Forms and meanings

MODAL VERBS.

Modal verbs are used to show the speaker’s attitude towards the action. We use them with other verbs. There are 10 modals: can, may, must, shall, should, will, would, ought to, need, dare. Modal verbs have some peculiarities:

· Don’t take –s, - ing or – ed suffixes.

· Are followed by the bare infinitive.

· Come before the subject in questions and are followed by not in negations.

· Don’t have tenses in the normal sense. When followed by a normal bare infinitive, they refer to an uncompleted action or state (i.e. present or future); when followed by the bare perfect infinitive; they refer to a completed action or state.

CAN

Forms and meanings

Modal verb	PRESENT	PAST	FUTURE
Equivalent
can to be able to …	can am is } able to…. are	could was } able to ….. were	will be able to ….

We use can/could:

USE	Present / future	Past
ability	Shecan playthe piano. Heis able to writepoems.	She could/was able to play the piano.(repeated action –ability in the past) We were able to escape from the burning hotel. (single action)
permission	You can/can’t open your book.(giving or refusing permission; informal) CouldIgoout? (more polite; asking for permission)	-   -
request	Canyoudome a favour?(informal) Couldyou getme a glass of water?(polite)	- -
prohibition	You can’tmake overseas calls. (you’re not allowed to)	They couldn’tmake overseas calls. (they were not allowed to)
suggestion	We canalways catch a later bus. We could go to the beach at the weekend.	- We could have used my car.(могли бы, но не стали)
criticism	You could at least let me know.	You couldat least have let me know.
offers	CanI help you with your homework? (informal)	-
possibility	Shecanstillbeat school. (90% certain) She could belate. (50% certain; it’s possible she will be late)	- She could have drowned.(luckily he didn’t)
logical assumptions	She can’t haveso many pets. (negative; I’m sure she hasn’t) They couldn’t be at home now.(negative; I don’t think they’re at home)	They can’t have been abroad.(negative; I’m sure they weren’t) They couldn’t have been married. (negative; I don’t think they were married)

Can expresses ability in the present /future. E.g. I can play the piano.

Could expresses general, repeated ability in the past. E.g. I could talk when I was two.

Was(n’t)able to expresses (in)ability on a specific occasion in the past. E.g. I was(n’t) able to get to the airport in time to catch my flight.

Couldn’t may be used to express any kind of inability in the past, repeated or specific.

E.g. I couldn’t speak French when I was two.

I couldn’t /wasn’t able to remember his name when I saw him in the street.

Strong doubt or astonishment.

Can/Could he + infinitive –do (generally)

(неужели) - be doing (at the moment)

- have done (then)

- have been doing (for 4 hours already)

e.g. Can he know it? – Неужели он знает это?

Can he be working now? – Неужели он сейчас работает?

He can’t + infinitive - do (не может быть, чтобы; вряд ли)

- be doing

- have done

- have been doing

e.g. She can’t be still waiting (Не может быть, чтобы она все еще ждала вас)

Can he dislike it here? –Неужели ему не нравится?

Can he h ave never got my letter? – Не может быть, чтобы он не получал моего письма.

He can’t have failed to notice you. – Он не мог не заметить …….

MAY.

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