FRIDAY'S LESSON MODAL

Modal Verbs For Certainty CERTAINTY ABOUT THE PRESENT 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 “He must be a chef.” 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.

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

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. Modal Verbs in Englishmust have + past participle when 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. 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.

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.

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE! What is one thing you expect to do or one thing you expect to happen within the next week? Create your own sentence using should: Ex) Within the next week, I should finish the book I’m reading.

PAST EXPECTATION For expectations about what was supposed to happen in the past, you can use SHOULD HAVE and SHOULDN'T HAVE plus the past participle: Modal Verbs in English I sent the package three weeks ago with express mail. They should have received it already. = I expect that they have already received it This car is brand new. It shouldn’t have broken down. = I expected it NOT to break down Because should/shouldn’t are also used for giving advice and recommendations, we can also use should have and shouldn’t have for evaluating things in the past and declaring them to have been right or wrong, good or bad: Lindsay saw a woman who needed help, but did nothing. “Lindsay, you should have helped her.” I said something mean to my best friend during an argument. “I shouldn’t have said that. It really hurt her feelings.”

PUT IT INTO PRACTICE! Think of one thing you regret doing, and one thing you regret NOT doing. Make sentences about them using should/shouldn’t have + the past participle: I should have… I shouldn’t have

PRESENT/FUTURE POSSIBILITY We can use may, might and could to talk about things that are possible in the present and future. Present: Modal Verbs in English Where’s Fred? He’s not in his office. He maybe in the bathroom… or he might be in the conference room. Don’t eat that mushroom. It could be poisonous. Future: The weather forecast says it may rain tomorrow. Your daughter is really smart. She could be very successful someday. We might take a road trip this weekend

The key difference between may might and could is their function. May is formal and used to express actions that are more likely to happen, while might is informal and used with less likely events. Could, on the other hand, can be used to refer to past actions and to express ability. These three words are modal verbs and used along with other verbs. We can use them to express possibility, ability, and necessity. Sometimes may and might can be used interchangeably as well when referring to probability and possibility. The words may and could are polite and formal forms and are frequently used on formal occasions. Might is the past tense form of may, and it is used in informal situations.

Are you sure that’s a good idea? The boss may not / might not like it when he finds out. The boss could not like it when he finds out. I may not /might not be the smartest person in the class, but I definitely work the hardest. I could not be the smartest person in the class, but I definitely work the hardest.

PAST POSSIBILITY When talking about past possibilities, we can use… might have / may have / could have + past participle (for positive possibilities) and might not have / may not have + past participle (for negative possibilities). Positive Past Possibilities: Modal Verbs in EnglishShe’s not home. She might have gone to the store. He may have misunderstood you when you talked to him yesterday. The person who stole the documents could have been one of the employees. Could have is usually used in unreal conditions – when we are imagining a possibility if something in the past had been different: “If we had started this project earlier, we could have finished on time.”

Could have is usually used in unreal conditions – when we are imagining a possibility if something in the past had been different: “If we had started this project earlier, we could have finished on time.

Summary Use must (present) and must have (past) when you are very certain that something is/was true Use can’t (present) and couldn’t have (past) when you are very certain that something is/was impossible Use should/shouldn’t (present) and should have / shouldn’t have (past) to talk about things you expect to be true, although you don’t have complete certainty You can also use should have / shouldn’t have for judging actions in the past to be good or bad Use might (most common), may, or could to talk about present and future possibilities Use might have, may have, or could have to talk about past possibilities For a possibility that something did NOT happen, use might not have and may not have

Exercise 1 – Complete the blanks with must, can’t, or might: 1. Look at that guy's enormous muscles. He ________________ work out a lot. 2. Michelle ________________ want to participate in the festival - it seems like the type of thing she'd be interested in. Why don’t you ask her? 3. She goes camping every weekend. She ________________ really love the outdoors. 4. He worked hard on his report, then accidentally deleted the file from his computer. He ________________ be upset. 5. You ________________ be right - but I'm going to check to make sure. 6. We're not sure if this painting is an original. It ________________ be worth thousands of dollars. 7. I ________________ not be able to go to the football game. It depends on whether I can get the afternoon off from work. 8. He's working full-time and studying for his Ph.D. That ________________ be easy. 9. You just ate a huge dinner! You ________________ be hungry again already! 10.Wow - look at that diamond necklace. It ________________ cost a fortune.

Look at that guy's enormous muscles. He must work out a lot. 2. Michelle might want to participate in the festival - it seems like the type of thing she'd be interested in. Why don’t you ask her? 3. She goes camping every weekend. She must really love the outdoors. 4. He worked hard on his report, then accidentally deleted the file from his computer. He must be upset. 5. You might be right - but I'm going to check to make sure. 6. We're not sure if this painting is an original. It might be worth thousands of dollars. 7. I might not be able to go to the football game. It depends on whether I can get the afternoon off from work. 8. He's working full-time and studying for his Ph.D. That can't be easy. 9. You just ate a huge dinner! You can't be hungry again already! 10.Wow - look at that diamond necklace. It must cost

I'm so thankful for your help with this project. I ___________________ have done it without you! 2. The repairs I made ___________________ have fixed the problem, but they didn't - so I'll have to take another look. 3. It ___________________ have rained a lot last night - there are puddles everywhere. 4. I ___________________ have watched that horror movie; it gave me nightmares. 5. We ___________________ have known about this; nobody told us anything about it. 6. If you’ve been trying to lose weight, then you really ___________________ have eaten all that ice cream. 7. He ___________________ have finished a 500-page book in a single day! 8. She never showed up. She ___________________ have forgotten about our appointment. 9. He broke two of the plates while washing the dishes. He ___________________ have been more careful

I'm so thankful for your help with this project. I couldn't have done it without you! 2. The repairs I made should have fixed the problem, but they didn't - so I'll have to take another look. 3. It must have rained a lot last night - there are puddles everywhere. 4. I shouldn't have watched that horror movie; it gave me nightmares. 5. We couldn't have known about this; nobody told us anything about it. 6. If you’ve been trying to lose weight, then you really shouldn't have eaten all that ice cream. 7. He couldn't have finished a 500-page book in a single day! 8. She never showed up. She must have forgotten about our appointment. 9. He broke two of the plates while washing the dishes. He should have been more careful. 10.They ate every bite of their dinner - they must have enjoyed the food.