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Notice that:
Use of Couldcould: Past Possibility or AbilityWe use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do:
We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when we talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able (positive) and couldn't (negative). Look at these examples: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Past |
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General |
Specific Occasion |
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My grandmother could speak Spanish. |
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were able to save him. |
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- |
My grandmother couldn't speak Spanish. |
A man fell into the river yesterday. The police couldn't save him. |
We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in this way is fairly polite (formal):
Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb "to be" plus an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at "be able to" here because we sometimes use it instead of "can" and "could". We use "be able to":
The structure of be able to is:
subject + be + able + infinitive
subject
be
main verb
able
adjective
infinitive
+
I
am
able
to drive.
-
She
is not
able
to drive.
isn't
?
Are
you
able
to drive?
Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:
Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:
We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or means to do something. If we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can swim". We sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able to" is possible in all tenses—but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive form. So we use "be able to" when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these examples:
We often use have to to say that something is obligatory, for example:
"Have to" is often grouped with modal auxiliary verbs for convenience, but in fact it is not a modal verb. It is not even an auxiliary verb. In the "have to" structure, "have" is a main verb. The structure is:
subject + auxiliary verb + have + infinitive (with "to")
Look at these examples in the simple tense:
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb "have"
infinitive (with "to")
+
She
has
to work.
-
I
do not
have
to see
the doctor.
?
Did
you
have
to go
to school?
In general, "have to" expresses impersonal obligation. The subject of "have to" is obliged or forced to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or school rules). "Have to" is objective. Look at these examples:
In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea. The obligation is imposed from outside.
We can use "have to" in all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate it just like any other main verb. Here are some examples:
subject
auxiliary verb
main verb "have"
infinitive
past simple
I
had
to work
yesterday.
present simple
I
have
to work
today.
future simple
I
will
have
to work
tomorrow.
present continuous
She
is
having
to wait.
present perfect
We
have
had
to change
the time.
modal (may)
They
may
have
to do
it again.
We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example:
"Must" is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is:
subject + must + main verb
The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
Look at these examples:
subject
auxiliary
verb
"must"
main verb
I
must
go
home.
You
must
visit
us.
We
must
stop
now.
In general, "must" expresses personal obligation. "Must" expresses what the speaker thinks is necessary. "Must" is subjective. Look at these examples:
In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the person speaking. In fact, it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from outside.
We can use "must" to talk about the present or the future. Look at these examples:
There is no past tense for "must". We use "have to" to talk about the past.
We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for example:
"Must" is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for "Must Not" is:
The Main Verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
"Must Not" is often contracted to "mustn't".
Look at these examples:
subject
auxiliary "Must" + "Not"
main verb
I
mustn't
forget
my keys.
You
mustn't
disturb
him.
Students
must not
be
late.
NB: like all auxiliary verbs, "must" cannot be followed by an infinitive. So, we say:
"Must Not" expresses prohibition - something that is not permitted, not allowed. The prohibition can be subjective (the speaker's opinion) or objective (a real law or rule). Look at these examples:
We use "Must Not" to talk about the present or the future:
We cannot use "Must Not" for the past. We use another structure to talk about the past, for example:
People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true. The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract them in speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist.
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will:
1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact)
Person
Verb
Example
Contraction
Singular
I
shall
I shall be in London tomorrow.
I'll
you
will
You will see a large building on the left.
You'll
he, she, it
will
He will be wearing blue.
He'll
Plural
we
shall
We shall not be there when you arrive.
We shan't
you
will
You will find his office on the 7th floor.
You'll
they
will
They will arrive late.
They'll
2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command)
Person
Verb
Example
Contraction
Singular
I
will
I will do everything possible to help.
I'll
you
shall
You shall be sorry for this.
You'll
he, she, it
shall
It shall be done.
It'll
Plural
we
will
We will not interfere.
We won't
you
shall
You shall do as you're told.
You'll
they
shall
They shall give one month's notice.
They'll
It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make assertions such as "Americans never use 'shall'" peruse a good American English dictionary, or many American legal documents, which often contain phrases such as:
Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and would. It is perfectly normal, and somewhat more elegant, to write, for example:
· I should be grateful if you would kindly send me your latest catalogue.
Ten sentences:
1) Children have to go to school.
2) I must go to the university.
3) People mustn’t drive a car when they drink alcohol.
4) I needn’t do math today, I can do it later.
5) I should study harder before exams.
6) Elephants and mice can’t fly.
7) I could play snooker much better two years ago than I can now.
8) I can’t have made a mistake in my calculations because I used a calculator.
9) Can you run 100 meters in 5.5 seconds? 10)
10)Students mustn’t eat or drink during the lection.
Texts:
Combinatorial mathematics.
Specialists in a broad range of fields have to deal with problems that involve combinations made up of letters, numbers or any other objects.
The field of mathematics that studies problems of how many different combinations can be built out of a specific number of objects is called combinatorial mathematics (combinatorics).
This branch of mathematics has its origin in the 16th century, in the gambling games that played such a large part in high society in those times. These games gave the initial impetus to develop combinatorial mathematics and the theory of probability.
Italian and French mathematicians were the first to enumerate the various combinations achieved in games of dice. Further advances in the theory of combinations were connected with the names of German scientists.
In recent years combinatorial mathematics has seen extensive developments associated with grater interest in problems of discrete mathematics. Combinatorial methods can be employed in solving transport problems, in particular scheduling; the scheduling of production facilities and of the sale of goods. Links have been established between combinatorics and problems of linear programming, statistics, etc. Combinatorial methods are used in coding and decoding and in the solution of other problems of information theory.
The combinatorial approach also plays a significant role in purely mathematical problems such as the theory of groups and their representations, in the study of the main principles of geometry, some branches of algebra, etc.
Probability.
Probability is a mathematical expression of the likelihood of an event. Every probability is a fraction. The largest probability can be 1. The smallest probability can be is 0, meaning that it’s something that cannot happen. You can find the probability that something will not happen by subtracting the probability that it will happen from 1. For example, if the weatherman tells you that there is a 0.3 probability of rain today, then there must be a 0.7 probability that it won’t rain.
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