Sep 24, 2016 · If you say the cat might/may/could be dead you are not 100% certain. If you say the cat can be dead it is a possibility, but you don't know if it actually true or not. If you say the cat must be dead then you are voicing a conclusion, but again you don't know if it true or not. Viewing modality as a matter formality is simplistic.

Mar 10, 2013 · If taken literally, "Can you" is equivalent to asking the person if they're capable of doing something. "Could you", on the other hand, implies that the action can be completed under some circumstances by the person. The usage of can you is idiomatic, and hence, is more popular used phrase of the two. Using either of them doesn't make them ...

Both are fine grammatically, but it appears that you are aiming for a relatively formal setting in which case "Could" is slightly more formal-sounding. Neither would be incorrect, however. "Could" also implies more of a polite request which may be refused, rather than a polite order, although this is a soft implication and does not make "Can" rude.

Nov 6, 2015 · You are not being specific about the precise method used on the phone to contact you - i.e. you don't care if he/she calls you, texts you, emails you, Skypes you or anything else the phone can do. the person who you are talking to is not expecting to be able to use a phone for some reason, or doesn't realize a phone is available to him (maybe ...

Jan 22, 2015 · literally you are asking if the person knows the way to the station and can tell you. As a question it is implied that you are hoping for the answer, but permission or whether the person wishes to answer is not addressed.

Apr 5, 2021 · The "were" construction certainly still exists, and if you're writing a textbook or a job application you should probably use it. Or if you prefer the risk of sounding like a pretentious intellectual snob to the risk of sounding uneducated, which I personally do because, well, I am a pretentious intellectual snob :-).

As you mentioned, you can use in for getting inside a vehicle (e.g., get in the van), and you can use on for getting atop a vehicle (e.g. get on the bike). The one exception to this seems to be when you use on as a shortened form of on board, hence: get on the train, get on the plane, get on the bus, get on the ship. Anytime someone can ...

Jun 3, 2019 · While strictly speaking the "If you were" / "If you had" forms ask about whether the sale or the break occurred in the past, and the "If you are" / "If you have" should be used in the present, in practice you will hear both forms used very commonly without regard to this distinction, including by native speakers.

Nov 23, 2016 · I think you are asking for the difference between the transitive verb ("attest" or "attest that") and the intransitive verb ("attest to") I attest that this court transcript is complete and unaltered. means "I promise (in a legally binding sense) that this court transcript ..." I can attest to his honesty and good character.

Apr 23, 2020 · If you are using one of these as a preposition, which is a common case in which the phrase would be at the beginning of a sentence, using a comma is appropriate but will probably not cause you problems if you do not use one: In the meantime, you can read a magazine. In the meantime you can read a magazine.