Level: beginner
The modal verbs are:
| can may must shall will |
could might should would |
We use modals to show if we believe something is certain, possible or impossible:
My keys must be in the car.
It might rain tomorrow.
That can't be Peter's coat. It's too small.
We also use them to do things like talk about ability, ask permission, and make requests and offers:
I can't swim.
May I ask a question?
Could I have some tea, please?
Would you like some help?
- Modal verbs
Comments
Hello,
would you please clarify it what is the difference between:
1. Why does she park her car over there?
2. Why would she park her car over there?
3. It would be a sin!
4. It must be a sin!
Yet, how could the meaning of the below be expressed in other words? I never can't get it what would and could mean in this case. Please, give me a hand!)
"Well, they would start off with an introduction. They could have, the main body would be a set of findings, various findings would be then split in terms of split headings."
Best regards, Oleg
Hello Oleg
There can be some variation depending on the specific context, but in general, 1 is a factual, neutral question whereas 2 implies that the speaker thinks that it's unusual for the woman to be parking her car where it is. Perhaps it's very far away for no obvious reason, for example, or in a place where it could be easily damaged (e.g. next to a river in a strong rainstorm). The conditional form has this sense because it's speaking about an actual action as if it were imaginary -- this implies that the speaker can't imagine any good reason for the actual action.
3 seems to speak about a hypothetical situation as well, i.e. something that hasn't yet been done but is being considered. It's hard for me to interpret 4 without knowing the context, but what comes to mind is someone commenting on an action that's already taken place and thinking it was not the right action.
The paragraph sounds like a suggestion on how to structure a piece of writing. It uses 'would' and 'could' to speak about one way the hypothetical text will be written -- I say 'hypothetical' because it hasn't yet been written, at this point we are just imagining one form the text could have.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Still, Kirk, please, consider this:)
You would have to say/do that.
Do you agree the above could mean:
1.Trust you to say that. (now or future)
2.I'm not surprised you said that.(past) (If you had not known you would have to say that)
3.It's something you would typically say. (now or future)
I am sorry for not specifying what situations could be examined.)
Best regards, Oleg
Thanks you very much, Kirk, for clearing everything for me. ) I am not very confident you would like to know what I want to say to you, but nevertheless, in Russian when we use a construction for would which is "mog/la/li bi" we can refer it to any time, i.e. present past and future. And for this reason it has always been a problem for me to use would easily in every day speech the way it often sounds in films. So, thanks again!)
Best regards to you and to Spain, Oleg
Sir,
I have learned a rule that states - Can refers to a theoretical possibility while may refers to future possibility.
Such as...
1.I think you can win the competition.
2.There can be cold at night so take your jacket.
May I tell... I think you may win competition.
What is the difference.
Thanks in advance.
Hello AminulIslam.,
In some contexts the difference between can and may is very slight. For example:
The first sentence could mean 'it is possible because you are allowed to enter', a different meaning to the second sentence. But it could also mean 'it is possible because you are good enough', which is very similar to the second sentence. The context is key here.
The other sentence is not correct as it stands. We would say this:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir,
You may know this.
You must know this.
I think these sentences may have different meanings depanding on the context can't they ?
In one context these sentense can mean that a person is saying on logical conclusions or bases that the other person probably knows this.
While in the other one they can mean that a person is suggesting or giving advice to the other person that they should definately know this or they can or could know it if they want to.
and I think sometimes to erase out this confussion we say something like "you may be aware of this or you must be knowing this" as these sentences have an only particuler meaning.
what is your take on this ?
Hi SonuKumar
Yes, the context is key to understanding these sentences. English modal verbs (like 'may' and 'must') are used to mean different things in different contexts and so without knowing the context for these two statements, I can't say for sure what they mean. The sentence with 'must', for example, can mean 'You really need to know this' or 'I can't believe that you don't know this' (meaning I think you do know it).
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi
As 'could' and 'might' are said to be the weak or tentative versions of 'can' and 'may' respectively, is it correct to use 'would' in the same sense for 'will'?
Regards
Hello Adya's
Modal verbs in English are used in so many different ways that it's difficult for a statement like the one you mention to be accurate in all circumstances. Could you give a specific example? We could help you out with a specific case, but I'm hesitant to make any generalisations for fear of missing something out.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
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