MODAL VERBS

A: I see its raining again.

B: Yes, but its still early. It can may/might/could clear up later.
A: I was planning to go to the sea.
B: Well, the weather couldnt may not/might not be so bad down there. Its often better on the coast.
A: Yes. Actually, if I go, could I borrow your new camera?
B: Yes, you could can/may. But be careful with it, please.
Expressar permisso
can ou may so usados para formular um pedido polido ou dar/negar permisso. May mais formal
do que can.
o Can/May I open the window, please? Yes, of course you can/may. / No, Im sorry, you
cant/may not.
o You wanted to borrow my printer. OK, you can/may.
could pode ser usado em pedidos, mas no usado para dar/negar permisso.
o Could I look at your map, please? Yes, you can/may (could).
o Im sorry, but you cant (couldnt) park here. This is private.
Expressar possibilidade e incerteza
may/might/could (mas no can) expressam que algo /ser possivelmente o caso.
o A: The phones ringing.
o B: It may/might/could (can) be for me. Im expecting a call. [Esta ligao pode/poderia ser
para mim...]
o A: How much will the repair cost?
o B: I dont know. But it may/might/could (can) be quite expensive. [Isso pode/poder ser
bastante caro.]
may/might not (no cant/couldnt) expressa que algo possivelmente no o caso.
o A: The phone is ringing. Arent you going to anwer it?
o B: It may/might not be for me. Perhaps its for you. [= possvel que a ligao no seja para
mim.]
Mas:
o A: Look, the postmans coming with a big parcel. Are you expecting something?
o B: No, it cant/couldnt be for me. Im not expecting anything. [= impossvel que o pacote
seja para mim.]
MUST
.A: Back from the dentist already?
B: Yes, I hadnt to didnt have to wait long.
A: What did she say? Are your teeth OK?
B: Well, she must had to put a new filling in this tooth here.
A: Oh. But the other teeth are OK?
B: Yes, I mustnt neednt / dont have to go back again till next year.
ter de, dever, precisar, ser necessrio: must, have to
must no tem nenhuma forma no passado, nem no present perfect, nem no future. O verbo
substitutivo have to.
o Simple present: I must / have to call Bill. [Eu tenho de ligar para o Bill.]
o Simple past: We had to (must) phone the doctor. [Era necessrio ligar para o mdico.]
o Present perfect: I have / havent had to do this often. [Eu (no) precisei fazer isso muitas
vezes.]
o Future: You will / wont have to wait. [Voc (no) ter que esperar.]
mustnt neednt dont have to
no precisar expresso por neednt ou por dont/doesnt have to
o I neednt go / dont have to (mustnt) go yet. [Eu ainda no tenho de/no preciso ir agora.]
o You neednt worry. [Voc no precisa se preocupar.]
o I dont have to work on Thursday. Its a holiday. [Eu no preciso trabalhar...]
must not corresponde a no dever e s pode ser usado no simple present:
o I mustnt forget. Its Ann birthday tomorrow. [No posso esquecer...]
Perguntas e negao com have to
As negaes e perguntas com have to formam presente e passado com alguma das formas de do.
o I dont have to go yet. Does Ann have to go? Yes, she does. / No, she doesnt.
o We didnt have to wait long. Did you have to call the police? Yes, we did. / No, we
didnt.
Usamos must ou have to no presente?
O uso de must e have to sobrepe-se no presente. Erros podem ser evitados da seguinte maneira:
o Ordem: must
Parent: You must be home by 9:30.
All bags must be left at the reception.
o Para expressar os prprios sentimentos (a convico pessoal): must
We must meet more often.
I must give up smoking.
o Para relatar o que est sendo / foi ordenado por outros: have to
Child: My dad is awful. I have to be home by 9:30.
We have to pay at the machine before we fetch the car.
o Perguntas: have to
Do we have to pay now?
Where do we have to park?
CAN
A: How was the French holiday?
B: Fine. I can to sail can sail now. I did a course there.
A: With a French trainer?
B: Yes, but she spoke English. Can you French? Can you speak French?
A: No, I cant. But a lot of French people speak English, dont they?
B: Yes, they do. One day I needed some medicine at a chemists and could was able to ask for it in English.
poder, saber, conseguir: can, be able to
Can no existe no present perfect nem no future. Esses tempos so formados com a forma
substitutiva be able to.
o Simple present: I can speak French. I cant speak Italian. (no) sei
o Simple past: At six she could read. She couldnt swim. (no) sabia / He was able to call the
police because he had a mobile phone with him. conseguiu
o Present perfect: I have been able to find Tom. I havent been able to find Jill. (no) consegui
o Future: We will be able to meet. We wont be able to talk along. (no) poderemos
Can/cant vem com infinitivo sem to.
