Can, Could and (be) able to

Can

Be able to

Ability

possible

allowed

E.g. I can swim. E.g. I am able to swim.

can is more usual

E.g. You can see a beautiful if you open the window. (possible) E.g. She can take me to her heart. (allowed) E.g. I can cook very well. (ability) If you want to make negative, you can write cant or cannot. E.g. I am very sad that you cant come to my birthday. When we cannot use CAN, we have to use BE ABLE TO. Present Perfect [can (present) and could (past), no present perfect form for can] E.g. I havent been able to sleep recently. If there is a Helping Verb (or) Auxiliary Verb in a sentence, we cannot use can. E.g. Tom might be able to come tomorrow. Can (present) = Could (past) using with see Could general ability E.g. My grandfather could speak five languages. Was/were able to (or) managed to specific situation (when we get permission) hear smell taste feel remember understand

E.g. We didnt know where David was, but we managed to find/were able to find him in the end. Negative for could: couldnt (for all situations) E.g. My grandfather couldnt swim.

Could (do) and could have (done)

Can(present) Could Can (more sure) = = Could (past) possible action now or future (suggestion) Could (less sure)

E.g. A: What shall we do this evening? B: We could go to the cinema. (suggestion)

Could (for unreality) and Can (for reality) E.g. I can stay with Julia when I go to Paris. (realistic) E.g. This is a wonderful place. I could stay here for ever. (unrealistic) Could = May = Might E.g. The story could be true, but I dont think it is. Could have done is the past of could. E.g. I was so tired, I could have slept for a week. Could have happened is the past of could but it did not happen. E.g. Dave was lucky. He could have hurt himself when he fell, but he was OK. Couldnt (present) = Couldnt have done (past) (impossible action now or future) E.g. I couldnt live in a big city. Id hate it. E.g. We had a really good holiday. It couldnt have been better.

Must and cant

Must (you believe something is certain) E.g. I am sure Sally gave me her phone number. I must have it somewhere. Cant (you believe something is not possible) E.g. They havent lived her for very long. They cant know many people. Be [Adjectives (or) Places] Be [V ing] Do/get/know/have etc.

I/You/he (etc.)

Must (or) Cant

Cant have done is the past of cant. E.g. Sue hasnt contact me. She cant have got my message. Must have done is the past of must. E.g. I didnt hear the phone. I must have been asleep. Been [Adjectives (or) Places] Been [V ing] Eaten/slept/drunk etc.

I/You/he (etc.)

Must (or) Cant

Have

Cant have done = Couldnt have done in this situation. E.g. Sue cant have got my message. E.g. Sue couldnt have got my message.

May and Might 1

May (or) Might (possibility) E.g. It may be true. (or) It might be true.

May not and might not (mightnt) are for the negatives. E.g. It may not be true. (or) It might not (mightnt) be true. Be [Adjectives (or) Places] Be [V ing] Play/like/smile etc.

I/We/They (etc.)

May (or) Might

(not)

May have done is the past of may. E.g. A: I wonder why Kate didnt answer the phone. B: She may have been asleep. Might have done is the past of might. E.g. A: I cant find my bag anywhere. B: You might have left it in the shop. He/ She/ It (etc.) May (or) Might (not) have Been [Adjectives (or) Places] Be [V ing] Known/written/read etc.

Could = May (or) Might E.g. Its a strange story, but it could be true. You could have left your bag in the shop. Couldnt May not (or) Might not E.g. Sarah couldnt have got my message. Otherwise she would have replied. I wonder why Sarah hasnt replied to my message. I suppose she might not have got it.

May and might 2

May (or) Might (possible actions or happenings in the future) E.g. Take an umbrella with you. It might rain later. Negative forms of May (or) Might are May not and Mightnt. E.g. Liz may not go out tonight. She is ill. There might not be enough time to discuss everything at the meeting. Will (for sure) = May (or) Might (possible) E.g. I will be late this evening. I may/might be late this evening. Might (not real) E.g. If I were in Toms position, I might look for another job. Continuous Form: may/might be ing and will be ing. E.g. I am going to Ireland in July. I may be going (or I might be) to Ireland in July.

Might as well = Possible

We might as well do something We should do something (no better alternative, no reason not to do it) E.g. A: What time are you going out? B: Well, Im ready, so I might as well go now.

