Can and could, will and would

Can and could are used in a variety of different ways for different purposes. We can use them to talk about ability and possibility, to make requests and to ask for permission.

Can and could: to express ability

Here the distinction of can for present scenarios and could for past situations are preserved:

He could read by the time he was four years old and now he can speak six languages fluently.

I couldn't find my Tom Jones CD when I was looking for it the other day, but now I can see that you have it.

 Can and could / will and would: to make requests

When making requests, can and could are both used to refer to present and future situations. When we are asking something of others, will and would are also commonly used alternatives. Compare the following:

Could I have another cup of tea, please?

Can I have some more tea, please?

Could you pick Lauren up from school for me this afternoon, please?

Can you pick up Lauren from school for this afternoon, please?

Would you collect Lauren from school for me this afternoon, please?

Will you fetch Lauren from school for me this afternoon, please?

Note from the above examples that could and would sound marginally more polite than can and will.

Note that if we are talking about ability to do something, rather than making a request, it will be necessary to use will be able to talk about future ability:

Will you be able to pick Lauren up from school this afternoon by any chance?

Note also that if we want to sound particularly polite when making a request of others, we can use the would you mind + verb-ing construction:

Would you mind picking Lauren up from school? ~ No, I don’t mind. It’s no trouble.

We can also use will to express the speaker’s willingness or intention to do things:

We haven’t got any paper for the photocopier. ~ I’ll get some for you.

Can you lend me fifty pounds for the weekend? I’ll pay you back on Monday.

Can and could: to ask for and give permission

Can is more commonly used than could in these contexts. May is a further alternative:

Can / May I help you with that? ~ Yes, you can.

Can / May I carry that for you? ~ Yes, you may.

Can I enter the room while the recording is in progress? ~ No, you may not.

Can I listen to it afterwards? ~ No, you can’t.

Note in the example above that we cannot use couldn’t when refusing permission.

Reported speech

In reported speech, would and could or would be able are used after reporting verbs in the past tense where will and can are used in direct speech. This is because there is a difference in time, place and speaker:

I’ll tell Mary about the meeting you’ve arranged for next Saturday.

He said he would tell Mary about the meeting tonight, but she’s not here yet.

I can look after Jenny if you’re busy.

He said he would be able to look after Jenny if I was busy.

However, would and could do not change in reported speech, if they are already present in direct speech:

It would be great if you could come to Manchester too.

He thought it would be great if we could go to Manchester as well.

Conditional structures and future situations

To talk about things that will probably not happen, we use a past tense in the if-clause and would, or sometimes could, in the main clause. Compare examples above and below:

If I knew where she was living now, I would tell you. But I don’t know.

To talk about things that may happen in the real future, we use a present tense in the if-clause and will, or sometimes can, in the main clause:

I’ll try and repair your bike tomorrow, if I have enough time.

I’ll try to mend your bike tomorrow, if I can find enough time.

Modals for Deduction

Use and Form:  

The following modals can be used to make guesses about a present situation.

must + infinitive
Use this when you make a guess and you are almost certain that your guess is correct.
‘Where’s John?’
‘He’s not here. He must be in the bathroom.’

may + infinitive 
might + infinitive 
could + infinitive 
Use this when you make a guess but you are only suggesting one possibility. You are not certain you are correct.
‘Where’s John?’
‘He’s not here. He may be in the bathroom, or he might be in the kitchen, or he could be outside.’

may not + infinitive 
might not + infinitive 
Use this when you make a guess about what is not true, but you are only suggesting one possibility. You are not certain you are correct.
‘Where’s John?’
‘He’s not here. He may not be at work today.’

NOTE: Do not use could not here.

can’t + infinitive
Use this when you make a guess about what is not true, and you are almost certain that your guess is correct.
‘Where’s John? Is he in the kitchen?’
‘No, he can’t be. I was in there a minute ago.’

NOTE: you cannot use: mustn’t + infinitive to make deductions about what is not true.
 

