Real Grammar - Susan Conrad, Douglas Biber 2009

Necessity Medals
Unit 12 A compromise must be reached

What have you learned from your grammar textbook?

There are several modals and phrasal modals that express necessity or certainty meanings: must, have to, have got to, should, ought to, had better. Some of these modals can express different meanings in different contexts. For example, must can:

1. describe a personal obligation (necessity meaning):

• You must go to the party.

2. refer to a logical conclusion (certainty meaning):

• You must have been starving on that diet.

What does the corpus show?

A

Some of these modals are preferred in conversation; others in writing. Each individual modal has different uses. Here are some of the most common uses in conversation and writing.

* gotta: Note that have in have got to is often dropped; got to is pronounced [gotta] in conversation.

**better: Note that had in had better is often dropped.

B

Be careful! In conversation, must is usually NOT used for obligation or to give advice. Use have to or got to instead. In academic writing, the modals have to, have got to, had better, and ought to are usually NOT used. Use must and should instead.

Activities

1 Notice in context: Read the sentences and circle the medals.

1. I remember my first car accident. It was right after I got my license, and I must have been sixteen.

My dad was in the car with me and I backed into the car across the street.

2. In group counseling, comfortable seating should be used and chairs set out in a circle so that everyone can see each other. This is important for promoting trust and confidence in the group.

3. In the hospital’s activity rooms, special care must be taken to ensure that the environment is safe for the patient to move around in.

4. I went hiking with people from work last week, and they were all talking about their relationships. So 1 thought, wow, I had better stay away from that. I haven’t exactly been lucky with relationships.

2 Analyze discourse: Look back at the sentences in Activity 1. Decide whether each one is an example of conversation or academic writing. Base your decision on the choice of modal and its function. Compare your answers with a partner's.

1. Conversation □

2. Conversation □

3. Conversation □

4. Conversation □

Academic writing □

Academic writing □

Academic writing □

Academic writing □

3 Practice the structure: Which modal(s) would be a common choice to complete the sentences? Some sentences are examples of conversation, others of academic writing. There may be more than one answer.

1. Conversation:

a. You’re right. It’s getting late. Yeah, you better / should get going.

b. I kept calling the wrong number. Well I guess I ... have written it down wrong.

c. See, I ... take the test to drive here, because they won’t accept my New York driver’s license.

2. Academic writing:

a. The first page of a scientific study ... include the title of the study and the author’s full name, along with the date of the final draft.

b. The goals and objectives for a successful library education program ... be based on a consideration of the needs of students.

4 Practice conversation: Offer advice to a classmate who wants to do the following things, write three sentences for each of the student's goals. After you write your sentences, say them to a partner, practicing typical pronunciation (such as "you gotta" for "you have got to”).

1. Improve writing skills in English.

You should find a penpal.

2. Speak English more fluently.

You’ve got to practice often.

3. Comprehend academic lectures in English.

5 Practice writing: Your city council plans to destroy your neighborhood park in order to build an office building. You and your friends want to save the park. Use necessity modals to (1) recommend actions and (2) assign activities to people in the neighborhood to save the park.

1. More community events should be scheduled to take place in the park.

2. Someone must call the mayor’s office.