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We are again introduced to English grammar in this unit. This unit looks at modal auxiliary verbs and the passive voice, as well as an overview of phrasal verbs and relative clauses The basic rules of using modal auxiliary verbs is that they should be used before other verbs to add meaning to the main modal. Verbs can be used to express a number of different ideas (obligations, ability, advice, possibility, etc.). They can also be used to express different degrees of formality. Some examples of modal auxiliary verbs include: Can, might, must, have to, might, could, need to, have to, etc. For instance “May I have a taste” and “Can I have a taste?”, they are all polite manners for asking for something, but `Can‘ is more informal than `May‘. Though some may have similar meaning, they could be used in different situations. Not all modal auxiliary verbs can be used in the present, future or past. Modal verbs do not change form according to the person (example: I/she/he/they/we can swim) and are followed by a verb in its base form (Example: I might stop, he may go). Various teaching ideas can be used to teach modal verbs. Teachers can ask students to role-play doctor patient scenarios. In this case the doctor expresses advice and obligations which the patient has to follow using modal verbs like “You should…”, You must not…” etc. Other activities that provide a good opportunity for the usage of modal verbs is establishing a rules and regulations exercise where students have to draw up rules and regulations for sleeping in a hotel or playing in the swimming pool. There are two voices in English grammar, the active voice and the passive voice. In the active voice, the focus is on the agent or doer of the action, examples: “Richard kicked Patrick.” The doer of the action is Richard. “The board approved of the new merger.” On the other hand, the passive voice focuses on the subject, Example: “Patrick was kicked by Richard.” Patrick becomes the subject. “The new partnership was approved by the board.” The passive is formed by the auxiliary verb `be‘ plus the past participle. In the passive voice the verb is always indicated by the verb `be‘, and in the active voice, the tense is shown by the main verb. Example: The crocodile has been eaten – Henry has been eaten by a crocodile. The passive is used when it is known, not important or we don’t want to say, exactly who is performing an action. Example: late comers will be punished tomorrow. It is not important to know who will punish for coming late. The passive may also be used with the `by‘ phrase when the speaker or writer wants the listener or reader to know who performed the act. Example: The sick money was found and cared for by the little girl. The `little girl‘ is important to the meaning and emphasis is on the `sick monkey‘. Students tend to over use the word `by‘ or use the verb `to be‘ in the wrong tense. They may also leave the verb `to be‘ out of the sentence. To teach the passive teachers can ask students a general knowledge quiz using passive examples. Teachers can use the `what happened?‘ exercise to get students to use the passive voice. Students have to spontaneously think of an answer using the passive. Relative clauses is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. There are three categories which include: independent, dependent and relative clause. An independent clause is a complete sentence, it expresses a complete thought and can stand alone. It contains the main subject and verb of a sentence. Example: Chris was sacked by the IT technician. A dependent clause is not a complete sentence, it does not express a complete thought but just a part of it. It must be connected to an independent clause. Example: shortly after he graduated from the magistracy school (this is an incomplete though). A relative clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It describes, identifies, or gives further information about a noun. Example: I’d like to paint this room pink that would make it look cheerful (`That would make it look cheerful‘ is a relative clause). A relative clause is introduced by a relative pronoun: who, which, that, whom, whose, etc. there are two types of relative clauses, mainly defining and non-defining. A defining relative clause adds more detail or information about a sentence or is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For example: The dog which her dad bought for her birthday died yesterday (It makes clear which person `the dog‘ or thing we are talking about). Commas are not used in writing defining relative clauses. On the other hand, information given in a non-defining relative clause is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. The sentence can still be taken out without changing the meaning of the sentence. Commas are very important in non-defining relative clause. A comma is put before the non-defining relative clause and at the end of the clause. Phrasal verbs are also called multi-word verbs. They consist of a verb plus one or two particles. There are three types of phrasal verbs which include: intransitive, transitive and transitive inseparable. Intransitive phrasal verbs cannot be followed by a direct object. Example: I don’t like to get up With transitive separable verbs an object pronoun can only come between the verb and the particle (example: “She took her on” cannot be said “she took on her”). An object noun can come either between the verb and the particle or after the particle. For instance, “I decided to throw out my jeans” can also be “I decided to throw my jeans out”. Lastly, with transitive inseparable phrasal verb, the object phrase or object pronoun both come after the particle, it also includes phrasal verbs with two particles. Example: The client backed out of the deal at the last minute.