师: How do you understand the topic of "good preliminary ideas"? Does anyone want to share some effective insights about people's craving for food that others haven't thought of? Okay, great. Anything else?
Okay, actually, 'food for thought' is an English idiom that refers to something worth thinking about seriously. Such is the case. This topic reminds me of an unforgettable experience related to food, which is really worth thinking about.
This is my foreign friend Rachel, she comes from New York. A few years ago, she came to China for a trip and we spent a wonderful time together. In order to bring Rachel closer to Chinese culture, I took her to taste various Chinese dishes, which I think are very delicious. Out of courtesy, Rachel said she really likes these Chinese dishes. But from her expression, I can tell that it's actually not like that. Based on Rachel's expression, can you guess her true feelings about these Chinese foods? Hope everyone uses the given sentence structure. Let's analyze the first one together first. From Rachel's forced smile, we can infer that she almost certainly likes the other parts. Very good. What about the other three? Everyone can discuss with group members for two minutes. Remember to use hidden sentence structures when discussing.
生: Singapore?
师: Alright, the discussion is over. Who can guess Rachel's true feelings about Kung Pao chicken? Who wants to give it a try? You come.
生: In some ways, Rachel may like Kung Pao chicken because her smile is not natural. We are not sure. Maybe it's just a fake smile.
师: Very good. What about Stinky tofu? You come. Why?
生: Because Rachel doesn't laugh at all, she may not like Stinky tofu.
师: Finally, let me talk about my favorite chicken feet. Who wants to give it a try? You come.
生: From Rachel's expression, it's unlikely that she likes chicken feet, or almost certain that she doesn't.
师: Great, thank you for your guess. In fact, this experience taught me a valuable lesson: 'One man's meat is another man's poison', which means' honey of A, arsenic of B 'or' carrots and vegetables have their own preferences'. So we should not decide what to eat for others, especially foreigners. We should respect their food culture. Now back to our speculation, this time I hope everyone can simplify these sentences with one word. For example, let's do the first one together. "It's almost certain that Rachel loves hot pot"， In other words, Rachel, great. Rachel must love hotpot. What about the second one? Who wants to try "It's possible that Rachel likes the Kung Pao chicken"? You come.
生: Rachel might like Kung Pao chicken. We can say Rachel might/may/could like Kung Pao chicken.
师: "It's impossible that Rachel doesn't like Stinky Tofu, come on.
生: Rachel may not like Stinky tofu, Rachel may not / might not like stinky tofu。
师: The last one, "It's unlikely that Rachel likes the chicken feet"， Let's talk together.
生: Rachel can't possibly like chicken feet, Rachel can't / couldn't like chicken feet。
师: Thank you all. We used some words to simplify the sentence, what are these words? They are all modal verbs. How to say modal verbs in English? Very good, actually they are all 'modal verbs'. What is the function of these modal verbs? We just used them to guess, so what is their function?
生: We can use these modal verbs to indicate the degree of possibility, probability, or certainty.
师: In other words, these modal verbs are all indicative of possibility. What is the degree of likelihood they represent? Please take a look at these examples and discuss them. The first group expresses affirmation, while the second group expresses negation. Let's first look at the first group. Are you sure when it says' it must be true '? Sure, very sure. What about 'it could/may/might be true'? I'm not so sure. What conclusion can be drawn now? 'must 'represents a higher degree of likelihood, while' may 'or' might 'represents a lower degree of likelihood. Great, everyone understands now. Now looking at the negative meaning, are you sure when you say 'it can't/could't be true'? determine. What about 'it may not/may not be true'? I'm not so sure. What conclusion can be drawn now? Everyone try it themselves this time. Who wants to give it a try?
生: When expressing negation, "can't" or "could't" indicate a higher degree of likelihood, while "may not" or "might not" indicate a lower degree of likelihood.
师: Very good. Now that we know the functions of these modal verbs, what about their usage? Returning to these examples, "It must be true"，"It could be true"， What's special about it? Normally we say 'it's true', why do we use 'be' instead of 'is' here? Because the verb form needs to be used after the modal verb.
Looking at these speculations now, are they based on the current situation or the past? In fact, these are all speculations about current or future situations. So we know the first usage of these modal verbs, which can be used to express present or future possibilities.
Now let's look at more examples. "The baby is crying. You must be very tired"，"You must have had a very long past night"， What is the difference between these two sentences?
生: Use "must have" instead of "must be" in the second sentence because it represents past situations.
师: Very good. Let's take another example, "I can see him happy now"，"I couldn't have seen him happy"， Similarly, the second sentence uses' could not have done 'to indicate the possibility of the past. What conclusion can be drawn? How to use these modal verbs that express possibilities to represent past situations?