Past modals for judgements and suggestions

When we judge past actions we use:


should (n´t) have

We use should (n´t) have when we give an opinion or judgement about a past situation:

Jessica: I didn´t study for the exam.

Me: You should´ve studied. It was 50 points.

I´m judging Jessica because she didn´t study.

When suggesting alternative past actions we use:

could (n´t) have

would (n´t) have

We use would (n´t) have when we are imagining a hypothetical situation happening to us and doing something different:

Jessica: I forgave my boyfriend.

Me: I wouldn´t have forgiven him.

=

If I were Jessica, I wouldn’t have forgiven him.

We use could (nt´t) have when we are suggesting a hypothetical past possibility:

Jessica: My boyfriend was sad and I didn´t ask him why.

Me: You could have shown more empathy.

=

You had the chance to show empathy but you didn´t.

Exercise 1: modal verbs
Exercise 2: past modal verbs of deduction

Unit 13: That´s a possibility

Past Modals for Degree of Certainty

We can use past modals to  talk about how sure we are that something happened.

The general form for using past modals is:

modal + have + past participle

The charts below demonstrate how to correctly use past modals.

Degree   FACT

Example sentence      

He had a meeting with a client.       

The speaker is 100% sure. This is a fact.

Almost 100% Sure

Comment

He must have had a meeting with a client.     The speaker is making a logical conclusion and is almost sure (but not completely sure) that Mike had a meeting with a client. If Mike always goes to lunch with the speaker unless he has a meeting with a client, then it would be reasonable to say that he must have had a meeting with a client.

Possibility

He may have had a meeting with a client.

He might have had a meeting with a client.

He could have* had a meeting with a client.

The speaker is simply mentioning a possibility here. All three examples in the first column are ways of saying “It’s possible that 

Mike had a meeting with a client.”

Question:  Why didn’t Mike come to lunch with us?

Degree

Example sentence

Comment

FACT

He wasn’t in the office.

The speaker is sure that Mike was not available. This is a fact.

Impossible

He couldn’t have been in the office.

The speaker believes that it was impossible for Mike to have been in the office. Maybe the speaker spoke to Mike right before lunch and Mike said he was 100 miles away visiting a client.

Almost 100% Sure

He must not have been in the office. (not mustn’t have been)**

The speaker is making a logical conclusion. The speaker is 95% sure that Mike was not in the office.

Possibility

He may not have been in the office.

He might not have been in the office. (not mightn’t have been)

The speaker is simply mentioning a possibility here. All three examples in the first column are ways of saying “It’s possible that Mike was not in the office.”

Exercise 1: past modals practice

Exercise 2:  Modals Deduction Past

Giving reasons

See the video  about giving reasons

Using linking words to show reason

We use linking words to join ideas together when we're talking or writing. Sometimes we want to show that one thing happened because of another thing. We can use linking words like 'because' or 'since' or 'due to' to do this.

Words (or groups of words) that are followed by a clause

We can use these words at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. They are used in front of a clause (a clause has at least a subject and a verb that agrees with the subject). They go before the reason. If they are at the beginning of the sentence, we put a comma in the middle to separate the clauses.

Because

• We cancelled the picnic because it was raining.
• Because it was raining, we cancelled the picnic.

As

• We cancelled the picnic as it was raining.
• As it was raining, we cancelled the picnic.

Since

• We cancelled the picnic since it was raining.
• Since it was raining, we cancelled the picnic.

For

We can also use 'for' to mean 'because'. This is very literary and we don't really use it in spoken English. 'For' can only go in the middle of the two clauses. We often add a comma before it.

• We cancelled the picnic, for it was raining.

Words (or groups of words) that are followed by a noun

Because of + noun

• We cancelled the picnic because of the rain.
• Because of the rain, we cancelled the picnic.

Due to + noun*

• We cancelled the picnic due to the rain.
• Due to the rain, we cancelled the picnic.

