Shadowing Practice: English Modal Verbs - May, Might, Could, Can - Talking About Possibilities - Learn English Speaking with Video
Elige un modo de práctica
Cada modo abre una sala de práctica a pantalla completa.
184 oraciones
Si las oraciones son demasiado cortas o largas, haz clic en Editar para ajustarlas.
1
Hi, I'm Mikey, and welcome to Oxford Online English.
2
In this lesson, you can learn how to use the English modal verbs may, might, can, and could.
3
You'll learn how to use these modal verbs to talk about possibilities in English.
4
Modal verbs are powerful because you can use them to express many different ideas and complex nuances of meaning.
5
However, they are also difficult to use well.
6
Each modal verb can be used in many different ways.
7
You can use might, could, or may to say that something is possible in the present or in the future.
8
For example, they could be brothers.
9
They look so alike.
10
I think it's possible that they're brothers. Where are my keys?
11
They might still be in the car.
12
I think it's possible that your keys are still in the car.
13
It's raining here, but it may be sunny there.
14
I think it's possible that it's sunny there.
15
These sentences are all about the present.
16
There's no difference between could, might, and may here.
17
You can use any of these modal verbs in any of these sentences.
18
It doesn't matter.
19
Could and might are more common than may, but you can choose which modal verb you use.
20
Be careful with may be and maybe .
21
Maybe two words is a modal verb plus the verb be.
22
Maybe one word is an adverb.
23
They aren't the same.
24
You can also talk about possibilities in the future.
25
It could cost more than you expect.
26
I think it's possible that it will cost more than you expect.
27
You might miss the train unless you leave now.
28
I think it's possible that you'll miss the train if you don't leave now.
29
I may be around five minutes late.
30
I think it's possible that I'll be a little late.
31
It doesn't matter if you're talking about the present or the future.
32
You can use these modal verbs in the same way.
33
People will understand if you're talking about the present or the future from the context.
34
For example, she might be there already.
35
She might be there tomorrow.
36
Here, the first sentence is about the present, and the second is about the future.
37
You can understand this from the meaning, not from the modal verb.
38
You can also make negatives by adding NOT after the modal verb.
39
Use negatives to say you think it's possible that something is not true, or that something will not happen in the present or the future.
40
In this case, you can only use may or might.
41
You can't use could to talk about negative possibilities.
42
For example, they might not be ready.
43
I think it's possible that they aren't ready.
44
This could be in the present or in the future.
45
You can't tell just from this sentence.
46
He may not be able to help you.
47
I think it's possible that he won't be able to help you.
48
There's no difference between using may or might here, but remember that there's no way to use could in these sentences.
49
What about can?
50
We haven't mentioned can until now because can behaves differently.
51
Let's see how.
52
Look at an example that you just saw.
53
She might be there tomorrow.
54
This is a specific possibility.
55
You're talking about one person, one place, and one time.
56
Let's add some more details to make it easier to see this.
57
Sarah might be at the party tomorrow.
58
You can use might, may, or could to express specific possibilities.
59
You use can to express general possibilities.
60
You've seen what a specific possibility is.
61
What does general possibility mean?
62
Can you explain it?
63
A general possibility is something which is true for many people in many places at many times.
64
For example, it can take two hours to get to the airport if the traffic's bad.
65
This possibility doesn't apply to one person at one time.
66
It applies to anyone who tries to get to the airport when the traffic's bad.
67
Let's look at some more examples.
68
It can be very wet and cold in spring here.
69
This is possible every year, not just in one year.
70
He can be very difficult to deal with when he's in a bad mood.
71
This is possible every time he's in a bad mood, not just one time.
72
Moving countries can be a stressful experience.
73
It's possible that moving countries is stressful whoever you are, wherever you move to, and whenever you do it.
74
If you're talking about general possibilities, you can only use can.
75
You can't use could, might, or may.
76
General possibilities refer to both the present and the future together.
77
For example, if you say, it can be very wet and cold in spring here, you mean that this is possible this year,
78
in the present, and next year, in the future, and the year after that and so on.
79
Also, general possibilities are only positive.
80
There is no such thing as a negative general possibility.
81
Let's practice.
82
Look at four sentences.
83
For each one, decide if it expresses a general possibility or a specific possibility.
84
Which modal verbs could you use in each case?
