Modal Verbs

English
Level 2
Would rather
Had better
Should
WOULD RATHER
Would rather shows preference, a choice,
often between things that will not
immediately (if ever) be realized. These
can, thus, be hypothetical questions. Just
like true modal verbs, the word to does
not follow:
I'd rather stay in tonight.
Would you rather stay in tonight?
I would rather not stay in tonight.

Would rather vs.
Would prefer
Compare these two sentences:
I usually prefer to go out on Friday
nights, but tonight I'd rather stay In.
Like would prefer, would rather is only
used to talk about preferences in
a specificsituation/context. The main
verb prefer is correct if you are talking
about your generalpreferences.
Lets practice!
1. Would you rather eat cake, ice cream, or a piece of chocolate
right now?
2. Would you rather live in a big city or in a small town on the sea?
3. Would you rather live Cairo, Damascus, or Beirut (if you didnt
live in Jordan)?
4. Would you rather spend a year in Japan, Switzerland, or the
USA?
5. Would you rather take a vacation in South America or Africa?
6. Would you rather be invisible whenever you wanted or have the
ability to fly?
7. Would you rather have coffee, tea, or juice at the moment?
8. Would you rather take a course in Chinese, Swahili, Italian, or
Hindi?
9. Would you rather know Japanese, Spanish, or German?
10. What would you rather be doing right now?
HAD BETTER
We use had better plus the infinitive
without to to give advice. Although had
is the past form of have, we use had
better to give advice about the present or
future.
You'd better tell her everything.
The negative form is had better not.
I'd better not come.

Had better vs
Would rather
Notice that the contracted forms of had
and would are the same and that I'd can
be I had or I would so we need to look at
the context to see what's meant to be said.

I'd rather lie than to hurt you. (I would)
I'd better tell the truth. (I had better)
Lets practice!
http://www.autoenglish.org/g
r.better.i.htm

SHOULD
"Should" is most commonly used to make
recommendations or give advice. It can also be
used to express obligation as well as
expectation.
When you go to Berlin, you should visit the
palaces in Potsdam. RECOMMENDATION
You should focus more on your family and
less on work. ADVICE
I really should be in the office by 7:00
AM. OBLIGATION
By now, they should already be in
Dubai. EXPECTATION
SHOULD
Modal use Affirmative Negative
1 = Present 2. = Past 3. = Future
RECOMMENDATION,
ADVISABILITY
1. People with high cholesterol should eat
low-fat foods.2. Frank should have eaten
low-fat foods. That might have prevented
his heart attack.
3. You really should start eating better.

1. Sarah shouldn't smoke so much. It's
not good for her health.2. Sarah
shouldn't have smoked so much.
That's what caused her health
problems.
3. Sarah shouldn't smoke when she
visits Martha next week. Martha hates
when people smoke in her house.
OBLIGATION I should be at work before 9:00.We should
return the video before the video rental
store closes.
"SHOULD" CAN ALSO EXPRESS SOMETHING
BETWEEN RECOMMENDATION AND
OBLIGATION. "BE SUPPOSED TO" EXPRESSES
A SIMILAR IDEA AND CAN EASILY BE USED IN
THE PAST OR IN NEGATIVE FORMS.
NO NEGATIVE FORMS
EXPECTATION 1. Susan should be in New York by now. 2.
Susan should have arrived in New York
last week. Let's call her and see what she
is up to.
3. Susan should be in New York by next
week. Her new job starts on Monday.

1. Susan shouldn't be in New York
yet.2. Susan shouldn't have arrived in
New York until yesterday.
3. Susan shouldn't arrive in New York
until next week.
Should vs Had better
What is the difference between "should"
and "had better"? Consider these
sentences:
It's cold outside. You should wear a coat.
It's cold outside. You'd better wear a
coat.

We use had better to give advice about
specific situations, not general ones. If you
want to talk about general situations, you
must use should.
You should brush your teeth before
you go to bed.
You shouldn't listen to negative people.
I feel sick. What should I do?


Should vs Had better
Lets practice!
https://elt.oup.com/student/project
3rdedition/level3/unit6/grammar/e
xercise1?cc=co&selLanguage=en