USING SIMPLE TENSES AND MODALS
To State Facts:
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Present |
Past |
Modal | ||
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Lions live in Africa. |
Dinosaurs roamed the earth for millions of years. |
Mr. Jones can juggle. | ||
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Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. |
My grandmother passed away last March. |
He couldn't swim at age 10. |
To Express Opinions:
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(I think) smoking is a disgusting habit. |
That was delicious. |
Gambling should be banned in this country. | ||
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The Internet is more useful than the library. |
I thought she gave an excellent performance. |
He must really like ice cream. | ||
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I think it was a beautiful concert. |
It was always about the money. |
You should have left earlier. |
To Indicate Actions Which Occur Every Day Or On A Regular Basis:
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I get up at 7:30 every day. |
When I was in high school, I got up at 6:30. |
I have to be at the office at 7. | ||
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My father drives to work on Tuesdays. |
My mother rode the bus until she bought a car. |
They used to take the subway. |
Using Modals In Various Situations:
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Requesting |
Asking Permission |
Possibility |
Hinting |
Other | |||||
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Can you help me? |
Can I help you? |
I can use some help. |
I can help you. | ||||||
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Could you help me? |
Could I help you? |
I could use some help. |
I could help you. | ||||||
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May I help you? |
I may need some |
I may help you. | |||||||
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help. (probably) | |||||||||
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I might need some help. (probably) |
I might help you | ||||||||
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Will you help me? |
I will need some |
I will help you. | |||||||
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help. (most likely) | |||||||||
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Would you help me? |
I would need some help. |
I would help you. | |||||||
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(I guess I probably can't | |||||||||
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do it by myself.) | |||||||||
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Would you mind |
Would you mind if | ||||||||
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helping me? |
I helped you? |
©SCG Language Tutorials 2014 www.scglanguagetutorials.com
SCG LANGUAGE TUTORIALS for English grammar and vocabulary tutorials and analysis of UCAS applications and other documents, for students of English as a second language [ESL] and other British qualifications.
