Last updated at 14:21 GMT, Tuesday, 16 March 2010

Modals and conditionals

Questions answered

'can' and 'could'
Afreen in India asks, 'what is the difference between 'can' and 'could'?
'can't' and 'unable to'
Catherine explains the difference
'hope' or 'wish'?
Why do we' wish you a merry Christmas', but 'hope you get well soon'?
'if' and 'whether'
Catherine Walter explains that you can't always use these two words in the same way
'if I was' and 'if I were'
Find out which form is more colloquial: 'if I was' or 'if I were'
Inversion: conditional sentences
Is it correct to say 'Hadn't it been for...'?
Mixed conditionals
Why don't all 'if' sentences follow the normal conditional sentence patterns?
'must' : deduction and obligation
You must read Roger Woodham's explanation of these two uses of 'must'
'must', 'have to', 'have got to'
Do you know the difference between 'must' and 'have to'?
'mustn't' and 'don't have to'
Susan Fearn explains the difference between these easily confused forms
'needn't have', 'didn't need to'
Elodie Carpentier from France wonders when to use 'needn't have' and didn't need to'
'perhaps','maybe', 'may', 'might'
Katinka Raupenstein from Germany thinks there might be slight differences between these words
Polite requests
Roger explains how to make polite requests using 'would you ...' and 'could you ...'
'should' or 'if'
Can you sometimes use 'should' instead of 'if'?
Should, shouldn't, don't + have to
Amy Lightfoot answers a question from Jun in Korea about different uses of 'have to'
'should have' and 'must have'
George Pickering explains how to refer to the past with these modal verbs
'should', 'would' and 'could'
You really should learn about the differences between 'should', 'would' and 'could'
'should have' and 'if only'
Hani Al-Shoulah from Saudi Arabia wants to talk about regrets and mistakes in the past
Talking about general truths
Roger Woodham explains why some conditional sentences don't use 'will' or 'would'
Third conditional
Elena from Russia is puzzled by the third conditional
'unless' and alternatives to 'if'
Roger Woodham presents some alternatives to 'if'
'used to' or 'would'
Julie from Belgium asks if this is correct: 'Did you used to play tennis?'
Using 'if' with 'will'
Is it ever possible to say 'If you will do something'?
'what if', 'suppose', 'supposing'
Supposing you're not sure about 'what if', what should you do? Read this!
'when', 'if' and 'in case'
If you're not sure about when to use 'in case', read Roger Woodham's explanation
'when', 'if' and 'whether'
Harry from Germany wonders whether it makes a difference when we use these words
'will', 'shall', 'would','should'
Roger Woodham covers some of the major aspects of usage of will and shall, would and should
'would'
Discover five different uses of 'would'
Future action:'would', 'going to'
Definite plans vs. slight possibilities
Refusal, insistence, 'would', 'will'
Roger Woodham discusses these slightly unusual uses of 'will' and 'would'

Latest answers

Negative constructions
From Kypros, UK
Likely
From Daniela, Italy
Youngsters and youths
From P.Vinayagam, India
Soon and when
From Anwar, Syria
Reported speech
From Nuria, Catalonia

Modals and conditionals

Questions answered

Latest answers

Local Navigation

Syndication Links

Useful links

Feeds