Correct Use of COULD SHOULD and WOULD Modal Verbs in English Grammar

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hi everybody my name is Alisha in this

lesson I’m going to talk about the

differences between wood could and

should I’m going to give a very quick

introduction to several different ways

that we use these words and share a few

example sentences so that you can get an

idea of the kinds of patterns that we

use when we’re using these words so

let’s begin with the word wood okay in

blue I’ve marked a couple of kind of key

points for a review of ways that we can

use the word wood these are kind of made

with some key grammar points in mind

let’s begin with the first point here we

use wood to talk about unreal situations

in the present that means situations

that are not real things that are not

true but we want to talk about them so

these are very common if patterns so for

example if I were I would if he were he

would so you can see both of these start

with an if statement so that means that

these are not real situations we’re just

talking about the possibility of

something and then we’re describing an

action in this case it’s a positive

action with the word wood so for example

if I were a doctor I would work in a

hospital for example in that example

sentence I’m not a doctor but I’m

explaining if I were a doctor I would

work in a hospital so I don’t use the

verb will because it’s not an actual

situation and I don’t expect it’s going

to happen I’m just talking about an

unreal situation another point here is

your pronunciation when you use the word

would will contract it along with

whatever you’re talking about so for

example I would becomes I’d he would

becomes he’d and we’ll see some more

examples of this kind of pronunciation a

little bit later but when you’re

pronouncing

if I were I would is correct but to make

it sound a little bit more natural used

if I were I’d it sounds a lot better so

this is the first point talking about

unreal situations in the present of

course you can use a negative here if I

were a doctor I wouldn’t drink alcohol

for example so we can use the positive

wood and the negative wouldn’t in these

patterns then similarly the second point

I want to introduce today is using wood

to talk about unreal situations in the

past so this is about the present we

just reviewed how to use wood in the

present but if you’re using wood you can

also use it to talk about unreal

situations in the past so things in the

past that were not true in these cases

will use a past tense verb in the if

clause here so for example if I had blah

blah blah in this case I’m using this to

explain like an action that I did not do

but if just in case in the situation

that the action did happen so I’m using

this this pattern if I had and then a

verb would come after that so for

example if I had woken up earlier I

would have been on time for school for

example so these are past tense unreal

situations or past unreal situations

rather so here we see wood again but

when we’re using wood to talk about

unreal situations in the past we need to

use have to make a positive statement I

would have and the pronunciation changes

too would’ve would have if I had I would

have of course we can use would not have

as well to make a negative statement if

I had I would not have and in a

contracted pronunciation and a reduced

pronunciation it sounds like I wouldn’t

have I wouldn’t have or even shorter

wouldn’t would not as well so if I had I

would have if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have

for example another one if she had she

would have so in natural pronunciation

if

she had become a teacher she would have

taught math for example so these are

unreal so these are not true these if

statements introduce something that is

not true but we want to talk about the

possibility that’s all okay let’s move

along to the next use that I have in

blue here just a quick one because

there’s not much space on the board

first used to talk about the future in

the past so this might be a little bit

confusing this means when you want to

talk about your past but you want to

explain something you were thinking or

something you were considering about the

future at that time you can use wood to

do that an example when I was past tense

when I was a kid I thought again past

tense I thought I would be a doctor so

meaning when I was a child at that time

when I was a kid my thinking I show that

with past tense here my thinking was

that in the future

I would be a doctor so we use wood to

explain something in the future that we

were thinking about or something in the

past so something happened in the past

something some idea for example we use

wood to explain that future so that’s

this point let’s go on though to the

next one we use wood as a past form of

will when we’re reporting something so

by reporting I mean he said she said and

so on so when someone says I will do

something and you want to report that in

the past you can use wood to do that in

this example Tom said he would pay for

coffee Tom said he would pay for coffee

this doesn’t mean if I’m Tom I didn’t

say I would pay for coffee that’s not

what Tom said Tom says I will pay for

coffee that was Tom’s expression Tom

said I will pay for coffee but if I’m a

different person I want to report what

Tom said I say Tom said he would pay for

coffee so that would means

tense I’m reporting Tom’s will Tom said

I will pay for coffee but when I report

it I say Tom said he would pay for

coffee that’s what’s happening there

okay

so we use this to talk about reporting

things all right those are some key

points but just some other reminders -

about using wood we use wood for formal

requests like would you like some coffee

would you like some tea we also use it

to talk about regular actions in the

past this is similar to used to but we

use wood to explain things that we did

regularly so for example when I was a

kid I would eat ice cream every day for

example or when I was in university I

would see my friends every afternoon so

we can use wood to do that to explain

regular activities in the past but maybe

these are particularly challenging so

you might need to take some time to

review these grammar points as well okay

so let’s move along and maybe compare

this to could let’s look at the second

point for today good we use could to

talk about possible situations in the

present possible situations this is a

key difference from Wood Wood is unreal

situations so it’s something that is not

true now could refers to something that

is possible like something we can

possibly do now or very soon in the

future for example we could see a movie

today in this sentence we’re showing

it’s possible to see a movie today we

can’t use we would see a movie today

that doesn’t make sense here we’re

expressing possibility only we could see

a movie today it’s possible to see a

movie today in this sentence you could

try a new recipe for example here it’s

possible to try a new recipe it’s

possible for you to try a new recipe so

both of these actually sound like

suggestions so if someone said what do

