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Permission, possibility, necessity, and obligation

Permission, possibility, necessity, and obligation. Contents. Permission Possibility Necessity Obligation Exercise Index. Permission. Giving and refusing permission Asking permission Talking about permission. Giving and Refusing Permission.

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Permission, possibility, necessity, and obligation

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  1. Permission, possibility, necessity, and obligation

  2. Contents • Permission • Possibility • Necessity • Obligation • Exercise Index

  3. Permission • Giving and refusing permission • Asking permission • Talking about permission

  4. Giving and Refusing Permission • Use can or may to give permissions (may is formal and used mainly in writing) Ex: Any person over 18 years may/can apply to join the club. • Use cannot/can’t and may not to refuse permission. Ex: I’m afraid you can’t just walk in here. Customers may not bring their own food into this café. • Some other ways of refusing permission: Ex:Tourists must not take money out of the country. Smoking is prohibited/is not permitted on school premises.

  5. Asking permission • Use “can, could, may” • Could means a more distant possibility than can and may is rather formal

  6. Talking about permission • Talk about permission when we are not giving it or asking for it. Ex: + I can stay up as late as I like. My parents don’t mind. + These yellow lines mean that you can’t park here. + At one time anyone could go and live in the USA. Note: We can’t not use may here. • We can also use be allowed to (means that the permission does not depend on the speaker or the person spoken to.) Ex: May we leave early, please? (= Will you allow it?) Are we allowed to leave early? (= Is it allowed?/What is the rule?)

  7. Possibility • May and might • Can and could

  8. May and might • May and might: used to say that something is a possibly true. Ex: That may not/might not be a bad idea. • For an uncertain prediction or intention. Ex: You may/might get stuck in traffic if you don’t go early. I’m not sure, but I may/might drive up to London on Saturday. • May is a little stronger than might Note: Do not often use may or might in questions.

  9. Can and could • Use to suggest possible future actions. Ex: You can/could go on the train, of course. • Could is used for something that is possibly true. Ex: The timetable could be in this drawer.(We can use may, might but not can) • For an uncertain prediction about the future, we also use could, may or might but not can. Ex: The motorway can get busy tomorrow. • There is a special use of can to say that something is generally possible. Ex: You can make wine from bananas. Smoking can damage your health. • Can often has the meaning ‘sometimes’. Ex: Housewives can feel lonely.(= They sometimes feel lonely.)

  10. Can and Could-Notes • Can is stronger than could, which expresses a more distant possibility. • They express only a possibility. They do not mean that something is likely to happen. Ex: We can/could have a party.~Yes, why not:?(suggestion) We may/might have a party.~Oh, really? (uncertain intention) • Compare can’t with may not/might not. Ex: This answer can’t be right. It must be wrong. (= It is impossible for this answer to be right.) This answer may not/might not be right. It may/might be wrong. (= It is possible that this answer isn’t right.) • Can’t and couldn’t express impossibility. Ex: She can’t be very nice if no one likes her.

  11. Necessity • Must/Have to • Notes • No necessity

  12. Must/Have to • Use must or have (got) to talk about necessity in the present or the near future. • Must: The speaker feels the necessity • Have to: The necessity is outside the speaker. Ex: I must go on a diet. I’m getting overweight. I have to go on a diet. The doctor has told me to. • You must … is a way of ordering someone to do something . Ex: You must fill in a form. (I’m telling you.) • You have to… is a way of telling them what is necessary in the situation.

  13. Necessity-Notes • We can also use be to for an order by a person in authority. Ex:The doctor says I’m to go on a diet. • Have to is more common than be to • Be obliged to and be required to also express necessity. Both expressions are rather formal Ex: You are obliged to/are required to sign a declaration.

  14. No Necessity • With needn’t, the lack of necessity is felt by the speaker. With don’t have to, it results from the situation. Ex: You needn’t take me to the station. I can walk. You don’t have to take me to the station. Alan’s giving me a lift. * Don’t have to/don’t need to( Americans) • We use mustn’t to tell someone not to do something. The speaker feels the necessity Ex: We musn’t lose this game. • Musn’t has a different meaning from needn’t/don’t have to Ex: I needn’t run. I’ve got plenty of time. I musn’t run. I’ve got a weak heart.

  15. Obligation • We use should and ought to for obligation and advice • Should and ought to are not as strong as must, but in formal rules should is sometimes a more polite and less emphatic alternative to must. • We can use musn’t or may not to forbid something. Ex: Students must not/may not use dictionaries in the examination.

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