Modals – Deduction

We use modal verbs to say how sure we are about something.
Must
1. We use must when we feel sure that something is true because there’s very strong evidence.
  1. EXAMPLE: Come inside and get warm – you must be freezing out there. You’re a zookeeper? That must be very interesting.
    1. Notice that must is followed by an infinitive without ‘to’
Might, May, Could
1. We use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible but we’re not sure.
  1. EXAMPLE: We’ll try to get there early but we may arrive late if there’s a lot of traffic. Don’t put it up there. It could fall off and hit someone.
    1. Might, may and could are also followed by an infinitive without ‘to’.
Can’t
1. We use can’t when we feel sure something is not true
  1. EXAMPLE: It can’t be far away now. We’ve been driving for hours. Where’s the map? Really? He has to work on Christmas Day? He can’t feel very happy about that.
    1. Remember that all these modal verbs - Must, can, can, can and can not be used elsewhere. These are covered in another section.
    2. Like the other verbs, can’t is followed by an infinitive without ‘to’.

Resource summary

	Created by Karen Choi Sang about 11 years ago