Exercises

Speculation and deduction – modal verbs and expressions

Exercise 1

1. Yesterday I fell running and I think I might have sprained my ankle.

We use might/may have + past participle to say that it’s possible that something was true or happened in the past.

1. He 's bound to win the competition. He's the best by far.

Bound and sure are adjectives that are used to say that we are quite sure that something will be true or happen. We use them in the structure be bound/sure + to infinitive.

We could also say, 'He will definitely win.'

1. The light in Scot's room is on. He must be playing computer games.

We are sure that he is playing computer games now. We use must be + –ing to say that we are quite sure that something is happening now.

1. He can't speak German very well. He's only lived in Germany for one month.

We are sure that he isn't able to speak german in the present (NOT in the past or future). We can use can’t + infinitive to say that we are quite sure that something is NOT true.

1. A: The burglar broke into our home in daylight. B: Then some of your neighbours might have seen him.

We need to express past possibility. We use might/may have + past participle to say that it was possible that something was true or happened in the past.

1. I could have earned a lot as an accounting manager, but the job was just too boring.

We can use could have + past participle to say that something was possible in the past, although it did not happen.

1. This song is sure to be the next big hit.

We can use be bound/sure + to infinitive to say that we are quite sure that something will be true or happen in the future. We could also say, 'This song will definitely be...'

1. He is unlikely to go to prison for the theft because he has no previous criminal record.

If something is is unlikely to happen it means that it probably won’t happen. We can say something is likely/unlikely to happen or it is likely/unlikely that something will happen.

1. A: Have you seen the cat? I can't find him. B: Have you checked under the bed? He may be hiding there.

We use might/may be + –ing to say that it’s possible that something is happening now (but we are not sure).

1. You should have received a copy on the contract at the email address you provided the day after you signed.

We use should have + past particle to say that something was supposed or expected to happen in the past.