004 - Past Modals

004 - Past Modals 

Using Past Modals to describe regrets, express guilt, say how events could have turned different and to talk about speculation.

Video Material
Advisability in the Past
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is58Xw4JSv4

Making Speculations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FOuxPICcQo

Reading Material

Past Modals
http://www.espressoenglish.net/past-modals-should-have-could-have-would-have/

Past Modals reference tables
http://www.eslgold.com/grammar/past_modals.html
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-lesson-modals-present-past.php

Modal Deductions in Past
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/modals-deduction-past

Oral Assessment Prompt
Search for one unsolved mistery and bring it to the class. Get in a pair or group of three. Prepare a roleplay where one of you is a reporter researching the mistery brought to class and the other members are a panel of experts trying to come up with the best explanations for them. The reporter concentrates in asking specific questions about the mistery and the panel come up with different answers to reply.

The reporter should ask at least four questions for each mistery to each expert. Also, the reporter should make comments of his/her own.

Example of possible questions by the reporter:
Topic: The Egyptian Pyramids
How could the egyptian have built the pyramids with ancient tools?
When must the emperor have decided to make pyramids?
How could an ancient civilization have developed such tecnology.

Example of possible answers by the experts:
Topic: The Egyptian Pyramids
They might have had a lot of ingenuity since they could have used geometry as an asset...
The emperors were obssessed with power and showing greatness, so they could have done the pyramids pretending to attempt immortality...
Well, old civilizations existed for thousands of years and had the time and resources to develop certain specific technology. It is not difficult to say that they might have studied the subjects of pyramids for years before ever attempting building them...