would, could, should

[Learneng]

Hi Luke,

Will you please explain (a thorough) when to use and please give us some fill in the blanks so we can fill them with the right verb.

Thanks,
Learneng

[luke]

Hi Learneng,

Would, could, should (and others) are all model auxiliary verbs, and are used for various purposes. Examples include;

obligation - He must go to school today
possibility / probability - I might cook dinner tonight
permission - You may borrow my watch
ability - She can swim as fast as a fish
advice - You really should see a doctor

Generally it's a matter of strength, and how certain you want to sound. For example;

I can eat food - ability to do it, but not 100% likely to happen now
I would eat food (, but...) - Very unlikely to happen for some unknown reason
I should eat food - self advice with a strong likelihood of it happening

Rather than give questions, try and practice your modal auxiliary verbs by writing examples like I have done above with the various purposes, and I'll check them

[Learneng]

(1) The primary auxiliaries be, have, do.
(2) The modal auxiliaries or modal verbs can, could, may, might, shall, should, will would, must.
(3)The marginal modal auxiliaries, also called semi-modal, are dare, need, ought to, used to.

    (1)   I will be going to attend a meeting at a neighboring town with my boss tomorrow morning.
                 (I am not sure this can count as a primary or modal auxiliary verb)
    (2)   If I could have learned how to speak like a native, I would have had more confidence.
    (3)   I need to improve my grammar.

[luke]

Hi Learneng,

You always supply very thorough information. To answer your question, I would say that your first sentence uses a modal auxiliary verb (will) as it's most important.