MODALS OF DEDUCTION AND SPECULATION

MODALS OF DEDUCTION AND SPECULATION

We use these to say how sure we are about something

MODAL+INFINITIVE

CAN´T

MUST

We use must when we feel sure that something is true because there´s very strong evidence

MIGHT, MAY AND COULD

EXAMPLES

The people must be rich, the furniture looks expensive

You must love your house, it´s really clean and beautiful

They must like watching television because they have a very big TV

We use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible but we are not sure

EXAMPLES

The plants looks quite tropical, the house might be in a hot country ​​​​​ (She is not sure it´s in a hot country but she thinks it´s possible)

The lights in the house are on, there may be somebody in

The carpets look really clean, they could be new

We use can´t when we feel sure something is not true

EXAMPLES

They can´t have children, there aren´t any toys (She doesn´t know they don´t have children but she feels sure they don´t)

There can´t be many people living here, there are only two rooms

They can´t do much cooking in the house, there isn´t a fridge