Modal verbs for deduction
Modal verbs for deduction
He must be home. She might be right. They can’t be at the office. Learn to draw conclusions about the past and present.
Deduction about the present
👉 When you are sure something is true now:
must be — certain: He must be tired — he yawned all day.
can’t be — impossible: That can’t be John — he’s in Spain.
might/could be — possible: She might be at the gym.
Deduction about the past
👉 modal + have + past participle
must have — certain: She must have left early — her desk is empty.
can’t have — impossible: They can’t have arrived yet — the train is late.
might/could have — possible: He might have forgotten the meeting.
👉 The same have + participle pattern works for all.
The full scale of certainty
👉 From most to least certain:
must be/have — 100% sure
might/could be/have — maybe
can’t be/have — 0% sure
👉 may works like might: She may have forgotten.
❌ He mustn’t have left — that means "he wasn’t allowed" not "he didn’t".
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