modals of obligation, permission and prohibition/ past modals/ verb patterns
Past and present obligation etc sentence completion things in common
Tell and ask your partner about your present and past obligations etc, and try to make sentences such as those below which are true for both of you.
Past and present obligation etc sentence completion guessing game
Choose one of the phrases below and say just the part that you completed it with (not the part that is printed below). See if your partner can guess which sentence you put those words in, then take turns doing the same.
| Useful phrases for doing the activity “No, that can’t be true, because…”“Well, that could be true, but in fact…”“That is true, but it’s not the sentence I was thinking of. Please try again”“Yes, that’s right (because…). It’s your turn” |
Past and present obligation etc sentence completion bluffing game
Your partner will choose one sentence below for you. Complete it as quickly as you can, using your imagination if you can’t rapidly think of something true. They will ask follow up questions and guess if it is true or not. Then take turns doing the same.
Suggested sentences to complete
I am allowed to/ I can _____________________________________ at work (if I want to)
I can’t/ I’m not allowed to ___________________________________________ at home.
My doctor has told me that I mustn’t _________________________________________
I don’t have to/ I don’t need to ________________ (if I don’t want to/ but I can if I want to)
I have to _______________________________________________________ every day
I really must _______________________________________________________ soon
I had to _____________________________________________________ in my school
I had to __________________________________ when I was younger (but I don’t now).
My parents made me/ forced me to __________________________________________
My parents let me/ allowed me to ____________________________________________
I didn’t have to/ I didn’t need to/ I wasn’t made to __________________ at primary school.
I could/ I was allowed to ____________________________________________ at home.
Past and present obligation and permission grammar presentation
Without looking above, try to think of at least one form that has the same meaning as each form below.
- I am allowed to
- I can’t
- I don’t have to
- My parents made me…
- My parents let me
- I didn’t need to
- I was allowed to
Mixed answers
Use the mixed answers below to help with the grammar task above. You will sometimes need to add more words to make expressions which mean exactly the same thing.
- I could
- allowed
- can
- didn’t have to
- don’t need to
- force
- not allowed to
What is the difference between the expressions on the same line below?
- I have to/ I must
- I don’t have to/ I mustn’t
- My parents let me/ My parents made me
Verb patterns with obligation and permission presentation
Without looking above for now, put these forms into the table below
- be allowed
- allow
- let
- make
- be made
- can
- must
- mustn’t
- force
- could
| + verb | + to + verb | + someone + verb | + someone + to + verb |
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PDF for easy saving and printing:
Related pages
Modals of obligation and permission page
Sentence completion games blog post