Owing to + noun

• We cancelled the picnic owing to the rain.
• Owing to the rain, we cancelled the picnic.

Exercise 1: linking words reason 1

Exercise 2: because, Because of, Due to,and Since

Exercise 3: "Because of/Because"

Describing purpose

To, in order to, so as to, so that.

These structures express purpose and answer the question why something is done.


To                      We use 'to + verb' to say why we do something.

                   Examples: I'm going to Ireland to visit my family.
                   I went to the post office to buy some stamps.


In order to
So as to                  
We can also use 'in order to' or 'so as to'.
Examples: I'm going to Ireland in order to visit my family.


I went to the post office so as to buy some stamps.


Note                   
 1-  'in order to' and 'so as to' are more common before stative verbs like:
          be, have, know, appear, seem, understand, etc.
 Example: she left work early in order to be at home with the children.

  2-  Before a negative infinitive, we normally use 'so as' or 'in order'.
 Example: I am leaving now so as not to be late.
 (not: I am leaving now not to be late).

3-  Do not use 'for' before the infinitive of purpose.
     Example: I phoned Jenny to invite her to dinner.

    (not: I phoned Jenny for invite her to dinner).



So that                        
This structure is also frequently used to talk about purpose.
 It is normally followed by modal such as can or will.

 Example: I am saving money so that I can buy a new car.




Exercise 1:   choose the correct word.
Exercise 2:  expressing Purpose
Exercise 3: clause of purpose

Expressing regret and describing hypothetical situations

Could have, should have, would have

These past modal verbs are all used hypothetically, to talk about things that didn't really happen in the past.

Could have + past participle

1: Could have + past participle means that something was possible in the past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it. (See also modals of ability.)

• I could have stayed up late, but I decided to go to bed early.
• They could have won the race, but they didn't try hard enough.
• Julie could have bought the book, but she borrowed it from the library instead.
• He could have studied harder, but he was too lazy and that's why he failed the exam.

Couldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't possible in the past, even if you had wanted to do it.

• I couldn't have arrived any earlier. There was a terrible traffic jam (= it was impossible for me to have arrived any earlier).
• He couldn't have passed the exam, even if he had studied harder. It's a really, really difficult exam.

2: We use could have + past participle when we want to make a guess about something that happened in the past. (See also modals of probability.) In this case, we don't know if what we're saying is true or not true. We're just talking about our opinion of what maybe happened.

Why is John late?

• He could have got stuck in traffic.
• He could have forgotten that we were meeting today.
• He could have overslept.

We can also choose to use might have + past participle to mean the same thing:

• He might have got stuck in traffic.
• He might have forgotten that we were meeting today.
• He might have got stuck in traffic.

Should have + past participle

1: Should have + past participle can mean something that would have been a good idea, but that you didn't do it. It's like giving advice about the past when you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn't do when you're talking about yourself.

Shouldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't a good idea, but you did it anyway.

• I should have studied harder! (= I didn't study very hard and so I failed the exam. I'm sorry about this now.)
• I should have gone to bed early (= I didn't go to bed early and now I'm tired).
• I shouldn't have eaten so much cake! (= I did eat a lot of cake and now I don't feel good.)
• You should have called me when you arrived (= you didn't call me and I was worried. I wish that you had called me).
• John should have left early, then he wouldn't have missed the plane (= but he didn't leave early and so he did miss the plane).

2: We can also use should have + past participle to talk about something that, if everything is normal and okay, we think has already happened. But we're not certain that everything is fine, so we use 'should have' and not the present perfect or past simple. It's often used with 'by now'.

• His plane should have arrived by now (= if everything is fine, the plane has arrived).
• John should have finished work by now (= if everything is normal, John has finished work).

We can also use this to talk about something that would have happened if everything was fine, but hasn't happened.

• Lucy should have arrived by now, but she hasn't.

Would have + past participle

1: Part of the third conditional.

