with the choice of venue. There were eighteen of us but there wasn’t enough food We had a wonderful evening, even though a couple of my colleagues didn’t really have enough to eat. Although the meal started before seven, it finished after midnight. During the meal last Thursday, the waiter brought out a cake, lit the candles and sang ‘Happy Birthday’. The waiter didn’t cut the cake into slices because we didn’t want to eat it in the restaurant. He didn’t mind at all that we took the cake away with us and didn’t eat it straightaway/ The waiter was able to re-arrange the tables but couldn’t find enough chairs for everyone so some had to stand. Some verbs, such as modals,
have unusual past forms
STRATEGY: MODAL VERBS
•
The restaurant definitely needs/has to employ more staff. NECESSITY •
More staff need/have to be employed . NECESSITY (PASSIVE) •
The manager should/ought to tell the chef to use fresher ingredients. ADVICE •
The chef should/ought to be told to use fresher ingredients. ADVICE (PASSIVE) •
Staff are able to/can serve more than a hundred customers an hour. ABILITY •
The waitresses manage to smile despite being rushed off their feet. ABILITY •
It must be hard to work there. CERTAINTY •
It might be better to reduce the number of tables. POSSIBILITY •
It can’t be right to have so few waiters available at lunchtime. IMPOSSIBILITY
