Дипломная работа: Modal verbs

With dynamic verbs, the continuous infinitive is used.

E.g. Can she be telling lies?

Can he be making the investigation all alone?

Can in combination with the perfect infinitive refers the action to the past.

E.g. Can he have said it? Can she have told a lie?

The combination of can with the perfect infinitive may also indicate an action begun in the past and continued into the moment of speaking. This is usually found with static verbs.

E.g. Can she really have been at home all this time?

However, if can is followed by a dynamic verb the Perfect Continuous infinitive is used.

E.g. Can she have been waiting for us so long?

Could with reference to the present is also used in this way, implying more uncertainty.

E.g. Could it be true?

Could she be telling lies?

Could he have said if?

Could she have been waiting for us so long?

In Russian both variants, with can and could , are rendered in the same way: Неужели это правда? Неужели он лжет? And so on.

5) Improbability

E.g. It can’t be true. (Это не может быть правдой. Вряд ли это так.)

In this meaning can is found only in negative sentences, which are often emotionally colored. Depending on the time reference, this can is also used with different forms of the infinitive/

E.g. He can’t be really ill.

She can’t be telling lies.

He can’t have said it.

She can’t have been at home all this time.

She can’t have been waiting for us so long.

Could is also used in this way making the statement less categorical

E.g . It couldn’t be true.

She couldn’t be telling lies.

He couldn’t have said it.

She couldn’t have been at home all this time.