In Modal auxiliaries^x, English grammar^x

Inchoateknowledge wrote:What does (simple) future tense mean in this sentence? The grammarian (it is a grammarian, isn't it?) you're quoting would probably tell you that there is no future tense. Many linguists claim English has only two tenses: Past and Non-past (sometimes called present)....

Thank you to all those who have posted their suggestions to my little imagination game. Some have taken it very seriously thinking they would have to relearn English after the 'changes'. This was meant to be just a game, not for those wo take everything seriously, and of course in this game...

Anonymous wrote:I have seen similar putative sentences. "I am suprised that he should feel lonely."(1) "I am suprised that he feels lonely." I don't remember the exact sentences in Quirk's "A Comprehensive English Grammar". I wonder if the first sentence can be written as "I will be suprised...

Mary Ansell's on-line text, English Grammar: Explanations and Exercises, explains some of the differences among these auxiliaries: 3. Can and Could The modal auxiliary can is most often used in the Simple conjugation. The most important meaning of can and could is to be able to. e.g....

Yes, Tiju, those are very broad areas of English grammar. Try your grammar book first, or these websites: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS and CONTINUOUS TENSES. And you can use Google to find other full presentations on verbs.