• If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car (but I didn't have enough money, so I didn't buy a car).

2: Because 'would' (and will) can also be used to show if you want to do something or not (volition), we can also use would have + past participle to talk about something you wanted to do but didn't. This is very similar to the third conditional, but we don't need an 'if clause'.

• I would have gone to the party, but I was really busy.
  (= I wanted to go to the party, but I didn't because I was busy. If I hadn't been so busy, I would have gone to the party.)

• I would have called you, but I didn't know your number.
  (= I wanted to call you but I didn't know your number, so I didn't call you.)

• A: Nobody volunteered to help us with the fair
  B: I would have helped you. I didn't know you needed help.
  (= If I had known that you needed help, I would have helped you.)

Exercise 1:  Make the correct past modal form (use could have / would have / should have + past participle)

Exercise 2: 

Should have - Could have - Would have"

Time clauses

Time clauses in English Grammar

The time clauses begin with: when, whenever, while, as, since, after, before, until, as soon as, once. 

The time clause may come before or after the main clause with no change in meaning. If they refer to the future, the Simple Present is used in the time clause, andshall/will + infinitive/perfect infinitive or modal + infinitive, or imperative is used in the main clause.

When a complex clause contains a temporal clause, the time clause has future reference. The future is normally indicated by will/shall ('shall' with 'I/we') but not in the subordinate clause.

Exercise 1: before,after, as, as soon as
Exercise 2: which ofthe two conjunctions fits in the gap?

Referring to time in the past

For, Since, During or Ago

For is used when we talk about a period of time
example:
I have worked for 3 hours

 Since is used when we talk about the beginning of the action
example:
I have worked since 8 o'clock

 Ago is used as a date
example:
I worked 2 days ago

 During is used with a noun
 For is used with a period of time
Compare:

He called her during her break and talked to her for more than twenty minutes.




Exercise 1: past time expressions
Exercise 2: choose the right words
Exercise 3: prepositionsof time – during, over, for, by, until

Making Suggestions

4 ways to tell your friends what you would like to do in the next few days:

1) WHAT ABOUT/HOW ABOUT ... + Base form + -ING

What about going to the pictures tonight?

How about going to the pictures tonight?

2) WHY + Negative

Why don't we go to the swimming pool tomorrow?

3) IMPERATIVE: Let's + Base form

Let's go to the restaurant now!

4) COULD

We could visit Paris next week.

Exercise 1: click on words to build sentences
Exercise 2: choose the best option for each sentence

Predicting the future with will

Future continuous and future perfect.

Future continuous and future perfect.

A/ 'I will be doing something' (future continuous) = I will be in the middle of doing something.

The football match begins at 7.30 and ends at 9.15. So during this time, for example at 8.30, Kevin will be watching the match.

Another example:

•  I'm going on holiday on Saturday. This time next week I'll be lying on a beach or swimming in the sea.

Compare will be (do) ing and will (do):

•  Don't phone me between 7 and 8. We'll be having dinner then.

•  Let's wait for Mary to arrive and then we'll have dinner.

Compare will be -ing with other continuous forms:

• At 10 o'clock yesterday, Sally was in her office. She was working, (past)

    It's 10 o'clock now. She is in her office. She is working, (present)

    At 10 o'clock tomorrow; she will be in her office. She will be working.

B/ We also use will be doing in a different way: to talk about complete actions in the future:

• A: If you see Sally, can you ask her to phone me?

   B: Sure. I'll be seeing her this evening, so I'll tell her then.

• What time will your friends be arriving tomorrow?

In these examples will be -ing is similar to the present continuous for the future.

You can use Will you be -ing...? To ask about somebody's plans, especially if you want
something or want them to do something. For example:      

• A: Will you be passing the post office when you're out?
   B: Probably. Why?
   A: I need some stamps. Could you get me some? 

• A: Will you be using your bicycle this evening? B: No. Do you want to borrow it?

