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Pol and Ann must be very well off. They've got a huge house.
2.
You must have seen him. He was standing right in front of you!
We use can't and can't / couldn't + perfect infinitive (NOT mustn't / mustn't
have ) to say that we are almost sure that something is not true in the present
or didn't happen / wasn't true in the past.
3.
4.
5.
You can't / couldn't have spent very long on this essay because you've
only written 100 words!
We use may / might / could and may / might / could + perfect infinitive to say
that we think it is possible that something is true in the present or was true /
happened in the past.
Compare:
He might not have done it. (= Maybe he didn't do it.)
He couldn't have done it. (= It is impossible that he did it.)
6.
I haven't seen our boss today. He may / might / could be off sick.
7.
8.
He may / might not have heard the message I left on his voicemail.
Use should + infinitive (or should have + participle) to describe a situation you
expect to happen (or would expect to have happened in the past).
Now compare the use of the infinitive and the continuous infinitive after these
modals.
He must work really hard. He never gets home before 9.00 p.m.
= deduction about a habitual action
There's a light on in his office. He must still be working.
= deduction about an action in progress at the moment of speaking.
9.
10.
2.
Likely / unlikely are also adjectives (not adverbs). We can use these two
structures: subject + be likely / unlikely + infinitive, or it is likely / unlikely +
that clause.
3.
I think she is likely to agree to our proposal. We've given her some very
good reasons.
4.
5.
I think it's very likely that the meeting will be over by 6.00.
6.
It's unlikely that the government will raise interest rates this year.
Definitely and probably are adverbs. They go before a main verb and after the
auxiliary (if there is one) in affirmative sentences and before the auxiliary verb
in negative sentences.
Be likely to and will probably are very similar in meaning, but be likely to is
more formal. Compare: The new coach is likely to be appointed today. The new
coach will probably be appointed today.
7.
She will definitely pass the exam. She's worked really hard.
8.
She definitely won't pass the exam. She hasn't done any work.
9.
10.
PRACTICE
Speculation and deduction
ACTIVITY 142: Complete the mini-dialogues using MUST, MIGHT, COULD, MAY,
CAN'T or SHOULD and the correct form of the verb in blue capitals. Then check
the correct answers.
1.
DO
2.
A: Where's Eve? She said to meet her just outside the tube station.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
B: Well, she anything serious. I've just seen her playing tennis.
HAVE
8.
1.
PROBABLY
Fernando
2.
BOUND
We
3.
DEFINITELY
You
4.
LIKELY
It's
5.
UNLIKELY
They
6.
PROBABLY
My father
7.
SURE
Your parents
8.
DEFINITELY
The manager