85
Pause the video and think about your answers.
86
If it's difficult, review this part and the previous part of the video.
87
Ready?
88
Let's look at the answers.
89
In the first sentence, the word tomorrow makes it specific.
90
Tomorrow is one day.
91
That means you can use could, might, or may in this sentence.
92
In the second sentence, in July in the south is a general idea.
93
You're talking about one place, but you're also talking about every year, so you should use can.
94
In the third sentence, you're talking about a general tendency which she has.
95
She can get angry any time when people don't listen to her, not just one time.
96
So you need to use can.
97
The fourth sentence is talking about one reaction to one thing.
98
The words when she finds out refer to one piece of news, which she will find out at a specific time in the future.
99
So you need to use could, might, or may.
100
Now you've seen how to use might, may, could, and can to talk about possibility in the present or the future.
101
But what about the past?
102
Let's start with some examples.
103
Look at three sentences and try to work out how to talk about possibilities in the past.
104
Where is he?
105
I guess he might have missed the train.
106
I don't know where the tickets are.
107
I may have left them in the hotel.
108
What was that noise?
109
I suppose it could have been the wind.
110
To talk about possibilities in the past, use could, might, or may, plus have, plus a past participle.
111
Again, it doesn't matter if you use could, may, or might here.
112
There's no difference in meaning.
113
You can't use can in these sentences.
114
There's no way to use can to express possibility in the past.
115
What do these sentences mean?
116
Can you explain what they're saying in other words?
117
The first sentence means that you think it's possible that he missed the train.
118
You're waiting for him.
119
You don't know where he is, or why he's late.
120
In the second sentence, you're saying that it's possible that the tickets are in the hotel.
121
You don't know where the tickets are.
122
In the third sentence, you heard a noise and you aren't sure what it was.
123
You're saying that it's possible that it was the wind.
124
You can also talk about negative possibilities in the past, like this.
125
He might not have heard you.
126
It's possible that he didn't hear you.
127
Their plane may not have arrived yet.
128
It's possible that their plane hasn't arrived yet.
129
As before, you can only use may or might to talk about negative possibilities.
130
You can't use could in these sentences.
131
There's another way in which could behaves differently.
132
Let's look.
133
All the examples you saw in the last section, positive and negative, you're talking about situations where you don't know what happened in the past.
134
For example, if you say, their plane may not have arrived yet, you don't know if their plane has arrived or not, you aren't sure.
135
What about this sentence?
136
You could have hurt yourself.
137
Be more careful next time.
138
This example is different.
139
Can you see how?
140
If you don't know, here's a clue.
141
In this sentence, do you know what happened or not?
142
Did the person you're talking to hurt themselves or not?
143
In this sentence, you know what happened.
144
The person didn't hurt themselves.
145
You're saying that getting hurt was a possibility, but luckily it didn't happen.
146
So there are two kinds of possibility in the past.
147
One, you don't know what happened and you're making a guess.
148
Two, you know what happened and you're talking about a possibility which didn't occur.
149
In the first case, you can use any of the three verbs may, might, or could.
150
In the second case, you can only use could.
151
You often need this when you're talking about something bad which didn't happen.
152
Let's see some more examples of this second case.
153
They were very unlucky.
154
They could easily have won.
155
They didn't win, but it was close, so winning was a possibility.
156
She could have lost all of her money when the company went under.
157
She didn't lose all of her money, but it was a possibility.
158
Of course, being in an accident was scary, but it could have been much worse.
159
The accident wasn't serious, but worse results were a possibility.
160
In all of these sentences, you know what happened in the past, and you're talking about a past possibility which didn't actually happen.
161
Now you've seen how to use the modal verbs might, may, can, and could to talk about possibilities in English.
162
Let's put everything you've learnt together.
163
Might, could, or may can be used to talk about specific possibilities in the present or the future.
164
Take a jumper.
165
It might be cold outside.
166
It could be a good game tomorrow.
167
You can use can to talk about general possibilities.
168
Using a credit card can be an expensive way to buy things.
169
You can use could, may, or might, plus have, plus a past participle to talk about possibilities in the past.
170
They may have got lost.
171
I'll call them and find out where they are.
172
You can use may or might to talk about negative possibilities, meaning there's a possibility That something won't happen or didn't happen.
173
It might work, but it might not.
