The ESL HELP! Desk

Welcome to today's lesson on prepositions and modals.  As with all our ESL Help! Desk units, the sentences you see below are contributed by other ESL students in college-level ESL classes.

What's wrong with this sentence?
Problem:   His parents told him that he must to study.

Before you begin the activities, you may want to study the podcast and grammar lesson,
He's Always Talking about Grammar, also in our Library.

   To review the previous lesson, Prepositions and Separable Transitive Verbs, click here.

Which Modals Do Not Use a Preposition?

must, mustn't, can, can't, will, won't, should, shouldn't, must, mustn't, could, couldn't, etc.

A common error for learners of English is to write can to, can't to, must to, won't to, etc.     Please be especially careful because most models do not take prepositions.

Perhaps this problem stems from the grammar of the verb (to) have to + [base form].  Be advised that "(have)" is not a modal.  To learn more about (to) have to, study our chapter on Gerunds and Infinitive Phrases: [Verb + Infinitive Phrase].

The following modals do not take a preposition:

modal	example
must mustn't	Everybody must believe in miracles.
	The education system must have strong rules.
can can't	I can't catch any fish when I am in a hurry.
	They said, "You can't take this dog with you."
	She couldn't sit or stand anymore.
	We speak Russian at home so that my mother can understand us.
will won't	Even if I know it won't help me, I still pray to God to help me on the test.
etc.

  

Which Modals Do Use a Preposition?

 

The modal ought requires the preposition "to" + [base form of the verb].

The following examples are not from students' writing:

• ought to          Please don't tell me what I ought to do.

• ought not to    Please don't tell me what I ought not to do.

What's Wrong with This Sentence?

 

PROBLEM:   His parents told him that he must to study.
SOLUTION:  His parents told him that he must study.

Please click here to learn more about infinitive phrases.

Next.... Editing Practice #1

 

Continue with us as we review everything we've done so far in this unit.  Editing Practice #1

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