you want to do today and the other

person replied we could see a movie

today it’s a suggestion they’re

suggesting a possible activity same

thing here what do you want to eat for

dinner tonight

the other person was

Bonz you could try a new recipe like for

someone who’s cooking these express

possibility and we cannot use wood here

because we don’t use wood to give like

suggestions about things that are

possible we’re just talking about a

situation that’s not true

okay so similarly we can use this to

talk about possible unreal situations in

the past so here yes we have unreal

again like we saw with wood but here

we’re also talking about possible

situations so let’s look at the examples

first then we can compare here

past tense if I had I could have and

again this actually reduces could have

reduces to could’ve could’ve if I add or

if I’d if I’d I could’ve so for example

if I had studied harder I could have

passed the test

if I had studied harder I could have

passed the test that’s how a native

speaker would say it so if I had studied

harder I could have passed the test this

is actually quite similar to if I had

studied harder I would have passed the

test what’s the difference there this

one sounds more confident if I had

studied harder I would have passed the

test we’re using would have here meaning

that there’s a high level of confidence

here we’re only talking about

possibility if I had studied harder I

could have passed the test it was

possible using would have shows like if

I had studied harder I’m pretty sure I

will in other words think of this as

like will but for like an unreal

situation I would have passed the test I

didn’t but I would have if I had studied

harder this is could have so they’re

quite similar here just different levels

of confidence in the next one if you had

you could have so in this example mmm if

you had sent him a message you could

have met him for dinner if you had sent

him a message you could have met him for

dinner so this means the other person

did not send a message and therefore did

not meet the other person for dinner but

it was possible to do that in the past

so here if we use this expression if you

had sent him a message you would have

met him for dinner it sounds a little

bit odd because it’s quite a high level

of certainty this is like will again

like you would have met him for dinner

there’s a like a definite it’s a

definite thing here however it’s just a

possibility if you had sent him a

message you could have met him for

dinner

so that shows it would have been

possible to meet for dinner to use kind

of a confusing expression there but

meaning the possibility was there but

you had to have done this thing first

so possibility here all right let’s move

on to the next point we use could to

express past ability past ability for

example when I was little I could speak

Spanish so here we see again past when I

was little meaning a little kid

physically little I could speak Spanish

so we can think of this like past tense

can that’s all ok another one we use

this to express impossibility that

something is impossible or for that

matter possible so I’ll show a possible

example and then an impossible example -

ok first one this could be the correct

address so meaning it’s possible this is

the correct address this shows that

there’s just a possibility if however we

use not here sorry this is not I know

it’s really small there but if I use not

this could not be the correct address

using could not shows something is

totally impossible 100% impossible no

chance this could not be the correct

address it’s not possible so for example

this address is like five five five ABC

Street the correct address is like I

don’t know for four for ABC Street or

something this could not be the correct

address something is wrong here

we see the same thing could not accept

I’ve contracted it also I’ve used past

here so that couldn’t have been Sarah

she’s at work in this sentence for

example I’m out shopping and I think I

see my colleague Sarah but I think to

myself no that couldn’t have been Sarah

so here’s my past tense couldn’t have

been that couldn’t have been Sarah

Sarah’s at work I know my colleague is

at work it’s not possible that that was

Sarah because Sarah is at work I use

couldn’t have been to express that so

showing past impossibility I use this

expression to do it okay lots of there a

couple other reminders we use could to

ask permission could I do something we

also use it for requests as well could

you please help me with something so

just a couple extra reminders there all

right let’s move on to the last point

for this lesson the word should should

so we use should to give and request

advice examples you should find a new

apartment so here should comes from

comes before the verb you should find a

new apartment is a suggestion that’s

advice to somebody he should get a new

job that someone’s recommendation a

piece of advice they should stop smoking

again advice when you want to request

advice there’s you could use a simple

pattern like what should I do

or what do you think I should do or what

should I get for example we also use

should to talk about improvements to

past actions so this is commonly used to

express regret or like we wish we had

done something differently we wish that

we maybe chose something different so

examples of this I should have studied

more I should have studied more so here

we have should here is my past activity

that I did not do enough of so here in

other words my feeling is I did not

study enough in the past I want to

express more study would have been

better so I say I should have studied

more I should have studied more

is a native speaker pronunciation I

should have studied more so this more

refers to more than I did in the past so

you’ll see this used with the

comparative form of adjectives quite a

lot example a second example you

shouldn’t have had so much to drink you

shouldn’t have had so much to drink here

we see the negative you shouldn’t have

had you shouldn’t had is how we’ll say

it you shouldn’t have had so much to

drink in other words you drank too much

you should not have had so much to drink

you shouldn’t have had so much to drink

so you drank too much in other words so

this is an improvement to a past action

someone is suggesting an improvement

like I wish you hadn’t had so much to

drink for example you shouldn’t have had

one more he should have spoken to her

he should have spoken to her he should

have spoken to her here we see should

and again past in this case so he should

have spoken to her meaning he did not

speak to her but the speaker feels oh he

should have mm that would have been a

good choice he should have spoken to her

so we use this to talk about often

regret things we did not do but we think

now I should have done that thing okay

so that’s a very actually quick

introduction to some huge huge grammar

points if you have questions about any

of these points please let me know in

the comments so that I can find like a

key point and make a different video

explaining more about that point so if

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