Sign up for freeSign up

Can a desert city catch the rain? The passive with modals for rules and ideas

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches the passive with modals through rainwater harvesting in Tucson, Arizona, a desert city that made a rule about catching the rain.

Grammar
Can, must, should, could, might and have to + be + past participle (Rain can be collected from the roof.), with negatives, questions and short answers (Can it be used for drinking? No, it can't.).
Topic
Tucson's rule on rain for new businesses and the saguaro cactus, with words such as gutter, downspout, rain barrel and drought.
Activities
Riley's story to read, a rainwater workshop and a student's message to hear, self-checking drills, a planning chat, proposal-building steps and a class proposal.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: every drop counts!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: catch the rainVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a city that saves the rain

    • Look at the picture: a desert parking lotPictureUnlock
    • Read Riley's story on the show's websiteArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a rain barrel for Darius

    • Listen to Darius and PamelaListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: Louise's messageListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: Rain can be collected!

    • Study the scheme: passive with modalsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: modal + be + past participleFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: positive, negative and questionFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: a greener street

    • Choose the right replies: plan a greener streetChatTry it
    • Put the parts of Darius's model proposal in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: the problem, how or why?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a proposal templateChoose the optionUnlock
    • Open a box and answer: present your proposalOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: negatives and questionsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the sentence with the same meaningQuizUnlock
    • Put the parts of Juliet's proposal in the correct orderDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Darius answers LouiseChoose the optionUnlock

34 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • gutter
  • downspout
  • rain barrel
  • tank
  • drought
  • basin
  • shrub
  • saguaro
  • landscaping

Grammar: the passive with modals

The passive with modals is a modal + be + the past participle: Rain can be collected from the roof. The modal keeps its meaning, from possible (can) to necessary (must) to a good idea (should), while the thing stays the subject. A desert city's rule about rain, and a proposal for a greener street, need all of them.

Rain can be collected!

Modal + be + past participle. Use it when the thing matters more than the person who does the action.

Modal + be + past participle

Each modal takes be + the past participle: can be collected, must be stored, should be covered, might be needed. After the modal it's always be, with no to: The tank must be covered, not must to be covered or must is covered.

Modal + be + past participle

Modalbe + past participleExampleMeaning
canbe collectedRain can be collected from the roof.it's possible
can't / cannotbe reachedThe gutter can't be reached without a ladder.it's not possible
mustbe storedThe water must be stored in a barrel with a lid.it's a rule, it's necessary
mustn't / must notbe leftThe lid mustn't be left open.it's not allowed
shouldbe coveredThe barrel should be covered.it's a good idea
shouldn'tbe usedThis water shouldn't be used for drinking.it's a bad idea
couldbe plantedTrees could be planted by the street.it's possible, an idea
mightbe neededA second barrel might be needed.maybe

Always be, never to

After can, must, should, could and might, use be (never is, are, been or being) and no to: The tank must be covered (not: must to be covered, must is covered). With have to / has to, the to is part of the modal, and be stays be: It has to be cleaned (not: has to been cleaned).

Have to and has to + be + past participle

With have to, the to belongs to the modal, and has goes with he, she and it: It has to be cleaned every month. Negatives and questions use do or does: It doesn't have to be cleaned. Does it have to be cleaned?

SubjectPositiveNegativeQuestion
II have to be trained first.I don't have to be trained.Do I have to be trained?
youYou have to be trained first.You don't have to be trained.Do you have to be trained?
heHe has to be trained first.He doesn't have to be trained.Does he have to be trained?
sheShe has to be trained first.She doesn't have to be trained.Does she have to be trained?
itIt has to be cleaned every month.It doesn't have to be cleaned.Does it have to be cleaned?
weWe have to be trained first.We don't have to be trained.Do we have to be trained?
theyThey have to be cleaned every fall.They don't have to be cleaned.Do they have to be cleaned?

Questions and short answers

The modal moves in front of the subject, and be stays after it: Can it be used for drinking? No, it can't. Should the barrel be covered? Yes, it should. Wh- questions start with the question word: Where should the barrel be put?

