Coulda – Woulda – Shoulda!
ExpEnglish is always going further.
There’s no excuse. Modal Verbs are not that difficult.
The chart below is to supplement the work being done by my advanced students of English – at ExpEnglish – because it includes the perfect tenses.
Beginning students – or those less sure of themselves – might skip the perfect tenses for the moment and concentrate on the regular tenses of these modal verbs.
One note on the title - could’ve/would’ve/should’ve – is pronounced like – and sometimes mispelled like – “could of / would of / should of” and so is sometimes shortened like in the title – particularly in the New York area where the regional accent substitutes many complex sounds for a blunt /uh/ as in the famous “fuhgehduhBOWdit.”
The meaning of the title then is “No Excuses. No could’ves, would’ves or should’ves that refer to a past you wish was different.”
I omitted the perfect tense of “needn’t have” – though you may hear it. American speakers will not likely distinguish the difference and are more likely to say “I didn’t need to go to the office today.” Or “I didn’t even have to go to the office today.” rather than the perfect “I needn’t have gone to the office today.” In American English the first two sentences are indistinguishable from the third – and preferred.
| Modal | Meaning | Example |
| can | ability | Esther can play the trumpet. |
| permission | Yes, you can go with your friends. | |
| potentiality | A woodpecker can eat 40 bugs a minute. | |
| negative possibility (perfect). affirmative will only be used to refute the negative. | - You can’t have seen me. I was at home.
- I can have though. I was driving past your house. |
|
| could | ability | She could talk when she was just two. |
| permission | She said you could go with me. | |
| potentiality | It could start raining. | |
| possibility or criticism (perfect) | He could have taken an umbrella. | |
| speculation (perfect) | It could have been raining but I don’t know. | |
| may | potentiality | It may rain. |
| permission | Yes, you may go with your friends. | |
| speculation (perfect) | He may have gone with his friends, but I don’t know. | |
| might | potentiality | It might rain. |
| obligation | She might show some appreciation. | |
| criticism (perfect) | She might have shown some appreciation. | |
| speculation (perfect) | She might have shown some appreciation but you simply didn’t notice. | |
| will | promise | He will be there. |
| certainty | The sun will rise tomorrow. | |
| command | Freshman will present themselves at 9 am. | |
| future time | They will probably be here later. | |
| future time (perfect) | They will probably have been here and gone. | |
| would | past habit | Sometimes she would play the piano. |
| obstinacy | You would do that, wouldn’t you? | |
| criticism/hypothesize (perfect) | If you would have been here, you would know. | |
| shall | promise | I shall be there. |
| legal command | The Chairman shall present the budget. | |
| future | We shall need to see at that time. | |
| future (perfect) | We shall have seen by that time. | |
| should | weak obligation | You should study for the test. |
| possibility | If she should arrive later, tell her I was here. | |
| criticism (perfect) | She should have arrived on time. | |
| ought to / oughtn’t /
ought not |
weak obligation | You ought to study for the test.
You oughtn’t worry too much. You ought not worry yourself. |
| criticism (perfect) | You ought to have studied harder. | |
| must | strong obligation | You must study harder. |
| deduction (perfect) | The streets are wet. It must have rained. | |
| speculation (perfect) | She must have arrived by now. |
