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 could break into this house

3 Maybe the weather won’t be dry tomorrow.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
\The weather may be dry tomorrow

4 I’m sure John is not the thief.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
John can't 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 couldn't be there at six
6 Is he telling the truth perhaps?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Could he 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.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2 Perhaps Pam and Tim decided not to come.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
3 I’m sure that Liz hasn’t met Harry before.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4 Heather possibly hasn’t left yet.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
5 I think it was the cat that took the fish from the table!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6 I’m certain they haven’t eaten the food. It’s impossible!
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
 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 be that rich
B She 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 be?
BHe be talking to the boss, or he
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 be from anyone you know.
A Ah, I knowl lt's that company who interviewed me last week.
They 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
be calling to say you didn't get the job.
A Theret only one way to find outl

4A This steak be for me. lt looks medium-rare,

and I asked for a well-done steak
Blt 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 i teave) it outside. He isn,t supposed to
do that. Someone (Z) (take) it. Why didn,t he ring the
bell?
Harriet: He always rings. (3) (you / be) out rr,,rhen he came.
Mike: I haven't been oui. So (4) . (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, ,

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

Rachel: Well, l suppose .... .

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

MODAL VERBS . t,,\CiL 127