it is thinned. Large numbers of slav es were transported to the New World. If sulphur is heated, a number of c hange ~ can be see n. Thousands oJ new jobs hav e been created. Here we foctls on the proce ss of paint -thinning. the destination of the slaves, and so on, rathe r than on the p eop le carryii1g ou t the actions. , The pa ssive is also some tim es u se d in rules and to de scribe proced ures. The service is provided und er a contract. Your prize mu st be clairned by 31 December. App li cation should be made in writing. The active equ ivalent We provide the service . . You rnu st. cl aim y our prize • )'ou should app ly is more friendly and less imper sonal. 88 The use of the passive The passive also occurs in news reports. A new health lax will be introduced next year. Two people were killed in the accident. TIP Do not overuse the passive. Use it only when it fits the context and the style. Remember that even in formal writing most clauses are active, not passive. C Verbs which cannot be passive An intransitive verb (a verb without an object) cannot be passive. These sentences have no passive equivalent. Somelhing happened. The problem will become more urgent. We stayed at home, The streets seemed empty. There are also some transitive verbs which cannot be passive, e.g. have (::: own), lack, resemble, and suit (::: be right for). These are all state verbs. My friend had a sports car, (NOT A sptfffs cttr~ . h) lit:) friend.) The player lacks ability. (NOT AIHIit) is Iocked-b} .he "ltI}".) That colour suits you. (NOT Ftlu're suited b) ("'til eaiottr.) But other state verbs can be passive, e.g. believe, contain, include, intend, know. like. love, mean, need, owe , own, understand, want, The business is owned by an American company. These old postcards are wanted by collectors. Some verbs can be either action verbs or state verbs, e.g. cost, jit, measure, weigh, > 51 B. They can be passive only when they are action verbs. Action & active: The decorator measured lhe wall. Action & passi ve: The wall was measured by the decorator. State: The wall mea.sured three metres. (BU r NO T Rtree met. es was metf:5u-red-hy-lfte-wa.il ) 125 The passive o The passive and you, we, they, etc The passive is used l ess in informa l English than in formal or written con texts. In informal Eng li sh we often use an active se ntence with a vague subject like you, we, lh ey, pe opl e, or someone. Active: You can' t. do anything about it. (you = peop le in general> 17 6) Passive: Nothing can be done about il. Active: We/People IJ se electricity Jor ail kinds of purposes. Passive: Electricity is used for all kinds of purposes. Active: They 're huilding some new houses. Pas sive: Some new houses are being built. Active: Someone has taken down the poster. Passive: The poster has been taken down. In the passive sentences we do not need to mention you, we, etc when they ha ve (his vague meaning. NOTE We can also use one, although it s use is limited. > 176/1 One can·t do anything abQlI1 it 89 The agent in passive sentences A When we need to mention the agent in a passive se ntence , we use a phrase with by. I-fercul e Poirol was created by Agatha Christie. The land has been boughl by a property developer. The submarin.e is powered by nuclear energy. Here the agents - Agatha Christie, a properly developer and nuclear energy - are the new information we are focussing on. B But often we do not need to include the agent in a passive senfence. Other 126 kinds of inf ormation can corne at the end of the sentence. The dark s id e of the moon was first seen in 1 959. The reception will be held at the Manor Hotel. Plugs should be wired correctl y. We mention the agent only if we need to mention it. We do not mention it ifit is not relevant. A large number of Sherlock I-folfn es films have been made . The atom was regarded as solid unliilhe electron was di scovered in /897. The drugs were destroyed. The people who made the films, discovered the electron and de stroyed the drugs are not releva nt to the mes sage. Th e first two example s are abou t the numb er of films and the time of (he discovery. The last example is about what happen ed 10 the drugs , not when or where it happen ed or who did it. So metime s we do not know the identity of the agent. My car was swlen. The phra se by athie/'wou ld add no information. 90 The passive w ith get Sometimes we do nOt need 10 rn cm i on the agent because it is obvious. A new government has b ee n elected. The phrase by the voters would add no information because we kn ow that governments are elected by voters. Sometimes we do not melllion the agent because we do not wa nt to. Mistakes have been made. This use of the pa ssive wilhollt an agent is a way of not saying who is responsible. Compare the active II We have made mistakes. 