Modal verbs: How to use may, might and could to talk about possibilities
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2018
- Here's some Halloween grammar.
May, might and can are really useful verbs. We use them in lots of different ways but an important one is how we use them to explain when we're not sure and want express uncertainty.
You can use may might and could with the same simple structure if you're talking about the present or the future. They mean the same thing and you'll have no problems.
But do you know how to use them in the negative? That's where it gets tricky. May not and might not don't meant the same as could not (or couldn't) .
Learn how to use could and couldn't in English and about this important difference in this video
Make sure you subscribe to this channel so you can catch our next video and learn how to use these English modal verbs to talk about the past.
This is an English grammar lesson with a twist. We'll also tell you a story - a creepy story. Get ready to be scared!
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![7 Expert Ways to Use 'Might' [English Modal Verb]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7BCnz52hjoY/mqdefault.jpg)
Your story looks so real. I can't help waiting for continue of this story. I hope it might be the happy end. Thank you so much, I love your videos, make them more, please.🙏🏻
So glad you liked the story. And delighted you like the videos. We enjoy making them.
That's great! You're very creative teachers! Thank you!
So glad you liked it. Thanks for writing.
I love you and how you explain the grammatical
contents. Thank you so much for your attention.
Love from Brazil.
Thanks very much Ives. So glad you find the videos useful.
After I have subscribed on this channel, I don't miss a video. If I lose a video, it might be sad. The teachers are lovely.
I loved it. Thank you very much.
So glad you liked it Vera. Thanks for watching.
OMG, it was a such great video, that's why I love this channel.
Thanks so much teacher guzy. It's great to have you with us.
This video was good - and I like the story! But I am so looking forward to next week's video!
Delighted you like the story Mark. See you next week!
Thank you as always!
You're very welcome Sena. We're glad to have you with us.
Love this Video...And what a story
Thanks Ashish!
As a fellow teacher of English (to non-native teenagers), I greatly admire your explanations; they are engaging, interesting, clear, and cover all possibilities (without pedantic terminology!). Excellent work, J & V.
Wow! Thanks so much for these kind words Geoff. Coming from a fellow professional, they mean a lot to us. A big thank you to you for writing. :-)
Thank you very much. You gave me modals at just the right time
So glad it was useful Reuben. :-)
Great. I love your videos.
That's great to hear Inocencio. Thanks for writing.
It's perfect!!!
Thanks Dimitri! :-)
Love your video!!!!
That's great to hear. Thanks Huizhen
Thank you my teacher.
You're very welcome Rabee.
that's nice. thank you so much
You are very welcome, An Nguyen. Thanks for watching our videos.
So scary story! It might be happy end next week. I am excited waiting for a continue.
So glad you liked it Cholpon. See you next week!
Thanks very much dear teachers, I find the video useful. so I am looking forward to the next lesson about the past to show us how to do that. Bye for now!
That's great to hear Hsen. I am editing the second video now.
Awwww, poor Carter! I can't wait till next week to see what is going to happen!
Great to hear from you Elizabete. See you next week!
Great video!! thanks a lot. .Greetings from Mexico 🙂
Hello Norma. Glad you liked it!
Thanks a lot ..This video such useful that i like it much,...Again Thankss
So glad you like it. Thanks for writing. :-)
You are welcome😊
Waaaaaw
it was very useful
Thanks.
Ha! Delighted you liked it!
Seems like it’s right out of a horror movie. Simple English is getting spooky. Halloween may/might/could be here now/soon.
Oh perfect examples Mollie! Lovely to hear from you, as always.
Love the new header. 😍
Hi Statia. We might need to change it... A job for another day. :-)
Hi Vicki Hi Jay how are you doing as always your videos are very excellent I learn a lot from them
Thanks a bunch and have a great weekend
The hotel could have been 100 years old if it hadnt been demolished
Yes, that would work shanu. Well done. :-)
Thanks you!! 😊😊😊
You're very welcome Mildred.
