Megxit and Modals of Necessity 👩‍🏫 English Grammar

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. Subscribe and study with

me for confident, effective communication in English. My challenge in this video is

to make grammar clear in an interesting and memorable way. I think the lesson

will be memorable because you'll get to hear from someone who actually met a

member of the British royal family. I hope you'll stick around for the full

lesson as we study modal verbs of necessity. In some ways, I'm a typical

American. For a few different reasons, many Americans are interested in the

British royal family. One reason is because we don't have royalty here in

the US, so we romanticize the idea of kings, queens, princes, and princesses.

We love fairy tale weddings, for example. Sadly, fairy tale weddings don't always

lead to happily ever after in real life. Right? In recent news, Prince Harry and

his wife Meghan Markle have decided to step back from their royal duties. Queen

Elizabeth, Harry's grandmother, has consented, but she didn't exactly voice

enthusiasm over this decision. It raises questions about possibilities, permission,

and necessity. We can express those ideas with modal verbs and modal-like verbs. So

let's take this opportunity to study a little bit of grammar in the context of

the British royal family. I can't do this alone, so I asked for a bit of support.

You'll hear from two British English teachers who can share their knowledge

about royal etiquette and their personal views of Megxit. That's what the media

is calling Prince Harry and Meghan's exit from the royal family.

Prince Harry didn't have a choice about being royal upon birth. He had to grow up

as a member of the royal family. Luckily, he had the freedom to marry someone

outside royalty. He married Meghan Markle, a foreign-born actress. Did you know that

the first six people in line to the throne must have the monarch's approval

in order to get married? That means that Harry needed to ask his grandmother's

permission to propose to Meghan. I just used "must," "had to," and "needed to." I have

another lesson on all the similarities and differences between those three

verbs. I'll put the link in the video description. Let me give a shorter

explanation here. "Must" is a modal verb. It expresses strong necessity. Modal verbs

are helping verbs, and they don't change form to show agreement or tense. We use

"must" with all subjects, and we don't use "will" for the future or the -ed ending

for past tense. "Have to" and "need to" also express strong necessity, but they aren't

modal verbs in American English. They change forms to agree with the subject,

and they change forms to show tense. We use "have to" and "need to" a lot more than

"must" in everyday American English. So we can talk about modal verbs and semi-modals.

They can express the same ideas, but they have different forms. They

follow different grammatical patterns. Modals and semi-modals are a lot

easier to understand if you look at degrees, from strong to weak. Right now,

we'll focus on degrees of necessity. How necessary is something?

An heir to the throne must have the monarch's approval to marry.

This is a rule. There are no exceptions. "Must" expresses a strong degree of

necessity. "Must," "have to," and "need to" are all strong verbs of necessity. When Harry

became serious about Meghan, those close to him probably advised him, "You'd better

talk to the Queen." Maybe they even reminded him, "Don't propose too early.

You're supposed to get the Queen's permission first. Remember?" "Had better" is

another modal of necessity. It's strong, but it expresses a somewhat lower degree

of necessity compared to "must." We don't use "had better"

for rules. We use it for strong advice. We use it to express what we think is right

or what's best. "Be supposed" to is a semi-modal. It's strong, but it's less about

what is necessary and more about what the expectations are. We often associate

wealth and privileges with royalty, but we need to remember there are many rules

and expectations. This creates pressure each time the royals step out in society.

Members of the royal family should behave a certain way at all times.

Royal etiquette says there must be no public displays of affection.

This means that married couples like Prince William and his wife, Kate, aren't

supposed to hug and kiss in public.

Ladies are supposed to sit a certain way. They must cross their legs at the knee or ankle.

"Must," as we know, expresses a strong necessity. We then have "had better," "be

supposed to" and then the modal verb "should." We use "should" for advice. It's

weaker than "had better." We use "should" very often in everyday English. Another

modal verb we use for advice and personal obligation is "ought to." Very

often it sounds like "otta" in spoken American English. So it's similar to

"should," but it's used less frequently.

People really ought to learn proper etiquette if they're invited to

Buckingham Palace. One should know what to do and what not to do when meeting

the Queen. Weaker than advice is a suggestion. We can make suggestions with

the modal verbs "could," "may," and "might." You could search online for articles about

royal etiquette. You may want to buy a new outfit if you're going to meet the

Queen. You might ask people in the UK what they know about royal etiquette.

These are not examples of necessary actions. These are just possible ideas

that can help. Permission is connected to necessity. An authority can tell you what

you may and may not do. We also use the modal verb "may" for permission. In the

affirmative, "may" states what is allowed. The negative form is very strong. "May not"

expresses what is prohibited. We see a similar change in degree moving from "can"

in the affirmative to "cannot" or "can't" in the negative.

A prince or princess may marry someone of a different faith. They may not get

married without the monarch's approval.

