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should, would, might, could, must

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should, would, might, could, must

by Fractal » Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:34 am
shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx
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by crick » Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:48 pm
I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).

will and would: will is used to show certainity in future (as opposed to can/could/would). would is used as conditional and sometimes just as past tense of will (If x happened, Y would happen).

can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).

Crick
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by Jim@Grockit » Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:02 pm
crick wrote:I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).
I don't think this is entirely true. "Shall" is the more traditional first person auxiliary verb (singular and plural) for the future tense; most people use "will" now in all persons and numbers, and I would expect the GMAT to do the same, except perhaps in a RC passage. "Shall" is also used for obligation in the second and third persons.

"Should" definitely appears in potential/hypothetical conditions (If you should find yourself stranded, call me) in addition to expressions of obligation.
can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).
"Could" is also the past tense of "can."
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by Fractal » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:23 am
Fractal wrote:shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx
so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot
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by aspirant2011 » Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:07 am
Fractal wrote:
Fractal wrote:shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx
so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?

Nopes according to me it's incorrect because with subjunctive verb [were] over here one shouldn't use should

e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?

If I go to the station, I may get a ticket is the correct one. Might is used for past tense

e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

If I go to the bus an hour earlier, I can/may get at the airport on time

If I had gone to the bus earlier, I could have/might have got at the airport on time

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot
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by mundasingh123 » Mon Aug 22, 2011 10:50 am
crick wrote:I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).

will and would: will is used to show certainity in future (as opposed to can/could/would). would is used as conditional and sometimes just as past tense of will (If x happened, Y would happen).

can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).

Crick
Can is used to show ability . Could shows possibility
I Seek Explanations Not Answers
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by Jim@Grockit » Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:15 am
Fractal wrote:
Fractal wrote:shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx
so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot
You cannot use all those words interchangeably without altering the sense of the sentence, and some of the combinations are not correct. Is that what you are asking?
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by Fractal » Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:42 pm
Jim@Grockit wrote:
Fractal wrote:
Fractal wrote:shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx
so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot
You cannot use all those words interchangeably without altering the sense of the sentence, and some of the combinations are not correct. Is that what you are asking?
i know that it alters the meaning of the sentence, but don't really know which expressions are correct and which are incorrect....
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by Fractal » Sun Aug 28, 2011 4:09 am
I just read in MG:

Do not use SHOULD anywhere in an "If...then" sentence

I still hope that anybody can give more such rules to clarify....
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by vk_vinayak » Thu Apr 19, 2012 11:01 am
I do not agree that we should not use Should in If ... then clause.

Eg: If you score less than 600 in GMAT, you should retake the exam.

Is it not a correct construction?

One more question: Can we use the word 'can' in if clause, as in "If you can solve the problem, I will consider you for the job".
- VK

I will (Learn. Recognize. Apply)
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