English

Can/could/may/might
Linking Words Alternative/
Emphasis
Ana Carolina Malta Canello
Ana Júlia Almeida Baffi
Angélica Garcia
Giovanna Seabra Resende
Maria Luisa Garcia
Maria Luiza Rossini
 Can/could/may/might
-Can is used in the sense of being able
and/or achiveing, theus being able to
indicate capacity/ability, request,
permission and possibility.
Example: They can speak portuguese.
Can I leave the class?
She can use my pen.
He can’t go to the beach.
We cannot arrive late.
-Could is used just like the modal
verb can, however, to express ideas
from the past tense. However, it can
also be used to express present ideas,
as in the second exemple at the end of
the topic.
Could means could, could and/or
could and is used to indicate ability,
request, permission and possibility.
Couldn’t and could not are the
negative forms of could.
Exemple: She could use my pen
He couldn’t go to the beach
-May is a modal verb used to transfer
the sense of can and/or could and
indicates request, possibility and
permission. May not is the negative
form of may. Unlike can, may is used
for more formal situations that
demand more respect.
Example: May I leave the court?
He may leave now.
She may be really exhausted.
They may not like me.
It may rain.
-Might is a modal verb whose
meaning can vary according to the
clause in which it is found. Generally,
it implies the idea of ​power/duty,
however, with the help of other words
and phrases, it can express the idea of
​uncertainty, being translated as
“maybe” or “it is likely that”. Might
not is the negative form of might.
Example: She might have told me.
I might not like the song.
She might know my son.
He might arrive late.
You might like my new car.
Linking Words Alternative/ Emphasis

We can use linking words to connect ideas

and sentences, both in written and spoken
texts.

Examples:
Alternative- or
Emphasis- indeed