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Immagine del redattoreDavid MacFarlane

Modals 3 - B1

Aggiornamento: 16 nov 2022

certainty and possibility; ability


 

CONTEXT LISTENING


Look at these photos of two ordinary objects. What are they?

You are going to hear part of a quiz programme. Were you correct?


Listen again and complete these sentences.



 

Grammar

 

Certainty and possibility


Must


When we’re sure something is true, we use must:


It must be a pen because that looks like ink.
They must be at home because the light is on.

Might, could, may


When we think something is possible, we use might/could/may

It could be a butterfly because those are its wings.
He might be her brother but I’m not sure.


Can’t


When we’re sure something isn’t true, we use can’t:

It can’t be a butterfly because it hasn’t got a body. (not It mustn’t be a butterfly.)
That can’t be Sue’s car because hers is at the garage.

Note:

We also use might/could/may when we are uncertain about the future:

I may go to Greece next month. (= it’s possible but I’m not certain)
My football team might win the cup.

 

Ability: I can ..., I’m able to ..., I could ...


I can


I can = I know how to do something or it is possible for me to do something.


+ The children can swim but they can’t dive yet.
+ I can help you on Monday but not on Tuesday.
I can’t decide what it is.
? Can you say what’s in your photo?

Be able to


In the present we use can (a modal verb) or be able to (not a modal verb).

My grandfather is able to cook his own meals but he isn’t able to walk to the shops.
I’m not able to answer that question.

Note: Be able to is less common


Past ability


In the past we use could or was able to:

He could / was able to walk when he was one.
The athletes couldn’t/weren’t able to train because the weather was bad.

Other tenses


For all other forms, we use be able to:


Future: Team A will be able to come back next week.
Present perfect: Team A hasn’t been able to answer the question yet.
Infinitive: Team A hopes to be able to come back next week.

Other uses


We also use can and could for permission, offers and requests. See lesson Modals 1



 

GRAMMAR PRACTICE

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