Modal exercises

The following are ideas for more interactive or communicative discussion and/or writing activities with modal verbs.

Modal exercises

(A) Discuss what are the best ways to accomplish the following:

1. How to get a traffic ticket
2. How to get rid of your boyfriend or girlfriend
3. How to get an F in your class(es)
4. How to annoy your classmates

(B) Is honesty always the best policy? Think about and discuss the following situations. What are your different ideas about these problems?

1. You see your best friend’s girlfriend on a date with someone else. Should you tell your friend what you saw? Why or why not?
2. A classmate cheated on a test. Should you tell your teacher?
3. You work hard every week on your lab reports. But you realize that your classmate has been cheating or plagiarizing her lab reports. This is unfair to you, since you work hard to do good lab reports. What would you do?
4. Your friend has a new haircut, and she is really happy about her new “look.” But you don’t like it at all, and it makes her look quite ugly. She asks you for your opinion. Should you tell her what you really think?

(C) What would / should you say or do in each of the following situations?

1. An old woman gets on the bus, but there are no more seats left. But your back and legs are very sore from jogging 10 km.
2. You are driving to work, and you see a coworker waiting at the bus stop – the coworker who always spreads bad gossip about you.
3. You are jogging in the park, and as you cross the road, a stranger offers to give you a ride.
4. Before class begins, you need to ask your teacher for permission to leave the class early.
5. You are waiting in the bookstore with a friend, and you are standing in line to buy your textbook. Just then you realize that you have left your wallet at home, but you must buy the book right away.

(D) How would a job interviewer ask questions about the following areas? How would you respond to those questions if you were interviewing? In pairs, think about how you would formulate the questions and your responses.

1. The applicant’s potential strengths and contributions to the company
2. Any special skills and abilities to bring to the company?
3. The applicant’s reasons for applying for this job and this company
4. Why the applicant is the best person for the position