Modal Forms of Verb & Informal Letter – JSS3 English Lesson Note (First Term)

GRAMMAR: MODAL FORMS OF VERB

CONTENT:

What are modal verbs?

Modals (also called modal verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, and modal auxiliaries ) are special verbs that behave irregularly in English. They are different from normal verbs like “work, play visit…” They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. They have a great variety of communicative functions.

Here are some characteristics of modal verbs:

They never change their form. You can’t add “s”, “ed”, or “ing”…

They are always followed by an infinitive without “to” (e.i. the bare infinitive.)

They are used to indicate modality allow speakers to express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability

List of modal verbs:  can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must. The verbs or expressions dare, ought to, had better, and need not behave like modal auxiliaries to a large extent and may be added to the above list

Use of modal verbs:

Modal verbs are used to express functions such as:

1. Permission
2. Ability
3. Obligation
4. Prohibition
5. Lack of necessity
6. Advice
7. possibility
8. probability

Examples of modal verbs

Here is a list of models with examples:

must

Strong obligation: You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.

logical conclusion / Certainty

He must be very tired. He’s been working all day long.

Must not prohibit: You must not smoke in the hospital.

CAN

ABILITY:  I can swim.

PERMISSION: Can I use your phone, please?

POSSIBILITY: Smoking can cause cancer.

COULD

ABILITY IN THE PAST: When I was younger I could run fast.

POLITE PERMISSION: Excuse me, could I just say something?

POSSIBILITY: It could rain tomorrow!

MAY

PERMISSION: May I use your phone, please?

POSSIBILITY,

PROBABILITY: It may rain tomorrow!

MIGHT

POLITE PERMISSION: Might I suggest an idea?

POSSIBILITY,

PROBABILITY: I might go on holiday to Australia next year.

need not lack of necessity/absence of obligation

I need not buy tomatoes.

There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.

SHOULD/OUGHT TO

50 % OBLIGATION: I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.

ADVICE: You should / ought to revise your lessons

LOGICAL CONCLUSION: He should / ought to be very tired. He’s been working all day long.

NOTE:

Modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without “to”, also called the bare infinitive.

Examples:

You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.

You should see the doctor.

There are a lot of tomatoes in the fridge. You need not buy any.

COMPOSITION:

TOPIC: INFORMAL LETTER

CONTENT

Letter writing is an act of communicating information, feelings, ideas, or opinions to somebody who is absent or resides in a distance. A letter should contain full details of the issue one is writing about to bring about the same reaction that would have occurred if the message contained in it had been a spoken one.

Types of letter writing

1. Informal letter
2. Semi-formal letter
3. Formal letter

INFORMAL LETTER

An informal letter is also known as a personal letter. These are letters written to a close relative, friends, and close ones.

                                   FORMAT OF INFORMAL LETTER

1. Address of the writer and date: this must be well–punctuated. The address must appear on the top right-hand corner of the page.

Example:

36, Adebayo Street,

Abule – Egba,

Lagos.

24th May, 2017.

Greeting/salutation: this is usually “Dear” plus the first name of the person you are writing to e.g. Dear Tolu, Dear John. This is so because an informal letter must reflect the cordial relationship between the writer and the receiver. 

Complimentary close: ‘Yours sincerely’: is the most appropriate. Followed

by the writer’s first name. Example:

Yours sincerely,

Dupe.

EVALUATION: write a letter to your father asking him to send you some money, and give him three reasons for your request.

ASSIGNMENT: Write a letter to your friend living outside the country telling him/her three reasons why you like your school.

s that can be used as adjectives and adverbs.

COMPOSITION: REVIST THE FORMAT OF AN INFORMAL LETTER AND FORMAL LETTER

Introduction: writing is a means of communication. We shall revisit the formal and informal letter in this lesson.

1. A formal letter refers to the business, letter or an official letter e.g. for casual leave by staff in offices or an application for a job.

The features of the formal letter

The address: this should be written at the top of a letter in the right-hand corner. Remember to write the name of your state and date. Write the date in full and put a full stop after the abbreviation.

                                                                                                   8, Adesanya street,

                                                                                                    Ile – Epo,

                                                                                                    Oke – Ode,

                                                                                                    Lagos.

                                                                                                    22nd October, 2017.

The principal,

Elias International School,

Ile – Epo,

Oke – Odo,

Lagos.

1. The recipient’s address: the recipient’s address should be written on the left-hand side below the writer’s address. The example is written above.

iii. Salutation (greetings)

The name in salutation is followed by a comma. Example, Dear sir, Dear madam, Sir, Dear, Mr. Akpan, Gentlemen, etc.

1. Title – A formal letter should have a title. Example:

A letter of Apology

The causes of Road Accident

The importance of Agriculture etc

1. Introduction: the introduction should show what the letter is all about
2. The body of the letter: Write in clear and simple English. Mind your tenses. Pay attention to spelling and punctuation. Try to be specific.

vii. Conclusion: The conclusion should draw together the idea and its relationship with the major points

viii. Subscription: Subscription comes at the end of the letter. This is followed by a comma. Remember to write ‘Y’ in capital letters.

Note that: faithfully is written with small letters but not capital. Example                                                                                                                                           Yours faithfully,

1. Signature and name: put your name below Ayodele Oke the signature.

1. THE INFORMAL LETTER

Informal letter refers to the letters we write to our brothers, friends, parents, sons, daughters, husbands, relations, etc. Informal letters are also known as private letters.

The features of the informal letter

1. Writer’s address: This should be written at the top of a letter in the right-hand corner. Remember to write your state and date.

3, Ayodele Cresent,

Ojuelegba,

Surulere,

Lagos.

13th August, 2017

1. Salutation: (greetings) example My dear, father, dear, mummy, my dear mother, dear Sarah, dear brother, dear Uncle Oliver, my dear sister, my darling, etc.

iii. Introduction: the introduction should show what the letter is all about.

1. The body of the letter: this is one of the most important aspects of a letter. Write clear and simple English – try to avoid “pompous” language. Mind your tenses. Pay attention to spelling and punctuation. Try to develop a paragraph around your main points.
2. Conclusion: the conclusion should draw together the idea and its relationship with the major points.
3. Subscription: this comes at the end of the letter. This is followed by a comma. Remember to write ‘Y’ in capital letters. Note that affectionately, friend, loving, and sincerely are written with small letters but capital letters.

Examples:       yours sincerely,

                             Yours ever,

                             Yours loving son,

                             Your friend,

                             Yours affectionately,

viii  Name: put your name below the subscripted, an example.

                                                             Yours sincerely,

                                                                             Ade

Assignment

Write a letter to your friend in another school, tell him/her about the changes which have taken place in your school in recent times.

READING AND COMPREHENSION

Reading to understand the writer’s purpose.

Content: comprehension is a process of reading, understanding, and explaining what is written in a passage. For every comprehension exercise, there must be a passage to be read.

The purpose of the comprehension exercise is to test student’s understanding of a given passage. In comprehension, the thoughts of the writer are presented to students for reading, understanding, and explaining.

Instruction: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions. No 1: Unit Four, Reference: New Oxford English course for junior secondary school (upper Basic 3 Education).