Modal Verbs

must/mustn’t	You must do your best. You must stay away from the fire. You mustn’t go near the rocks. You mustn’t steal from other people. This must be her bag. Her purse is inside it. He must be at home now.
can/cannot could/couldn’t	I can speak English. He cannot think so. “Can I go out? “ “ Of course, you can.” I’m afraid you can’t enter this room. This CD can’t be his. He doesn’t like classical music. He could swim very well when he was young. I could go to the parties when I was 17, but I couldn’t go on my own: I had to go with my brother.
to be able to	I am able to do it. He was able to run fast when he was a boy. We shall be able to do it tomorrow.
may/might to be allowed	You may take my dictionary. May I come in? It may rain today. You will be allowed to talking the court. He may not come yet. He may know her address. He might know her address.
should / shouldn’t	You should drink a lot of water daily. You shouldn’t drink to much coffee.
have to	You have to park somewhere else. He doesn’t have to use this telephone. They had to wear their best clothes. Children didn’t have to learn about computers at school twenty years ago. We shall have to do it.
ought	He ought to help his friend. You ought to be more careful. You ought to have done this yesterday.
need	Need I go there at once? – Yes, you must. / No, you needn’t. You needn’t come here. He needn’t hurry. This work needn’t be done today.

Task 14. Fill in the blanks with ‘must’, ‘may’ or ‘ can’

1. All attorneys _______ pass the bar examination to be admitted to general practice.

2. In certain areas (but not crime or conveyancing), barristers _______ now accept instructions from a client directly.

3. Prospective barristers _________ first complete the academic stage of their legal education by obtaining a qualifying law degree.

4. Those who wish to become a practising barrister _______ first obtain a 'pupilage'.

5. Upon completion of pupillage, you ________ apply for tenancy and become a junior barrister in chambers.

6. Barristers in turn _________ now be directly instructed by certain organizations such as trade unions, accountants and similar groups.

7. A solicitor’s firm ___________ vary from a large organization with hundreds of partners, thousands of employees and offices all over the world, to a small firm above a shop in local high street.

8. Theoretically free to work as and when they please, barristers ________ be available to take work as it comes in.

9. A barrister ________ have little opportunity to develop any relationship with the client.

10. Although a number of barristers __________ make up any particular "set" of chambers, they are prohibited from incorporating or joining together as partners, and each acts as a sole practitioner.

Exercise for Revision Task 15. Put the verbs in the right tense. Translate the sentences

1. A career as a solicitor (to offer) the chance to combine intellectual challenge, interest and variety with the opportunity to work with and for people.

2. A solicitor (to be) usually the first point of contact for anyone looking for legal advice.

3. In 2007, there (to be) 12,034 barristers in independent practice in England and Wales.

4. Solicitors in general practice usually (to work) in small or medium-sized firm, and (to serve) the local community, dealing with the legal problems of the public.

5. Many large firms, practically those in the City of London, or the business areas of other large cities, (to specialize) in the large, corporate client who sometimes (to have) urgent, multi-million pound deals.

6. The largest employer of lawyers in England and Wales (to be) the Crown Prosecution Service, which (to advise) the police about prosecutions and (to prosecute) cases in the courts.

7. Other opportunities (to include) the Magistrates’ Courts Service, law centers, charities, voluntary organizations, and even the armed services.

8. Many qualified solicitors (to be) in the enviable position of choosing when and how they work and the kind of work they wish to do.