Week 8 · Review 1 (Units 1â3 and the novel so far): vocabulary and meanings, past tenses, modals and conditionals, a translation check, a reading text on a city topic, essay questions, a descriptive writing task, three questions on the story · 3 lessons
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Review 1: modals, conditionals and past tenses
English Secondary 1 Term 1, Review 1, Language: pp. 50â52
GoalRevise modals, conditionals and past tenses, and learn used to and may in two short notes.
New words
used to · a past habit or state that is not true nowmay · used for a possibilitypossibility · something that can happen but is not surehabit · something you do regularlyobligation · a duty that you must dopast tense · the form of a verb that talks about an earlier time
Explanation
Revise the main points. Past simple for finished actions and past continuous for an action in progress. Modals: should for advice, mustnât for something not allowed, have to for an outside rule, donât have to for something not necessary. Conditionals: zero for facts (if + present, present), first for real future possibilities (if + present, will), second for unreal situations (if + past, would). Two short notes follow. Used to: we use used to + base verb for a habit or state in the past that is not true now: I used to walk to school; now I take the bus. The negative is didnât use to: I didnât use to like tomatoes. Do not mix it with be used to + -ing, which means to be familiar with something. May: we use may + base verb for a possibility: It may rain later, so take an umbrella. It means perhaps it will. The negative is may not: She may not come today. Do not use to after may.
Point
Pattern
Example
used to
used to + base verb
We used to live near the sea.
may
may + base verb
It may rain this evening.
Second conditional
if + past, would + base
If I had time, I would help.
Past continuous
was / were + -ing
I was reading when you called.
Worked examples
Used to: âWhen I was small, I used to play with a red ball every day. Now I play football.â It was a past habit, and it is not true now.
May: âTake your coat. It may snow tonight.â We are not sure, but snow is possible. The verb after may is the base verb.
Find the mistake: âShe may to arrive late.â After may we do not use to, so the sentence is: She may arrive late.
Mixed practice. Choose the form: âIf the library closes early tomorrow, we ___ (go) on Saturday.â The if-clause has a present simple, so this is a first conditional and the answer is will go.
Class activity
Review card. Write one sentence for each point: used to, may, a past continuous with while, a first conditional, a second conditional, and a sentence with mustnât. Check each verb form with a grown-up.
Practice
1
Choose: When I was ten, I ___ play in the garden of our house every summer. (use to / used to / am used to)
used to. It is a past habit.
2
Choose: Take an umbrella. It ___ rain this afternoon. (may / must / mustnât)
may. It shows a possibility.
3
Choose: While the students ___ , the bell rang. (wrote / were writing / write)
were writing. A long action in progress was interrupted by a short one.
4
Complete: If she ___ (live) near the school, she would walk every day.
lived. Second conditional: if + past simple, would + base verb.
5
Correct the mistake: âYou mustnât to run in the hall.â
You mustnât run in the hall. We do not use to after a modal.
