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UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE CHIMBORAZOBLOG OF GRAMMAR VI

ALISON VARELA

March 17th , 2014

Modal Verbs

Here's a list of the modal verbs in English:

Can could may might will would must shall should ought to

Modal Verbs are different from normal verbs:

1: They don't use a’s’ for the third person singular.

2: They make questions by inversion ('she can go' becomes 'can she go?').

3: They are followed directly by the infinitive of another verb (without 'to').

Probability:

First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

For example:

It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.

Ability

We use 'can' and 'could' to talk about a skill or ability.

For example:

She can speak six languages.

Obligation and Advice

We can use verbs such as 'must' or 'should' to say when something is necessary or unnecessary, or to give advice.


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For example:

Children must do their homework.

Permission

We can use verbs such as 'can', 'could' and 'may' to ask for and give permission. We also use modal verbs to say something is not allowed.

For example:

Could I leave early today, please?

Habits

We can use 'will' and 'would' to talk about habits or things we usually do, or did in the past.

For example:

When I lived in Italy, we would often eat in the restaurant next to my flat.

I CAN PLAY GUITAR!

March 18th , 2014


ALISON VARELA

Can

Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:

talk about possibility and ability make requests ask for or give permission Structure of Can subject + can + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I can play tennis.

- He cannot play tennis.

can't

? Can you play tennis?

Use of Can

Possibility and Ability

We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:

She can drive a car. John can speak Spanish.

Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present decisions about future ability.


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Can you help me with my homework? (present)

Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)

Requests and Orders

We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real question - we do not really want to know if the person is able to do something, we want them to do it! The use of can in this way is informal (mainly between friends and family):

Can you make a cup of coffee, please. Can you put the TV on.

We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:

Can I smoke in this room? You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.

(Note that the use of can for permission is informal.)

March 19 th , 2014


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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CAN AND BE ABLE TO

Both can and be able to can be used to talk about ability. In some cases they are interchangeable.

Using can

Can is used in the present tense. It is used to talk about our ability to do things.

Examples

I can swim. She can speak English well. I can swim across that stream.

Be able to is also possible in these cases; however, it sounds a bit more formal here.

I am able to knit. (Less natural than ‘I can knit.’) She is able to speak English well.

To talk about our past ability, we use could. Was/were able to is also possible.

Study the examples given below.


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She could read when she was three. OR She was able to read when she was three.

Again, in spoken English, we are less likely to use was able to.

As you can see in all of these sentences, we were talking about general ability. Things that we can or we could do at any time in the present or in the past.

To talk about things that we managed to do on specific occasions in the past, we cannot use could. Instead, we use was/were able to. The verb managed, succeeded (in…ing) are also possible in this case.

I was able to get some really good bargains in the sale. (NOT I could get some really good bargains in the sale.)

After climbing for several hours, we managed to get to the top of the mountain. OR After climbing for several hours, we were able to get to the top of the mountain. (NOT … we could get to the top of the mountain.)

Both could and be able to can be used to say that we were not capable of doing something on a specific occasion.

In spite of climbing for hours, we couldn’t get to the top of the mountain. OR In spite of climbing for hours, we weren’t able to get to the top of the mountain.


ALISON VARELA

March 20th , 2014

"Could"

Most modal verbs behave quite irregularly in the past and the future. Study the chart below to learn how "could" behaves in different contexts.

Modal Use Positive Forms1. = Present 2. = Past 3. = Future

Negative Forms1. = Present 2. = Past 3. = Future

You can also use:

couldPOSSIBILITY

1. John could be the one who stole the money.2. John could have been the one who stole the money.3. John could go to jail for stealing the money.

1. Mary couldn't be the one who stole the money.2. Mary couldn't have been the one who stole the money.3. Mary couldn't possibly go to jail for the crime.

might,may

couldCONDITIONAL

OF CAN

1. If I had more time, I could travel around the world.2. If I had had more time, I could have traveled around the world.3. If I had more time this winter, I could travel around the world.

1. Even if I had more time, I couldn't travel around the world.2. Even if I had had more time, I couldn't have traveled around the world.3. Even if I had more time this winter, I couldn't travel around


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the world.

couldSUGGESTION

1. NO PRESENT FORM2. You could have spent your vacation in Hawaii.3. You could spend your vacation in Hawaii.

NO NEGATIVE FORMS

couldPAST ABILITY

I could run ten miles in my twenties.I could speak Chinese when I was a kid."COULD" CANNOT BE USED IN POSITIVE SENTENCES IN WHICH YOU DESCRIBE A MOMENTARY OR ONE-TIME ABILITY.Yesterday, I could lift the couch by myself. Not Correct

I couldn't run more than a mile in my twenties.I couldn't speak Swahili."COULD" CAN BE USED IN NEGATIVE SENTENCES IN WHICH YOU DESCRIBE A MOMENTARY OR ONE-TIME ABILITY.Yesterday, I couldn't lift the couch by myself. Correct

be able to

couldPOLITE REQUEST

Could I have something to drink?Could I borrow your stapler?REQUESTS USUALLY REFER TO THE NEAR FUTURE .

Couldn't he come with us?Couldn't you help me with this for just a second?REQUESTS USUALLY REFER TO THE NEAR FUTURE.

can,may,might

REMEMBER: "Could not" vs. "Might not""Could not" suggests that it is impossible for something to happen. "Might not" suggests you do not know if something happens.Examples:

Jack might not have the key. MAYBE HE DOES NOT HAVE THE KEY.

Jack could not have the key. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE THAT HE HAS THE KEY.

You can see more here : https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1934598544725048344#editor/target=post;postID=5355403944962413541;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=43;src=postname

March 26th , 2014

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Be able to

Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we sometimes use it instead of can and could.

We use be able to:

to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to

The structure of be able to is:subject + be + able + infinitive

subjectbemain verb

ableadjective infinitive

+ I am able to drive.

- Sheis not

able to drive.isn't

? Are you able to drive?

Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:

I was able to drive...


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I will be able to drive... I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:

I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

Use of Be able to

Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.

BE ABLE TO: ABILITY

We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or means to do something. If we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can swim". We sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able to" is possible in all tenses - but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive form. So we use "be able to" when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these examples:

I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect) You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple) I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

You can see more here:http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-modals_can_3.htm

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