The only word for the job
Look at your partner’s tally pages from last lesson. Most speakers use have to and can for everything and leave the other four unused.
Below are six meanings. Each one has exactly one modal that expresses it properly. Substituting a different one changes what you said.
Match each meaning to the modal that is the only correct word for it.
The same paragraph twice
Round one, transcribed exactly
In my office we have to arrive at nine and we have to log the hours. We have to wear the badge. You don’t have to smoke inside — the boss is very strict. My colleague is supervisor, she have to check everything. On the Mondays we have to go to the meeting.
The same content, repaired
In my office we have to arrive at nine and log our hours. We must wear a badge at all times. You mustn’t smoke inside — the boss is very strict about it. My colleague is a supervisor, so she has to check everything. On Mondays we go to a team meeting.
Four questions comparing the two paragraphs. Look at the words, not the meaning.
1. The first version uses have to five times. What is the effect?
2. You don’t have to smoke inside became You mustn’t smoke inside. Why?
3. My colleague is supervisor became My colleague is a supervisor. What was wrong?
4. On the Mondays became On Mondays. What kind of error was the original?
Forcing the range
Why the range collapses. Under time pressure you reach for the form you are surest of. have to is regular, it takes questions and negatives normally, and it never sounds wrong — so it swallows everything.
The cost is that your listener loses the distinctions. A rule with a legal penalty and a rule about coffee mugs come out identical.
Three pairs that are constantly confused
| This | Not this | Because |
|---|---|---|
mustn’t — forbidden | don’t have to — optional | The not is on the action, not on the obligation |
should — advice | must — obligation | You should get here early is a suggestion; you must is an order |
can’t — not permitted | mustn’t — forbidden | Close enough in speech; can’t is softer and commoner |
had to — past obligation | must has no past | |
has to — third person | The -s lives on have, not on the main verb | |
can leave | Modals never take to |
Six gaps, six different modals. You may use each of must, mustn’t, have to, don’t have to, should, can exactly once.
You wear steel-capped boots on the floor — it is a legal requirement and there is an inspection. You cross the yellow line while the machines are running; people have lost fingers doing it. You clock in at the terminal by the door, because the system will not let payroll pay you otherwise. You bring your own lunch — there is a canteen, but plenty of people do. You introduce yourself to the shift supervisor on your first morning; nobody will make you, but it goes better if you do. And you eat at your desk if you would rather not go down.
Why articles go missing under pressure. When attention goes to the tense or the modal, the smallest words are the first thing dropped. Your written articles are better than your spoken ones — that is normal, and it means the knowledge is there.
Fixing this is not about learning more rules. It is about attaching the article to the noun as one chunk, so you never have to decide mid-sentence: a-supervisor, an-intern, the-shift-manager, at-work, on-Mondays.
Six sentences. Three have an article too many; three are missing one. Fix each and say which kind it was.
1. She is manager of the whole department.
2. I finish the work at six and go to the home.
3. He wants to be pilot one day.
4. On the weekends I do not check the email.
5. We had long meeting about the new system.
6. The traffic is terrible in the mornings, so I take the train.
Repairing real sentences
Eight sentences from real workplace descriptions. Each has one error — modal or article. Rewrite each.
1. My brother is nurse and he must work nights every third week.
2. You don’t have to park in front of the loading bay.
3. We can to leave early on Fridays.
4. Last month I must cover three extra shifts.
5. The life in that company was very stressful.
6. She have to sign every form before it goes out.
7. You should to tell your supervisor if you are late.
8. I go to the work early because of the traffic.
Six pairs where adding the changes what the sentence means. Match each phrase to its real meaning.
A paragraph with gaps of both kinds. Modals need one to three words; articles need a, an, the, or - for none.
Ines is pharmacist. She open the shop at eight — the health authority sets the hours, not her. She leave the controlled cupboard unlocked, not for a second. She wear a white coat, though she always does, because customers expect it. On Sundays the shop is closed, so she come in at all.
Be the editor
Task card · Pairs · Editing then speaking
Your partner wrote an induction paragraph in Lesson 4 and spoke for two minutes in Lesson 5. You are now their editor.
Take their written paragraph, mark it, and hand back a version that uses at least four different modals and has every article right.
- Mark first, in the margin: E extra article, M missing, W wrong one, MOD wrong modal.
- Then rewrite two sentences aloud to your partner, saying why you changed each one.
- At least one of your changes must replace a
have towith a modal that says something more precise. - Your partner may argue. If they can explain what they meant, they win.
The rule for the editor. You may not change a sentence you cannot explain. "It sounds better" is not an explanation. Name the rule, or leave it alone.
The four hardest
Four errors that survive most correction. Fix each, then say the correct version aloud three times.
1. She have to work on Saturday.
2. In the my office we start at nine.
3. You mustn’t to use the front entrance.
4. I am working here since three years.
Your own two
Three questions. Answer without looking back.
1. Which sentence tells a colleague that something is forbidden?
2. Which is correct?
3. He is in hospital and He is in the hospital —
Before next lesson. Choose the two modals you use least — they are on your tally pages. Write one true sentence with each about your workplace.
Bring both. Next lesson you write the piece that goes into your portfolio, and those two sentences are going into it.