All Questions
Tagged with modal-verbs tenses
64 questions
0
votes
2
answers
844
views
"Will have done" vs "would have done" in expressing certainty
Recently, I have been looking a little bit deeper into the modal verb “will”, its usage and properties. In the process I have been able to find the usage I have already encountered, though have seen ...
- 17
6
votes
6
answers
1k
views
What tense is "He would never see her again"?
In the following passage, what tense is the second sentence?
John said goodbye to his mother. He would never see her again.
I know it's not the past tense, which would be "He never saw her ...
- 61
1
vote
1
answer
367
views
the difference between "must have + (past participle)" and "should have + (past participle)"
The following is a question from the university entrance examination held in 2013 using the DNC Japan Test.
My brother ( ) have been very popular when he was a high school student.
He still gets lots ...
- 1,175
-1
votes
1
answer
5k
views
"I did not grew / grow up" - which one is the correct tense? [closed]
There are actually quite a few threads on the question of grew or grow up, but none with the verb did and the state "being poor" instead of a location, so I allow myself to ask it here. ...
- 167
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
My cards associated with the bank account
My cards associated with this bank account include a debit card, a credit card, etc.
My cards which are associated with this bank account include a debit card, a credit card, etc.
My cards which are ...
- 7
0
votes
0
answers
21
views
Modal Simple vs Simple Past [duplicate]
Is there any difference between the two standalone statements below:
She sat on my chair
She would sit on my chair
I emphasise standalone because it is clear to me what a statements such as "I knew ...
- 19
0
votes
0
answers
397
views
Modal Verbs and Sequence of Tenses
Should the clause “I would/should think” be followed by another also in the past, according to the rules of tense sequence?
I should think he was here [I think he is here now].
I should think the ...
- 495
4
votes
2
answers
16k
views
What tense is "would have been"?
This is used in Conditional Type 3. But no one knows what tense this is...
- 41
0
votes
1
answer
69
views
A tense problem about the use of "Could"
Here is a paragraph from the HP books:
Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did... if it got out that they were related to a pair of---well, he didn't ...
- 35
2
votes
3
answers
487
views
A tense question about the use of modal verbs in the Harry Potter series
I am reading the Harry Potter series recently and I have difficulty in understanding the following 3 examples:
1) What could he have been thinking of？It must have been a trick of the light.
2)But ...
- 35
0
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Modal verbs and Past Perfect
Is it possible to use modal verbs in Past Perfect?
I know we can use modal verb + perfect infinitive to talk about the past, e.g. I shouldn't have said that. This is Past Simple tense, isn't it?
I ...
- 19
1
vote
0
answers
44
views
What is the appropriate pairing of verb forms here?
Here is the sentence:
If we all choose a personal or ceramic cup, we could save 40,000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year.
Am I wrong to think that "choose" and "could save" are an ...
- 1,062
1
vote
1
answer
330
views
using would + have to in non-conditional sentences
Which timeline (past vs present vs future) does this sentence indicate?
Project managers would have to organize copywriters, editors, and designers as well as feedback from clients or other ...
- 63
3
votes
4
answers
649
views
What time are we talking about in “She’ll have bought a new mobile/cellphone yesterday”?
I encountered this sentence when I was learning another language. I have never used such a sentence in English nor seen one, but it seems it exists.
What idea does this sentence trying to convey? ...
- 157
1
vote
0
answers
74
views
must have washed downstream VS must have been washed downstream
There are two hikers hiking near a stream. One of them seeing it in says:
Look! A miner's old pack and gear! Must have washed downstream!
My question is:
Is it just a simple passive voice sentence ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
What tense is "I could have played tennis."?
My understanding is that the sentence
I will have played tennis.
is future perfect.
But, what happens if I substitute the word "will" with a modal such as "could" or "ought to"? Does that change ...
- 193
2
votes
1
answer
239
views
Modal verbs' tense consistency
I have a question concerning tense consistency of modals which don't have the past form like (will/would). Do we put these modals in the past tense (perfect) if the surrounding verbs are in the past ...
