التدخين والصحّة · Programme: Expressing possibility and probability · Grammar: may / might
By the end of this lesson, I can:
- I can talk about the dangers of smoking and passive smoking.
- I can express possibility with may, might and could + base verb.
- I can say that I disapprove of something politely.
- I can hear and say /ɪ/ (sick), /iː/ (breathe) and /aɪ/ (die).
🖼️ Picture dictionary قاموس مصوّر
tap 🔊 to listen📚 كلمات الدرس
12 كلمة من هذا الدرس في القاموس المدرسي: المعنى بالعربية والفرنسية، والنطق، ومثال.
📖 Read: Health Corner: a doctor answers on the school radio أقرأ
Do you understand? أفهم
Answer in your copybook first, then check.
- What can smoking damage, according to Dr Gharbi?
Answer
The lungs and the heart (and the teeth).
- Why is it hard for smokers to give up?
Answer
Because they are addicted to nicotine.
- What is Ons’s problem?
Answer
Her uncle smokes in the car with his children.
- What is the doctor’s advice to Ons?
Answer
To talk to her uncle kindly and show him the facts.
- How may food and water become contaminated?
Answer
Through too many pesticides, or waste that factories dump into rivers.
🧩 Grammar القواعد
We use may, might and could + base verb to say that something is possible now or in the future. They mean “perhaps”.
- Smokers may get lung cancer. = Perhaps they will get lung cancer.
- You might lose your teeth. (might = a little less sure)
- Dirty water could make you ill.
- Negative: He may not come. She might not agree.
No -s, no to, no do/does: He may smoke (not he mays, not may to smoke).
نستعمل may وmight وcould متبوعة بالفعل في صيغته الأصليّة للتّعبير عن الاحتمال (رُبّما). might تدلّ على احتمال أضعف قليلًا.
How sure are you?
Form
| Subject | Modal | Base verb | … |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoking | may | cause | heart disease. |
| You | might | feel | sick. |
| Contaminated fish | could | make | you ill. |
| He | may not | give up | easily. |
I / you / he / she / we / they may … — modals never change.
Possible consequences
- 🚬 Someone smokes heavily ➡️ he may get lung disease.
- 🔋 People throw batteries into a river ➡️ fish might die.
- 🐟 You eat contaminated fish ➡️ you could get a stomachache.
💬 Useful expressions عبارات مفيدة
Expressing possibility and probability
Disapproving
🔊 Pronunciation النطق
Worked examples أمثلة محلولة
Try first, then read the solution.
Use may: Factories dump chemical waste in the river. (fish – die)
Step-by-step solution
- Choose the subject of the result: fish.
- may + base verb: may die.
- Add the place if useful.
✓ Fish may die in the river.
Passive smoking mights to cause asthma.
Step-by-step solution
- Modals take no -s: might.
- No to after a modal.
- might + base verb: might cause.
✓ Passive smoking might cause asthma.
Say it is possible he will NOT stop: He / give up / easily
Step-by-step solution
- Use might not or may not.
- Keep the base verb give up.
✓ He might not give up easily.
⚠️ Common mistakes أخطاء شائعة
⭐ Remember أحفظ
- Smoking damages the lungs, heart and teeth; passive smoking is harmful too.
- may / might / could + base verb = possibility (perhaps).
- might is a little less sure than may; negative: may not / might not.
- Modals: no -s, no to, no do/does.
- disapprove of + noun / -ing.
- /ɪ/ sick – /iː/ breathe – /aɪ/ die.
Quick quiz اختبار سريع
4 questions · instant feedback1. Choose the correct sentence.
2. Which modal shows the LEAST possibility?
3. Someone who cannot stop taking something is…
4. Which word has the sound /aɪ/?
✍️ Write: A letter to a smoker أكتب
Someone in your family or neighbourhood smokes. Write a short, kind letter to persuade him or her to give up. Use may / might / could.
Steps
- Start politely and say why you are writing.
- Give two or three possible effects of smoking with may / might / could.
- Mention passive smoking and the people around.
- Encourage: give one tip to give up and end warmly.
A model text to compare with (after writing mine)
Dear Uncle Hedi,
I’m writing to you because I love you and I’m worried about your health. You smoke a packet of cigarettes a day. Smoking may damage your lungs and your heart, and you might have breathing problems when you climb the stairs. Your children breathe your smoke in the car too, so they could get asthma. I know you are addicted and that it is hard to give up, but many people do it. You may feel nervous for a few weeks, but you will feel better after that. Why not start with a walk every evening instead of a cigarette?
With love,
Amine
One good example among many: compare, don’t copy.
😊 The lighter side استراحة
Health is better than wealth.
What can you catch but never throw?
Answer
A cold.
Doctor, I feel like a pair of curtains! — Pull yourself together!
✅ Exercises تمارين
All exercises →6 exercises on three levels, with new questions every time.
- Choose the right answerTo do
- ClassifyTo do
- Situation 1To do
- Situation 2To do
Practise: Smoking and Health
True or false, complete, choose, classify and situations: instant correction with explanations.
Got the lesson? Try it yourself
6 exercises · instant correction · new questions every time
Start the exercisesPictures: Twemoji (CC-BY 4.0). Texts, explanations and exercises: Scolaire.tn.