Modals of Permission
1Công thức
May/Could/Can I + base verb?; be allowed to2Giải thích
May, could, can dùng để xin và cho phép; may lịch sự nhất, can thân mật nhất. Với sự cho phép cụ thể trong quá khứ dùng was/were allowed to; could dùng cho quá khứ trong câu tường thuật.
May, could and can are used to ask for and give permission. May is the most polite and can the least formal. Past permission is normally expressed with was/were allowed to.
Dấu hiệu: please
3Khi nào dùng
- Asking for permission (May I ...? Could I ...? Can I ...?)
- Giving permission (You may / can ...)
- Past permission (was/were allowed to)
4Quy tắc cần nhớ
- Politeness order: may, then could, then can
- In the past use was/were allowed to, not could, for a specific permission
- Could is used for past permission in reported speech
5Ví dụ
May I borrow your dictionary for a moment?
Visitors can park behind the main building.
We were allowed to leave the exam room after an hour.
6Lỗi thường gặp
- Yesterday we could go home early. (specific permission: we were allowed to)
- Do I can sit here? (Can I sit here?)