A prince or princess can customize their wedding to some degree. They cannot wear

whatever they want. Princes, for example, must wear their military uniforms at

their weddings. Note that we use the modal verb "could" and the negative

"couldn't" for permission and possibilities in the past. Today members

of the royal family can marry people from different religions. In the past,

there were more rules about who they could and couldn't marry. We also have a

big difference in the degree of strength with the semi-modal "have to." In the

affirmative, "have to" is strong. If you have to do something, there is no choice.

In the negative "don't have to" there is a choice, so it becomes weaker. Now that

Harry and Meghan have decided to step back from their royal duties, they'll be

known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They have to give up their royal titles

of His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness. They don't have to live in the

UK at all times now. In fact, they can live in Canada half the time.

The Queen says that Harry and Meghan have to pay back the public money they used

to renovate their cottage in the UK. Quiz time!

I asked a Truly Marvelous Member of my channel to answer three questions about

royal etiquette. I trust his answers because he's an English teacher in the

UK. Question 1. I asked, "Should I address the Queen as 'Your Majesty' or 'Your Royal

Highness'? What do you think the answer is?

Stunninglad1 said, "One addresses a female Royal as 'Ma'am' and a male Royal as 'Sir.'"

Okay. Question 2. Is there's something I should never do in the presence of the

Queen? Can you think of anything? Stunninglad1 said, "When in the

presence of the Queen, her subject must never turn their back." Well, that sounds

like basic courtesy. Right? I also read that if the Queen stands, everyone must

stand. And did you know that Prince Philip must walk a few steps behind the

Queen? He is her husband, but she is his Queen. Okay. Question 3. Can I shake

the hand of a royal member of the family? I mean, I know I'm not supposed to

high five them or give them a big hug. But what about shaking their hand?

Stunninglad1 said, "This varies depending on the occasion. The standard

rule is that a Royal decides whether or not to shake hands. A bow of the head

from the men and a curtsy from the women is etiquette reserved for the Queen,

but general politeness and respect should be shown to all Royals.

And on the subject of Prince Harry and Meghan giving up their royal titles and

paying back public funds, stunninglad1 wrote, "I fully respect Prince Harry

and Meghan's decision to step back from their royal duties. Prince Harry is sixth

in line to the throne. If it were Prince William who had come to this decision, it

would be a catastrophic blow to the future of the monarchy. Prince William is

second in line to the throne and will almost certainly be King one day.

As William is a future monarch, he has to observe royal protocol. Harry doesn't

really have to worry about being King one day, but Prince William needs to

prepare for the role because it will almost certainly be his in the future.

Okay. So we talked about necessity and degrees of necessity. We looked at

modals and semi-modals. These verbs express

ideas like necessity, strong advice,

expectations, general advice, suggestions, and permission. We noted differences in

strength when we switch from affirmative to negative or negative to affirmative.

Let's see how well you understand the grammar. I'm also going to test your

ability to understand British English. I've invited my good colleague, Vicki,

from Simple English Videos to talk about royal etiquette and the whole Megxit affair.

Her response surprised me. I ended up getting a very special story. Listen.

I have no idea. I've never met the Queen, though I have met her husband. In the

early 1990s, I wrote a book that won an English-speaking union prize, and the

head of the organization was Prince Philip, so he gave out the prizes. We had

to go to Buckingham Palace, and it was suggested that ladies should wear hats

and gloves, which seemed very old-fashioned even back then, but I

bought a hat and gloves, too, and when I got there, a lot of people weren't

wearing the gloves, so I took mine off. We didn't have to bow or curtsy or anything.

Someone called my name. I went up. We shook hands. He asked me about my book

and gave me an envelope with the check in it, so that was very nice. And then a

few years later, I won another book prize, so another trip to Buckingham Palace!

I don't think Philip remembered me. He didn't say, "Oh, Vicki! Nice to see you

again" or anything like that. It was the same procedure, except I didn't bother

wearing a hat or gloves. I knew they weren't necessary, and a girl's got to

move with the times. How well did you understand? Let me check. Where did Vicki

have to go to get her prize? To Buckingham Palace. What was Vicki

supposed to wear? Vicki said it was suggested that ladies should wear a hat

and gloves at least the first time. Did Vicki have to bow or curtsy? No. She said

she just shook Prince Philip's hand, which I think is an honor.

I don't follow royal family new much, so I don't know the details, but it

sounds like a good idea to me. Why should British taxpayers pay to support the

royal family? It's hard to justify and there are other European royal families

who ride around on bicycles and work for a living. That sounds more sensible to me.

Did you understand Vicki's response? Let's check. Does she think that the

British should financially support the royal family? No. She asked, "Why should

British taxpayers pay to support the royal family?" So how do you understand

Vicki's position on Megxit? Does she think that Harry and Meghan should have a

more independent life? Oh yeah. She thinks it's a good idea. So what do you think

about Megxit? Should members of the royal family be allowed to leave their

official duties? Should taxpayers continue to support the royal family?

Let me know in the comments. We'll end here. Please like and share this video if you

found the lesson useful. There's still more to talk about, so I'm sure we'll

meet again to study modal verbs. As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

Thank you to all the Super and Truly Marvelous Members of my channel.

Thank you also to all my basic members.

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