Session 2

When you're not sure about something you might need to use a modal, a word like might, may, could, must or can’t. In this session we use them to help us solve a murder mystery, and we see them in a news story about life on Mars.

Sessions in this unit

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    Activity 1
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    Activity 3

Romeo and Juliet…

...are dead. What happened? Can you solve the riddle? You'll need to use lots of modals to solve it!

To do

Read the riddle and fill the gaps to answer the questions. We'll tell you the answer at the bottom of the page.

Read the text and complete the activity

The riddle

Romeo and Juliet are dead. They are on a bedroom floor. There is some broken glass beside them, but there is no blood on their bodies. There's some water on the floor, but not much. The room is empty except for a bed and a shelf. The room has no window, and only one door, which is locked. The room is in a house far away from others, but is close to a railway line.

How did they die?

Alas, poor Romeo...

6 Questions

Now it's time to practise your modals. What do we know from the information in the story? What can we deduce? And how did poor Romeo and Juliet die?

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The answer

Don't read this if you're not ready! This is a well-known riddle and the answer usually given is... Romeo and Juliet are fish! They were in a glass bowl on the shelf, but this shook and fell when a train went past. It smashed on the floor and Romeo and Juliet died.

But maybe you could think of another way they died?

Next

Now it's time for 6 Minute Grammar. Finn and Catherine take a trip round the world of modal verbs.

Session Grammar

  • Modals - meaning and use

    Might, may and could – possible in the present or past

    • There might / may / could be life forms on Mars
    • NASA says it may / might / could have been suitable for life in the past

    Might not (mightn’t) and may not - negative possibility in the present or past

    • Their information might not/may not be correct
    • They mightn’t have got correct data

    Couldn’t – completely impossible

    • Other scientists say that there couldn’t be life on Mars
    • The gas couldn’t be coming from living organisms

    Must and can't – strong beliefs

    • Oh, it can’t be true! (I believe strongly that it isn’t true)
    • There must be another explanation (I believe there’s another explanation)
    • They must have made a mistake! (I believe they have made a mistake)