English Grammar Guide: Mastering Modals, Conditionals, and More
Modal Verbs
Can/Can’t
I’m sorry but you can’t smoke here.
Can you speak French? No, I can’t.
You can leave your bags at reception.
Can you sign here, please?
You can visit different tourist attractions.
Children under 12 can’t travel alone.
Where can I find a tourist information office?
Where are you? I can’t see you.
You may leave now if you wish.
Could/May
Could you open the window a bit, please?
Can you play the piano?
May I make a call on your mobile?
Do you know if Mark can sing?
May I sit here, please?
Caroline, your friends can stay the night if they want to.
Could you lend me 40 Euros till Monday?
Listen, please. Students may study in the library from five to nine in the evening.
They may be away for the weekend but I’m not sure.
He could be French, judging by his accent.
With luck, tomorrow could be a sunny day.
Might
You might be right but I’m going to check anyway.
The exam might be easy. You never know.
It can’t be true about a sauropod dinosaur living in Lake Tele in the Congo.
Dave reckons she’s from the States but I think she might be from Scandinavia.
I might go to the party but I’m not sure yet.
This could be the right answer but we’ll have to check with your teacher to make sure.
Must
She’s been revising 10 hours a day for 3 weeks. She must be exhausted.
Nobody’s answering. They must be out.
He can’t be from the USA. He doesn’t speak English.
Can/Could – Ability
Last week we couldn’t go swimming, but this week we can.
Maybe your friend Lara will be able to buy a new house next year.
If you try hard, you will be able to pass your exams.
When I was four, I couldn’t swim.
George can’t do his homework when his desk is in such a mess.
They were so busy, they couldn’t write me a text message.
Larry was able to clean his jacket. He can wear it again.
Because of/Therefore/So
The flight was delayed because of the fog.
They have travelled to Ireland because they wanted to know Oscar Wilde’s country.
She had to stay in bed because of her injured leg.
We didn’t eat anything because we had already had dinner.
My students were really happy because of their good results.
Since it was a lovely day, we went for a swim in the river.
We missed the beginning of the show because we were really late.
She didn’t get the job because of her appearance.
I didn’t like the film, so I left the cinema before it had finished.
The main road was closed because of some road works. Therefore, we had to take a secondary road.
He is so lazy that he will fail all his exams.
These are such disgusting vegetables that I cannot eat any of them.
The car was so dirty that it smelled terrible.
It was such a hot evening that we couldn’t work outside.
The room was so crowded that we could not have any cake.
He is such a nice man that all girls want to go out with him.
Polite Requests
Could you inform your manager about the latest figures?
I’d be grateful if you could fax me the documents as soon as possible.
I’d appreciate it if all the arrangements were made before next week.
May I use your fax machine?
Would it be possible to book the meeting room for Tuesday?
I’d like to arrange a meeting with the head of department.
I’d like to borrow someone’s office next Thursday.
Could you work overtime tomorrow?
Could I use the photocopier in your office?
Could you ask him to attend the meeting?
I’d appreciate it if you could lend me an office where I could work.
Did you make arrangements to receive the visitors?
Must/Have to/ Need to
You mustn’t smoke at school.
You don’t have to pick me up.
They had to leave after they paid their bill.
You must shake the bottle before using the product.
You don’t have to send them a check.
You don’t need to carry your ID with you.
Sam can’t go out tonight. He has to look after his nephew.
She didn’t have enough sugar, so she had to borrow some from her neighbour.
It’s snowing, but luckily we don’t have to go out today.
To start the TV you have to press the power button.
Daisy worked last weekend, but I didn’t have to.
Did you have to wear a uniform when you were a child?
Passive Voice
Peter was invited by Ann to a night party.
My purse was stolen while I was eating out.
Bread is made by my uncle every night.
This shirt has been washed.
All flights have been cancelled because of the storms.
Hot sausages are served until 4:00 pm.
My room has been cleaned today.
Chalk was used in the classroom in the past.
My car will be repaired (by the mechanic) very soon.
Next Olympic Games will be organised in London.
Lots of letters can be delivered in one day.
Peter should be warned about the risks of smoking.
The bicycles must be left at the university entrance.
A new film will be made by Amenabar this year.
This car can be driven by adult people.
They are going to build a new sports pavilion.
A new sports pavilion is going to be built.
Connectors and Adverbs
Subject: Problems in the website design department.
Although we have agreed to try to cut down on staff, there are some problems in the website design department. First of all, the person in charge of updating the website is also in charge of managing the department email. In consequence, when many people write to ask for information, and also require updated information from the website, she is unable to perform both tasks. To sum up, I suggest we try to reorganise her job to improve efficiency, otherwise our website will never be updated and our emails will not be answered.
My friend is a careful driver.
The boss spoke softly to his employees.
He plays the piano very well.
She works very hard.
I read slowly in order to enjoy every page.
Mary is an intelligent student.
I jumped in the car and drove quickly to school.
Your boy was very bad in class today.