Spotlight - 14.2019

Fotos: Mrs_ya, Igor Kovalchuk, Studio KIWI, Nantawan Patamarot, Tale, AnnJane/Shutterstock.com

20 Spotlight 14/2019 VERB POWER

2. Modal verbs

Complete the following sentences with past modal

verbs.

A. There (would be) a better

atmosphere at the party if more guests had come.

B. We (should send) the invita-

tions out earlier.

C. More people (might come) if

we had done that.

D. With more guests, we (could

play) some party games.

3. Stative verbs

Rearrange the letters in brackets to discover some more

stative verbs.

A. Christmas is my favourite holiday. I

(redoa) it!

B. Advent biscuits (steat) of Christmas

spices.

C. Should I celebrate Christmas if I don’t

(lebieev) in God?

D. I (ssuppoe) it’s OK.

S

houlda, Woulda, Coulda” was the song that kept going

through the head of Gloria Gorgeous from marketing. She

should have spoken to Dan Dawdle from product development

ages ago. She could have. There would have been lots of oppor-

tunities. “I will talk to him now,” she told herself. “I will tell him

that I have seen the amazing collection of new decorations he

has hidden in his desk. I’ll tell him he must show them to the

boss. They could save our business.”

Modal verbs

Modal verbs are verbs such as “might”, “must”, “can”,

“could” “should”, “will” and “would”. They go in front of

other verbs (for example “could have”, “will tell”, “must

show”). In stories, they are often found in their past form

and are called “past modal verbs” (“should have spoken”,

“would have been”).

people didn’t appreciate quality. Dan also knew he was slow.

He understood that people saw him as a dreamer. It certainly

seemed that Victor, his boss, considered him to be a bit sluggish.

In fact, Dan was at the seminar only because his colleague, Derek

Dynamic, had the flu. Now was Dan’s opportunity, though.

Victor was stuck here with nothing else to do but look at Dan’s

designs. If Victor hated them, too bad! At least Dan would have

tried. He took the folder and stood up.

Stative verbs (non-activity verbs)

Stative verbs express a state — how things are (“be”)

or how they seem (“seem”, “appear”, “look”, “feel”). They

include verbs of the intellect (“know”, “under stand”,

“think”, “appreciate”) and of the heart (“like”, “love”,

“hate”). They also include verbs of possession (“have”,

“possess”, “belong to”, “own” and “owe”).

Because stative verbs express a state, rather than an

activity, they are normally used in simple tenses, not

continuous tenses. (“She seemed friendly”, not: “She was

seeming friendly.”)

Answers

2.

Mo

dal verbs

A.

would ha

ve been

B.

should ha

ve sent

C.

might ha

ve come

D.

could ha

ve played

3.

S

tative verbs

A.

adore

B.

taste

C.

believe

D.

suppose

appreciate [E(pri:SieIt]

, (wert)schätzen

dawdle [(dO:d&l]

, trödeln, bummeln

dynamic [daI(nÄmIk]

, rasant, tatkräftig

folder [(fEUldE]

, Ordner

sluggish [(slVgIS]

, träge, schwerfällig

D

an Dawdle from product development looked at the open

folder with drawings in front of him, then stared out at the

snowy landscape. He knew his designs looked good, and he al-

ways hoped other people could see that, too, but maybe some