Economia comerțului turismului și serviciilor

• Caracteristici generale:

1) nu au decât formă de infinitiv scurt (fără prep. TO): to be, to have, to do, to work /vs/

Ø can, Ø may, Ø must.

2) verbul care urmează după un modal este la infinitivul scurt (fără TO ):

- I can Ø work. (! NOT: I can to work)

You must Ø try again. (! NOT: You must to try again.)

DAR: I refuse to work. // She wants to try again.

3) sunt verbe neflexibile - la Prezentul Simplu, au aceeaşi formă pentru toate persoanele (nu primesc terminaţia –s la pers. a 3-a singular – he/she/it):

- He can solve any problem. (! NOT: He cans solve …)

She must get to work on time. (! NOT: She musts get …)

DAR: He solves any problem. // She (always) gets to work on time.

4) formează interogativul şi negativul după modelul verbului TO BE, adică fără auxiliarul do – prin simpla inversiune (între subiect şi predicat), respectiv prin adăugarea negaţiei not direct la verb (modal):

Question: (Wh- word) + MODAL + S + Verb I (1st form) ….?

Negation: S + MODAL + not + Verb I (1st form) …

- What can I do? (NOT: What do I can do?)

Where may I stay?

When must you leave?

- He cannot / can’t speak English. (! NOT: He doesn’t can speak …)

You may not / cannot enter there!

You mustn’t smoke here.

A: “Can you do that alone?” B: “Yes, I can // No, I cannot / can’t.”

5) sunt verbe defective, adică le lipsesc unele forme şi timpuri verbale, şi anume: participiul prezent (-ing), (deci nu se pot folosi la aspectul progresiv / continuu), formele II şi III (Past Tense şi Past Participle) şi deci nu pot forma timpurile perfecte sau compuse (Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Tense), fiind înlocuite la toate aceste timpuri prin perifraze verbale specifice (vezi mai jos).

I. CAN (= a putea)

(Could - forma de trecut şi condiţional prezent a lui Can – pentru toate sensurile)

a) (physical and mental) ability (can = to be able to):

- I can’t drive a car. Can you?

Can she speak French?

I can see clearly now. (NOT: I’ m canning see now.)

- He will be able to drive a car next year. (Future Tense) (Ro: Va putea să …)

Romanians will soon be able to travel freely all around Europe without a visa.

- Last year, he was finally able to / he could buy the house of his dreams. (Past Tense)

(Ro: Anul trecut a putut / a reuşit în sfârşit să-şi cumpere casa…..)

We could (= were able to) get a loan, but we couldn’t (= weren’t able to) pay it back in time. I’ve never been able to understand her. (Ro: N-am putut s-o înţeleg ... .) (Present Perfect)

- Can / Could you type this letter for me, please? (Ro: Ai putea să …?) (polite request)

Can / Could I help you in any way? (Ro: Aş putea să vă ajut …?) (polite offer)

b) (asking for) permission (can = may):

- Can / May I smoke in here? (= Do you mind if I smoke?)

Can / May I have the menu / bill, please? (polite request)

Can / May I get you anything (to drink)? (polite offer)

c) possibility (can = may):

- A board meeting can / may last up to 4 hours if there are important issues on the agenda.

He can / could / may be in trouble if he doesn’t get a job soon (enough).

d) impossibility / interdiction: CANNOT / CAN’T (can’t = mustn’t)

- You cannot / may not (= mustn’t) park (your car) here! (= it’s forbidden)

Money can’t buy everything. (= it’s impossible)

He can’t be serious! // He can’t (possibly) mean that! (= it’s impossible)

I couldn’t agree more! (= Sunt întru totul de acord!) (expr. semi-fixă)

II. MAY (= a putea, a avea voie; a se putea, a fi posibil)

a) permission (may = to be allowed / be permitted to) (may = can):

- May / Can I come in? (polite request)

May / Can I help you? (polite offer)

A: “May I be excused (now)?” (= Can I leave the table now?)

B: “Yes, you may.” // “No, you may not.”

I’m a pretty good doctor – if I may say so myself. (expresie semi-fixă)

- You’ll be allowed to use this line only in case of emergency. (= Vei putea / vei avea voie să ..)

We weren’t allowed / permitted to cross the border until we cleared customs. (Past Tense)