The story and especially the explanation how to use these modal verbs are absolutely amazing.
How will it go on? I guess the curiosity of both could become so strong, that they are going to search
more details in order to get more certainty. So the story remains exciting.
Hi Wilfried. It's great to get your thoughts on this. So glad you like the story.
Really great....keep going on..
Will do, Nirmala. Thanks for your support.
Amazing. Your video is more interesting and more useful than I expected. Could I ask you a question? Can I use could,may and might in the main clause of the second conditional.If so,would you mind giving me three examples of using them.I have difficulty in their usage. Thank you so much for you wonderful explanation.
Hi Tuan. In the main clause, they're not common. But here are here are a few examples.
If I could speak Italian, I'd move to Italy. (Could is the past form of can there)
If I might ask, where are you from? (Might is the past form of may there)
We could also say 'If I may ask, where are you from?' but that's not a second conditional.
Oh my! What a scary hotel!
I hope Jay will get out of that hotel next day! Even if it was not a haunted house, it might have a bad impact on Jay's nervous system.If I were Jay, I would not even rent that room!
Thank you for sharing this interesting video! :)
Ha! It definitely wouldn't be a room I'd book either, Roman. He couldn't have checked with Trip Advisor. :-) So glad you liked the video.
Well, That hotel may has ghosts. Jay and Barter might be in trouble. They should leave that place if they could. ** ** Really love the story, Keep up good works Vicky, Jay.
Great to hear your ideas Poom. Tune in tomorrow for more! :-)
I'd pressed 'like' before I even started the video, I knew it'd be another great one, and it is indeed! Happy to see Carter starting to take part in the videos :) What a darling! In my opinion, I think the hotel manager might want to scare Jay off, to leave the room for another guest! It's just a guess :) Thanks Vicki and Jay!
Hi Ahmed. Lovely to hear from you, as always. What a good guess, though I'm surprised they could find any more guests willing to sleep in that horrible room. I'm afraid I have have some bad news about Carter. He died shortly after we shot this series. We adopted him seven or eight years ago so he has been with us since we started making videos. Sometimes he's starred in them, and sometimes he's just hung around on set at our feet while we made them. He'll be sorely missed.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos Awfully sad to hear that about Carter! I grew up in my grandpa's house, and we had three lovely dogs; they were part of the family. I know how it feels to lose a pet :( RIP Carter!
Thanks so much, Ahmed. Yes, the house feels very empty without him and we are missing him.
beautiful this story it was so stunning and hopefully could be better for jay in the haunted hotel. I am so curious and can't wait to see the next episode.
We look forward to having you back next week Mahmoud. Have a great week.
I can understand clearly what the teachers said even if i am french. You "should" make others Vlog like that. I need them
That's great to hear tdk974. You have reminded me that we haven't made a video yet about modals of obligation like must, should and have to. I'll add it to the list.Thank you.
Big fan!
:-)
Jay: It might be cold out. It's 9º.
Vicky grabs her sweater, goes outside, shocked how warm it is, realizes Jay said it "may" be cold and it's warm
Happy World Teachers' Day! Thank you so much!
Thank you very much, Soong Jay! Are you a teacher too? If so, happy World Teachers' Day to you too.
Yeeey love this creepy story
Glad to hear that Imagine Me.
day 1:we took a room in an old hotel because no other hotel excepted carter the room is cold and have bad smell
day 2: i had a nightmare about a little girl trying to kill me even carter didn't seem to be happy
day 3 :the phone is ringing and carter is going crazy i picked up the phone i heard the little girls voice she was laughing or crying i wasn't sure
day 4:i tried to change our room but we couldn't me and carter are so scared
day 5:i always feel like there is someone behind the door if someone found this diary please remember us (jay and carter)
day 6:
day 7:
day 8:
in the memories of carter R.I.P😢😢😭😭
Ha! Oh Mohammad. Day 5 cracked me up (made me burst out laughing). And then I saw days 6-8 and laughed even more. And thank you for your kind thoughts for Carter.