174
He may not have seen the message yet.
175
Finally, you can use could to talk about two kinds of possibilities in the past.
176
Situations where you know what happened, and situations where you don't know what happened.
177
You could have missed the plane.
178
Don't be late next time.
179
I'm not sure why he isn't here.
180
I guess he could have missed the plane.
181
Do you need practice with this topic?
182
Visit OxfordOnlineEnglish.com for the full lesson, including a quiz to help you check your understanding of English modal verbs.
183
Thanks for watching!
184
See you next time!
Descargar app
Todo lo que necesitas para hablar con fluidez
Pronunciación con IAEvalúa cada oración
Práctica de IPADomina cada sonido
VocabularioConstruye tu banco de palabras
Juego de vocabularioAprende mientras juegas
Mismo canal
B11
How To Read Dates In English - Spoken English Lesson
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
A21
Clothes Shopping in English - Spoken English Lesson
Travel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B22
IELTS Speaking Exam - How to Do Part Three of the IELTS Speaking Test
IELTS PrepUniversity Students
B22
English Job Interview Tips and Tricks - How to Answer Job Interview Questions in English
Interview EnglishWorking Adults
B116
How to Order Coffee in English - Spoken English Lesson
British AccentTravel EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
A27
zNpmtVZFXS0
British AccentBusiness EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B1Present Simple Verb Form in English - English Verb Tenses
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
B12
How to Feel Less Shy Speaking English - Improve English Speaking Confidence Now!
British AccentInterview EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B17
Cambridge B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam - How to Do Parts 1-2
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B27
How to Talk About Your Studies in English - Learn Spoken English
British AccentIELTS PrepInterview EnglishDaily Conversation
B130
How to Talk About Your Free Time and Hobbies in English - Spoken English Lesson
British AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B1126
Talking About Your Family in English - Spoken English Lesson
British AccentTeensDaily ConversationHigh School Students
C15
8 Essential English Phrases for Conversation - Improve Conversation Skills
British AccentDaily Conversation
B22
Talking About Likes and Dislikes in English - Spoken English Lesson
British AccentDaily Conversation
B24
20 Office Expressions to Describe Your Workplace - Visual Vocabulary
British AccentBusiness EnglishWorking Adults
B12
Adverbs in English - Learn All About English Adverbs
British AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B11
Cambridge B1 Preliminary Speaking Exam - How to Do Parts 3-4
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B17
Future in English - How to Talk about the Future
British AccentDaily ConversationHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
A23
5 Tips for English Greetings and Responses - How to Ask and Answer "How are you?"
British AccentKidsTeensDaily Conversation
B23
Write a CV for an English-Speaking Job - Tips to Write a Great Resume
British AccentBusiness EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
FOR YOU
Recomendar Video
B27
220 oraciones
Complete Guide to English Modal Verbs - English Grammar Lesson
British AccentCambridge Exam PrepBusiness EnglishHigh School Students
B12,098
14 oraciones
Hope Or Wish The One Question That Tells You Which To Use
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B2193 oraciones
Are YOU Saying it WRONG? 5 Highly Common Mistakes in English
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B29
220 oraciones
Improve Your Spoken English in Just 15 Minutes
British AccentIELTS PrepBusiness EnglishDaily Conversation
B26
275 oraciones
Upper-Intermediate Phrases (B1 + B2) You Definitely Need to Know
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
130 oraciones
Modal Verbs - How to Use Must, Have to and Should - English Grammar Lesson
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B16
152 oraciones
Conversation Lesson | How To Be Polite & Show Respect in English
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B11
626 oraciones
How to Use Could, Would & Should in Real English Conversations
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B22
563 oraciones
Speak With Me: 30 Minute English Speaking Practice
American AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
B226 oraciones
Talking about the Future | Modal Verbs, Modifiers, 'be able to'
Business EnglishInterview EnglishDaily Conversation
B22
188 oraciones
10 Advanced Phrasal Verbs to Understand Native English Speakers
British AccentBusiness EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
495 oraciones
Improve Your English 10x Faster with Real Dialogues! (B1–B2 Learners)
Business EnglishDaily ConversationHigh School Students
Vocabulario y notas de pronunciación para esta lección
Esta lección de conversación de nivel B2 se basa en el vídeo “English Modal Verbs - May, Might, Could, Can - Talking About Possibilities”. Las palabras que más se repiten: sentence, possibilities, possibility, verb, modal. Este vídeo tiene 184 frases y 1857 palabras para practicar shadowing. La parte hablada dura 13:36. El hablante mantiene un ritmo constante de unas 137 palabras por minuto, cómodo para el shadowing. El 91 % de las palabras está entre las 3.000 más comunes del inglés, por lo que el vocabulario es fácil de seguir.
