Dear all,
I read a book and the author suggests me to answer " a good teacher would have to be patient" in response to "what are the qualities of a good teacher ?"- in other word I have to use modal instead of be( is )
Why doesn't he say " a good teachers is patient"
many thanks
With hypotheticals, we do sometimes use "would". If you're stating your opinion, then you're saying that you think that the qualities you're stating would be those which you think make a good teacher.
"For me, a good teacher would be patient, friendly, optimistic, happy and well-organised."
I'm sure there are good teachers who are none of those things!
I would like to point out though that if the question is actually worded "What are the qualities of a good teacher?" then the answer should comprise a list of qualities (nouns).
"The qualities of a good teacher are patience, friendliness, optimism, happiness and
good organisational skills."
I'd say empathy is near the top of the list too. Empathy for pupils' feelings, as well as their epistemological point of view.
One quality that is often underlooked, possibly being taken for granted, is the teacher's knowledge of their subject. However, I get the impression that there are growing numbers who don't know their subject well enough to teach it.
there are growing numbers who don't know their subject well enough to teach it.
NOT A TEACHER
(1) As we say in the United States, "Amen, brother!"
(2) Not that I am a grammar expert, but with the greatest respect, I can say that
many teachers of English in the United States really do not know their subject.
They are either native-born Americans who never learned grammar well or they
are naturalized Americans who, truth be told, should not be teaching English. (Of
course, there are many native-born Americans who do know grammar well, but
'
they often do not choose to become teachers; of course, there are some naturalized
Americans who know grammar better than most native speakers. On this forum, for
example, some non-native speakers know more grammar than I shall ever know.)
Nice tangential path the thread is taking
The question being asked in why the form "would" is used in the answer and not "is".
Reading the question is apparently not regarded as a good quality![]()
I know, hence the liberal use of smileys