{"id":11658,"date":"2020-02-07T10:45:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T09:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=11658"},"modified":"2021-10-11T09:24:43","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T07:24:43","slug":"modals-deductions-about-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/modals-deductions-about-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Modals \u2013 Deductions about the Past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Level: Intermediate-Advanced<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modal verbs for deduction are used when trying to see whether something is true or not. The way we choose these modal verbs is an indication of how big we think the possibility is. Some modals of deductions about the past are must have<\/strong><\/em>, might have<\/strong><\/em>\/may have<\/strong><\/em>, and can’t have<\/em><\/strong>\/couldn’t have<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compare:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She must be<\/span><\/strong> really exhausted<\/span><\/strong> from working all day. (present deduction<\/em>)
She must have been<\/span><\/strong> very exhaused<\/span><\/strong> when she had to work all day. (past deduction<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

must have<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Must have + past participle<\/strong> is used to express certainty about something. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She couldn’t find her purse. She must have left<\/span><\/strong> it at the restaurant.
Allan must have had<\/span><\/strong> the flu. He didn’t show up at any of his appointments today.
We’ve got enough money. Michelle must have saved<\/span><\/strong> on her meal earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

might have \/ may have<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Might have or may have + past participle<\/strong> is used to express the possibility that something happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I might have bought<\/span><\/strong> the wrong brand. Can you please ask Mom to check?
Joe thinks his wife may have left<\/span><\/strong> with her lover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note<\/strong>: Might have<\/em><\/strong> is the less formal form compared to may have<\/em><\/strong>. Could have<\/em><\/strong> is another possible form to be used in such context but it is not that very common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

can’t have \/ couldn’t have
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can’t have<\/strong> and couldn’t have + past participle<\/strong> are used to express that it is not possible for something to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can\u2019t have left<\/span><\/strong> the party yet because their car is still outside.
Andrea thought she saw her old university professor this morning but it couldn’t have been<\/span><\/strong> her \u2013 she moved abroad years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Level: Intermediate-Advanced Modal verbs for deduction are used when trying to see whether something is true or not. The way we choose these modal verbs is an indication of how big we think the possibility is. Some modals of deductions about the past are must have, might have\/may have, and can’t have\/couldn’t have. Compare: She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[5565],"class_list":["post-11658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar","tag-modals"],"yoast_head":"\nModals \u2013 Deductions about the Past | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/modals-deductions-about-the-past\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Modals \u2013 Deductions about the Past | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Level: Intermediate-Advanced Modal verbs for deduction are used when trying to see whether something is true or not. 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