Tag: London buses

Adult Speaking Class, level 2: Modal verbs that you ought to know.

25th July 2020

Modal verbs and when to use them

These Are The Most Tubular Slang Words From 1940 to Today | Best Life
History of the OED | Oxford English Dictionary

can / could / have to / may / must

ought to / should / will

Modal verbs are used for:

Permission // Possibility // Obligation

Request // Speculation // Suggestion

Cab Calloway's Hepster's Dictionary: A Guide To The Language Of ...

Sounds confusing ? Don’t worry – English is meant to be USED, not just studied and so, without further ado, some examples:

Can I get a bus to Ben Thanh Market ?

Can I get a bus to Main Street from here ?

This means is it possible to get a bus from here ?

Your Comprehensive Walk-through of Ben Thanh Market | Cmego Travel ...
Sai Gon’s iconic Ben Thanh Market
London's 10 Best Bus Routes | Londonist
Can I get a bus to Big Ben from here ?

Can you hit the lights, please ?

A request to turn on / off the lights.

Turn Off Unneeded Lights – Air Conditioning Appreciation Days -

We use can to ask if something is possible and to request help.

Who’s that ? It could be Peter. Speculation, a guess

You have to get over 60% or you will fail. Obligation

Oh, you must see the new Quentin Tarantino film. Suggestion

Will you help me with my tieng Viet ? May I go to the party ? Request

You musn’t use your phone when riding a motorbike. Permission

You ought to stop drinking so much coffee. Suggestion

You should all read English books. Suggestion

Exercises:

can // could // have to // may // must

ought to // should //will

[answers at end of exercise]

First, decide which of the six classes is needed (permission, request etc). The first two are indicated, after that, you’re on your own.

… I use my mobile phone in class ? Request

You … answer all three questions. Obligation

It’s too heavy; … you help me lift it ?

Don’t wait too long, he … not come.

… I buy an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy ?

Apple and Samsung mediation to take place on May 21st and 22nd

May I use my mobile phone in class ?

You have to answer all three questions.

It’s too heavy; can you help me lift it ?

Don’t wait too long, he may not come.

Should I buy an iPhone or a Samsung Galaxy ?

Do all Quentin Tarantino's movies actually take place in the same ...

UK Break: A Walk around Bloomsbury.

27th February 2020

My penultimate day in London; sky grey, wind bitter, prices high and queues at the British Museum, prohibitively long.

I left east London around 9.00 am and took the Tube straight to Holborn and from there, walked the ten minutes up to the Museum, pausing only to take these snaps:

Looking south, towards Holborn Station.
An iconic British phone box.
Bloombury Ballroom, an art deco building from the 1920s
Always … people wait in the cold for a bus … and then two come at once.
Great camera-themed cafe. Naturally, it was closed.
Last time I was here, the museum was free; now they charge £1.
The British Museum. Usually open at 10.00 am but today delayed due to filming. However, on a Sunday, the queues were so long, I decided to go for coffee and then lunch instead. The choice …

Japanese … ?

Mexican … ?

Chinese … ?

One of my favourite Korean restaurants. I ordered seafood bibimbap with flying fish eggs.

And a final walk around central London. Above what used to be a great cinema bookshop near The Museum …

It ends for me where it began for Dickens; his first success, the ‘Sketches by Boz’. The following day, I had some final business to take care of, and then try to rest. Tuesday was the big flight back to Asia … but that is another blog.