REQUESTS MODALS

A request is what you ask for someone to get something in return. It means that you ask and wait for the response.

There are basically two ways by making requests:

 1.       Polite Requests with " I " as The Subject

May I and Could I are used to request permission. They are equally polite.
May I ... ?

Could I ... ?    

May I (please) borrow your pen?

Could I borrow your pen (please)?

Note:       In a polite request, could has a present or future meaning, not a past meaning.       Might is also possible: Might I borrow your pen? Might I is quite formal and polite; it is used much less frequently than May I and Could I.

Can I is used informally to request permission, especially if the speaker is talking to someone s/he knows fairly well. Can I is usually considered a little less polite than May I or Could I.
Can I ... ? Can I borrow your pen?

Modal Verb	Example/s	Explanation
Response	Certainly. Yes, certainly. Of course. Yes, of course. Sure. (informal)	Often the response to a polite request is an action, such as a nod or shake of the head, or a simple "uh-huh."

 2. Polite Requests with "You" as the Subject

The meaning of would you and will you in a polite request is the same. Would you is more common and is often considered more polite. The degree of politeness, however, is often determined by the speaker's tone of voice.

Would You ... ?

Will you ... ?    

Would you pass the salt (please)?

Will you (please) pass the salt?

Basically, could you and would you have the same meaning. The difference is slight.

Would you = Do you want to do this please?

Could you = Do you want to do this please, and Is it possible for you to do this?
Could you and would you are equally polite.

Modal Verb	Example/s		Explanation
Response	Yes, I'd ( I would ) be happy to Yes, I'd ( I would ) be glad to. Certainly Sure. (informal)	A person usually responds in the affirmative to a polite request. If a negative response is necessary,a person might begin by saying "I'd like to, but...." (e.g I'd like to pass the salt, but I can't reach it").

Modal Verbs in Spanish 

Exercises:

Look, read and practice a little bit, so after you read try to write a conversation like the ones above.

Modal Verbs of Permission

MORE ABOUT MODAL VERBS

Hopefully, you have already understood or gotten some information about the Modal verbs, and some of their functions and uses. Any way, if you have not already gotten knowledge about every single point of this theme, you can take a look at the next explanation above:

The modal verbs of permission are use to express or indicate whether someone has permission to do something or not. They are the following:

Positive
Can= present
Could=past
Be allowed to= used in any tense
 





Negative
Cannot / can`t =present
Couldnot /  couldn`t = past
Was / were allowed to = used in any tense

Example:
Positive: Students can register for fall classes beginning next week.
Negative: Children under ten cannot use the pool without adult supervision.

We can also use 'could' to say that someone was allowed to do something in the past. We use 'could not' or, 'couldn't,' to say that they were NOT allowed to do it.

Example:
We could go to any shop in the mall we wanted to.
Both staff and students could use the ice rink.
We couldn't study in the library after 6 pm.

We use 'be allowed to' when talking about permission but not in the sense that you are asking for it or granting it. For instance, we would say "I was allowed backstage after my third attempt." Or, "you are not allowed to use your calculator on your math's exam."

We mostly use 'may' for more formal situations and 'may not' is used to say that someone is not allowed to do something.

Example:
"Mr. Smith, may I go to the restroom?"
"You may go as soon as you have finished your exam."
Retailers may not sell items below the manufacturer's price.

However, we use the modal verbs of permission 'can' when we are giving permission to others.

Example:
"You can borrow my book if you want, Diane."
"You can go leave work now, I've got it covered."
"Tom can go with you."

When refusing permission to someone, we use negative forms of the modals of permission; cannot = can't, or will not = won't, or shall not = shan't.

Example:
“Can I leave early?- “No, you can't!”
“Ill go out on Saturday.” - “You will not!”
You shan't get any money until the work is satisfactorily finished.

Modal Verbs of Permission = politeness, respect

In many languages, the third person is used even when talking to an individual as a sign of respect and formality. In the English, however, we don't have such a luxury and resort to voice inflection and modal verbs to show politeness or respect to someone unknown to us or someone older than ourselves.

