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
you have questions or if you have
comments or if you want to practice
making a sentence please feel free to do
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