MODAL VERBS DEDUCTIONS

You studied all night. You MUST be exhausted.

How certain are you? Use these modal verbs: 100% – Completely or almost certain must, can’t, couldn’t 80% – Expecting to be certain should 50% – Maybe certain might, may, could

Modal Verbs In English: Deduction

“Deduction” means using the information available to make a guess or draw a conclusion about the facts. Depending on the information available, you might be more certain that your conclusion is true, or less certain that your conclusion is true – and we use different modal verbs to indicate the degree of certainty.

“He must be a chef.”

When making deductions about the present, we use must if we are sure something is true and can’t if we are sure that something is impossible. Modal Verbs in English: Deduction Espress English For example, if you see this guy, you can say: He must be a chef. (we are very certain, because of his uniform and what he is doing) He can’t be a policeman. (we are very certain he is NOT a policeman) Carla works every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. Right now it’s 10:30 AM, so… She must be at work. She can’t be at home.

Modal Verbs For CertaintyCERTAINTY ABOUT THE PRESENT

must

must

can´t

You studied all night. You _____ be exhausted.

They _________ be in love.

He __________ be a vegetarian.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE! You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. For each one, fill in the blank with must (if you think it is true) or can’t (if you think it’s not possible).

must

can´t

She _______ love her cat.

That __________ be right…

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE! You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. For each one, fill in the blank with must (if you think it is true) or can’t (if you think it’s not possible).

The house isn't hard to find. It's the red one at the end. You _____ miss it! a) must b) might c) can't

What an amazing trip! You _____ have some incredible photos. a) must b) might c) can't

That _____ be the vegetarian option. It's got chicken in it. a) must b) may not c) can't

Have you got your passport? I'm not sure if you'll need it but they _____ ask you for ID. a) can't b) might c) must

Who left their laptop on my desk? It _____ be Mel's – she's working at home today. a) must b) could c) can't

Samira has flu. We don't know yet but she _____ need to take the whole week off. a) must b) can't c) may

Your watch says a different time from mine. One of them _____ be wrong. a) must b) could c) may

Look at that bird! Maybe it's an eagle or it _____ be a vulture. a) must b) could c) can't

WHAT SHOULD I STUDY?

MARTHA IS IN THE LAST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL AND ALTHOUGH AS A LITTLE SHE WAS SURE OF BEING A TEACHER, THEN SHE HEARD ONE OF HER AUNTS SAY THAT SHE COULD BE AN EXCELLENT DOCTOR, WHILE HER GRANDFATHER SAID SHE SHOULD BE A NURSE LIKE HER MOTHER, AND HER MOTHER SAID THAT SHE COULD NOT BE A NURSE SINCE SHE IS AFRAID OF HOSPITALS; THE TRUTH IS THAT THIS MADE HER FEEL EVEN MORE CONFUSED, AS THE YEARS PASSED AND SHE GROWN EVEN MORE, SHE WONDERED IF SHE SHOULD BE A TEACHER, A NURSE, A DOCTOR, OR JUST SHOULD CHOOSE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CAREER. WHEN MARTHA ENTERED HIGH SCHOOL, SHE ASKED HER FRIENDS WHAT THEY WOULD STUDY, ONE TOLD HER THAT SHE WOULD BE A LAWYER LIKE HER FATHER, ANOTHER TOLD HER THAT SHE WANTED TO BE A SINGER LIKE HER FAVORITE ARTIST, WHILE SHE DIDN'T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA ABOUT WHAT SHE WANTED TO BE; HER FRIENDS THOUGHT THAT SHE COULD BE A MODEL, SINCE THEY CONSIDERED HER A VERY BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT GIRL. WHEN MARTHA REACHED THE LAST YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, SHE TOOK A TEST THAT WOULD HELP HER DISCOVER WHAT SHE COULD BE GOOD AT, ONCE HER RESULTS WERE GIVED TO HER, SHE WAS SURPRISED BY THE RESULT, "ARTISTIC", WITH A HIGHER PERCENTAGE, NOW SHE FELT MORE CONFUSED, WHAT SHE COULD STUDY IN RELATION TO THE ARTS, SO SHE DECIDED TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH. SHE TOLD HER MOTHER, I SHOULD GO TO AN ARTS ACADEMY, TO SEE IF SOMETHING CALLS MY ATTENTION AS WELL AS TO STUDY IT, TODAY SHE KNOWS WHAT A SINGER SHE COULD NOT BE, BUT SHE KNOW THAT SHE CAN STILL CONTINUE SEARCHING UNTIL SHE FEELS 100% SAFE. - DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO STUDY? WHAT CALLS YOUR ATTENTION REGARDING WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY? WHEN YOU WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL WERE YOU 100% SURE WHAT TO STUDY? DO YOU REGRET?

THE CLOCK 🕒

I HAVE NEEDLES AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SEW, I HAVE NUMBERS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO READ

THE PHONE 📱

IT SPEAKS AND HAS NO MOUTH, IT HEARS AND HAS NO EARS, IT MAKES NOISE AND MANY TIMES MAKES WRONG

THE MIRROR 🪞

I am pretty from the front and somewhat ugly from behind, I transform every moment since I imitate others

1- HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR CAREER? 2- HOW LIKELY IS IT THAT YOUR BEST FRIEND WILL TRAVEL ALONE? 3- COULD YOUR BROTHER BE FAMOUS? 4- WHAT ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO DO, JUMP FROM A PARACHUTE OR EAT VIBORA MEAT? 5- COULD YOU PREPARE A DIFFICULT DISH BY YOURSELF?

must have + past participlewhen we draw the conclusion that something DID happen Sheila got a tan. She must have spent a lot of time in the sun lately. There was one banana left, but now it’s gone. My husband must have eaten it.