'Can' is less formal and more direct than 'could.' When asking in a simple or direct way we use 'can.'

Can I ask a question?
Can we have something to drink? We are thirsty.

When being polite, or wanting to show respect, 'could' is a better choice than can as it is a more polite form than 'can.'

Could I ask you a question, please?
Could I try this coat on?

'May' and 'Might' can also be used when asking permission but are much more formal.

May I use your restroom, please?
Might I ask what your name is?

'Might' is rarely used in this way as it's considered old fashioned usage, however, educated and polite people still use modals to indicate politeness and show respect and I, for one, am in favor of this kind of usage.

More videos about permission modals.

VIDEO OF MODAL VERBS

As well as making simple statements or asking questions, we may sometimes want to express our intentions and attitudes, talk about necessity and possibility, or make offers, requests, or suggestions. In English these uses of language are usually expressed by a set of verbs called modals. Modals always occur with other verbs, and can be thought of as a special kind of auxiliary verb, e.g.:

I must go to the post office.

Can I borrow your umbrella?

The most commonly used modals in English are:

Can / could / will / would / may / might / must / ought to / should

Modals are mainly used when we want to indicate our attitude to what we are saying, or when we are considering how what we say will affect the person we are communicating with. Compare:

She’s the oldest. vs. She might be the oldest.

(Here the modal shows that the speaker is not absolutely sure that the statement is true.)

Close the door. vs. Could/would/will you close the door?

(Here the modals turn an instruction into a polite request.)

 2. Some basic characteristics of modals:

a) Modals are always followed by the base form of the verb, e.g.:

I might play tennis tomorrow.

You ought to tell her.

Sometimes a modal is followed by the base form of auxiliaries have or be, followed by a participle, e.g.:

I might be playing tennis tomorrow.

You ought to have told her.

In passive structures, a modal is followed by be or have been and a past participle, e.g.:

She ought to be disqualified.

The door might have been locked.

b) Modals never inflect, i.e.: they have no –ing or –ed forms, and do not take –s in the third person singular present.

Note: the modal form could is sometimes thought of as the past tense of can when it refers to the ability to do something, e.g.:

Louise can read. = Louise could read when she was three.

and also in reported speech, when the modal form would is also thought of as the past tense of will:

“Jackie can come.” = She said that Jackie could come.

“You will be late.”= I told her that she would be late.

c) Unlike other verbs, modals do not use do and did to form negatives. Negatives are formed by putting not immediately after the modal, except in the case of ought to, where the negative form is ought not to (which is sometimes abbreviated to oughtn’t to). The negative of can is written as one word cannot, more usually shortened to can’t. Shall not and will not are usually abbreviated to shan’t and won’t respectively. Could not and would not usually appear as couldn’t and wouldn’t, e.g.:

I might not play tennis tomorrow.

You ought not to tell her.

She can’t come.

We won’t be ready until five.

d) Modals do not use do and did to form questions. Questions are formed by placing the modal before the subject. In the case of ought to, ought is placed before the subject and to after it, e.g.:

Can she speak Spanish?

Ought you to tell her?

Wouldn’t he help you?

When will and would are used after a pronoun, they are often shortened to the contracted forms ’ll and ’d and joined to the pronoun, e.g.:

I’ll help, if you want.

I’m sure she’ll agree.

It’d be better if you told her yourself.

He said that he’d walk home.

MODAL VERBS OF ABILITY

Modal Verbs of Ability

We can use can (for present) and (could) for past to talk about abilities. The form of the modal verbs are very simple. All the verbs go with the same modal verb plus the infinitive without “to”.

Example:

Maria can play the piano very well. (Maria has the ability of playing the piano)

They can play soccer.

I can speak English.

** Can y Could se utiliza para describir acciones referentes a habilidades. La forma es muy simple ya que va con una sola conjugación para todoas las personas. Can es para describir habilidades en el tiempo presente y Could para habilidades en el pasado.