No simple past, geralmente se usa could para expressar uma capacidade/habilidade.
o I could swim when I was four.
Para indicar que algum conseguiu algo numa nica situao, usa-se was/were able to. Em perguntas
e frases negativas, could pode tambm ser usado.
o Luckily I was able to (could) find a shop that was still open.
o Could you find / Were you able to find a shop that was still open?
o I couldnt find / wasnt able to find a shop that was still open.
Can usado para oferecer ou propor algo com vistas ao futuro, agora.
o Today is not possible, but we can meet tomorrow if you like.
Se a capacidade/habilidade de fazer algo ainda no estiver dada, deve-se usar will be able to.
o Hes broken his leg, but he will be able to (can) walk again soon.
A no ser em respostas curtas (p. ex. Yes, I can), can no pode ficar sozinho (isto , sem outro
verbo).
o I can speak French (can French). Eu sei francs.
o I dont cook very often. My husband can do it (can it) better. Meu marido cozinha melhor.
Verbos de percepo sensorial
Esses verbos see, hear, smell, taste e touch so geralmente usados com can ou could para
expressar uma percepo momentnea.
o I can see/hear/smell the sea. Vejo/ouo/sinto o mar.
o I could taste something bitter in the soup. Senti algo amargo na sopa.
Present Perfect Continuous
.A: How long are you living have you been living here now, Andrew?
B: Over ten years. We came when Sally got a job at the new hospital.
A: Ive been knowing Ive known her for a long time, but I never realized that she once worked at the
hospital.
B: Well, she didnt like it much. Thats why she changed to the university.
A: She works has been working there since Jack and I came here.
Forma: have / has been ing
o Ive been reading. Sue has been working.
Negao e perguntas como no present perfect (Unit 7)
o We havent been watching TV.
o Have you been looking for us? Yes, I have.
Uso: A forma contnua do present perfect expressa que algo comeou no passado e dura at o presente.
Since indica o momento inicial; for, a durao de uma ao.
Tom has been sitting here since 9 oclock.
X-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-X>
Tom sat down. Now.
Examples:
o Tom has been sitting (Tom is sitting) here since 9 oclock.
o O Tom est sentado aqui desde as nove horas.
o Weve been waiting (We are waiting) for an hour.
o Estamos esperando h uma hora.
o Ive been living and working (I live and work) here since 1995.
o Estou morando e trabalhando aqui desde 1995.
o Is she ill? She has been eating (She is eating) so little recently.
o Ela est doente? Ela tem comido to pouco ultimamente.
Ao contrrio do uso em portugus, o verbo no pode ficar no simple present (veja tambm unit 9).
Diferenas de uso entre a forma contnua e a forma simples do present perfect
Com determinados verbos (p.ex., live, work), ambas as formas podem ser usadas sem distino.
o I have been living here for a long time. / I have lived here for a long time.
o Estou morando aqui h muito tempo.
o Ed has been working for IBM since 1999. / Ed has worked for IBM since 1999.
o O Ed trabalha desde 1999 na IBM.
A forma contnua no possvel com verbos como know, have etc. (veja units 4 e 9).
o I have been knowing Janet for 10 years. I have known Janet for 10 years.
o Conheo a Janet h dez anos.
o I have been having this cold for a week. I have had this cold for a week.
o Estou resfriado h uma semana.
A forma contnua no possvel quando always indica todo o tempo transcorrido at agora.
o Ive always been driving a Ford. Ive always driven a Ford.
o At hoje, s tive carros da Ford.
Past Perfect
A: Sorry Im late. My train was late because of the snow.
B: I was lucky. When I left home, they already cleared had already cleared the roads.
A: Is there any coffee?
B: There should be. When I looked in the kitchen a few minutes ago, someone has just put had just put the
machine on.
A: Good. My feet are like ice. I need something hot to warm me up.
B: Like Jane. Her bus was very late. When it finally arrived, she was waiting had been waiting in the cold
for over 40 minutes.
Forma
Forma simples: had(nt) + particpio
o I arrived at 5.00. By 6.30 I had unpacked. I had had a shower. I hadnt eaten.
o Had you phoned home? Yes, I had. / No, I hadnt.
