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Modal verbs - Coggle Diagram
Modal verbs
Necessity (must, have (got) to,needn´t and mustn´t)
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Mustn´t vs don´t have to - it is necessary not to do sth vs there is no rule to say that sth is necessary
Needn´t vs don´t have to - the lack of necessity is felt by the speaker vs the lack of necessity results from the situation
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For past or future situations, we don´t use must and have got to. Instead, we use have to (had to, will have to)
Possibility (may, might, can, could)
May, might - to say that something is possibly true
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Can, could - to suggest possible future actions, they express only a possibility
For an uncertain prediction about the future, we also use could, may or might but not can
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Possibility and Ability
can with verbs od senses, e.g. can smell, can taste
general truths (something that is generally possible), e.g. It can be very cold in January
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Future possibility and ability (can could, will be able)
Certain situations, e.g. I won´t be able to eat for three hours after the situation.
Future personal arrangements, e.g. The dentist can see you on Friday.
Situations that are possible or unlikely, e.g. I am so angry I could scream.
Conditional situations, e.g. If you had a credit card, you could buy...
Past possibility and ability (could, was able to)
e.g. Before I got this job, I couldn´t afford a car.
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Permision ( can, could, may, might, be allowed to)
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may, could or might - formal (might - most formal)
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Probability, obligation and advice (should, ought to, had better)
To say that something is probable, either in the present or the future
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We can use should and ought to for obligation and advice, however, they are not as strong as must
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Certainty (must, can´t, will)
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Habits: will, would and used to
Will and would - habits, actions which are repeated again and again
Will - present habits, would - past habits
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Semi-Modal Verbs
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dare, need to, ought to, used to
Periphrastic Modals
expressions with be and have (be able to, have (got) to, be going to)
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we use them + infinitive without to, e.g. You can use it anywhere
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We don´t use do/does/did , e.g. Can she play tennis?
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They don´t have participle forms (-ed, -ing)
can, could, may, might, should, must, would, will and shall
Instead we change the main verb, e.g. They can´t be waiting for us.