CERTAINTY ABOUT THE PAST

When we consider some present evidence and draw a reasonably certain conclusion about what happened in the past, we use must have and couldn’t have plus the past participle of the verb.

We use must have + past participle when we feel sure about what happened. Who told the newspapers about the prime minister's plans? It must have been someone close to him. The thief must have had a key. The door was locked and nothing was broken. Oh, good! We've got milk. Mo must have bought some yesterday.

must have

We can use might have or may have + past participle when we think it's possible that something happened. I think I might have left the air conditioning on. Please can you check? Police think the suspect may have left the country using a fake passport. May have is more formal than might have. Could have is also possible in this context but less common.

might have / may have

We use can't have and couldn't have + past participle when we think it's not possible that something happened. She can't have driven there. Her car keys are still here. I thought I saw Adnan this morning but it couldn't have been him – he's in Greece this week.

can't have / couldn't have

must not have + past participle

when we draw the conclusion that something did NOT happen The car is still dirty. Paul must not have washed it yet. He barely touched his lunch. He must not have been hungry.

couldn’t have + past participle

when we are certain that something was IMPOSSIBLE Martha couldn’t have takenyour notebook; she wasn’t even in class yesterday. The cookies are gone. But Eric couldn’t have reached the cookies on the top shelf; he must have asked his older brother to get them.

Can’t have is also possible, but it is much less common than couldn’t have. Here’s an example that illustrates the difference between must not have and couldn’t have: I don’t see the report here – she must not have printed it out. (we draw the conclusion that she did not do it) The printer’s been broken for the past week, so she couldn’t have printed out the report. (we know it was IMPOSSIBLE for her to do it)

must not have

must have

2- I _________________________ left my phone at work; I made a call on the drive home.

1- The thief ______________________ gotten in through the window.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!

You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. For each one, fill in the blank with must have (if you think it happened), must not have (if you think it didn’t happen) or couldn’t have (if you think it’s impossible).

couldn´t have

must have

4- They _____________________ bought a house without a loan because they had no savings.

3- She __________________ been happy when she heard the good news.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!

You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. For each one, fill in the blank with must have (if you think it happened), must not have (if you think it didn’t happen) or couldn’t have (if you think it’s impossible).

couldn't have

must not have

6- “How was your presentation?” “Great! It _______________________ been better!”

5- He looks upset. He _________________________ liked whatever she just said.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!

You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. For each one, fill in the blank with must have (if you think it happened), must not have (if you think it didn’t happen) or couldn’t have (if you think it’s impossible).

CERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE

Making deductions about the future is the same as making predictions. As you learned in the lesson about future tenses, we can use will or going to for saying what we believe will happen in the future. When you are quite sure that your prediction is correct, you can also add the word definitely to emphasize your certainty: She‘s definitely going to love this book – it’s by her favorite author. The kids will definitely be thrilled when we tell them we’re going to Disney World. Two slightly more formal expressions that can be used for talking about the future with certainty is saying that something is certain to happen, or is sure to happen: Engineers are certain to develop even faster computers. The country is sure to come to the aid of its ally.

Very sure

People will definitely work from home more in the future. Robots definitely won't replace all human jobs.

Sure

Donna will really enjoy this film. You won't regret it.

Almost sure

We'll probably finish the project by tomorrow. He probably won't have enough time.

Not sure

I might go to the party, but I'm not sure yet. He hasn't studied much, so he might not pass the exam.

Other expressions We can also use other expressions such as be bound to and be likely to, or verbs such as think and doubt. Very sure He's bound to feel nervous before his driving test. She's certain to get that job! He's certain that he'll get here on time. There's no chance that we'll ever win the lottery. There's no way that my boss will give me the day off.

Not sure There's a chance that she'll be back at work tomorrow. There's a chance that he might come and visit us next week. I think we might see more of these problems in the next few years. I'm not sure that I'll be able to finish this pizza!

Almost sure The government's likely to call an election soon. Ali's unlikely to be invited to the party. There's a good chance that it'll snow this week. There's not much chance that I'll finish this essay tonight. She thinks he'll be able to help. I don't think we'll have petrol-based cars in the future. I doubt they'll have any trouble finding the address. What do you expect mobile phones will be like in ten years' time?

might not/may not

definitely won´t

am sure

Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first, using the word given. You should write between two and four words.

1. Children will still go to school in the future. SURE I________that children will still go to school in the future. 2. There's no chance that he'll find out. DEFINITELY He___________find out. 3. I'm not sure that we'll get another opportunity. NOT We_____________get another opportunity.

expect we will

There isn´t much

are bound to

4. I'm certain that we'll see a lot of technological advances in the next 50 years. BOUND We__________see a lot of technological advances in the next 50 years. 5. We probably won't find anyone to help now. MUCH ___________chance that we'll find anyone to help now. 6. There's a good chance we'll have to postpone the meeting. EXPECT I__________have to postpone the meeting.

think you might/think you may/maybe you

am sure

7. She won't be happy to hear that. SURE I_______that she won't be happy to hear that. 8. There's a chance you might need to buy a new one. THINK I__________________________need to buy a new one.

TEACHER BRENDA RAMÍREZ 👩‍🏫✨

THANK YOU SO MUCH STUDENTS 😊!