Forma contnua: had(nt) been ing
o When the bus came, I had been waiting for 3 minutes. I hadnt been waiting long.
o Had you been hurrying? Yes, I had. / No, I hadnt.
Uso: O past perfect indica algo que se encerrou.
o 7 oclock: Toms plane landed.
o 8 oclock: I got to the airport.
o 9 oclock (now): When I got to the airport, Toms plane had already landed.
A forma contnua do past perfect indica que algo tinha comeado antes de determinado momento no
passado e estava durando at aquele momento. A durao freqentemente indicada com for ou
since.
o He had been waiting for a whole hour / since 8 oclock.
o Ele j estava esperando havia uma hora / desde as oito horas.
Verbos como know, have etc. no podem ser usados na forma contnua (veja lista na unit 4).
o I hadnt known (hadnt been knowing) that he would take an earlier flight.


Diferenas de uso: past perfect continuous / forma simples simple past
A forma contnua enfatiza a ao e sua durao; a forma simples expressa o resultado final. A forma
contnua no pode ser usada quando se indica um resultado (pergunta quanto?, quantos? (veja
unit 12)
o He had been looking round the airport shops.
o He had bought a book and two magazines.
Quando ocorrem duas aes consecutivas e a segunda expressa uma conseqncia lgica da primeira
ou uma reao a ela, ambas so expressas pelo simple past.
o We left the terminal building and went to the car park.
Caso se queira expressar que a primeira ao foi concluda antes, ela fica no past perfect.
o I had started the engine when Tom asked if he could drive.
Em oraes subordinadas com as soon as, after, before e until, pode-se usar o past perfect ou o
simple past.
o As soon as / After we (had) left the airport, it started raining. It didnt stop before / until we
(had) got home.
Present Perfect x Simple Past
.A: Ann and I have seen saw the new Spielberg movie yesterday.
B: Was it good?
A: Yes, but the book is better. I have read read it on holiday.
B: Youve been to the cinema a lot recently.
A: Yes, I was have been there three times so far this month.
B: I know! You went with me last week.
Present Perfect
O present perfect indica que algo aconteceu em algum momento do passado.
o I have been to the USA. (I went there in 1999.)
o Tom says he has seen this film before. (He saw it on RTL a few months ago.)
Em perguntas, freqentemente algum quer saber se algo aconteceu no passado (em todo o passado
at agora).
o Have you ever been to Australia? Yes, I have. (When did you go there?)
o Has Tom phoned? Yes, he has. (When did he ring?)
Simple Past
O simple past indica que algum estado ou ao estava concludo num momento especfico do
passado.
o (I have been to the USA.) I went there in 1999.
o (Tom says he has seen this film before.) He saw it on RTL a few months ago.
Em perguntas, freqentemente algum quer saber quando (isto , em que momento do passado) algo
aconteceu.
o (Have you ever been to Australia? Yes, I have.) When did you go there?
o (Has Tom phoned? Yes, he has.) When did he ring?
Em textos coerentes, relata-se freqentemente no present perfect um fato sem a indicao de
circunstncias concretas (sobretudo sem indicar o momento exato). Detalhes adicionais sobre as
razes e o desenrolar dos acontecimentos so depois apresentados no simple past.
o Ive been to Chile > Really? Where did you go? What did you see?
o John has broken his arm. > He fell off his bike yesterday.
o Ive lost my watch. > It happened yesterday evening somewhere in town.
Present perfect e simple past com ou sem indicao de tempo
Ambas as formas so usadas com palavras sinalizadoras tpicas. Em frases com o simple past, indica-
se determinado momento.
o I have visited Italy before. > We spent our holidays there again last year.
o I have seen the film Casablanca 15 times so far. > I first saw it when I was a teenager 20
years ago.
Mesmo quando no se d indicao temporal exata, o uso do simple past obrigatrio se o
acontecimento s pode ter ocorrido em determinado momento do passado.
o Workers have found a 2000-year-old building. > The Romans built it. This place was a
Roman town.
o Sheila has lived in lots of different countries. > She was born in New Zealand.
o I have read Hamlet. > Its one of the most famous plays Shakespeare wrote.
O present perfect e sua referncia ao presente
O present perfect muitas vezes indica um acontecimento que, de alguma forma, tem efeito sobre o
presente (por isso o nome present perfect).
o Ive been to Scotland. [= Eu conheo a Esccia.]
o Theyve closed the road! [= Agora precisamos pegar um desvio.]