‘Could’ is used to make polite requests. We can also use ‘can’ for these but ‘could’ is more polite. Could you help me, please? Could you lend me some money? Could I have a lift? Could I bother you for a moment? If we use ‘could’ in reply to these requests, it suggests that we…
May/Might
We can use ‘may’ to ask for permission. However this is rather formal and not used very often in modern spoken English May I borrow your pen? May we think about it? May I go now? We use ‘may’ to suggest something is possible It may rain later today. I may not have time to…
Should 1
We use ‘should’ for giving advice. You should speak to him about it. He should see a doctor. We should ask a lawyer. We use ‘should’ to give an opinion or a recommendation. He should resign now. We should invest more in Asia. They should do something about this terrible train service. ‘Should’ expresses a…
Should 2
We can use ‘should’ after ‘reporting verbs’ such asdemand insist propose recommend suggest He demanded that we should pay for the repair. She insisted that she should pay for the meal. I have proposed that he should take charge of the organization. The committee recommends that Jane should be appointed. We have suggested that Michael…
Must/Have to
We can use ‘must’ to show that we are certain something is true. We are making a logical deduction based upon some clear evidence or reason. There’s no heating on. You must be freezing. You must be worried that she is so late coming home. I can’t remember what I did with it. I must…
Zero Conditional
When we talk about things that are generally or always true, we can use: If/When/Unless plus a present form PLUS present simple or imperative If he gets there before me, ask him to wait. When you fly budget airline, you have to pay for your drinks and snacks. Unless you need more space, a small…
First Conditional
We use the First Conditional to talk about future events that are likely to happen. If we take John, he’ll be really pleased. If you give me some money, I’ll pay you back tomorrow. If they tell us they want it, we’ll have to give it to them. If Mary comes, she’ll want to drive….