2015-12-22 Core: 12 expeditions and modals

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Do you like going camping? Where? What are some problems that can happen while camping?
p. 142 part 1 - How can these things or people be useful on an expedition?
part 2 - what are three other useful things to bring?
part 3 - read about the two researchers
part 5 - Listen to the two stories, write the number (1 or 2) next to the words that appear in that story
eye-opener: an experience that gives you a new perspective on something
flatten: to make flat (similar pattern to blacken, whiten, widen, shorten, lengthen, heighten, brighten, darken, broaden, redden, etc.)
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A productive affix (prefix or suffix) is one that can be used to create new words in a natural way. (No one used the word “spammer” more than 20 years ago, but “-er” is productive, so no one has difficulty understanding it today.)
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BREAK
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p. 142 part 6 - listen again and answer the questions
1 local guides and trackers
2 screaming and shouting
3 they put their tents in the middle of a giant elephant path
4 some of it was flattened by elephants
5 mammoth bones, tusks, and mummies
6 deserted and remote
7 millions of mosquitoes
8 they used nets over their heads
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p. 143 part 7 - who probably said these sentences?
1 Emma
2 Beth
3 Beth
4 Emma
5 Beth
6 Emma
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Modals for advisability and possibility in the past:
We could have been killed. = It was a possibility, but it didn’t happen.
= We might have been killed.

We haven’t heard from them in days. They might/could/may have been killed.
= This is a possibility, and we don’t know for sure.

We couldn’t have avoided the insects. = It was not a possibility. Even if we had done something different, we would have had millions of mosquitoes.

(He couldn’t have died, he just sent me an email. - I’m not thinking about other options, I’m just saying that it’s impossible that he died, because of other evidence that I have.)

We might not have survived. = Not surviving (dying) was a possibility, but fortunately we survived.
(We haven’t heard from them in days. They might/may not have survived. = We don’t know for sure.)

We should have brought more repellant. = It was a good idea, but we didn’t do it.
We shouldn’t have camped there. = It was a bad idea, but we did it.
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Pronunciation: should have -> should’ve (don’t write “should of”) -> “shoulda”
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p. 143 part 10 - use “could have”, “couldn’t have”, “should have”, or “shouldn’t have” to complete the paragraph with the verbs in parentheses
1 shouldn’t have eaten
2 couldn’t have felt (I felt the worst possible)
3 should have had
4 should have taken
5 could have died

It’s common to use “couldn’t” or “couldn’t have” and comparatives, to express the idea of “most” or “least” possible:
I couldn’t be happier. = I am the happiest possible.
I couldn’t care less. = I care zero amount. It’s impossible to care less than I already do.

I ______, but I didn’t. - the first clause must be affirmative
“and of course it got much worse” - my decision was the wrong choice, so we use “should have” or “shouldn’t have”
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Third Conditional = Past Unreal Conditional
(It’s about things in the past which are not true.)

The result clause of this conditional sometimes looks like the sentences we used today:
We could have been killed. - If the guides hadn’t woken up, we could have been killed.
We couldn’t have avoided the insects. - Even if we had camped elsewhere, we couldn’t have avoided them.

FORM:
if + [past perfect], subject + would/could/might + have + past participle (yes comma)
subject + would/could/might + have + past participle + if + [past perfect] (no comma)

If we had paid attention, we wouldn’t have camped there.
We wouldn’t have camped there if we had paid attention.
(In reality: We did not pay attention, so we camped there.)

It’s possible to make 3rd conditional sentences without the if-clause:
I would have called the police. = If I had been in that situation, I would have called the police.
She could have helped. = If you had asked her, she could have helped.
He might have known. = If you had asked him, he might have known.
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Differences between would, might, and could:
I would have helped. = This is definitely my (imagined) decision.
I might have helped. = Maybe I would have helped.
I could have helped. = I would have had the ability, but who knows about my decision?

If I’d had more money, I would have bought a house. = I wanted a house, so I definitely would have bought one.
If I’d had more money, I might have bought a house. = I’m not sure if I want a house, but maybe I would have bought one.
If I’d had more money, I could have bought a house. = I’m not saying anything about if I want a house, but money would make it possible to buy one.

This makes sense: I could have bought a house, but I wouldn’t have.
This doesn’t make sense: I might have bought a house, but I wouldn’t have.
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Homework: read the book review on p. 144 and do parts 2 and 3