Vocabulario clave de este vídeo
Las 14 palabras más avanzadas del vídeo, con su pronunciación y significado:
| Palabra | Pronunciación | Significado |
|---|---|---|
| verb sustantivo | /vɝb/ | verbo |
| participle sustantivo | /ˈpɑɹtɪˌsɪpəl/ | participio |
| stressful adjetivo | /ˈstɹɛsfəl/ | estresoso, estresante |
| behave verbo | /bɪˈheɪv/ | portarse |
| sunny adjetivo | /ˈsʌni/ | asoleado, soleado |
| nuance sustantivo | /ˈnjuː.ɑːns/ | matiz, prestancia |
| unlucky adjetivo | /ʌnˈlʌki/ | desafortunado, infortunado |
| jumper sustantivo | /ˈd͡ʒʌmpɚ/ | chaleco, chomba |
| quiz sustantivo | /kwɪz/ | prueba, cuestionario |
| luckily adverbio | /ˈlʌk.ɪ.li/ | afortunadamente, por suerte |
| tendency sustantivo | /ˈtɛn.dən.si/ | tendencia |
| pause sustantivo | /pɔːz/ | pausa |
| alike adjetivo | /əˈlaɪk/ | igual, semejante |
| clue sustantivo | /kluː/ | pista, indicio |
Phrasal verbs que vas a escuchar
| Palabra | Significado |
|---|---|
| find out verbo | averiguar, anoticiarse |
| go under verbo | hundirse, irse a pique |
Frases que vale la pena repetir
Frases cortas y completas del vídeo que puedes reutilizar en la conversación diaria:
- I think it's possible that they're brothers.
- Which modal verbs could you use in each case?
- Can you explain what they're saying in other words?
- Did the person you're talking to hurt themselves or not?
- Do you need practice with this topic?
Gramática en este vídeo
Las estructuras que más usa el hablante, con las palabras exactas del vídeo:
| Estructura | En el vídeo |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + participio pasado — una acción pasada que sigue importando ahora | haven't mentioned · You've seen · hasn't arrived |
| Oraciones de relativo who / which + oración — información extra sobre una persona o cosa | something which is · anyone who tries |
Pronunciación a tener en cuenta
El hablante usa 68 contracciones y formas reducidas, como you're, don't, didn't. Dilas en su forma corta, tal como las oyes.
Sonidos difíciles para hispanohablantes:
- /v/ — no es /b/: los dientes tocan el labio inferior: verb /vɝb/, behave /bɪˈheɪv/
- /z/ — sonora, no /s/: quiz /kwɪz/, pause /pɔːz/
Cómo practicar con este vídeo
- Escucha el vídeo entero una vez sin hablar y anota las palabras que no conoces.
- Haz shadowing frase por frase a velocidad normal, repitiendo cada una hasta que tu ritmo coincida con el del hablante.
- Grábate y compara con el original, prestando atención a palabras como verb, participle, stressful.
¿Qué es la Técnica de Shadowing?
Shadowing es una técnica de aprendizaje de idiomas respaldada por la ciencia, desarrollada originalmente para la formación de intérpretes profesionales y popularizada por el políglota Dr. Alexander Arguelles. El método es simple pero poderoso: escuchas audio en inglés nativo y lo repites en voz alta de inmediato, como una sombra que sigue al hablante con solo 1-2 segundos de retraso. A diferencia de la escucha pasiva o los ejercicios de gramática, el shadowing obliga a tu cerebro y músculos de la boca a procesar y reproducir simultáneamente patrones de habla reales. Las investigaciones muestran que mejora significativamente la precisión de la pronunciación, la entonación, el ritmo, el habla conectada, la comprensión auditiva y la fluidez al hablar, convirtiéndola en una de las metodologías más efectivas para la preparación del IELTS Speaking y la comunicación en inglés en el mundo real.