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By Past tenses, Modal verbs

Re: "could" not referring past tense of "can"

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

ESL General English Grammar Questions by Marius Hancu 128 days ago Verbs Tenses Modals Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: Quick question! use of adapt/adapted

could evolve and could adaptIn 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

ESL General English Grammar Questions by CalifJim 158 days ago Verbs Tenses Modals Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: It was thought (by many) to have been written by Michael.

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'', as CB...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by Jackson6612 174 days ago Verbs Tenses Auxiliaries Modals Simple past Past tenses Modal verbs
Would

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 transfer...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by Rotter 255 days ago Verbs Tenses Numbers Modals Simple past Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: "I thought..."

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 across...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by Loojka 287 days ago Verbs Tenses Present tenses Modals Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: "I thought..."

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

ESL General English Grammar Questions by CalifJim 291 days ago Verbs Tenses Modals Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: might vs might have and Passive versions of both

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...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by CalifJim 343 days ago Grammar Verbs Tenses Negatives Modals Past tenses Modal verbs
Re: past perfect vs past in if-clause in type 2 conditional

Let's spread out the issue a little bit: ____ O ____ Type 2. Basic forms. a. If we caught the 10 o'clock train, we would (could, might, etc.) get there by lunch-time. b. If I came into a fortune, I would give up smoking. c. If I knew how it worked, I could tell...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by yulysess 1 yr 8 days ago Regards Grammar Verbs Constructions Tenses Clauses Present tenses Past perfect Modals Expressions Universities Past tenses Conditionals English grammar Modal verbs

Re: "shall" and "will" for 18th century readers: interchangeable?

Ok, I got it but I don't know how to put the link here so i'll just paste the context here. This was given by CalifJim as response to the subject "Conditional with Modal Verbs"... Strictly speaking, the modals are not tensed. However, they developed historically...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by

Intelligent Freak 1 yr 12 days ago

Verbs Tenses Clauses Present tenses Modals Past tenses Conditionals Modal verbs Images

Unravel the true usage

Hi, I think the modal verb 'would' can be used in two ways: one as a past tense of 'will' and the other as a word to ask somewhat politely -- make a request, that is. Now, my confusion is how do we know when one meaning is being employed and not the other? Do we anticipate any possible...

ESL General English Grammar Questions by Believer 1 yr 52 days ago Verbs Tenses Modals Past tenses Modal verbs