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Grammar referenceb2
Modal Verbs
Modal Verbs: Deduction and Possibility
Must be, might be, cannot be, should have.
Explanation
Use must for a confident positive deduction, cannot for a confident negative one, and may, might or could for possibility. For deductions about the past, use the modal plus have plus the past participle.
Examples
- The lights are on, so she must be home.
- That cannot be the right address.
- He might have missed the train.
Common mistakes
She must not be home, the lights are off.
She cannot be home, the lights are off.
Positive evidence needs cannot.
He must left already.
He must have left already.
Past deduction needs must have plus participle.
It can be the answer.
It could be the answer.
Present possibility takes could.