Learning

Reporting statements

March 1, 2013

Reporting statements is relatively easy. The most common verb used to report statements is tell. As a general rule, the changes in the tense of the reported speech depend upon the tense of the reporting verb in the direct speech. Thus when the reporting verb is in the past tense, the tense of the reported [...]

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Future with will and going to

February 7, 2013

In English there are several different ways to talk about the future. However, future forms with will and going to are the most common among these. Although both of these structures are used to talk about future, there is an important difference between them. The forms with will (simple future tense) are mainly used to [...]

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Must and have (got) to

January 21, 2013

Both must and have got to can be used to talk about necessity. They are usually interchangeable; however, have got to is mainly used to talk about obligations that come from outside. On the other hand, must is mainly used to talk about the feelings and wishes of the speaker and the hearer. In American [...]

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Can and be able to

January 18, 2013

Both can and be able to can be used to talk about ability and permission. In some cases, both structures are possible. However, in some other cases only one of these two structures are used. She can knit. OR She is able to knit. He can work on a computer. OR He is able to [...]

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