Common Mistakes:
1. Many students do not take the opportunity to use these structures when they can.
Maybe your bag is in the classroom.        =>           Your bag might be in the classroom.

How to use 'So, such, too, enough'

Too
Use:
Too means there is a lot of something. It shows a negative opinion. 
It’s too hot = It is very hot and I don’t like it.

Form:
You can use too before an adjective.
It’s too cold. My trousers are too small.

You can also use it before an adverb,
You walk too fast. James speaks too quietly.

Before a noun, use too much (uncountable nouns) or many (countable nouns).
I ate too much food.
I ate too many sandwiches.

You can also use too much after a verb.
I ate too much.
Paul drinks too much.

Enough
Use:
Enough means you have what you need.
We have enough food for everyone = everyone has some food.
We don’t have enough chairs for everyone = some people don’t have chairs.

Form:
Write enough before a noun.
We have enough chairs.

But write it after an adjective or verb.
Are you warm enough?  He’s qualified enough. She isn’t tall enough to be a model.

You don’t work hard enough. Are you sleeping enough?

Sentences with enough are sometimes followed by to + verb infinitive.
I’m not tall enough to reach the book.
I haven’t got enough money to buy that coat.

So
Use:
So means very.
It’s so hot!

Form:
So is generally used before an adjective or an adverb.
He’s so funny! He plays the piano so well!

However, in modern English, it is increasingly being used before nouns and verbs.
That dress is so last year! (= That dress is last year’s fashion)
I’m so going to shout at him when I see him! (so = really)

So can be used with a that clause, to show a result of the first clause.
I was so hot that I couldn’t sleep.


Such
Use:
Such also means very. Such is used before an adjective and noun.
They are such nice children.  

Form:
A / an, if necessary, go after such, not before.
That’s a such pretty dress. => That’s such a pretty dress!

Like So, Such can be used with a that clause, to show a result of the first clause.
I was such a nice day that we decided to go to the park.

Common mistakes

1) Some students use too with a positive meaning. But use so or very here
It’s too hot! I love the summer! => It’s so hot! I love the summer!

2) Some students write enough in the wrong place. 
Do we have sugar enough? => Do we have enough sugar?

3) Some students use so / such…that incorrectly. 
It was so hot that the sun was shining.
This sentence is not correct because ‘the sun was shining’ is not a direct result of ‘It was so hot’. The hot day did not cause the sun to shine.

Using WERE in the past subjunctive mood

Subjunctive is difficult even for most native English speakers, mainly because it’s not a tense; it’s a mood. Past, present, future—those are tenses. We use them to tell what happened at a certain point in time. Moods, however, tell how a speaker feels about those events.

Have you ever heard a sentence starting with “If I were you”? That’s subjunctive (past subjunctive, to be exact). And past subjunctive with the word were is what we are going to talk about today.

When to use subjunctive
Before you learn how to use it correctly, you have to know when to use it.
You would use subjunctive when you want to express wishes or desires.

Example: I wish you were here.

You would also use subjunctive to express that conditions are false or unlikely.

Example: If I were rich, I would buy a golden toilet.

Was = a common mistake
Because subjunctive is so confusing, it’s common to hear people say was when they should say were.

Have you heard sentences like this before:

It would be nice if she was on vacation.
If I was her, I would dump that loser.
If he was president, he would order Ice Cream Fridays.

In each of these sentences, was should be were. The first sentence expresses a desire (“It would be nice . . .”), and the second and third sentences express false or unlikely conditions.I can’t be her, so that is a false condition. Also he is unlikely to be president, so that is an unlikely condition.

Key words and phrases
One way to figure out if you should use were instead of was is to listen for key words and phrases. Here are some giveaways that you should use subjunctive and were:

I wish that . . .
It would be nice if . . .
I would like it if . . .
It would be wonderful if . . .
It would be super amazing and totally awesome if . . .

As you can see, the above phrases all express wishes and desires. That’s a big clue that you’re dealing with subjunctive.

Another clue is if there is an if/then construction:

If I were you, then I would eat a million donuts.
If I were her, then I would ride a tricycle.
If I were him, then I would be the best drag queen.

But—there won’t always be a then with this construction. Sometimes, it is just implied, as with this example:

If I were a cat, I would step on my owner’s keyboard to piss her off while she’s trying to work.

You can note, though, that the construction is essentially the same.

Remember . . . if you are expressing wishes or desires or conditions that are false or unlikely, use were instead of was.

Prepositions of Time

Use: 
Use prepositions of time before days, months, years and other time words.

AT:

Use before:
Times: We’re leaving at 3 o’clock
Lunchtime / bedtime: He’s arriving at lunchtime.
Night: I can’t sleep at night. 
The weekend: See you at the weekend!
Festivals: We went away at Easter.

IN:

the morning / afternoon / evening: See you in the morning! 
Months: My birthday’s in June.
Seasons: We always go on holiday in summer.
Years: He was born in 1996.

ON:

Dates: We arrived here on 4th August.
Days of the week: Let’s go to the zoo on Saturday.
Single day events: We always eat out on Christmas Day.

Use ON before a day + morning/ afternoon/ evening/ night. See you on Tuesday night!

Don’t use a preposition before: today, tonight, tomorrow, yesterday.

How to Use the word "being" correctly in English

Being is a word that can be hard to master for English as a Second Language speakers. It can be used as a gerund, or in present or past continuous tenses.

In a present or past continuous tense, being says that it is happening now, or was happening before, in a continual manner.

He is being nice.

She was being bad.

You are being good.

They were being mean.

I am being patient.

Being can also be used as a gerund, a word that acts like a noun and looks like a verb.

Do you like being a student? ("like" is the verb, "being" is a noun")

Being a teacher is fun. ("is" is the verb, "being" is the subject)

I enjoy being nice to people. ("enjoy" is the verb, "being" is the object described as nice)

Passive Voice

Use:       
The passive voice is used:
a) When the object of a sentence is more important than the subject
The city was destroyed by the volcano.

b) When the subject of the sentence is unknown.
This cheese was made in Canada.

 It is common in formal and scientific writing.

Form:
You can use the passive voice in all tenses. Use the correct form of be + the past participle of the verb.

Present Simple: I  you / they / we It / She / he	am are is	Past participle taken given built made eaten brought cooked left...	The workers collect the rubbish of Wednesdays. =>  The rubbish is collected on Thursdays.
Past Simple: you / they / we I / It / She / he	were  was		People built the castle over 800 years ago. =>  The castle was built over 800 years ago.
Present Perfect: I / you / they / we It / She / he	have been has been		Someone has taken my book! =>  My book has been taken!
Past Perfect: I / you / they / we / it / she / he	had been		When we arrived at the airport, someone had resold our tickets. =>  When we arrived at the airport, our tickets had been resold.
Modals I / you / they / we / it / she / he	can be will be would be must be should be could be		You must wear a hard hat in this area. =>  Hard harts must be worn in this area.

To mention who caused the action, use by.
The bins were emptied by the cleaning staff.

Reported Speech

Use:

Use reported speech to talk about what another person said in the past.

Eve:                       ‘I went to the party on Friday night’.
James:                  ‘Eve said that she had gone to the party on Friday night’.
                
Form:
1) When reporting speech, the verb in the sentence may shift to a past tense.

am / is / are	changes to	was / were
“I am fine.”		She said that she was fine.
present simple	changes to	past simple
“I like it.”		He said he liked it.
present continuous	changes to	past continuous
“She’s sleeping.”		He said that she was sleeping.
will	changes to	would
“I’ll be there.”		You said that you’d be there.
can	changes to	could
“I can come to the meeting.”		You said that you could come to the meeting.
past simple	changes to	past perfect
“I did the shopping.”		Tom said that he had done the shopping.
present perfect	changes to	past perfect
“I’ve read that book.”		I told him that I’d read the book.
past continuous	changes to	past perfect continuous
“She was walking home alone.”		He said that she had been walking home alone.
present perfect continuous	changes to	past perfect continuous
“I’ve been working,”		I told him that I’d been working.

2) To report speech, use He / She / I said (that) ...
 You can also use He / She told me (that)...; I told him / her (that)...
 
3) Don’t use quotation marks (“) when reporting speech.

4) References to times in the past also may need to change when using reported speech, if that time is no longer the same.

this morning / week / month	→	that morning / week / month
yesterday	→	the previous day
last week / month	→	the previous week / month
ago	→	earlier / previously
tomorrow	→	the following day
next week / month	→	the following week / month

Second Conditional

Use:       

The second conditional structure is used to talk about imaginary situations and the consequences. 
                Example: If I had a car, I could visit my friend.
                (But the truth is, I do not have a car, and I cannot visit my friend).            

The second conditional structure is also used to talk about imaginary abilities and the consequences. 
                Example: If I could fly, I wouldn’t need a car.
                (But the truth is, I cannot fly, and so I need a car.)

Form:
1)  Make the second conditional in this way.

If

I you he she...

past simple

,

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d could / couldn’t

verb (infinitive form)

Example:             If we had more money, we would buy that house.

Or

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d could / couldn’t

verb (infinitive form)

if

I you he she...

past simple

Example:             She’d be more successful if she worked harder.

2)  The verb to be can use were for all subjects. This is particularly true in the sentence: If I were you…
If I were you, I’d buy a bicycle.  

However, this rule is often overlooked.
If he were more careful, he wouldn’t break everything.  =>
If he was more careful, he wouldn’t break everything.

3)  To talk about imaginary abilities, use could.

If

I you he she...

could + verb (infinitive)

,

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d

verb (infinitive form)

Example:             If I could help you, I would!

4)  Notice that the infinitive verb after the modal verbs is not necessary if the meaning is clear. Don’t contract modal verbs when there is no infinitive verb present.

If I could pay, I’d...   =>   If I could pay, I would...

Common errors:
1) Many students write would after If
If I would have a lot of money, I would buy that car!        
=>           If I had a lot of money, I would buy that car!       

2) Many students forget to use could to talk about abilities.
                If I played the drums, I’d join a band.
=>           If I could play the drums, I’d join a band.  

Alternative Comparative forms

Use and Form:

These structures can be used to compare two things. They are alternatives to the comparative form (-er / more ...).

1)            Some phrases can be used to show that two things are identical.
the same (noun) as           My pen is the same as yours.
    His house is the same size as ours.

This phrase can be used with quantifiers:  such as just, exactly, almost, and nearly.
Your bag is exactly the same as mine!

2)            Some phrases can be used to show that two things are the same or nearly the same.
as (adjective / adverb) as              My bag was as expensive as yours.
He runs as quickly as me.

This structure is often used in literature to make similes.
  She’s as quiet as a mouse today.              
You’re as pretty as a picture!

You can use quantifiers such as: just, almost, nearly with these phrases.
  He runs almost as fast as me.
Your bag was nearly as expensive as mine.

3)            Other phrases focus on differences.
different from      His results are a bit different from ours.

This phrase can be used with quantifiers, such as slightly, a bit and a little.

not as (adjective) as        Your jacket isn’t as new as mine.
(negative verb) as (adverb) as    He doesn’t work as hard as I do.

This structure be used with the quantifiers quite, half and nearly.
  My job isn’t half as interesting as yours.   
  He doesn’t play the piano nearly as well as his sister.

4)            When comparing adverbs and adjectives, we sometimes re-write the auxiliary verb at the end of the sentences. If there is not auxiliary, you can write do, does or did. 
Julia is just as sociable as Maria is.
You can’t run as fast as I can!
I didn’t sleep as well as I did on Sunday night.

Common Mistakes:
Some students try to use the –er / more comparative form to make negative comparisons. However, not as … as is more common.
  I’m not taller than you.   =>            I’m not as tall as you.