QuestionAnswer
Can it be used for drinking?No, it can't.
Should the barrel be covered?Yes, it should.
Does the barrel have to be cleaned?Yes, it does. Every month.
Could trees be planted here?Yes, they could.
How can rain be collected?From the roof.
Where should the barrel be put?Under the downspout.

Active or passive, and the participle

Active: We must store the water. Passive: The water must be stored. Add by + a person only when it matters: Darius's plan has to be checked by his building manager. Use the participle, never the base form: can be collected, not can be collect.

Active or passive?

Active: We must store the water. (We are the important part.) Passive: The water must be stored. (The water is the important part.) Add by + a person only when it matters: Darius's plan has to be checked by his building manager.

The past participle

Regular verbs add -ed (or -d after e): collected, stored, covered, used, planted, emptied (y → ied). Irregular verbs have their own form: caught, put, built, kept, bought, eaten, chosen. Not: can be collect, must be store.

In Tucson and at the workshop

  • At least half of the water for the landscaping must be supplied by rain.
  • A parking lot can be sloped, so the rain runs to the trees.
  • A rainwater plan has to be filed with the application.
  • Summer storms are short, so the rain has to be caught fast.
  • This water shouldn't be used for drinking.
  • A small barrel could be installed in a corner of Darius's balcony.

Common mistakes

  • Rain can collected from roofs.

    Rain can be collected from roofs.

    modal + be + past participle

  • Water must be store in a tank.

    Water must be stored in a tank.

    use the past participle: stored

  • The tank must to be covered.

    The tank must be covered.

    no to after must

  • It has to been cleaned every month.

    It has to be cleaned every month.

    has to + be, not been

More lessons on this grammar: Passive voice lessons and exercises

Try the passive with modals exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 20 auto-checked exercises
  • 5 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • say what is possible, needed or a good idea with modal + be + past participle: Rain can be collected from the roof. The barrel should be covered.
  • describe rules with must and has to: The water must be stored in a barrel with a lid. A rainwater plan has to be filed with the application.
  • make negatives and questions: This water shouldn't be used for drinking. Does the barrel have to be cleaned? Yes, it does.
  • present a proposal for a greener street: Trees could be planted along the sidewalk. It should be chosen because the street gets cooler.

Lesson 7 is the third lesson of Cities of tomorrow, unit 2 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It joins the passive of lessons 5 and 6 to modals students already know: should from A2.1 lesson 26, must from A2.2 lesson 22, have to from A2.2 lesson 21 and might from A2.1 lesson 31. Lesson 8 finishes the unit with has been built and is being built. A city rule that says what must be done with rain is written in this very grammar.

Students spin a wheel of questions about rain, heat and plants, then learn twelve words, from install to saguaro, with pictures and audio. They read Riley's story about Tucson's rain rule for new businesses, then hear Darius plan a balcony rain barrel at a workshop and Louise, a high school student from Arizona, ask his advice about her school's parking lot, both AI-voiced. Four self-checking drills follow the scheme, including a table of positive, negative and question forms. The speaking chapter builds a proposal for a greener street in steps: a chat, a model to put in order, a sort, a template and the class presentations.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: four for the words, a choice of forms, negatives and questions to complete, word order, a same-meaning quiz, Juliet's bus-stop proposal to put in order and Darius's answer to Louise with options to choose.

Grammar:
passive with modals · can / can't be + past participle · must / should be + past participle · has to / have to be + past participle · passive questions with modals
Topic:
Tucson · Arizona · rainwater harvesting · the desert · the saguaro · green cities · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Start with the weather: ask how often it rains where students live and where the water goes after a storm. Then share the surprise: near Tucson, one year can bring 2 inches of rain and another 25.
  • Draw the path of the rain before the workshop dialogue: roof, gutter, downspout, rain barrel. Students then describe it with passives: Rain is collected from the roof. It can be stored in a barrel.
  • Sort the modals by meaning on the board: must and has to for rules, should for good ideas, can, could and might for what's possible. Students place each modal passive from Riley's story in a column.
  • Give each group one real street near the school for the proposal, so the problem, the idea and what must be bought come from a place everyone knows.

Liked it?

Teach the whole lesson in edio

34 exercises in 6 chapters, ready to teach. edio is an online platform for language schools and teachers: ready-made interactive lessons, live classes, homework and student progress in one place.