- 55
57
votes
5
answers
14k
views
Why can't the word "can" be used in future tense (will can)?
I'm curious about why the English word can cannot be used in future tense (e.g. will can).
An example unrelated to English is French term je pourrai, but that's exactly what I mean.
Compare German ...
- 1,336
0
votes
1
answer
192
views
Question version of Must have
Read below a sentence
She must have gone.
I know it's a conclusion and it represents a past action, but if I want to convert it into a question, What should I say out of the following? :
(1) Have ...
- 315
21
votes
12
answers
13k
views
Can "would" be used twice in an English conditional sentence and still be grammatical?
I know how conditional if clause sentences work. I'm aware of the rules which I have to follow. However, I sometimes use would after would which of course is incorrect in terms of grammar.
Is there ...
- 47
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Can the modal auxiliary verbs be considered to be in the present tense (form, not meaning)?
According to Practical English Usage by Michael Swan, modal auxiliary
verbs do not normally have past tenses:
The modal auxiliary verbs are will, would, shall, should, can,
could, ought, may, ...
user217372
2
votes
1
answer
33k
views
"We can able to" or "we are able to" [duplicate]
Can someone tell me if "we can able to" or "we are able to" is the correct usage? I feel the latter is correct. However, I noticed the former usage in a few write ups and emails.
- 23
1
vote
2
answers
294
views
Grammatical explanation of statement "He will not be questioned."
Seems to me that it is equivalent to "He is not to be questioned." There's an element of declaration or assertion I can't pin down!
Context is Stephen Miller speaking about Trump's travel ban, ...
- 11
-1
votes
1
answer
1k
views
"If I would have won the lottery..." [duplicate]
I have a question - is it acceptable to write a sentence "If I would have won lottery, I would buy a car!"? Is it even correct? Thank you very much!
3
votes
2
answers
957
views
Why doesn't the auxiliary will qualify as future tense?
According to A Student's Introduction to English Grammar, Tense is defined as follows:
Tense. A system marked by verb inflection or auxiliaries whose basic use to locate the situation in time: I ...
-1
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Breaking Tense: "May be" vs. "May have been"
This may be simple or trivial, but when writing in the past tense, is it wrong to switch to present tense to use the verb "may be"?
Sharon may be irrational, but it was not completely her ...
- 455
3
votes
1
answer
5k
views
Tenses and modals. Must have been vs. had to be
I have a question regarding modals: must have/had to.
When an author of a book, that's written in past tense, chooses to use modal "must" he has to use its past tense form:
The car crashed. The ...
user143977
1
vote
2
answers
792
views
Is saying "may have" incorrect?
I believe I've heard that might is the past tense of may. So you should say might have never may have.
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
467
views
Finite and non-finite clauses: "We have washed the dishes"
I have a quick question regarding finite and non-finite clauses if I may?
In clauses that contain modal or auxiliary verbs marked for tense AND a non-finite element, is the clause finite or non-...
- 83
2
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Future tense of the word "Can" [duplicate]
What is the future tense of the word can?
One way to express it is "will be able to", but what is actually the future tense of "can" ?
0
votes
2
answers
976
views
Sudden shift to present perfect in McCarthy's "The Road"
I have a question regarding "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. The book is written in past tense and uses past perfect form to tell us of what had happened before, but in this sentence Cormac uses present ...
user143977
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
expressing uncertainty in the past: "could be" vs. "would have been"
Yesterday I wrote the below snippet in an email, but looking at it again it doesn't sound right:
Last term I did way too much teaching related stuff (my fault, didn’t really know how much time ...
- 15
3
votes
1
answer
352
views
Is a past tense protasis necessarily hypothetical when followed by an apodosis with "would have"?
Is a protasis with a verb in the past tense necessarily interpreted as a hypothetical condition when followed by an apodosis with "would have" + past participle?
For example, is the sentence
If ...