Have to and must

Have to = necessary (or) obliged E.g. You cant turn right here. You have to turn left. (obliged) I have to wear glasses for reading. (necessary) In questions and negative sentences do and does (present) E.g. What do you have to do to get anew driving license? Karen doesnt have to work Saturdays. In questions and negative sentences did (past) E.g. Why did you have to leave early? My friends didnt have to do homework. Will/may/might + have to E.g. If the pain gets worse, you will have to go the doctor. I might/may have to work late tomorrow evening. Must = Have to E.g. It is later than I thought. I must/have to go. Must *to give own opinion and to recommend someone to do something* You can use have to if you want. E.g. I havent spoken to Sue for ages. I must phone her. Have to (obliged to do) *a fact* E.g. I have to work from 8.30 to 5.30 every day. Must *for rules and instructions* E.g. You must write your answers in ink. No past tense for must, so we have to use had to for the past. E.g. We had to leave early. Mustnt Mustnt = it is absolutely necessary that you do not do it E.g. You must keep it a secret. You mustnt tell anyone. Dont have to Dont have to = you dont need to do it but you can do if you want E.g. You dont have to cook chicken curry, but if you want to eat, you can cook.

Have to = Have got to E.g. When has Liz got to go?

(or)

When does Liz have to go?

Must
Must it is necessary to do it E.g. You must obey the school rules. Mustnt it is necessary not to do it E.g. Students mustnt smoke in the class.

mustnt

neednt

Neednt you dont need to do it, but you can if you want E.g. You can join with us but you neednt join if you dont want to. Neednt = doesnt/dont need E.g. I neednt to be angry. (or) I dont need to be angry.

Neednt have done is the past of neednt but they are completely different. E.g. You neednt write the notes down. Its OK. (You dont do it) You neednt have written the notes down. (but you did it) Didnt need to (do) and Neednt have (done) are for the past tense form. Didnt need to (do) its not necessary and *I knew it* (so, I didnt do it) E.g. I didnt need to get up early, so I didnt. Neednt have (done) its not necessary and *I didnt knew it* (so, I did it but I know it now) E.g. I neednt have to get up early, but I did because I didnt know it.

Should 1
Should It is good thing to do It is right thing to do give *Advice or Opinion*

E.g. You look hungry. You should eat some food. Should we invite Susan to the party? Yes, I think we should. I think/I dont think/Do you think + should:

E.g. I think my teacher should punish me. Shouldnt do something it isnt a good thing to do: E.g. I shouldnt forgive him because he is guilty.

Must and Have to are stronger than Should. E.g. You should forgive. You must forgive. (or) You have to forgive. Should When something is not right E.g. She isnt here yet, and this is not normal. She should be here by now. Should What you expect E.g. I wonder where Tina is. She should be here by now. Should Expect something to happen E.g. She has been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass. (=I expect her to pass) Should Have (done) It would have been the right thing to do but you didnt do it E.g. I wonder why theyre so late. They should have arrived long ago. Shouldnt Have (done) It was the wrong thing to do but you did it E.g. I am feeling sick. I shouldnt have eaten so much. Ought to = should (ought to do) E.g. Do you think I ought to/should apply for this job?

Should 2
Should + demand insist propose recommend suggest

E.g. I demanded that he should apologize. What do you suggest I should do? Its important vital necessary essential + that . Should..:

E.g. It is essential that everyone should be here on time. It is essential that everyone is here on time. (extra example) It is essential that everyone should be here on time. It is essential to be here on time. (extra example) After suggest we cannot use the form of to + affirmative verb. E.g. I suggest that everyone should be here on time. I suggest that everyone is here on time. I suggest that everyone should be here on time. (to + affirmative verb)

I suggest that being here on time. I suggest everyone to be here on time. A number of adjectives A number of verbs we can leave out SHOULD

Especially: strange, odd, funny, typical, natural, interesting, surprised, surprising E.g. I am surprised that he should say such a thing.

If. should.
E.g. If it rains, we wont go out. We can use Should instead of if. E.g. Should it rain, we wont go out. Should / Should .: E.g. A: Shall I leave now? to give somebody advice

B: No, I should wait a bit longer if I were you.

Had better

Its time

Youd better do something (give advice) there will be a problem or a danger if you dont do it. E.g. We had better to stop for petrol soon. The tank is almost empty. Negative form of had better is had better not. (had not better ) E.g. You dont look very well. You had better not to go to work today. For Spoken English: Youd better. / Id better. Etc. E.g. Are you going out tonight? Id better not. Ive got a lot to do. Had better specific situation = should all types of situations

had better means that there is always a danger of a problem if you dont do it but should means that it is a good thing to do. E.g. It is late. Youd better go. / You should go. (specific situation) Youre always at home. You should go out more often. (general situation not had better go)

Its time.
E.g. Its time to go home. Its time for us to go home. Its time we went home. * It doesnt mean past. It is for the present.* (Should have done) Its about time: makes the criticism stronger E.g. Jack is a great talker. But its about time he did something instead of just talking.