2 Modals to Express

Degrees of Certainty

Nosy Neighbors

Focus on Grammar 5
Part II, Unit 6
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Nosy
Nosy Neighbors
Neighbors 11

Honey, how can Well, she might

Mrs. Carson afford have inherited
a Ferrari? Isnt she some money from
a teacher? her family.
Who knows?
I suppose. Or she
could have won She may have
gotten a big
Ithe lottery.
doubt it. She
raise at work.
had to have
You could
robbed a bank!
be right.
 Nosy
Nosy Neighbors
Neighbors 22

Well, they
I havent couldnt have
seen the gone on
Chins for a vacation. The
They may Or they
month. dog is still there.
have been might be
abducted
Hmmm. by
They staying with
aliens.
must have their son for a
Then
while.they
moved to an
should be
exotic island.
very happy.
 Speculating
Speculating about
about the
the Present
Present
Modals speculating about the present are
followed by a base form verb.

You could be right.

base form verb

Then they should be very happy.

 Speculating
Speculating about
about the
the Past
Past
Modals speculating about the past are followed by the past
participle.

She could have won the lottery.

past
participle

She may have gotten a big raise.

 Review
Review
Modals and modal-like expressions express
degrees of certainty.

Degree of Certainty
certain near near less
certainty impossibility certain

no must cant may

modal have to couldnt might
have got to could
 Certainty
Certainty
Modals and modal-like expressions express degrees of
certainty. Dont use a modal for 100% certainty.

The Chins went on vacation.

Mrs. Carson got a raise.

 Near
Near Certainty
Certainty
There are several modals that express near certainty,
including must have and had to have.

They must have moved to

an exotic island.

He had to have robbed a

bank.
 Near
Near Impossibility
Impossibility
There are several modals that express near certainty that
something is impossible, including couldnt have and cant.

They couldnt have moved away.

They just
moved here.

They cant be out of town.

They left all the
lights on!
 Less
Less Certainty
Certainty
There are several modals that express less certainty,
including may, and might.

They may have been abducted

by aliens.

They might be staying with

their son.
 Use modals to suggest reasons for
Practice 1 these classroom situations. Speculate
on what might have happened.

Example: One of your classmates is late.

She must have gotten stuck in traffic.
There was a big accident.

1. You smell smoke.

2. The teacher is angry.

3. The desks are shaking.

4. You cant find your textbook.

5. The lights go out.

Speculating
Speculating about
about the
the Future
Future 11
Modals speculating about the future are also followed by a
base form verb. The modals should and ought to
express near certainty.

That Ferrari should last a lifetime.

She ought to take us for a drive soon.

Speculating
Speculating about
about the
the Future
Future 22
Use may, might, and could when you are
less certain.

The Chins may not return.

The house might get sold.

They could move next month.

 Use modals to express future
Practice 2 possibilities about these
present situations.

Example: We shop for food at grocery stores.

Smart kitchens might calculate what we need and
order it electronically. In the future, household
computers may do all our shopping.

1. Ordinary people dont travel in space.

2. Houses are made of wood.

3. People pay for products with cash or credit cards.

4. Our fingerprints provide identification.

 References
References

Copyright 2006 Pearson Education and

its licensors. All rights reserved.