🎲 Grammar B1-13: Modals of future possibility
B1 learners arrive with will and won’t and stamp them on every prediction; this material opens the middle of the dial. It builds a five-step certainty ladder — will, will probably, may / might / could, probably won’t, won’t — and teaches the three possibility modals as one interchangeable team with a plain verb and no shape changes. The heart of the lesson is the negative asymmetry: may not and might not mean possibly not, but couldn’t changes team completely and means impossible, resolved in a two-door comparison with a verdict. A second load fixes the adverb seat — probably and definitely after will but before won’t — and untangles maybe from might. A film-night group chat with eight tappable forms shows the whole dial hedging naturally, and practice is heavy: thirty-seven multiple-choice items across five sets, a ten-way sure-or-open sorter, six repairs and four trap boxes, every answer explaining the reason. Teacher notes add a 45-minute sequence, a thermometer board move, the maybe-to-might rescue and Cambridge B1 Preliminary relevance.
Lesson Plan
- The five-step certainty ladder from will down to won’t, with a football example on every step
- may, might and could as one interchangeable team: subject + modal + plain verb
Key Vocabulary
Grammar Points
- subject + may / might / could + plain verb — one meaning: possible
- Negatives: may not / might not = possibly not; couldn’t = impossible
- The certainty ladder: will → will probably → may / might / could → probably won’t → won’t
- Adverb seat: will + probably / definitely, but probably / definitely + won’t
- Maybe stands at the front of the sentence; inside it, use might
- Questions with will or Do you think…?; short answers keep the bare modal: She might.
Prerequisites
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