Before and after
Read both versions of your weak note — the original and your rewrite. Ask your teacher one question: “Could a contractor still argue their way around the new one?”
The same sentence, four ways
One requirement, four modals, four different legal effects
| Sentence | What it means | If it is not done… |
|---|---|---|
| The subpanel shall be installed with working clearances. | Binding requirement. | Violation. Fails inspection; the contractor is liable. |
| The subpanel must be installed with working clearances. | Also binding. Slightly plainer register; increasingly used in modern codes. | Violation. Same effect as shall. |
| The subpanel may be installed with working clearances. | Permission. They are allowed to. | Nothing. They were never required to. |
| The subpanel will be installed with working clearances. | A prediction about the future. Describes, does not require. | Arguable. You stated an expectation, not an obligation. |
The Portuguese problem, stated plainly. Deverá ser instalado is the natural translation of all four of those sentences. Portuguese marks the difference with context and register; English marks it with the modal itself, and the difference is enforceable.
This is why a note that reads perfectly well in your head can be unenforceable on paper. The Portuguese is doing work the English is not.
Choosing the modal
Decision table
| You want to… | Use | Never use |
|---|---|---|
| Impose a requirement | shall (traditional) or must (plain-language) | will, should |
| Grant a choice or an option | may | can (ambiguous — ability vs permission) |
| Recommend without binding | should — and know it is unenforceable | shall, if you do not mean it |
| Describe what the design does | will — but keep it out of requirement notes | shall |
| Forbid something | shall not | may not (ambiguous), cannot |
One consistency rule that matters more than the choice itself. Pick shall or must for your practice and use it everywhere. A set that mixes them invites the question “did you mean something different here?” — and on a document that may be read adversarially, any inconsistency is an opening.
Your own sets use shall throughout. Stay with it.
Say them with the weight they carry
These are stressed differently in speech than in reading. Listen and repeat.
Discriminate
Choose the correct modal for each intention.
1. You want the contractor to have a genuine choice between two acceptable locations. Which modal?
2. You are describing, in a cover letter, what your design achieves. Which modal is appropriate there?
3. A note reads: Conduit should be buried to the depth in Table 300.5. What is the problem?
4. You want to prohibit splices inside the conduit run. Which is clearest?
5. Why is The panel will be installed within sight of the unit weak as a drawing note?
Each note uses the wrong modal for what it intends. Rewrite it correctly.
1. Conductors will be sized per CEC Table 310.16.
2. The contractor should verify existing conditions on site.
3. All equipment may be listed and labeled per CEC 110.3(B).
4. Splices cannot be made within the conduit run.
Defend your modal
Task card
Your teacher plays a contractor looking for room to move
For each of five notes, they will argue that they have satisfied it. You defend the wording, or concede it was too weak.
- Where the note genuinely is too weak, say so — and reword it on the spot.
- Where it is strong, quote the exact word that makes it binding.
- Conceding a bad note quickly is a professional skill, not a loss.
One sentence
In one sentence, and without looking: what is the difference between shall and will in a drawing note, and why does Portuguese make it hard to feel?
Before the next lesson
Homework. Search your own sets for the words will, should and may. For each hit, decide whether it is doing the job you intended. Bring the list — you will need it in Lesson 6.