One of my Brazilian language partners asked me when to use which. I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I’ll try again here.
Can vs May
Can: mental/physical ability
I can reach the drawer (physical ability)
In this context, this is “conseguir” in Portuguese (Consigo alcançar a gaveta)
May: possibility; permission
The weather may change (possibility). May I sit here? (permission)
In Portuguese, “poder” is used (O tempo pode mudar) (Posso sentar aqui?)
I remember when I was in Elementary School, I asked my teacher: “Can I go to the toilet?” I should have used “may I go to the toilet?” — because of permission. She corrected me by saying:
<em>“You can go to the toilet (physical ability) but you may not (permission)."</em>
For Portuguese speakers, you may equate "can = conseguir" and "may = poder," but in daily conversation they are used interchangeably by English speakers, and to be honest many of them won’t know the difference. (in Portuguese, I call this QUDD: Qualquer um dos dois; either of the two is fine)
For example:
The weather can change (may should be used because of possibility)
Can I sit here? (may should be used because of permission)
But these two sentences are perfectly fine.
The subtle difference that you want to remember with regards to “permission” is that, “may" is more formal and more polite than "can." For example:
Can I sit here? (less formal, like if you’re asking your friend)
May I sit here? (more formal, like if you’re asking a stranger)
But again this is not very strict and you can use either.
May vs Might
“May" and “might" are used for “possibility" and again, QUDD, but “may” is more likely to happen and “might” is less likely to happen.
The weather may change (more likely to happen because you see the dark clouds)
The weather might change (less likely to happen because it’s very sunny, but later, maybe it might change)
Can vs Could
This is another QUDD. You can/could use either in daily conversation. To be a little strict, “could” is past tense of “can.” Look at this example:
<em>Before, I could (past tense) run very fast, but since I sprained my ankle, I cannot (present tense).</em>
In this instance, “can” and “could” are used as physical ability.
"Could," depending on the context, sounds more polite than "can.”
<em>Could you pass that? (more polite) vs Can you pass that?</em>
<em> </em>
"Could" is also more tentative and uncertain.
<em>I could do it (more tentative and uncertain) vs I can do it. </em>
<em> </em>
In summary, in normal conversations, these so called modal verbs can be used interchangeably and you really have to get worried only if there’s a grammar police nearby.
So, as we say in Portuguese, <em>Tanto faz, Qualquer um dos dois</em>. I doesn’t matter, either of the two (will do).
QUDD!
One of my language partners asked me how to say: "Quando podemos marcar um horário para falar pelo Skype?" In its literal translation, it means: "When can we make an appointment to talk in Skype?"
The simplest (and the best) is to use Skype as a verb:
When can we Skype?
If it sounds very demanding, you can soften it by adding "do you think"
When do yo think can we Skype?
Or if you want to add OZ or British slant:
When can we Skype, you reckon?
Abraços!
I've traveled quite often and lived in different countries and my accent is a combination of a few I think. I found out that each English accent has some peculiarity in it. In Thailand or Indonesia, you'll hear the exaggerated pidgin in an attempt to simplify the communication. In Oz, the last part of the sentence is usually tilted up. Irish sings songs. Scottish? Well, watch Lord of the Rings. And I always think of crime films when I hear Boston/New York accent.
Here are my top 3 favorites:
1. French (Interestingly, when French people speak English, they create this otherworldly accent only they can do)
2. Australian
3. 3 are tied: Scottish, Irish, and the Southern Drawl (American accent in Southern U.S.)
What's yours?
Olá pessoal!
I'm always at a quandary what tense will I use for "would." Is it Imperfect or Conditional? I see my Brazilian friends use this interchangeably.
For example:
Se eu fosse uma tartarugua, voava!
ou
Se eu fosse uma tartaruga, voaria!
I've read that Imperfect is more informal and so this is more commonly used in daily conversation. Is it true?