90 The passive with get A We sometimes form the passive with ge t rather than wi th be. We get paid monthly . Th e booklet got thrown out with the rubbish. The leaves were getting blown about by the wind . We use the pass iv e with get mainly in informal English, and it ha s a more limited use th an b e. We can use it to talk about good or bad things happ en ing to someone or something. Luckily I got accepted at art sc hool. The flower display got vandalized. ' Bad things' can be accidents. Lots of people get killed on the roads, unfortunately. Th e vase got broken when we moved house. This pattern with get can also refer to som eth ing happening incidentally, as part of a larger operation. The duslbin gets e mptied once a week. Everyone gal nwved lO a new office during the reorganization. But we do not use get for a major, planned action. The railways were privatized 20 ye ars ago. (NOT · HIt; lailwa> s g6t Iffltttt~rs-ttt;6 .) In simple tenses we use do in negatives and que s ti ons. I forgollO leave the dustbin out, so it didn 't get emptied. How often do pe opl e get injured playing rugby? B We also use gel + pa ss ive participle in some idiomatic expre ss ion s. We didn't even ha lle lime to get washed. (= wash ourselves) Simon got married last year. (= married s omeone ) Such expressions include gel washed, get shaved, gel ( un )dressed, ge t clianged (= change your clothes); get engaged, gel. married, gel divorced; ge t slarted (= start); and get lo st (;:; lose your way). , We can also use some of these verbs in the active w. ithoul an object. Th e re wasn't much lime to wash and c hange . Here wash means the same as gel washed. Verbs that occur in both patterns are wash, shave, ( IIn )dre ss, chang e; marry , div orce; and start. 127 [...]... enjo)' it Use would like + to-infinitive (0 say what you wan t to do or to make sugges tions or invitations t Would you like to play tennis? '" Yes, OK Let's have a game 140 1 04 Verb + t o-Inf in itive/gerund with a change in meaning ~1 04 Verb + to-infinitive/gerund with a change in meaning '" " Th e to-infinitive A), regret... convenient, correCl, dangerous, difficult, easy, exciting expe flsive, foolish, good, grear, hard, important, impossih/e, imeresting, necessary, nice, possible, righ t, safe silly, simple, strange, and wrong - 144 106 Ad jectIve + to-infmitive B The pattern The question is easy to answer Here we understand the question as the ohject of to answer Colours are difficult 10 describe precisely Is gas cheaper to cook... me They must be hailing a party next door I should have been working, not playing computer games 149 The infinitive Hm note he aule 10, be al/owed to, be going w, hal)e to, and oughl to Vou ought to be more mreful B After had better, would rather/would sooner, and rather than We'd better nol be Lare > 74 0 I didn 't elljoJI the show, I'd rather I,ave stayed ae home, :> 81 E They decided /0 a ccept the... rather than tllkeltaki"g llteir case to COurt C Makellet/have + object + infinitive witho ut to i\4ake, let, and have ca n take a n nbjec f a nd an infiniti ve wi thout to The officiaL made me fill aUf (I (orm Th e head teach!!r let the pupils go hnme early I'll have tlte porter bring up your bags > 94A Here are some more exa mpl es wit h let l ea" Irt JO Il JUlfIe a copy (= give yo u) J'lllel everyone... can express purpose My friend has gone to town to do some shopping / am writing to enquire about activity holidnys To get a good seat you need to arrive early For other ways of expressing purpose, > 240 In the Ilcgalive \· e cannot use a simple to·infinitive (NOT +'Ie Mlllt' ill quietl) mH t6 tiis{UI b »61t.) Instead we use so as or so chm We came in quietly so as flOt to disturb you We came in quielly... going> 55 happen > 102A have> 71 help > !02D ask> 102F attempt (~ try) be> 58A-B beg care (~ like) >102H choose claim come> lO2A hesitate hope learn long> 1028 look > 102e manage need> 10M offer ought> 74A plan prepare pretend promise prove> 102A refuse seek (~ try) seem; l 02A tend> I02A threaten turn out > 102A used> 82 volwlleer vote can 't wait want> )02B wish> 1028 1]7 Th e infinitive Here is a list... YOIl aren't allowed to sunbalhe here 139 The infiniljve 103 Verbs taking either a to-infinitive or a gerund A So metimes the choice of to-infinitive or gerund afler a verb depends on the meaning, > 1 04, But so me verbs ca n take ei ther a to-infin it ive or a gerund wit h alm ost no d ifference in mean ing, I hate to lealie/hate leaving ellerything to the last minute, We intend to take/intend taking... are forced to use an a lternative rOUle (NOT 9Nver.'HI -jvreed-iila+-all- 95 Tllere is an allem a live route 10 be IlSClJ by goods uehicles 130 94 Some patterns with have and get , B Participle Some patterns with a verb + object + active participle have a pass ive equivalent Act ive: The detective saw the woman putting the jewellery in her bag... expresses the idea that a situa tion crea tes th e need for a p articular ac tion I ha ve to be al the airport by eight o·dock It m eans getting lip early Here m ean has an impersonal subjec{ (i t) J41 The infinitive G Get + to -infiniti ve means to gel an opportunity to do something or to in doing it J hope I can get to speak to the President The kids got to ride on a steam engine But gel + gerund... that I wouJd meet Tim.) In the sentence J expecled 10 meet Tim, the subject of the lo-infinitive is unde rstood to the same as the subject of the sentence (I) (= J expected to meet Tim (= I expected 142 B Verbs meaning 'o rder', 'request', etc The doctor told Julie to sray in bed We persunded our neighbours to £Urn {he music down Why did you ali lealJ(~ me 10 clear up on my own? These ve rbs include: . The right thing to do > 74 You should revise before lite exam. Probability > 77 It should be fine tomorrow. ought The rIght thing to do > 74 You ought to revise b efo re. weekend we would go La th e cinema. , shall Asking what 10 do > 54E Wh at shall we do ? The future > 54A I slJa ll be awa y next week. dare Being brave enough > 83 I. Thomson, and the other is about the electron. TIIO MSON , Sill )0 5 1::111- 1 JOH N (I R46-1 940 ) British physicist and mathematician and head of a group of researchers at the CavendIsh