1. Outline Ability Possibility Alternative

2. Form There are twelve modal verbs: Modal verbs are follow by the infinitive without to, and their form doesnt change: He could speak French. (not He coulds speak French.) Could you speak French? (not Did you could speak French?) Can shall must Could should ought to May will need (to) Might would dare 3. Ability We use the following verbs to talk about ability Present can, cant, be able to, manage to I can not swim. Past could, could not, be able to, manage to They were not able to find out his name. Perfect be able to, manage to Have you managed to finish the report yet? Future Be able to, manage to I wont be able to meet you later. 4. Ability 1. We use can/could to talk about general ability in the present and past. EX: She can speak Spanish. 2. If the present ability is surprising or involves overcoming some difficulty, we can also use be able to: EX: Despite he is handicap he is able to drive a car. 5. Ability We cannot usually use be able to with a passive. EX: This book is able to be used by students. 3. To emphasize the difficulty or to suggest a great effort (the present, past, or future), we use manage to. In more formal English we can use succeed in + -ing form: EX: She will manage to get the a visa. She succeed in getting a visa. 6. Ability 4. We use will be able to, not can to describe about a future ability. EX: Will I be able to join the meeting tomorrow? 5. We use could/might have + past participle to describe a past opportunity which wasnt taken. EX: She could have helped him. ( She didnt help him.) 7. Other uses of can 1. Can also means sometimes: EX: I can play guitar. (I sometime play guitar.) 2. We use can to ask for and give permission: EX: Can I love you? 8. Possibility 1. We use must, may, might, could, couldnt, and cant when there is more information, evidence, or belief that something is probably or possibly true or not true. Very likely must Possible Might, may, could, may not, might not. Very unlikely Cant, couldnt 9. Possibility 2. Could, may, and might express the same degree of possibility. (The meaning is similar to perhaps or may be) EX: She could/ may/ might remember some things already. 3. Couldnt expresses the same probability as cant. It is usually used to talk about the past. EX: The teacher knew he couldnt do the test. (He rarely join the class.) 10. Possibility 4. We use can to describe things which are generally possible. EX: Stays in 5 stars hotel can be very expensive. (Stays are sometime expensive.) 5. We use well after may, might, and could if we think the possibility is quite strong. EX: Dont worry, the contract could well be in the post. (It is probably in the post.) We use must if we are very certain of the possibility. 11. Possibility PRESENT We use may (not), might (not), could (not), must, cant + bare infinitive to talk about possibility in the present. EX: He may eat cake already. 12. Possibility PRESENT We use may (not), might (not), could (not), must, cant be+ + -ing to talk about things (possibly) happening or in the progress at the time of speaking. EX: He must be having lunch. 13. Possibility PAST We use may (not), might (not), could (not), must, cant + have + past participle to talk about possibility in the past. EX: When I entered the class, all students must have been bored. 14. PAST We use may (not), might (not), could (not), must, cant + have been + -ing to talk about possibility happening in the past. EX: My My might have been trying to fix the bike. Possibility 15. Possibility FUTURE We can use may (not), might (not), and could (not) + infinitive without to to talk about possibility or uncertainty in the future. EX: We could love each other one day. 16. Alternatives to modals Adverbs like certainly, probably, possibly, perhaps and maybe can be used to express similar ideas to modal verbs: EX: Jam is probably missing someone. (He must be missing) 17. Reference Mark Foley & Diane Hall (2003). Longman Advanced Learners Grammar (pp. 174-177). Diana Hopkins with Pauline Cullen (2009). Cambridge University. (pp. 107-113) 18. THE END Thanks for your great participation