PAST MODALS: Might've, Could've, Should've, Would've, Must've....

today I've got an advanced English grammar lesson for you we're going to look at using modal's in the past might have may have could have should have must have and would have it's a lot to study in one lesson really a lot it's like 12 hours of grammar that we're gonna do in about 10 minutes supercharge styles so prepare yourself get yourself a cup of coffee switch off your phone go to the bathroom sit comfortably whatever and pay attention this requires investigation loud rock music [Music] hello welcome to let them talk the channel that goes deeper into everything about the English language and before we get into the grammar just a word about pronunciation okay so my tap can be contracted to might've must have to must have could have to could have should have to should have would have to would've these you you can say you can write them to but you you might also hear some informal contractions that can be spoken but never written never written touches may have coulda woulda shoulda okay and I won't say anything more about that because we already have two videos covering this subject and I'll put a link to them in the description so let's get straight into the grammar okay so may have and might have are used to speculate about the past is speculate pat the pass and a common question is what's the difference between may have and might have and essentially may have has a slightly higher level of probability but don't worry about that too much because most of the time they are interchangeable however there is an exception to this and I'll explain that in a moment but first of all let's have a look at some examples why isn't Karen at work it's half past nine I don't know she might have missed her train she might have missed a train you could also say she may have missed her train okay I can't find my keys anywhere I may have left them in the kitchen you could also say I might have left them in the kitchen now when you talk about a probability in the past that didn't happen you have to use might have okay you can't use make up so an example of that the car came round the corner so fast I might have been killed I might have been killed but fortunately I wasn't so these type of sentences you talking about possibilities that didn't happen okay so you have to use might have and not may have okay you can use may have or might have with a continuous verb just by adding bean + verb + ing okay they don't yet know why he crashed the car but they say he might have been drinking he might have been drinking for the negative just add not after the modal verb okay Kanoa is a wonderful healthy food that you might not have of sick Kanoa or quinoa I don't know anyway so in all these sentences we are discussing a probability in the past these are maybe yes maybe no situations about the past now it's your turn can you give an an answer to these questions why has she been vomiting ah she might have eaten some I know some dodgy seafood Georgie just means suspicious quality by the way okay why is she crying she might have been arguing with her boyfriend okay did you get those and finally to ask a question just use do you think you may do you think you might have okay she's not here today do you think she might have forgotten the appointment you say you can't find the document anyway do you think you may have lost it [Music] so could have is sometimes similar to may have and might have and in some cases you can use both but well many have and might have speculate about the past could have refers to ability or capability in the past let's have a look at some examples I could have become a professional footballer but I broke my leg okay so here we are looking at what you were capable of doing in the past that didn't happen okay you could have passed your exams if you had studied harder so you had an ability in the past that you didn't but you didn't do it okay why isn't he here today is he sick no not at all he could have come but he decided to stay at home and play the ukulele okay so he was able to come but he chose not to do so for the negative to talk about an impossibility use couldn't have passed past participial so remember might not have and may not have mean possibly not okay could not have couldn't have means definitely not for example even if I started for a thousand hours I couldn't have passed the exam okay it was really impossible Wow a hundred percent congratulations you couldn't have done any better you can also use could have to offer gentle criticism for example you're an hour late you could have let me know you could have called me okay so that's gentle criticism if you wanted to be a bit stronger use should have okay you should have called me [Music] now as I'm sure you know must in the present is used to talk about obligation I must buy some bananas you mustn't smoke in here but to talk about obligation in the past you use had - okay not must have okay yesterday I had to buy bananas and for a negative you would use not allowed - you weren't allowed to smoke there okay a common mistake is to use must have to talk about obligation in the past but as we've seen it isn't okay so when do use must have plus a past participle we use it when we want to talk about what we believe is certain in the in the past okay what we believe is certain so if we go back to the examples we looked at for might have and may have we can use the same sentences with must have if we believe it was a certainty so for example why isn't Karen here it's half past nine she must have missed her train there can be no other explanation she's always here okay where are my keys ah I must have left them in the kitchen there's no other place I could have left them okay okay now it's your turn can you make a sentence here with must have last week he was poor but I just saw him driving a brand new Ferrari ah he must have won the lottery he must have won the lottery or you could say he must have stolen it it doesn't matter whatever you believe is certain is okay you can use must have but be careful though we don't usually use must have with a negative instead use couldn't have or couldn't've to talk about negative certainty why isn't he here he couldn't have forgotten he never forgets our reunions now you should have + past participle to talk about past mistakes and to criticize past behavior the negative is shouldn't have okay let's have a look at some examples I should have won the golden medal instead of the silver but I didn't because of my stupid mistake where have you been you should have been here an hour ago okay you shouldn't have you should have been here an hour ago you shouldn't have said that to her she was very upset they shouldn't have allowed him to drink wine he was only 15 easy huh [Music] we use would have plus past participle as a past conditional to talk not only about a past possibility but also about the consequences of that action and how it affects the time afterwards so let's have a look at some examples of that if I had passed my exams I would have become a doctor I would have become a doctor I would have been here an hour ago but I missed my train the negative is wouldn't have okay he wouldn't have crashed if you hadn't drunk all that whiskey she wouldn't have slapped him if he hadn't been so rude okay that's it I hope you learned something and you can practice this by leaving some sentences in the comments with might have should have may have must have would have thank you for watching as always stay mellow and see you in the next video [Music]

Channel: LetThemTalkTV

Views: 131,424

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Keywords: Past modals, modal verbs, auxilliary verbs, English grammar, must have, could have, may have, might have, should have, would have, past conditionals, past oblication, past probability, past criticism, yt:cc=on, letthemtalktv, Gideon, British pronunciation, cours d'anglais

Id: WRUjQvBjkRA

Length: 12min 42sec (762 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 22 2018