- 1,175
-1
votes
1
answer
626
views
Is the tense correct in these sentences? [closed]
Is this sentence correct grammatically?
He must have seen my jet ski and became suspicious.
or should it be:
He must have seen my jet ski and become suspicious.
Please note that the sentence ...
- 173
1
vote
2
answers
13k
views
"should say that" vs "should have said that"
Example 1: It was odd (that) you should say that
Example 2: It was odd (that) you should have said that
I don't understand what the putative should implies when it's constructed with the present ...
- 79
10
votes
4
answers
21k
views
"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be..." What does this mean?
I'm translating a book, which involves logic and quoted the sentence from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass:
"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain'...
- 201
1
vote
3
answers
7k
views
What is the future tense of "would have been"?
The following sentence is grammatically correct:
Today would have been Freddie Mercury's 68th birthday.
If Freddie Mercury were still alive, this sentence would be correct too:
September 5, ...
- 33
15
votes
3
answers
60k
views
Using "will" after "if"
I've been told that native-speakers don't ever use "will" after "if", and that saying it this way is a not-native style.
So from the film (Harry Potter, pt5) I noticed a line that confused me. Look ...
- 167
0
votes
1
answer
12k
views
Difference between "had + past" and "would have + past"? [closed]
Is there any difference between these two statements? When should each be used?
I thought you had slept.
I thought you would have slept.
- 355
6
votes
3
answers
42k
views
Would have done
Please read the following passage. I will post my question at the end of it.
Here is the passage:
At home I locked myself in. Jason, my lawyer and lyn sent texts
simultaneously at the point the ...
- 101
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
What tense uses a modal with "be" and a past tense verb
I am trying to determine the tense of a certain verb group. This group uses a modal/auxiliary with "be" and the past tense of the action verb. Examples:
He may be finished.
She must be loved....
- 39
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
"When he went out he left the radio on so that his parents shall think that he was still in the house"
When he went out he left the radio on so that his parents shall
think that he was still in the house.
This is a past sentence. Why is shall think used? Can I use should think?
- 163
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Usage of 'would' in the future tense?
Is there anything wrong in this sentence?
"I would go to work tomorrow if the buses were plying."
I know it is not wrong to use 'would' in hypothetical sentences in the past and present tense:
...
- 1,241
0
votes
2
answers
2k
views
"I stay in Canada" vs. "I will stay in Canada" [duplicate]
Situation: I am in Canada and will go back to Hong Kong next week. So, I want to tell my friends that "I will stay in Canada until the 6th of March".
Question: I do not know if the word will should ...
- 187
1
vote
1
answer
410
views
Is “he should be seventeen” correct?
Is the following sentence correct to describe a young man?
He should be seventeen.
My colleague was absolutely sure it was correct. I disagreed, so we had a bit of an argument. I would agree on ...
- 29
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
could versus be able
Let me start by saying what is written in grammar books on this issue and after that I will put my question. (Take heed that this usage of "could" ONLY refers to the past and ONLY to affirmative ...
- 1,040
2
votes
4
answers
6k
views
“Would” in a reported statement
I am teaching some students changing original quotes into reported speech. Well, one of my students asked how the following quote can be changed into reported speech:
I would like to swim.
From my ...
- 429
28
votes
3
answers
5k
views
When did periphrastic tenses stop being tenses?
English sometimes has several different ways of expressing the same thing. For example, it can form a possessive either by using an old case inflection:
The dog’s tail was always wagging.
Or it can ...
- 137k
6
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Question about the future “tense”
My daughter, who is in the 4th grade, was asked to answer questions about the following sentence:
What time can you meet us at the school on Tuesday?
She was asked questions about the usage of can ...
- 69
120
votes
11
answers
115k
views
How many tenses are there in English?
Do we have 16 tenses in English?
With
future
present
past
future in the past
in these forms
simple
continuous
perfect
perfect continuous
Can we manipulate these together to create English tenses? ...
- 1,321