 HAVE THE SAME FORM FOR EACH

PERSONS-NO “–s/-es”

 ARE NOT USED WITH “TO” INFINITIVE

 CAN –present or future
e.g. – Can you swim?
 COULD/WAS ABLE TO -past

e.g.- She could dance for hours when she was

young.
 MAY- perhaps, very possible
e.g.- He may be back before noon.
 MIGHT- perhaps, very possible

e.g.- There might be some cheese in the fridge

 COULD- possible

e.g.- He could be at home.

 MUST- it’s almost certain, I think

e.g.- They look alike. They must be twins.

 CAN’T- it does not seem possible, I don’t think

e.g.- You have been sleeping all day. You can’t be

tired.
Asking for permission
 CAN- informal
e.g.- Can I borrow your pen?
 COULD- more polite
e.g.- Could I borrow your car?
 MAY- formal
e.g.- May I use your phone?
 MIGHT- more formal
e.g.- Might I see your driving licence,
please?
Giving/refusing permission
 CAN- informal, giving permission

e.g.- You can have one more if you want.

 MAY- formal, giving permission
e.g.- You may stay a little longer.
 MUSTN’T- refusing permission
e.g.- You mustn’t park here.
 CAN’T- refusing permission
e.g.- You can’t enter this room.
 CAN- request
e.g.- Can you help me tidy the room?
 COULD- polite request/suggestion
e.g.- Could I have a little more cake, please?
 WOULD YOU LIKE- polite offer
e.g.- Would you like some more lemonade?
 SHALL I/WE- suggestion/offer
e.g.- Shall we buy him a present?
 WILL
e.g.- Will you do me a favour?
 SHOULD/OUGHT TO- general advice
e.g.- You should walk more.
 HAD BETTER- advice for a specific situation

e.g.- You’d better see your dentist.

 MUST- strong obligation or personal feelings of
necessity
e.g.- We must follow the school rules.
 HAVE TO- external necessity

e.g.- I have to do my homework every day.

 I’VE GOT TO- informal, it’s necessary

e.g.- I’ve got to leave early today.

 NEEDN’T- it is not necessary
e.g.- You needn’t take an umbrella. It’s not
raining.
 DON’T NEED/DON’T HAVE TO- present/future

e.g.- You don’t have to do it now.

 DIDN’T NEED/DIDN’T HAVE TO- past

e.g.- He didn’t need to go to work yesterday.

 MUSTN’T- it’s forbidden
e.g.- You mustn’t park here.
 CAN’T- you are not allowed

e.g.- You can’t enter the club without a ticket.

 MODAL +
“HAVE”+
PAST PARTICIPLE
 You must have felt great when you got
your exam results.
 You shouldn’t have spoken to her like
that.
 You drove without a licence? You might
have killed someone!
 Paul might have forgotten our date.
 Could you have left your keys at the
hotel?
 To
talk about guesses about the past that
we are (almost) sure of

e.g.:
There is John’s coat. He must have
forgotten it.
 Tocriticize people (or ourselves) for
things they did/didn’t do.

e.g.:
Oh, no! I should have called Jim at six
and I forgot. (I didn’t call him)
 Totalk about things that possibly
happened/didn’t happen in the past

e.g.:

The thieves might have escaped through

the window.