Modal Verbs and Vocabulary for Students

Modal Verbs

Have to / Must

Have to expresses obligation or necessity. Here's how it's used in different tenses:

• Present: I have to study for my exams.
• Past: I had to finish my homework before I could go out.
• Future: I will have to work hard to achieve my goals.

Must also expresses obligation, but it's generally stronger than "have to." It's mainly used in the present tense.

• Present: I must arrive on time for the meeting.

Should

Should is used to give advice or suggestions. It implies that something is a good idea or the right thing to do.

• You should revise your notes before the test.
• Students should listen carefully to their teachers.

Essential Vocabulary

School

• Bully: a person who uses their strength or power to frighten or hurt weaker people.
• Cheat: to act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage.
• Copy: to produce something that is exactly like something else.
• Do: to perform an action or activity.
• Fail: to be unsuccessful in achieving something.
• Get: to obtain, receive, or come to have something.
• Go: to move from one place to another.
• Hand in: to submit something, such as homework or an assignment.
• Have: to possess, own, or experience something.
• Pass: to be successful in an examination or test.
• Research: to study a subject in detail, especially in order to discover new information.
• Revise: to study material again in preparation for an exam.
• Take: to carry or move something with you.
• Visit: to go to a place or person for a particular purpose.

General Activities

• Buy: to obtain something by paying money for it.
• Cook: to prepare food by heating it.
• Drive: to operate and control a motor vehicle.
• Read: to look at and understand written or printed matter.
• Spend: to use money to pay for goods or services.
• Worry: to feel anxious or uneasy about something.

Other Verbs

• Arrive: to reach a place, especially at the end of a journey.
• Speak: to use your voice to communicate.
• Study: to devote time and effort to learning about a subject.
• Use: to do something with an object or substance.
• Worry: to feel anxious or uneasy about something.
• Advice: to give suggestions about what someone should do.
• Write: to form letters or words on a surface with a pen, pencil, etc.

Prepositions

• In: expressing the situation of something that is or appears to be enclosed or surrounded by something else.
• At: expressing location or arrival in a particular place or position.
• About: on the subject of; concerning.
• Of: expressing the relationship between a part and a whole.