Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Typical complementation patterns

+ to-infinitive

(to sb) + that-clause

+ like + clause (informal)

+ as if + clause

It 

appears to be an It 

appears that I have 

[describing a new audio 

error.

some apologising to do.

system]

It makes the music

appear as if it’s coming

from behind you.

They 

feel that they He felt like he was 

I 

feel as if I ought to say 

have caused a lot of 

coming into his own 

something to her.

trouble.

house as a guest.

The police 

look to 

It 

looks like we’ll need  It looks as if he’s lost 

have lost control of 

another day to get 

something.

the crowd.

through everything.

They 

seem to have 

It 

seems (to me) that

It 

seems like you were  It seems as if everything 

caused a lot of 

they need a lesson in 

right all along.

is going wrong.

trouble.

politeness.

It 

sounds to me that

It 

sounds like we It 

sounds as if we’re 

the sort of theology 

should think again.

getting a pay rise after 

you’re describing is 

all.

one in which religion 

is getting out of the 

churches and into 

people’s homes.

676 | Modality

Cambridge Grammar of English

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Expressing obligation, etc.

405b

Other common verbs which express modal meanings of obligation, necessity, etc.

include:

Living so far from work 

means getting up really early and driving for an hour.

(makes it necessary to get up early; always followed by -ing or a noun)

All these evaluations and appraisals just 

mean more paperwork for us and

more bureaucracy.

The weather has 

necessitated a change in plans.

(formal)

[university lecturer in an applied linguistics class; the first four skills are

reading, writing, speaking and listening]

The fifth skill is the skill of thinking, processing, negotiating with the language.

The skill that 

requires the student, the reader, to go beyond the referential

meaning and bring his or her own meaning to the text. 

Force

and make are often used in the passive, with meanings referring to actions

made obligatory by external agents:

It’s not much of a holiday if you

’re forced to walk two miles every morning for

breakfast … but I suppose it keeps you fit.

I remember swimming lessons at school when we 

were all made to jump into a

freezing cold outside swimming pool.

A–Z

51 Make, where the uses with and without to are described

Want

+ to-infinitive is used in informal contexts with a modal meaning of

should/ought to

or need:

[talking about how important it is that young people both plan for the future

and train for the future too]

At that age you need to think of both things. You 

want to be looking ahead and

you 

want to be improving your skills as well.

[preparing a drink for a party]

Put some more sugar in. It doesn’t 

want to taste bitter.

[post-office assistant, taking a package from a customer; first class is a fast,

more expensive system of delivery]

That one 

wants to go first class. Right.

allow 

demand

entail

forbid

force

involve

let

make

mean

necessitate

permit

prohibit

require

want

Û

539 Glossary for any unfamiliar terms

Modality | 677

---

Want

+ -ing is used in informal contexts with a meaning similar to need:

My hair 

wants cutting.

The whole living room really 

wants redecorating.

MODAL NOUNS, ADJECTIVES  AND ADVERBS 

406

Several nouns, adjectives and adverbs can express modal meanings. These

include:

Sometimes the same meaning can be expressed in all three word classes: