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Speak on different means of expressing ability, achievement and advice
| FUNCTION | VERB | INFINITIVE | USAGE | EXAMPLES |
| ability, capability | can | simple | reference is made to the present and future | I can play chess. We can go for a walk in the evening. |
| could | simple | reference is made to the past | I could spend more time with my friends before. | |
| simple | to express unreality with reference to the present and future | She has very nice pronunciation. She could help you to improve your phonetics. | ||
| simple | reference is made to the past, and we don’t know whether the action was fulfilled | She could help him. | ||
| perfect | reference is made to the past, and the action wasn’t realized | She could have called Jim to inform him about the cancellation of the meeting. | ||
| be able to | simple | time reference is not clear from the context or we need to stress that the action refers to the future | He’ll be able to phone us from home. He’ll be able to buy the car he wants just in a few months. | |
| simple | reference is made to the past, and we know the action was realized | Carol was able to suggest her own way out of this situation. | ||
| achievement | be able to, manage | simple | I was able to complete the work. | |
| advice | can | You can ask Mary. | ||
| could | You could ask Mary. | |||
| ought to obligation (advisability, desirability) | + / -- / ? | simple | reference to the future | You ought to visit granny. |
| simple / continuous | reference to the present (stative / durative verbs) | You ought to be studying hard. | ||
| + | perfect | desirable action wasn’t fulfilled | You ought to have kept this secret to yourself. | |
| -- | perfect | undesirable action was fulfilled | You oughtn’t to have shouted at your mother. | |
| should | + / -- / ? | simple | reference to the future | We should discuss the matter over. |
| simple / continuous | reference to the present (stative / durative verbs) | You should be doing up accurately. | ||
| + | perfect | desirable action wasn’t fulfilled | You should have accepted the offer. | |
| -- | perfect | undesirable action was fulfilled | You shouldn’t have bought this awful sofa. | |
| might | simple | You look tired. You might ask her for help. |
Date: 2015-02-16; view: 781
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