Form: future simple
Form: future continuous
Form: future perfect
Form: future perfect continuous
Subject-auxiliary inversion in questions
Categories of meaning expressed by modals
Modals to express ability: CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO
Modals to express advice: SHOULD, OUGHT TO, HAD BETTER
Modals to express assumption: WILL, SHOULD, OUGHT TO
Modals to express criticism: CAN, COULD, MIGHT, SHOULD
The semi-modal DARE
Modals to express deduction: MUST, CAN'T, COULDN'T
Modals to express habits: WILL, WOULD, USED TO
Modals to express intentions: BE GOING TO, WILL
Modals to express necessity / obligation: MUST, HAVE (GOT) TO, NEED, SHOULD, OUGHT TO, SHALL
Modals to express offers: CAN, COULD, WILL, SHALL, MAY
Modals to express permission / prohibition: CAN, COULD, MAY, MIGHT, BE ALLOWED TO, MUSTN'T, BE TO
Modals to express possibility: MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD
Modals to express predictions: BE GOING TO, WILL
Modals to express requests: CAN, COULD, WILL, WOULD
Modals to express suggestions: SHOULD, COULD, MIGHT, SHALL
The modal SHOULD to express surprise
The modal WOULD to express unreal situations
Modals to express willingness / unwillingness: WILL, WOULD
Modals to express ability: CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO
Present and future
Can and be able to can express present and future ability:
Tom
can play
the piano.
We
can't enter
this street because it's blocked.
I
am not able to help
you at the moment.
If you ask him, he
can
probably
help
you.
I
will
probably
be able to get
there by 9.
Past
Could and was/were able to can express general past ability:
I
could swim
when I was five.
I
was able to swim
when I was five.
But the past ability to perform a particular action on one occasion is expressed with was/were able to:
Although the current was strong, I
was able to swim
to the other bank.
(I managed to swim to the other bank)
In the sentence above could is not possible. However, this rule is relaxed in the negative and with verbs of the senses:
I read it but I
couldn't understand / wasn't able to understand
it.
I
could see / was able to see
him through the window.
I
couldn't walk / wasn't able to walk
any further.
Be able to is used to express past ability when could is grammatically not possible:
I
have been able to swim
since I was five.
Quotes:
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Albert Einstein
If one cannot invent a really convincing lie, it is often better to stick to the truth. - Angela Thirkell
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt
If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere. - Frank A. Clark
I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him. - Galileo Galilei
There is no man living that cannot do more than he thinks he can. - Henry Ford
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. - John Wooden
It is the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. - Marlene Dietrich
If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. - Mary Engelbreit
No river can return to its source, yet all rivers must have a beginning. - Native American proverb
You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can't possibly live long enough to make them all yourself. - Samuel Levenson
Action will remove the doubts that theory cannot solve. - Tehyi Hsieh
Only in grammar can you be more than perfect. - William Safire
Modals to express advice: SHOULD, OUGHT TO, HAD BETTER
Should, ought to and had better can express advice:
You
should smoke
less.
We
'd better leave
soon.
You
ought to thank
her.
Ought to is less frequently used and is more formal.
Modals to express assumption: WILL, SHOULD, OUGHT TO
Present and future
Will and should + infinitive are used to express assumptions with reference to present and future time. Assumptions with will are more probable:
"The phone's ringing." "That'
ll be
for me."
There's no point in speaking louder. He
won't understand
.
I
should get back
before 9.
"Is it far from here?" "I
should think
so."
"We're going to the Swiss Alps next week." "That
should be
nice."
I have never tried to set up a website, but it
shouldn't be
too difficult.