C/ We use will have (done) (future perfect) to say that something will already be complete. Kevin's football match ends at 9.15. So after this time, for example at 9.30, the match will have finished. Some more examples:

• Sally always leaves for work at 8.30 in the morning, so she won't be at home at 9 o'clock. She'll have gone to work.

•  We're late. The film will already have started by the time we get to the cinema.

Compare will have (done) with other perfect forms:

•  Ted and Amy have been married for 24 years, (present perfect)

    Next year they will have been married for 25 years.

    When their first child was born, they had been married for three years. (past perfect)

Exercise 1:  future continuous and future perfect. 

Exercise 2: futuresimple, future continuous or future perfect?

Exercise 3: futurePerfect Simple and Continuous.

Get or have something done

Causatives: Have and Get

We use a causative verb when we want to talk about something that someone else did for us or for another person. It means that the subject caused the action to happen, but didn't do it themselves. Maybe they paid, or asked, or persuaded the other person to do it. For example, we can say:

• I cleaned my house. (This means I cleaned it myself).

If I paid someone to clean it, of course I can say:

• A cleaner cleaned my house.

But, another way is to use a causative construction. So I can also say:

• I had my house cleaned.

In a sense, using a causative verb is similar to using a passive. The important thing is that the house is now clean. We don't focus on who did the cleaning.

Have + object + past participle (have something done)

We usually use 'have something done' when we are talking about paying someone to do something for us. It's often used for services. The form is 'subject + have + object + past participle'.

• I had my car washed.
• John will have his house painted.

Get + object + past participle (get something done)

We can also use 'subject + get + object + past participle'. This has the same meaning as 'have', but is less formal.

• The students get their essays checked.
• I'll get my hair cut next week.
• He got his washing machine fixed.

Exercise 1: havesomething done / get something done

Exercise 2:  havesomeone do something / get someone to do something

Would rather and would prefer

Rather and Prefer

Rather and Prefer are words used to show a choice from different options.

Rather/Prefer Structure

The structure of these sentences are the same except for one small difference: rather is followed by a base verb and prefer is followed by an infinitive.

Subject + Would + Rather + Base Verb

• I would rather live in a warm country.
• I would rather go to a different restaurant.

Subject + Would + Prefer + To + Verb

• I would prefer to live in a warm country.
• She would prefer to meet on Monday.

Not comes before the verb with both rather and prefer.

• I would rather not go to work today.
• I would prefer not to play a game.

Exercise 1: would rather / would prefer to

Exercise 2:  would Rather - Test 

Exercise 3: would rather, would prefer, prefer

Passive with prepositions

Present Continuous Passive

Forming Present Progressive Passive

Affirmative Form        Object + am / is / are + being + verb3

Question Form            Am / is / are + Object + being + verb3 ?

Something is being done by someone at the moment.

Active : The postman is delivering the mail.
Passive: The mail is being delivered by the postman.

Active : Harry Potter is measuring the room. 
Passive: The room is being measured by Harry Potter.

Active : The coach is congratulating the team at the moment.
Passive: The team is being congratulated by the coach.

Active : Are they opening the gifts now?
Passive: Are the gifts being opened by them ? (now)

Present Perfect Passive

Forming Present Perfect Passive

Affirmative Form            Object + have / has + been + verb3 (past participle)

Question Form                 Have / has + object + been + verb3 (past participle)

Something has been done by someone at sometime up to now.

Active : They have cleaned the clinic.
Passive: The clinic has been cleaned by them.

Active : Thomas has written many books.
Passive: Many books have been written by Thomas.

Active : Have the police caught the man?
Passive: Has the man been caught by the police?

Active : UPS has delivered the letters.
Passive: The letters have been delivered by UPS.

Exercise 1:  Put the following sentences into passive voice. (present continuous passive)

Exercise 2: Put the following sentences into passive voice. (present perfect passive)