Modals of obligation

Modals of obligation

• 1.
  Modals of Obligation Passages 1, Unit 2
• 2.
  Past modals andphrasal modals  To describe obligations in the past:  should have  was supposed to  had to  needed to
• 3.
  In which situationsthe plants were watered?  I was supposed to water my neighbor’s plants.  I had to water my neighbor’s plants.  I should have watered my neighbor’s plants.  I needed to water my neighbor’s plants.  I didn’t have to water my neighbor’s plants.
• 4.
  I should havestayed home and studied! It was a good idea, but I didn’t do it.
• 5.
  I was supposedto be studying this weekend. It was required, but I didn’t do it.
• 6.
  We had towear a uniform. We were forced to do this.
• 7.
  I didn’t haveto go with my friends, but I did. There was no obligation.
• 8.
  I thought Ineeded to have more clothes. I thought it was necessary.
• 9.
  Strong obligation  Toshow that there was no choice about doing the action. USE: • was / were to • had to My parents had to go to school on Saturdays.
• 10.
  Expectation  There wasa general USE: expectation that an action • be supposed to was required or prohibited. She was supposed to talk to my professor after class. He wasn’t supposed to drive the car to school.
• 11.
  Advisability  There wasa good idea or a correct action in a particular situation, but it was or was not done. USE: • should (not) have He should have taken better notes in class. She shouldn’t have bought such an expensive jacket.
• 12.
  Necessity  The actionwas considered to be necessary or unnecessary; however, unlike “had to”, there is a choice about doing or not doing the action. I needed to make an USE: appointment with the • needed to counselor. • didn’t need to I didn’t need to buy the text book, but I thought it looked interesting.
• 13.
  No obligation  Thereis complete choice about doing the action. USE: • didn’t have to I didn’t have to take piano lessons, but I wanted to.