War. Speaking exercise

In this lesson we will be talking about Military Service and War in English, and looking at modals of necessity (must, have to, have got to)..

 

"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion."
— Alexander the Great

 

Each year around the beginning of November, you will see English people in the streets, on TV, at football matches etc. wearing a red poppy on their jacket, in remembrance of those who died during the two World Wars and consequent wars. Remembrance Day (or “Veterans Day” in the USA) takes place on the 11th November, as the armies stopped fighting World War I at 11:00, on 11th November, 1918 (the eleventh hour of the day of the eleventh month).

In England, there is a Remembrance ceremony on the Sunday closest to the 11th November, in which the royal family, politicians and members of the armed forces pay tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for their country.

We’ve come a long way since 1918, though war, sadly, remains a current topic of conversation.

Before we get started, here is a list of vocabulary that will help you talk about military service and war, with your native English-speaking teacher in your conversation classes via Skype.

 

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English vocabulary related to War

community service

to invade

to dread something

poppy

the army / the armed forces

obedient

veteran

wound

shoot

casualties

Rememberance Day / Armistice Day

 

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Grammar to use in your online English conversation class

Modals of necessity (must, have to, have got to)

Must, have to and have got to show that something is necessary.

 

1. MUST

Must is the strongest modal of necessity. However we do not usually use must in questions. And we do not use must in the future or past tenses.

Examples:

• You must put your seatbelt on in the car
• You must turn your phone off when travelling by plane

 

The negative of must is must not, and is used for rules and regulations.

Examples:

• You must not smoke here.
• You must not use your phone while driving.

 

2. HAVE TO

Have to is the most commonly used modal of necessity. We can use it in questions, and we can conjugate have to use it in all the different tenses.

Examples:

• I had to wake up at 7am yesterday.
• Did you have to do military service when you were younger?
• We would have had to go to war if we were doing military service at the time.
• I will have to buy a poppy this year

The negative is formed the same as any normal verb.

Examples:

• I don’t have to work tomorrow.
• Didn’t you have to do military service when you were younger?
• We wouldn’t have had to go to war.
• I won’t have to buy a poppy this year.

 

3. HAVE GOT TO

Have got to is used in informal speech, and like 'must', we only use it in the present tense.

Examples:

• If they call me, I’ve got to go immediately.
• Have they got to do community service if they don’t join the army?

 

To form the negative, we use the contraction of have + not: haven’t

Examples:

• I haven’t got to go if I don’t want to.
• Haven’t you got to do military service in your country?

 

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Useful verb forms:

• shoot - shot - shot
• fight - fought - fought
• flee - fled - fled

 

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Common mistakes:

X I must to study more
√ I must study more (without 'to')

X Millions of people are died at war
√ Millions of people are KILLED at war

X Make military service
√ DO military service

X I would have afraid
√ I would BE afraid

 

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Common pronunciation problems:

• war /'wɔ:/
• wound /'waʊnd/
• bomb /'bɒm/

 

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Questions we will discuss in your online English conversation class:

 

• What is military service? Is it compulsory in your country?

• Did you or anyone you know do military service?

• What are some of the jobs that soldiers do?

• Do you think women should be soldiers?

• Do many young people in your country join the army? Why/why not?

• Do you know anyone who is in the army or who has been? Tell me about him/her.

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• Why do you think people want to become soldiers?

• Has anyone in your family ever fought in a war?

• Is war necessary?

• If war could be eliminated entirely, would there still be a use for armies?

• Do you think it is morally wrong to kill ?

• How could people resolve conflicts instead of through war ?

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Practice reading and listening before speaking with your native English-speaking teacher:

This article talks about the proposed idea to reintroduce military service in the UK, after it was originally abolished in 1960.

“The bill was brought to parliament by Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, who has championed the legislation as a way to inspire young people in Britain with “self-respect, personal reliance, discipline and behavior….” Read more…

 

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And this short video is an interview with a war veteran from the USA, who fought in Iraq. We rarely think about how soldiers feel after their time at war, and so this is an interesting perspective.

Do listening exercise on this video!

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Speaking practice:

Now book your online English conversation class with one of our native English-speaking teachers to put into practice what you’ve learned in this lesson.

 

Book a class

 

Only by doing this will you improve the most important communication skill in English: speaking!

 

Not an OLA student yet? Sign up for your FREE trial class now! 

 

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See our other lessons, and improve your grammar and vocabulary with our well-thought out lesson plans to ensure you learn how to speak real English!

 

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