  1. Start a free trial

    7 days, no credit card.

  2. Open the lesson

    Find it in the library of 621 ready lessons. Teach it as it is, or copy any chapter into your own lessons.

  3. Teach it live or as homework

    Students work in their own accounts, in sync with you during the lesson, and the practice exercises check themselves.

Teach it free for 7 days

The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7 · you're hereCan a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24Why does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What is the passive with modals?
The passive with modals is a modal + be + the past participle: Rain can be collected from the roof. The water must be stored in a barrel with a lid. The modal keeps its usual meaning, and the thing, not the person, is the subject. The B1 lesson Can a desert city catch the rain? on edio.ai teaches it with rainwater harvesting in Tucson, Arizona.
How do you form the passive with modals?
Use the modal, then be, then the past participle: should be covered, can't be reached, might be needed. Be never changes after a modal, and there's no to, except in have to: It has to be cleaned every month. Questions move the modal forward, as in Can it be used for drinking?, and have to takes does: Does it have to be cleaned?
What are some examples of modal passives?
From Can a desert city catch the rain?: At least half of the water for the landscaping must be supplied by rain. A parking lot can be sloped, so the rain runs to the trees. This water shouldn't be used for drinking. A small barrel could be installed in a corner of Darius's balcony. Each one is about the thing, not the doer.
What's the difference between "We must store the water" and "The water must be stored"?
The first is active, the second passive. We must store the water puts the people first; The water must be stored puts the water first, because it's the important part. Add by + a person only when it matters: Darius's plan has to be checked by his building manager. A tip in Can a desert city catch the rain? on edio.ai shows the pair.
Is it "can be collected" or "can collected"?
It's can be collected: a modal passive always needs be, and after it the past participle. So it's Rain can be collected from roofs, not can collected or can be collect. The drills in Can a desert city catch the rain? also catch must to be stored, has to been cleaned and Can be it used?
What is rainwater harvesting?
Rainwater harvesting means collecting rain and using it instead of letting it run into drains. It can be passive, with no tanks, for example a parking lot sloped toward planting areas, or active, with the rain stored in tanks. In 2008, Tucson, Arizona, adopted a rule that new businesses must meet at least half of their landscape water needs with rain collected on the site.
What is Tucson's rainwater rule?
On October 14, 2008, Tucson's Mayor and Council adopted a rule that at least half of the water for a new business's landscaping must come from rain collected on the site. It took effect on June 1, 2010, and it is for new businesses, not homes. The city says Tucson was the first city in the country to require this, as Can a desert city catch the rain? explains.
How do I teach the passive with modals to B1 students?
Start from the present passive students know, Rain is collected, and put a modal in front: Rain can be collected. Rain must be collected. Then talk about what each modal adds. Can a desert city catch the rain? on edio.ai moves from Tucson's rule and a rainwater workshop to the scheme, four drills and a class proposal for a greener street.
What's a good game for practicing the passive with modals?
Try rules for a strange place: groups invent rules for a desert school, a space station or the classroom with must be, can't be and should be, such as Water must be saved or Phones can't be used here, and the other groups guess the place. The open boxes in Can a desert city catch the rain? ask what rule students would make for new buildings.
How do you practice the passive with modals one-to-one?
Plan a change at the student's home or street: what can be collected, what should be planted, what must be bought. The chat in Can a desert city catch the rain?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, does it with Darius, who helps the student plan a greener street for a class proposal, and each wrong reply has a modal passive mistake.
What's good homework for practicing the passive with modals?
Set active rules to turn into passive ones: Someone has to clean the gutters every fall becomes The gutters have to be cleaned every fall. That same-meaning quiz is one of ten self-checking homework tasks in Can a desert city catch the rain? on edio.ai, along with a student's proposal to put in order and Darius's reply to a listener.
Are there interactive exercises for the passive with modals?
Yes: drills and a chat that correct each answer. This page plays three parts of Can a desert city catch the rain?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Darius at the rainwater workshop, a gap-fill of modal + be + participle and the greener-street chat. An account unlocks the rest.
Unlock full lesson

Teach this lesson with your students

Book a demoStart free trial

No credit card required