Hahahahaha!!!
It might be a real ghost that Jay was facing. looking forward to next episode. haha...
Nice example Yngwaa. It might indeed! See you next week!
That girl in Jay's nightmare was actualy cute not evil at all)))
Yes, I wonder why he thought she was evil. :-)
The hotel room couldn’t be creepier!
I agree with you completely Claudio. This is Jay writing back to you.
Dear Vicky and Jay.
Surprise!
You may have a whale of a time, read below...
Channel
Slava Chetin
"From Pandemonti"
By A Pushkin
Performed by
K Raykin
Happy listening.
Cheers!
:-)
Oh , poor Jay and Carter, How did they end up in such a creepy place?
Thank you very much really important topic. I hope you guys could dedicate a lesson to talk about the model verb "would" and its different uses and the different between it and will in regard to future..
Thanks very much for this suggestion Haider. Oddly enough we had another request for this the other day. It is on my list and I'll see what we can do.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos oh yes good news , thank you Vicki.
When Jay says I slammed the door but it may not work. What does may not suggesting? Is it past or future ?
And when he says it might be 200 years old. Is it future or past or present in the meaning?
Hi Anil. Great questions. When Jay slammed the window, he hoped it would stop it from rattling. But he's not sure it will stop it, so he's talking about the future there. When he said the hotel might be 200 years old, he means that's how old he thinks it is now - so present meaning.
Thanks for such a great video!
But I really wanna know the difference between "might" and "may", please...
Hi Joud. We'll be talking about this next week. Some people say 'might' suggests things are less likely and probably than 'may' but it's a matter of debate among linguists.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos OK.. Thanks 💜
Dear Vicky, this young lady is really your portrait...she's your granddaughter, isn't she?...gentle...beautiful...
Hi Natalya, This is Jay writing back to you. Vicki does have a granddaughter who looks a bit like that, but the image we used in this video came from a stock photo service we subscribe to :-)
The little girl may have been killed in that hotel and her soul has come back to revenge, but from poor Jay and Carter. They are going to try to escape but she will not let them go.
The smell comes from the kitchen. They are cooking her meat with cabbage. Unfortunately, Jay is trapped in a place with cannibals. In the end, Jay and Carter could be eaten as well.
This is what might be next week :).
Oh so many great ideas an examples here Basel. Well done! I think we'll have to employ you as our script writer. We love it.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos That's my absolute pleasure !
Hahahahaha!!!
I watched the video on permissions but I didn't see any sentence like -might I go? in the video. I didn't know if we could use might as permission. I wish if you could explain this to me.
Anyways the story that Jay says is very interesting and he is very natural to believe on his misery.
Thanks.
Another great question Anil! Yes, our video on permissions focused on can, may and could because those are the three verbs we use most to talk about permission. But we could also use 'might' instead of 'may' to ask for permission. For example: Might I leave now? Might I have the last biscuit? Might I sit here? Might is more tentative and formal than may and, as I just mentioned, less common.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos Thanks so much dear Vicky and Jay. I used to think it is not possible to use might as question.Thanks again for your sincere concern.
Hi Anil, I should have specified that I was talking about 'permission' when I said 'might' is less common. Generally in conversation, may is less common. I'll talking about whether they mean different things when we talk about possibility in my next video.
Hello great video :) I’m from France I don’t understand a thing you said don’t use couldn’t in the present or future but i see a lot of sentence in inglish use couldn’t at the present or future example I couldn’t be there tonight this sentence i don’t talking about the past but about the present you can explain
Thanks for your comment gaylord. For the example you provide "I couldn’t be there tonight" . We can only say this after the event has passed - maybe it's 23:00 at night a few hours after the event. To talk about a present or future event, we say: I can't or I won't be there tonight.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos thank you so much for answer to my question i understand what you mean with your explanation right now 🙂 i keep going to learn the language inglish maybe one day i will understand easy i hope but a lot of work to do. Keep going your Amazing Channel i like it 🙂
Real hasta la muerte, brrrr
Hi NotTay. This is Jay writing back to you. Fortunately I survived that awful hotel. Thanks so much for writing to us and thanks for watching.
