modal verbs of deduction present and past exercises pdf

When we draw the conclusion that something did NOT happen There was one banana left, but now it’s gone.

She must have spent a lot of time in the sun lately. When we draw the conclusion that something DID happen 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. 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). You’ll see five pictures accompanied by sentences. (we are very certain he is NOT a policeman)Ĭarla works every day from 9 AM to 5 PM. (we are very certain, because of his uniform and what he is doing) He could have been working late (not: 'could be'.For example, if you see this guy, you can say:.This is not used to talk about specific possibilites in the past (instead we use could + have + past participle): Prices could be high in the sixteenth century.We can use could + infinitive to talk about a general possibility in the past (compare with the use of 'can' above): Should + have + past participle Should + have + past participle can be used to make an assumption about something that has probably happened, if everything is as we expect (compare with present use of 'should' above): The parcel will have arrived before now.Will / won't + have + past participle Will and won't / will not + have + past participle are used for past certainty (compare with present use of 'will' above): She must have forgotten about our date.could / couldn't have + past participle.might / might not have + past participle.( Click here to review how to make the past participle) He could be on the bus (not: 'can be').Ģ: Using modal verbs to talk about the past: must / might / could / may / can't + have + past participle.The underground will be very busy now (not: 'should be').Ĭan Can is used for something that is generally possible, something we know sometimes happens:Ĭan is not used to talk about specific possibilities:.This use of should isn't usually used for negative events. Should / shouldn't Should and shouldn't are used to make an assumption about what is probably true, if everything is as we expect: We use will and won't when we are very sure: Notice that the opposite of 'must' is ' can't in this case. I am waiting for Julie with another friend, David. 1: Talking about the present: must / might / could / may / can't + infinitive We choose the verb depending on how sure we are. We can use these modal verbs (also called modals of deduction, speculation or certainty) when we want to make a guess about something. Report this ad Click here for all the exercises about modal verbs. Click here to download this explanation as a pdf.

Modal verbs of deduction present and past exercises pdf