Grammar for advanced learners Modal verbs (3) - Thấm Tâm Vy

TQT GRAMMAR NOTES FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS

GRAMMAR FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS

MODAL VERBS (3) WILL, WOULD, SHALL Learners of English often think of will as a way of expressing the future and of would as a word which is used mainly in conditional sentences G', Unit l0), but we use both of these modal verbs to express a number of other meanings. This unit also looks at shali which, although it is the least-used modal in English, we can use to express a variety of meanings.

PREDICTION AND CERTAINTY A. Predictions about the future We use will / won't to make predictions about the future: - He's been found guilty of murder. He'll be in prison for a long time. - You must work hard for this exam. It won't be easy. B. Sometimes we wish to express a prediction about the future that someone made in the past. For this we often use would / wouldn't (would is the past form of will): - We had to hurry to get him to the hospital. We knew it would be too late otherwise. This use of would is related to the use of would in reported speech: - I'm sure the Lions will win the rugby series this year. - She was sure the Lions would win the rugby series. C. We make confident ‘predictions’ about the present based on our knowledge or previous experience (or on current expectations) with will / won't: - 'Rochel's in Turkey at the moment.' ~ 'I hope she's taken some winter clothes because it won't be warm at this time of year.' Compare this use of will and the present simple. We use the present simple to state a fact without expressing an opinion as to the certainty or otherwise of the event: - Janet isn't here at the moment. She's in France. (Fact - the speaker knows it's true.) To say that we believe something is certain, we use will / won't: - It's five o'cloch. Janet'll be in Paris now. (Certainty - the speaker believes it's true.) To express a certainty about something ongoing (i.e. where we would use the present continuous for a fact), we use will/won't + be + -ing form: - Jason is sgmpathetic because he knows his successor will be having a hard time at the moment. D. To refer to something which we feel certain has happened (but do not actually know), we use will have + past participle: - We sent the invitations on Monday, so they will have received them by now. Why hasn't anyone replied? This is similar to must have + past participle - We sent the invitations on Monday, so they must have received them by now. We use won't have + past participle to refer to something which we feel certain has not happened: - We sent the invitations by second-class post. They won't have received them yet.  We do not use mustn't have + past participle in this way , but we can use can't have:

- We sent the invitations by second class post. We mustn’t have reeeived them yet. => We sent the invitations by second-class post. They can't have received them yet.

CHARACTERISTICS, HABITS AND ROUTINES A. We often use will/won'f to talk about actions that have become so routine that they are Present predictable: - Every lesson is the same: he'll sit down, get his books out and then he'll start giving us instructions. He won't greet us or show ang interest in us. We can extend this use of will to talk about habits and characteristics: - The public will always side with the nurses in any dispute. - The dominant male of the group will not tolerate the presence of other males. We can also use the present simple to describe characteristics and habits: - The public always sides with the nurses in anydispute. - The dominant male of the group does not tolerate the presence of other males. We often use will when talking about the characteristics of capacity or ability: - The Olgmpic stadium in Sydney will hold 110,000 people. - This model will do 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in eight seconds. It is also possible to use can and the present simple for these last two uses with no change in meaning: - The Olgmpic stadium in Sydney can hold / holds 110,000 people. - This model can do / does 0 …