Why is there one of the McKnight twins when they were little in the thumbnail? 🙈 I'm thinking it's Bailey, but might be Brooklyn haha
Ah we found these shots on a video site we subscribe to Flower Dolphin. Thanks for putting a name to the faces. :-)
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤫🤫🤫
:-)
I think modal verbs are haunted and they're a nightmare for english learners and native speakers as well.
Is it Hotel California?!😆😁
Hi Melinda. Jay here. It was scary place, wasn't it?
Simple English Videos yes, kinda. It reminds me the hospital room in Hungary when i was kid. So long long time ago.
My god i hope Mr. Jay and Carter are alright!! yes, this hotel looks like it's haunted!! oh!!!!
So may be
And
Maybe are different
Hello Karl. Yes, grammatically they are different but in terms of meaning they are very similar. Maybe is an adverb which means it modifies a verb or adjective and it means 'perhaps'.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos thank you. Because I once heard that maybe was wrong. Like in dutch we use the word misschien (maybe/perhaps) and for may be we use kan zijn. Kan zijn also be translated to could be. It means the same as may be I think.
Thank you for your videos btw. I learn a lot :)
maybe I can't sleep tonight.
OR
I may not be able to sleep tonight.
Are this sentences similar?
Great question! We'd say 'Maybe I won't be able to sleep tonight' because we use 'be able to' rather than can when we talk about ability in the future. We've made another video about that and the link is here: ua-cam.com/video/b8S6RQI1_Zk/v-deo.html. But apart from that, the meaning of these two sentences is much the same. Maybe is an adverb which means it modifies a verb or adjective. It this case it modifies the verb 'be able to' and it means 'perhaps'.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos
Thank you very much for the quick answer.
How could he get a nightmare in fact he couldn’t sleep?
Yes, cacing tanah. That was a very scary place!!! Thanks for watching our video.
First commentary
Ha! Yes, you're first, Luis.
:-)
Noice
Thanks ImMeed
Might not & may not - it's possible that it's not
Couldn't - it was not possible
This hotel is haunted because It's 200 years old,more like 800 or 900 years old😂😂😂😂😂😂. Meme!!! xD . Anyways, maybe Jay and Carter are safe, but their heartbeat is 210. And they have 24% chance to survive because they're 76% in danger. The reason why I think they have smaller chance of survive than danger is because this is the first time they're in that dusty,old hotel ever. And also because that nightmare is the creepiest one ever. So since I'm having a super long answer, try to answer this:
1) Are they stuck in this hotel forever?
2) Is that nightmare will come true?
3) Did they have another nightmare?
4) Is there something unpleasant to them?
Pick a question and tell us what you think. Try to give as many answers as you can and let us know. And that's it. Bye!
Hi Thinh Nguyen Duc. This is Jay writing back to you. We managed to escape the hotel and survived :- ). Thanks for your wonderful post and thanks for watching our videos.
Hahahahaha!!!
Hunted.
I'm so sorry for what you and Carter have been through in that hotel. It might be haunted, so you shouldn't have stayed in that location that night and you could have changed it or even sleep in your car for safety. 😂😂😂
Ha! Great examples. Yes, sleeping in the car might have been a better option, Ra'ed. We'll find out more next week.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos
I'm eager to know what will happen next week.
Brrrrr
Make a fresh lesson about 'would' next..?
Oh yes, that's a great suggestion. Thanks Habin.
This episode is very horrible for me! Especially the environment of the hotel and the background music. However, the little girl is very cute.
That hotel was a very scary place. I wouldn't like to stay there. I think the little girl is cut too Wanchen, though Jay thinks she's evil.