By Modals, Conversations

The first sentence means essentially the same as "...can/will you lend me some?", but "could/would" has the effect of "softening" the request -- making it seem less direct. The use of "happen to have" (as opposed to just "have") makes no...

I'm not into modals, but I think both can and could denote physical capability. I can lift this box. I could lift this box. (with or without implied conditions) With polite questions people often don't say what they mean, because they don't want to put the person addressed in a...

Marius Hancu wrote: Goodman wrote: Can i say: It is essential that we be informed of your plans. Yes! Help him understand - OkIt is essential that we should be informed of your plans. We insist that he must be on time There are those who use modal in subjunctive which in my opinion is...

I am trying to formulate guidelines for learners of English as a foreign language with regards the use of may/might/could to express possibility. It seems to me that you can use these three modals (almost) interchangeably when expressing possibility. For example, 'Where's Mary?' 'I'm not sure....

Believer wrote: My try: Hi, 1. I think the modal verb 'could' could be used as a past form of the modal verb 'can' and the modal verb 'would' can be used to express the sense of past-ness. Yes. Can you tell me if these uses are correct? When I was fifeen years old, I could do many push-ups....

Hi, 1. I think the modal verb 'could' could be used as a past form of the modal verb 'can' and the modal verb 'would' can be used to express the sense of past-ness. Can you tell me if these uses are correct? When I was fifeen years old, I could do many push-ups. Now, if I ask someone about his...

Modal/Auxiliary + subject-pronoun + not + V ... ? This is a lesser used grammatical pattern. It is used for rhetorical effect. It makes the speaker more like a teacher making a pronouncement rather than an ordinary person having a normal conversation. It may give a haughty or pompous...

Hi Bokeh, Becasue of your reply, it made me take a second look at the original question. I also did some research and found this paper written on the subject of Semantic Composition of Subjunctive Conditionals by Michela Ippolito of MIT/Tübingen University. I am not completely sure if I...

Hello Kooyeen 1. I'd like to go to Jenny's party ----> He said he would like to go to Jenny's party (I would say this is ok only if Jenny hasn't had the party yet) — It's also possible that someone would say this, if the party had already happened; but I think your interpretation is more...

Hi Sabyakgp, As Nona rightly points out, in your first example the modal verb "would" is used to express how the described conditions are related to a previous decision taken by his minders. But while Nona interprets the would as expressing uncertainty about what actually happened, I am more...