A.
MAKING CONCLUSION WITH MODAL VERBS: ‘MUST BE ……’ AND
‘CAN’T BE ….’
Statement: “Donald Trump has several giant companies in The USA.”
Conclusion: “He must be the richest guy in his hometown”
“He can’t be working lazily
a. Must be/can’t be + Adjective (rich,poor,beautiful,obnoxious,exciting,super)
Example: Donald Trump must be the richest guy in his hometown.
b. Must be/can’t be + Verb
(work---->working, study---->studying)
Example: Donald Trump can’t be working lazily.
Exercise;
Complete the sentences in part A with the most appropriate word from part B: (note; more
than 1 word is possible)
A.
1. Mark Zuckerberg is the inventor of Facebook social-network. He must be..
2. The tickets of NIDJI music concert are sold out in no minute. They can’t be …
3. Most students failed the last exam. The examination can’t be……….
4. Indonesia has so many various cultures such as Batik and Angklung that are
well known in the world. Indonesians must be …
B.
a. Easy
b. proud
c. Earning so much money
d. Playing bad music
B. Direct and Indirect Speech
When using indirect or reported speech, the form changes. Usually indirect speech is introduced by the verb sa
as in I said, Bill said, or they said. Using the verb say in this tense, indicates that something was said in the pa
In these cases, the main verb in the reported sentence is put in the past. If the main verb is already in a past tens
then the tense changes to another past tense; it can almost be seen as moving even further into the past.
Verb tense changes also characterize other situations using indirect speech. Note the changes shown in the ch
and see the table below for examples. With indirect speech, the use of that is optional.
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
simple present simple past
He said, “I go to school every day.” He said (that) he went to school every day.
simple past past perfect
He said, “I went to school every day.” He said (that) he had gone to school every
day.
present perfect past perfect
He said, “I have gone to school every day.” He said (that) he had gone to school every
day.
present continuous past continuous
He said, “I am going to school every day.” He said (that) he was going to school every
day.
past continuous perfect continuous
He said, “I was going to school every day.” He said (that) he had been going to school
every day,
future (will) would + verb name
He said, “I will go to school every day.” He said (that) he would go to school every
day.
future (going to)
He said, “I am going to school every day.”
past continuous
He said (that) he was going to school every
day
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
auxiliary + verb name simple past
He said, “Do you go to school every day?” He asked me if I went to school every day.*
He said, “Where do you go to school?” He asked me where I went to school.
Command infinitive
He asked me, “Go to school every day.” He asked me to go to school every day.
He asked me, “Don’t go to school on the He asked me not to go to school every day
weekends”
*Note than when a Yes/No question is being asked in direct speech, then a construction with if or whether is use
If a WH question is being asked, then use the WH to introduce the clause. Also note that with indirect speec
these are examples of embedded questions.
1. YES/NO Question
He asked me “Do you speak French?” ------- he asked me whether/if I spoke French
2. WH question
He asked me “what language are you studying now?” ------ he asked me what language I was studying then
The situation changes if instead of the common said another part of the very to say is used. In that case the ve
tenses usually remain the same. Some examples of this situation are given below.
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
simple present + simple present simple present + simple present
He says, “I go to school every day.” He says (that) he goes to school every day.
present perfect + simple present present perfect + simple present
He has said, “I go to school every day.” He has said (that) he goes to school every day.
past progressive + simple past past progressive + simple past
He was saying, “I went to school every He was saying (that) he went to school every day.
day.”
past progressive + past perfect
He was saying (that) he had gone to school every
day.
future + simple present future + simple present
He will say, “I go to school every day.” He will say (that) he goes to school every day.
Another situation is the one in which modal constructions are used. If the verb said is used, then the form of the
modal, or another modal that has a past meaning is used.
Direct Speech Indirect Speech
can could
He said, “I can go to school every day.” He said (that) he could go to school every day.
may might
He said, “I may go to school every day.” He said (that) he might go to school every day.
might
He said, “I might go to school every day.”
must had to
He said, “I must go to school every day.” He said (that) he had to go to school every day.
have to
He said, “I have to go to school every
day.”
should should
He said, “I should go to school every day.” He said (that) he should go to school every day.
ought to ought to
He said, “I ought to go to school every He said (that) he ought to go to school every
day.” day.
While not all of the possibilities have been listed here, there are enough to provide examples of the main rules
governing the use of indirect or reported speech. For other situations, try to extrapolate from the examples
here, or better still, refer to a good grammar text or reference book.
Some other verbs that can be used to introduce direct speech are: ask, report, tell, announce, suggest, and
inquire. They are not used interchangeably; check a grammar or usage book for further information.
Sources:
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/155/support/direct_and_indirect_speech.htm
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/nouns-un-countable_3.htm
C. Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen".
We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable
nouns:
dog, cat, animal, man, person
bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
I like oranges.
Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
I've got some dollars.
Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
I've got a few dollars.
I haven't got many pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:
There is one person here.
There are three people here.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements.
We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk"
or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
music, art, love, happiness
advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
This news is very important.
Your luggage looks heavy.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
I've got some money.
Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
I've got a little money.
I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countabl Uncountabl
e e
Dollar money
Song music
Suitcase luggage
Table furniture
Battery electricity
Bottle wine
Report information
Tip advice
Journey travel
Job work
View scenery
When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
It's difficult to work when there is too much
There are so many different noises in the noise
noise.
city.
Have you got a paper to read?
pape I want to draw a picture. Have you got some
(newspaper)
r paper?
Hand me those student papers.
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party.
time Have you got time for a coffee?
How many times have I told you no?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest
work I have no money. I need work!
works.
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a
glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
Two teas and one coffee please.
Note: you can also visit http://catatanbahasainggris.blogspot.com/2009/01/countable-and-
uncountable-nouns.html for a brief overview made by Indonesian blogger.
