In Modal verbs^x, Tenses^x, Past tenses^x

I make a distinction between past tense and past time. Verb phrases with modal verbs do not form true tenses, in my opinion. They are modal verb phrases. ( must is one of the modal verbs.) must have been contains a combination of present time and past time. It is a present time evaluation: The...

Hello, there, In the following sentence: Born in New York City on Oct. 27, 1858, Theodore Roosevelt is the second of four children of Theodore and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt. At age 6, T.R., his brother Elliott and friend Edith Carow (who would one day be his second wife) watch Abraham...

In some cases this is possible, but not in general. You would typically have some sort of modal verb there. I'm sorry you are leaving us so soon. I'm sorry you have to have such a serious operation next month. I'm sorry you can't attend the party tonight. CJ

That book is right. Modal verbs can be assigned to any time past, present or future. See some of the previous threads on could/can: http://www.englishforums.com/search/could%2bcan.htm

could evolve and could adapt In that case, you definitely want adapt , not adapted . Modal verbs (and could is one of them) are not followed by past tense or past participle forms. CJ

It was thought (by many) to have been written by Michael. In the above sentence: ''It'' is used as a subject. ''was'' is an auxiliary verb showing simple past tense and ''thought'' is a past participle serving the function of the main verb with reference to some past action. ''to have been'',...

In the early Church , Christians would celebrate the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ (known as the saint's "birth day") by serving an All-Night Vigil , and then celebrating the Eucharist over their tomb or place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to...

CalifJim wrote: After "mental" verbs in the past tense use the past tense or the past of a modal verb (e.g., would, might, could ) I late. CJ As I have said, I would also use the past tense here, but I wasn't sure about the possibility of using the present tense. And then I came...

After "mental" verbs in the past tense use the past tense or the past of a modal verb (e.g., would, might, could ) I late. CJ

What's the past of "could" Aarrgghh! could is a past form already! There are two series of forms to consider with modals. The interactions and combinations are the subject of entire books. So, in a way, a modal like may has "two pasts": might and may have . To make things even more...