When Benny Lewis (fluentin3months) did his Tagalog Challenge (http://www.fluentin3months.com/tagalog/), he talked about how Tagalog is already dead and what actually exists is Taglish. I only realized that this is true.
Taglish is usually the conversational language in the Philippines mostly because of one, obviously, the influence of Americans. But sometimes it's by necessity, for example:
Magcha-charge ka ng phone?
In pure Tagalog, this can be translated as:
Magpapa-karga ka ng telepono?
The second one sounds really weird in daily conversation but you probably can still hear them in some niche groups. Like some Filipinos would prefer to say: "Magbubuhat ka?" which we would normaly say: "Magwe-weights ka?" Both would mean: "Are you going to the gym?"
So, if you're learning Tagalog and you want conversational Tagalog (especially in the cities or outside the Philippines), you need to learn Taglish.
Sige lang, aral pa!
(Apologies if this has been discussed before)
For new language learners, it's very important to sound very natural when you use words. One of the best places to look for informal conversations (although sometimes it leads to a lot of vitriol) is YouTube comments.
I'm new into Portuguese but I noticed (saw in YouTube comments first) that you can use "bem" as an adverb, replacing "muito." Like "está bem quente aqui" or "it's very hot here," instead of "está muito quente aqui."
In English, the word is "pretty." Pretty literally means "beautiful," but you can use "pretty" instead of "very."
I am very pretty mad.
Are you mad? Very Pretty much.
You can even say: How's the beach? It's pretty beautiful.
** In Chinese, there is a version of "very replacement" as well. Using the word "good" (好) to replace "very" (很). For example, 很忙 (very busy) can be replaced by 好忙 (literally means "good busy"), with the latter meaning "quite busy."
Depending on the context, "pretty" can intensify (like the word "very') the adjective but usually its meaning is "rather," or "somewhat," or "quite," "more or less." (mais ou menos in Portuguese, mas o menos in Spanish)
For some reason, you can't replace every "very" with "pretty." For example, you can't say "thank you pretty much," or "I love you pretty much." I guess you can say that, but people will smile at you, confused. Haha. ;) Depending on the context, when you say: "I love you pretty much," it may mean you are forced to say "I love you." But I'm digressing.
So try replacing "very" with "pretty" with pretty much of any texts, chats, conversations for now on.
It's pretty cool!
E Aí! Tudo Bem? First off, if you're learning English with the intent of conversation and informal writing (e.g. SMS, personal e-mail, chatting, etc.), then you really don't have to read this. But if you're seriously into formal writing, you might be interested with this thing called "Comma Splice."
(Be Forewarned: This is serious stuff!)
What is a Comma Splice?
It is the (over)use of a comma to join two independent clauses. An independent clause is one which can stand on its own as a sentence (subject + predicate). This is considered an error but don't be surprised if you find them in many writings. This is something that I always forget when I write.
Example:
Some of my language partners are very active in italki, others are into WhatsApp.
As you can see, the two clauses spliced by the comma can stand on its own.
How to fix a comma splice?
There are many ways to fix this like using a colon (:) and semicolon (;). But the easiest would be:
1. Just completely splice the sentence into 2 new sentences.
"Some of my language partners are very active in italki. Others are into WhatsApp."
2. Use a conjunction (advance learners should know subordinating conjunction and coordinating conjunction).
"Some of my language partners are very active in italki, while others are into WhatsApp." Now this is not a comma splice because the second clause (while others are into WhatsApp) is not an independent clause since it cannot stand on its own as a sentence.
Again if you write casually in English, this is no big deal. Of course not all English learners will care about comma splice, it is my goal to inform serious wannabes to go easy with commas.
And yes, that last sentence uses comma splice!
Tchau!
Hey guys, anyone using Rhinospike?
I find it cool. You find a YouTube video and submit the link to Rhinospike and a native speaker will translate the entire transcript of the video.
Just like this video by Cintia Disse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=25&v=aRA4ZJi3m-8
Transcript was completely translated. And it's free.
https://rhinospike.com/script_requests/Guestmaster/1743/
