Modal Verbs
What are modal verbs?
Modal Verbs are auxiliary verbs that modify another verb in order to change the meaning of the
expression: (i.e. what is being said)
What are examples of modal verbs? Can, Could, Must, May, Might, Should, Shouldn’t,
Ought To, Would
What is the function of a modal verb?
The Origin of the Universe
Newton’s work gave a mathematical basis for the universe on a large scale. However, the data available at
his time suggested a static unchanging universe. This could not be explained by the law of gravitation,
since all bodies in the universe attract each other by the force of gravity. Newton realized there was only
one solution to this problem: in a static universe matter must be uniformly spread throughout an infinitely
large space. In 1826, Heinrich Olbers published a paper containing what is known as Olbers’ paradox: the
universe had to be finite and uniform to avoid gravitational collapse. This assumption must have been
wrong because it required perpetually bright sky on earth. Both Newton and Olbers incorrectly imagined
space to be infinite and independent of the matter it contained. Einstein in his general theory of relativity
(1915) proposed that the universe exists in four-dimensional space-time. This space-time is curved by the
presence of matter and the matter moves following the resulting curves.
The discovery of expanding universe by Hubble in 1929 provided the starting point of our present
understanding of the universe. Hubble made his discovery by analyzing the spectra of light from distant
galaxies noting redshift, which he explained in terms of the Doppler effect: the sources were moving away
from the observer. Moreover, he discovered a pattern in his data: the further away the galaxy, the greater
the speed of away motion. This model may seem to place the Earth at the center of the universe again.
However, it is the space itself that is expanding and the galaxies are situated in this space like dots in a
ring. As the ring expands, the view from any dot is that other dots are moving away at a speed
proportional to their distance. No single dot is at the center, but all dots see the same. Hubble’s discovery
satisfies the cosmological principle that the universe should appear the same no matter where one is.
Expansion of the universe also implies that there once must have been a time when space and time were
minutely small with all the matter and energy of the universe concentrated in this small volume.
Exercise 1.
In the above text find modal verbs which say that :
- something wasn’t possible
- something is possible now
- we are sure something is true now
- we are sure something happened
- something is obligatory
Exercise 2.
In which case does the modal verb express modality (M) and in which case does it express possibility (P)
or certainty (C)?
What are modal verbs?
Modal Verbs are auxiliary verbs that modify another verb in order to change the meaning of the
expression: (i.e. what is being said)
What are examples of modal verbs? Can, Could, Must, May, Might, Should, Shouldn’t,
Ought To, Would
What is the function of a modal verb?
The Origin of the Universe
Newton’s work gave a mathematical basis for the universe on a large scale. However, the data available at
his time suggested a static unchanging universe. This could not be explained by the law of gravitation,
since all bodies in the universe attract each other by the force of gravity. Newton realized there was only
one solution to this problem: in a static universe matter must be uniformly spread throughout an infinitely
large space. In 1826, Heinrich Olbers published a paper containing what is known as Olbers’ paradox: the
universe had to be finite and uniform to avoid gravitational collapse. This assumption must have been
wrong because it required perpetually bright sky on earth. Both Newton and Olbers incorrectly imagined
space to be infinite and independent of the matter it contained. Einstein in his general theory of relativity
(1915) proposed that the universe exists in four-dimensional space-time. This space-time is curved by the
presence of matter and the matter moves following the resulting curves.
The discovery of expanding universe by Hubble in 1929 provided the starting point of our present
understanding of the universe. Hubble made his discovery by analyzing the spectra of light from distant
galaxies noting redshift, which he explained in terms of the Doppler effect: the sources were moving away
from the observer. Moreover, he discovered a pattern in his data: the further away the galaxy, the greater
the speed of away motion. This model may seem to place the Earth at the center of the universe again.
However, it is the space itself that is expanding and the galaxies are situated in this space like dots in a
ring. As the ring expands, the view from any dot is that other dots are moving away at a speed
proportional to their distance. No single dot is at the center, but all dots see the same. Hubble’s discovery
satisfies the cosmological principle that the universe should appear the same no matter where one is.
Expansion of the universe also implies that there once must have been a time when space and time were
minutely small with all the matter and energy of the universe concentrated in this small volume.
Exercise 1.
In the above text find modal verbs which say that :
- something wasn’t possible
- something is possible now
- we are sure something is true now
- we are sure something happened
- something is obligatory
Exercise 2.
In which case does the modal verb express modality (M) and in which case does it express possibility (P)
or certainty (C)?