Positive and Negative form (Modal Verb Can/could)

Figura 1

Modal Verb	Subject	Infinitivo without to
| | | CAN / COULD | | |	I you he she it we you they	| | VERB – Simple form (DANCE) | |

Ejemplos:

1) Can you play the guitar?

2) Can your sister speak French?

3) Can they dance salsa?

**BONUS

En el básico solo quiero que se enfoquen en usar can y could para describir habilidades pero can y could tambien pueden ser usados para pedir favores. En este caso Can = Could

Ejemplo:

1) Can / Could you open the door please?

2) Can /Could they bring more beers?

When we talk about ability, we mean two things.

First, we mean general ability. This is something that once you have learned you can do any time you want, like being able to read or swim or speak a language, for example.

The other kind of ability is specific ability. This mean something that you can or can't do in one particular situation. For example, being able to lift something heavy, or find somewhere you are looking for.

Present:

 

can / can’t (for both general and specific ability)

• I can play the piano.
• She can speak English.
• He can’t drive – he’s too tired.
• We can’t come now.

Past:

could / couldn’t (for general ability)

• I could read when I was four.
• She could speak French when she was a child, but now she has forgotten it.
• He couldn’t dance at all until he took lessons.
• My grandfather couldn’t swim.

was able to / couldn’t (for specific ability)

• When the computer crashed yesterday, I was able to fix it.(not ‘I could fix it’)
• She was able to pass the exam, even though she hadn’t studied much.(not ‘she could pass’)
• He called us because he couldn’t find the house.
• I couldn’t open the window.

could + have + past participle (an ability someone had in the past, but didn’t use)

• I could have played the piano well but I didn’t practise enough.
• We could have come earlier.
• She could have studied law, but she preferred to become a secretary.

Future:

will / won’t be able to (general ability)

• At the end of the course, you will be able to make your own website.
• He won’t be able to speak Japanese in a week! It will take months.

can / can't (specific ability)

• I can help you tomorrow
• I can't come to the party

MODAL VERB OF POSSIBILITY

 

There are several modal verbs used to show possibility.  They
are Might, May, Could, and Must.  All of these are different
ways to say maybe.STRUCTUREModal Verb                            +         Base VerbMay/Might/Could/Must      +         Base Verb
Examples:
I may eat dinner at 7:00pm.
She might work late tonight.
They must be tired.May

• May shows possibility in the present or the future.
  

Present:        Where are my keys?  They may be in the car.Future:          I may go to the party tonight.

• May is formal and is often found in writing.
  

Side effects of this medication may include upset stomach   
and fever.Might

• Might shows possibility in the present or future.
  

Where are my keys?  They might be in the car.
I might go to the party tonight.

• Might is less formal than may, and is more common in conversation
  

Could

• Could shows that something is possible in the present or future.
  

Present:        Where are my keys?  They could be in the car.Future:          We could go to the party tonight.

• Could shows options, or possibility
  

Must

• Must shows certainty, or the belief of certainty, from the speaker.
  

Certain:     Everyone is wearing a jacket.  It must be cold.    Belief of certainty:       He was running for 2 hours.  He must be tired.(Although it seems obvious, it is not a fact that the runner is
tired.

 Have to

• Have to shows certainty, or the belief of certainty, from the speaker.
  

Certain:  Everyone is wearing a jacket.  It has to be cold.    
Belief of certainty:    He was running for 2 hours.  He has to be tired.(Although it seems obvious, it is not a fact that the runner is
tired.)

• Have to is much less formal than must, and is common in conversation.
  

Past PossibilityMay, Might, and Could are all used to show possibility in the
past.Modal Verb + Have + Past ParticipleHe might have brought the cake.
She may have gone home early.
They could have worked late.Must can be used in the same way to show certainty in the
past.He must have won the game.Might Not vs. Could NotAlthough Might and Could express possibility in a similar way,
the negative forms of Might and Could are different.

• Might not shows that something probably is not true.
  

These books might not be the teachers.

• Might not shows that something probably will not happen in the future.
  

I might not go to the party tonight.

• Could not shows that something is impossible.
  

This could not be the only book available.
She could not know who my friend is.  They have
never met.