6B Modal verbs of deduction in the PRESENT

Modal verbs of PROBABILITY:

could / may / might + infinitive

could be right.
+ She may be Jack's mother.
might be in New York next week.
may not be Jack's parents.
- They might not be here tomorrow.
couldn't be
Could that be the postman?
? May that be
Might that be

Modal verbs of CERTAINTY:

must / can’t / couldn’t + infinitive

She must be in bed already. It's very late.

+ He must have a problem. He looks worried.
It can't be the postman. It's already 7 o'clock.
- You couldn't be serious.
It mustn’t be 1 true!
- - -
?
1 Note: mustn’t cannot be used to express certainty in the negative form.

Exercise 1:
Rewrite each sentence so that it contains modal verbs of deduction in the present.
1 I’m sure that Helen feels really lonely.
Helen ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
must be really lonely
2 It’s possible for anybody to break into this house.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Anybody might be broken into this house

3 Maybe the weather won’t be dry tomorrow.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
The weather may be not wet tomorrow

4 I’m sure John is not the thief.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
John can not be the thief

5 Don’t call me at home. Perhaps I won’t be there at six. Call me on my mobile phone.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
I might be not at home at six
6 Is he telling the truth perhaps?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
He might be telling the truth
Modal verbs of deduction in the PAST

Modal verbs of PROBABILITY:

could
may + have + past participle
might

could have called

+ Sheila may have called them.
might have called
may not have been
- That the case.
might not have been
? Could it have been the voice of somebody else?

Modal verbs of CERTAINTY:

must
can’t + have + past participle
couldn’t

+ Sheila must have been asleep when you arrived.

can’t have known my password.
- He
couldn’t have seen me at the party. I was ill in bed.
? - - -

Exercise:
Rewrite each sentence so that it contains modal verbs of deduction in the past.
1 I’m sure that David took your books by mistake.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
He must have taken your books by mistake

2 Perhaps Pam and Tim decided not to come.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
They might have decided not to come

3 I’m sure that Liz hasn’t met Harry before.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
She can't have met him before

4 Heather possibly hasn’t left yet.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Heather might not have left yet

5 I think it was the cat that took the fish from the table!
It could have been the cat that took fish from the table
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6 I’m certain they haven’t eaten the food. It’s impossible!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
They can't have eaten before
 68 GRAMMAR modals of deduction: might, can't, must
W @the correct verb'

A Don't look now, but isn't that Karen Marshall over there?
B Where? tlt
ltt
A At that table by the window. ttt

B No, it lmust /Gäi-Dbe. She went to live in Boston.

A But l'm sure it's Karen.
B Mmm, I suppose it 2can / might be her. But if it is, she
looks much thinner than she used to.
A Well it 3must /can'l be five years since we last saw her.
Someone can change a lot in five years!
B You're right, it is Karen. But who do you think the man
is? He acan't / might not be her husband, can he?
A No, he scan't / might not be. They broke up years ago
and haven't spoken to each other since.
B lt 6can / may be her new boyfriend - or her son!
A Shall we go over and find out?

Complete the conversations with must, might, might not, or can't.

Sometimes more than one answer is possible.
^,,%
1 A Thatt the second phone that Staceyt bought this year.
B She rmusthave a lot of money thenl
A She's a student, so she can't be that rich
B She might have generous parents then

2 A Do you know where Charlie is?

B Well, he be far away. His phone's on the desk
A Any idea where he could be?
BHe might be talking to the boss, or he
may be in the photocopying room
Do you want me to go and look for him?

3A I have a missed call and I don't recognize the number.

B So, it can't be from anyone you know.
A Ah, I knowl lt's that company who interviewed me last week.
They must be ringing to offer me the job. l'm not
surprised. I did a really good interview.
B Well, don't be too confldent, because they might
be calling to say you didn't get the job.
A Theret only one way to find outl

4A This steak can't be for me. lt looks medium-rare,

and I asked for a well-done steak
Blt must be mine, then. I ordered a medium-rare steak

"'%%r,,ffi,,,rru
Practise the conversations with a partner.

ry English File fourth edition Teacher's Guide Intermediate Photocopiable o Oxford University Press 2019
 Revision exercises 68: Modal verbs of deduction - past use

§t r::*a5rl**ufrirrm-ls:"*t i:ave h#erc, et*" {z*+i

Look at each conversation and choose the best sentence, a) or b).
s
t:

Has the car broken down? - Well, we may have run out of petrol.
a) - l'm sure there's no petrol left. b) ,,zl lthink there's no petrol left.
1 You could have had a free holiday. * Yes, we could, but the dates weren't convenient.
a) IWe had a free holiday b) _i We didn't have a free holiday.
2 Did you record the programme? - I can't remember. I might not have done.
a) II'm not sure if I recorded it. b) _ I cerlainly didn,t record it.
,
3 Can't you find that newspaper? * No, someone must have thrown it away.
a) I-f lt was necessary to throw it away. b) ; . I reatize now that it was thrown away.

$i"tr,:i.t§r..3 sright t* i5 and trrrlir 49.2)

Complete the Use shouldlought ta ar havelaught to have.
EF Rita: was stolen. He ocked it,
David: his fault then .chp.iiii. h.ave. l*r.Led..it,
F" Tom: I can't sleep play music all night.
Melanie; That's a t play .uuric alt $.i4ht.
I Mark: The picnickers ^.
everywhere.
Sarah; That's awful. .

2 Emma Jessica isn friendly, She never says hello to people.

Matthew: I know.
3 Rachel: ink Daniel's going to get He was late for the interview
Natasha: can't have looked very good.
4 Daniel: you see Vic§ crossing the road? She look.
Emma: She could have been killed.

[§, rr:*y/**ut,#/rmqi$t h.rv* [**s*r. etr:. {Z*,5}

Complete the conversation. Use can't have, might have, must have and shouldn,t have.
Harriet: There's a parcel outside. The postman (F) r*z,ii, .ila:,,.*. ]r.it.. (leave) ii.
Mike: Well, (1)he shouldn't have left (he i teave) it outside. He isn,t supposed to
do that. Someone (Z)might have taken (take) it. Why didn,t he ring the
bell?
Harriet: He always rings. (3) You must have been (you / be) out rr,,rhen he came.
Mike: I haven't been oui. So (4) .he can't have rung (he/ ring) the beil.

äi. *,laay/**r"*§r:§r'must. have heem, *tc" {2*5i

Complete the sentences. The second person agrees with the first. use might have, couldn,t have, etc.
EL Matthew; l'm sure the computer didn't make a mistake. That,s impossible.
Emma: No, Of CoUrSet*.rg;. qpq{1i11.,:.1 i:qL,.ig.*,.t lt:ayS oraC+ 7, 7ai{i;4t_q..
I IVIATK: I can't see the letter here now. So clearly someone posted it.
Alan: Yes,someone must have posted
,

2 Natasha: It's possible Emma didn't hear the alarrn.

Rachel: she could have not heard it
Well, l suppose .... .

3 Sarah: Henry drove at 100 miles an hour. Don,t you think that's dangerous?
Mark; Yes, I do. He shouldn't have driven so fast
4 Daniel: ljust don't believe that Andrew has failed the exam.
Vicky: Andrew? lmpossible! He could not have failed the exam

MODAL VERBS . t,,\CiL 127