Will
F 0 E 0 Making personal predictions ex. I don't think the Queen will ever abdicate.
F 0 E 0 Talking about the present with certainty ex. I'm sure you will understand that there is he can do
F 0 E 0 talking about the future with certainty ex. I won't be in the office until 11; I've got a meeting.
F 0 E 0 Talking about the past with certainty ex. I'm sure you will have noticed that attendance has fallen sharply.
F 0 E 0 Reassuring someone Don't worry! You'll settle down quickly, I'm sure.
F 0 E 0 Making a decision ex. For the main course I'll have grilled tuna.
F 0 E 0 Making a semi-formal request ex. Will you open the window, please? It's very hot in here.
F 0 E 0 Offering to do something ex. You stay there! I'll fetch the drinks.
F 0 E 0 Making a promise or a threat ex. You can count on me! I'll be there at 8 o'clock sharp.
Shall
Shall is a form of will, used mostly in the first person. Its use, however, is decreasing, and in any case in spoken English it
would be contracted to "-ll" and be indistinguishable from will. The only time you do need to use it is in questions, when:
F 0 E 0 Making offers ex. Shall I fetch you another glass of wine?
F 0 E 0 Making suggestions ex. Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
May & Might
May & might sometimes have virtually the same meaning; they are used to talk about possibilities in the past, present or
future. ("Could" is also sometimes used). May is sometimes a little bit "more sure" (50% chance); whereas might expresses
more doubt (maybe only a 30% chance). May & might are used, then, for:
F 0 E 0 Talking about the present or future with uncertainty ex. She may be back in her office: the lecture finished ten
minutes ago.
They can also sometimes be used for talking about permission, but usually only in formal situations. Instead of saying May
I open a window? we would say Is it all right/OK if I open a window? or Can I open a window? for example. You might,
however, see:
Ex. Students may not borrow equipment without written permission.
May
F 0 E 0 Talking about things that can happen in certain situations ex. If the monitors are used in poorly lit places, some
users may experience headaches.
Might
F 0 E 0 Saying that something was possible, but did not actually happen ex. You saw me standing at the bus stop! You
might have stopped and given me a lift!
Would
F 0 E 0 As the past of will, for example in indirect speech ex. "The next meeting will be in a month's time" becomes
F 0 E 0 Polite requests and offers (a 'softer' form of will) ex. Would you like another cup of tea?
F 0 E 0 In conditionals, to indicate 'distance from reality': imagined, unreal, impossible situations ex. If I ruled the
world, every day would be the first day of Spring.
F 0 E 0 After 'wish', to show regret or irritation over someone (or something's) refusal or insistence on doing
something (present or future)
I wish you wouldn't keep interrupting me.
(This is a complicated area! Check in a good grammar book for full details!)
Talking about past habits (similiar meaning to used to)
When I was small, we would always visit relatives on Christmas Day.
Future in the past
The assassination would become one of the key events of the century.
Can & Could
F 0 E 0 Talking about ability ex. Can you speak Mandarin? (present) She could play the piano when she was five. (past)
F 0 E 0 Making requests ex. Can you give me a ring at about 10? Could you speak up a bit please? (slightly more formal,
polite or 'softer')
F 0 E 0 Asking permission ex. Can I ask you a question? Ex. Could I ask you a personal question? (more formal, polite or
indirect)
