Modal Verbs


can, could, be able to

One of the functions of the can modal verb is to express ability.
We can use the can if we decide now what we are going to do in the future.


  •  I can have lunch with you tomorrow. / Puedo comer contigo mañana.
  • I can’t see you this weekend. / No puedo verte esta fin de semana.

Note:
After the can we put the infinitive without
... can play tennis
... can't go tomorrow
The complete negative form is written as a single word; can not.
In other cases, to express skill in the future we use will be able to
  • Do you think England will be able to win the World Cup one day? (Piensas que Inglaterra pueda ganar el Mundial algun día? )

The past of can and can not by skill is could and could not
  • When I was young I could drink 10 or 12 pints of lager in one night.(Cuando era joven, podía beber 10 o 12 pintas de cerveza en una sola noche.)

The can and the could also be used to ask people to do something.
  • can/could you give me your phone number?

The Conditional

We can use the could to say could (would be able to)
  • We could get a new car next year if we didn’t have a holiday this summer. (Podríamos comprarnos un nuevo coche si no tomamos vacaciones este verano.)















EXERCISES:

Choose can or can not if possible. If not, choose could or will be able to.
1. I’m sorry, I  take you to the airport in the morning because I’ve got a business meeting at 9 o’clock.
2. I think I  pass my driving test before my 50th birthday.
3. One day in the future I think we  live on the moon.
4. If we left now, we  before the shops close.
5. I’m not working this weekend so we  go cycling on Sunday.
6. I  meet you for coffee at 11, but I’ll only have fifteen minutes.
7. I’ll do the washing and the ironing, but I  do the shopping.
8. If we worked together, we  finish it before the film starts.
9. She was bad after the accident, but I think she  go back to work next week.
10. It’s not possible yet, but I think computers  do the housework for us in a few years.
11. I  go for a run this evening. My parents are coming to visit and I won’t have time.
12. I  do your job. It’s so complicated and stressful.
Choose could, could not or managed to

 1. I  play the piano when I was four.
2. They  to get to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, but it took them six days.
3. Eventually Luis  convince me that there’s no future in teaching English.
4. Mark wanted to see the final of the European Cup, but he  get tickets.
5. Henry was so advanced for his age that he  burn music CD’s when he was 8 months old.
6. Val and John were amazed that they  to drive over the Pyrenees in such an old car.
7. I spoke to her for more than an hour, bought her a drink, and finally  get her phone number.
8. Carlos  speak English when he was six years old. His parents are from Liverpool.
9. Cathy grew up near the beach in South Africa. She  swim, sail and dive when she was very young.
10. Danny lost his job at the clock factory because he  get up on time in the mornings.
Now type must / must not / should / should not / can or can not in the right space

 1. It is used   to say that something is possible.
2. It is used   to say that something is not possible.
3. It is used   to advise someone to do something.
4. It is used   to advise someone not to do something.
5. It is used   to order someone to do something.
6. It is used  to order someone to do something.

Choose the right modal verb

  1. There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge. You  buy any.
  2. It's a hospital. You  smoke.
  3. He had been working for more than 11 hours. He  be tired after such hard work. He  prefer to get some rest.
  4. I  speak Arabic fluently when I was a child and we lived in Morocco. But after we moved back to Canada, I had very little exposure to the language and forgot almost everything I knew as a child. Now, I  just say a few things in the language.
  5. The teacher said we  read this book for our own pleasure as it is optional. But we  read it if we don't want to.
  6.  you stand on your head for more than a minute? No, I  .
  7. If you want to learn to speak English fluently, you  to work hard.
  8. Take an umbrella. It  rain later.
  9. You  leave small objects lying around . Such objects  be swallowed by children.
  10. People  walk on grass.
  11. Drivers  stop when the traffic lights are red.
  12.  I ask a question? Yes, of course.
  13. You   take your umbrella. It is not raining.
  14.  you speak Italian? No, I  .
















































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