hello everyone how are you today this is Marc I'm doing great thanks for asking
he can speak English very well meditating could be the solution for
stress they can sing in class can I have a word with you you may leave the class
whenever you need to Rome may be the safest city in the world may I help you
in this lesson we're going to take a look at can could and may so stay tuned
I've already talked about modal verbs such as ought to shall would if you wish
to watch those lessons you may click here however what is a modal verb well a
modal verb is an auxiliary verb used to talk about possibility ability
permission requests and offers this lesson we're going to talk about CAN
and COULD and MAY CAN is used for a present situation and COULD for a
conditional sentence or a past situation so first of all let's look at
the three types of formulas for a positive statement we use the subject
plus CAN or COULD plus the base of the verb so without TO and then the object
for a negative statement we use the subject plus CAN plus NOT so CANNOT
or CAN'T or COULD plus not plus the base of the verb without TO plus the object if
we want to make a question then we need WH-question word if any then we need CAN
or COULD then the subject and then the base of the verb so we have four different
types of situations where we can use CAN or COULD so indicating ability in the
present or in the past the past with COULD so my first introductory example was
he can speak English very well so he can speak English very well so
this CAN is used for an ability he CAN speak English very well for a past
situation we use COULD so we can say he couldn't he couldn't speak English ten
years ago now if we want to use CAN with another ability we can say you CAN watch
my lesson on YouTube so that CAN there means awareness through senses in
this case through your eyes through sight right awareness through sight so
you can watch my lesson on YouTube the second usage is to indicate capability
which is a little bit different than ability capability meditating could be
the solution for stress here could gives you a possibility is also a conditional
sentence right meditating could be the solution for stress it may not be but it
could be another example governments can be harsh on the poor governments can be
harsh on the poor and here means capable of having an effect on someone in this
case on the poor the third usage would be indicating prohibition for example
they can't sing in class they are not allowed they can't sing in class you
may also use MAY they MAY not or mayn't sing in class a very formal situation
they may not sing in class in a formal situation another example could be
children CANNOT bathe except in the presence of lifesavers so children
cannot can't bathe except in the presence of lifesavers now the last
usage is to indicate requests so can I have a word with you in a very informal
situation can I have a word with you could I interrupt a minute could I
interrupt a minute this would be a formal situation so for example the
meeting at a business meeting or you could even use may I open the window may
I open the window in a formal situation now let's look at MAY for a positive
sentence you would use the subject then MAY then the base of the verb and then
the object so remember without TO negative statements subject plus MAY NOT or
mayn't be base of the verb without TO plus object or interrogative sentence
you would use WH-question word plus MAY plus the subject plus the base of the
verb etc when do we use MAY then to indicate permission you may leave the
class whenever you need to this would be in a very formal situation you may leave
the class whenever you need to or you can drive up to 130 kilometers an hour
on the highway in Italy so this is a very informal situation and it means
you're allowed to right you can even use COULD you could drive up to 130
kilometers an hour on the highway in Italy so this would be a more
conditional type of sentence the second usage is to indicate
possibility Rome may be the safest city in the world this would be a very formal
situation and maybe so there is a possibility it's not for sure but there is
a possibility that Rome may be the safest city in the world that may not
sound polite to some it's possible that's not the case this is what it
means that may not sound polite to some it is possible that's not the case the
third usage is to indicate offers so like I say may I help you is very formal
but you can even say can I help you which is informal now I have a sentence
for you to complete under this video and it would be space you please tell me the
time so we have a space here so you can maybe use can could or may you please
tell me the time so write your answer under this video if you have any
comments or any requests you may also type them under this video
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today have a great day and see you next week with a new lesson take care bye bye