Can for ability and will for future

In her hotel room, Anne rings a number. John Barbour, the private detective, answers the phone. JOHN Hello, Barbours Private Investigation. John Barbour speaking. ANNE Hello. Can you find missing people? JOHN Sometimes we can. Have you lost somebody? ANN Yes. JOHN Perhaps youd like to tell me about it? ANN Can I make an appointment please? JOHN When would you like to come in? ANNE Is tomorrow okay? JOHN Lets see Yes, I can see you at ten oclock. Will that suit you? ANNE Okay, thankyou. (consults business card) 23 Mitchell Street is that right? JOHN Thats right. Second floor. ANNE Okay. See you then. Goodbye. JOHN Goodbye. He puts down the phone and celebrates. In her hotel room, Anne puts the phone down, and rings again. CLERK

Hello? ANNE Hello. Reception? What time is it please? CLERK Its five oclock. ANNE And what time do you serve dinner? CLERK The restaurant opens in an hour, and dinner is served between six and nine pm. ANNE And breakfast? CLERK Breakfast is served between seven and nine thirty am maam. ANNE Thank you. CLERK Youre welcome. Anne puts the phone down, then notices the photo by her bed and picks it up again. There is a tear in her eye.

- Notes
1. Making An Appointment - 2. Can - 3. Will and 'll - 4. The Time 5. Preposition with Time
1. MAKING AN APPOINTMENT

ANNE Can I make an appointment please? JOHN When would you like to come in? When we say a specific time, we use at. Ill see you at ten oclock. Ill see you at half-past four. JOHN Lets see Yes, I can see you at ten oclock.

2. CAN

Can means 'able to'. I can see you = I am able to see you. To ask a question using can, change the order of I and can Statement I can see you. He can see you. We can see you. They can see you. Question Can I see you? Can he see you? Can we see you? Can they see you?

ANNE Can you find missing people? JOHN Sometimes we can.

3. WILL AND 'LL

As weve seen before, the word will is used to show that we are talking about the future. I will see you tomorrow. Usually, in conversation, we shorten this to: Ill see you tomorrow.

The other contractions are: he will hell she will shell it will itll you will youll we will well they will theyll
4. THE TIME

For exact hours we say o' clock. 4:00 = Its four oclock. 10:00 = Its ten oclock. We can also just say: Its ten. Often we add a.m.(for any time after twelve midnight to twelve midday.) or p.m. (for any time after twelve midday to twelve midnight). Its ten a.m. Or Its ten p.m. For half-way between the hours, we use half-past. 4:30 = Its half-past four. or we can just say: Its four-thirty(p.m. or a.m.). For quarter hours we say a quarter past or a quarter to. 4:15 = Its a quarter past four. 4:45 = Its a quarter to five. Or we can just say: Its four fifteen. Its four forty-five. For any time we can say a number of minutes past an hour up to half-past, or a number of minutes toan hour after half-past. 4:10 = Its ten past four 4:25 = Its twenty-five past four. 4:35 = Its twenty-five to five. 4:50 = Its ten to five. Or we can just say: Its four ten; four twenty-five; four thirty-five; or four fifty.
5. PREPOSITIONS WITH TIME

The prepositions used with time are: in; at; on; for; from; until at = a particular time. Ill see you at ten oclock. JOHN Lets see Yes, I can see you at ten oclock.

in= a period of time in the future. Ill see you in an hour. Ill see you in a week. CLERK The restaurant opens in an hour, and dinner is served between six and nine pm. on = a day or date Ill see you on Wednesday. I saw you on the 30th of June. for = a period of time an action takes place. Ill see you for an hour. Ive been sick for a week. from = the time an action starts. until = the time an action finishes. They worked from 9a.m. until 5 p.m. We can also use between to describe time. They were working between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CLERK The restaurant opens in an hour, and dinner is served between six and nine pm.