English Vocabulary, Suffixes, and Modal Verbs
Essential English Vocabulary
Here is a list of essential English vocabulary words with their synonyms:
- Amazing: Amazing
- Argue: Argue
- Beloved: Dear
- Bore: Boring
- Chance: Chance
- Come true: Come true
- Comfort: Comfort
- Do not mind: No matter
- Excite: Excite
- Fail: Fail
- Fame: Fame
- Find out: Uncover, discover, realize
- Harm: Damage
- However: However
- In addition: Besides
- Join: Enter
- Let: Let, permit
- Match: Party
- Move: Move
- Neighborhood: Neighborhood, barrio
- Neglect: Neglect
- Painful: Painful
- Pretend: Pretend
- Promote: Promote
- Prove: Prove, demonstrate
- Refuse: Refuse
- Sibling: Sibling
- Since: From
- Stunned: Amazed, amazing
- Talent: Talent
- Trick: Cheat
- Therefore: Therefore
Adjective Suffixes
Here’s a breakdown of common adjective suffixes:
- -ED: Expresses how someone feels.
- -ING: Describes the effect or action of something.
- -FUL: Means “with” or “full of.”
- -LESS: Means “without.”
- -OUS, -ABLE, -AL, -IVE: These suffixes create adjectives from nouns or verbs.
Examples of adjectives with suffixes:
- Amazed: Surprised
- Amazing: Amazing
- Attractive: Attractive
- Bored: Bored (state of being)
- Boring: Causing boredom
- Careful: Careful
- Careless: Sloppy
- Confused: Confused
- Confusing: Causing confusion
- Dangerous: Dangerous
- Embarrassed: Ashamed
- Embarrassing: Tense, violent, embarrassing
- Fascinated: Fascinated
- Fascinating: Fascinating
- Frustrated: Frustrated
- Frustrating: Causing frustration
- Harmful: Noxious
- Harmless: Inoffensive
- Interested: Interested
- Interesting: Interesting
- National: National
- Painful: Painful
- Painless: Without pain
- Predictable: Predictable
- Shocked: Shocked
- Shocking: Awesome
- Useful: Useful
- Useless: Useless
Modal Verbs
Present
| Function | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Ability, Possibility | Can, Be able to |
| Obligation (I) | Must, Have to |
| Lack of obligation (should not) | Do not / Does not have to, Needn’t |
| Prohibition (should not) | Must not |
| Advice (should) | Should, Shouldn’t, Ought to, Ought not to |
| Necessity | Need to |
| Speculation, Deduction | |
| a) Possibility (puede que…) | May, May not, Might, Might not, Could |
| b) Certainty (debe) | Must, Can’t |
Past
| Function | Verbs |
|---|---|
| Ability, Possibility | Could, Was/Were able to |
| Obligation (debo) | Had to |
| Lack of obligation (no debo) | Didn’t have to, Needn’t have + past participle |
| Advice (deberÃa) | Should have + past participle, Ought to have + past participle |
| Necessity | Need to have + past participle, Needed |
| Speculation, Deduction | May, Might, Must, Can’t, Could (have + past participle) |
| Prohibition (no debo) | Mustn’t have + past participle |
Key Features of Modal Verbs
- They give a special meaning to the verb that follows. Example: I can/should/may/must swim.
- They do not use “s” for the third person singular (He cans) and do not use an auxiliary verb for the negative form, except for HAVE TO and NEED TO.
- They are all followed by an infinitive without “to” (I can swim), except for HAVE TO, NEED TO, and OUGHT TO.
Examples
- Be able to:
- I will be able to drive next year.
- She has been able to swim since she was 3.
- Must: The law says, “You must wear a seatbelt.”
- Have to: I have to do more exercise.
- Had to: When I went to school, I had to read 80 novels.
- Mustn’t: You mustn’t cross the street when the traffic light is red.
- May/Might:
- She may/might be ill.
- It may/might not rain.
- Need to have + past participle: Why weren’t you there? You need to have come.
- Must: She must be very ill; she’s in the hospital.
- Can’t: She can’t be very ill; I saw her at the cinema.