LEARN THIS! Modal verbs
a. We use may / might / could have + past participle for speculating about past events.
She may / might / could have gone home hours ago. (= It’s possible she went home hours ago.)
b. We use may / might not have + past participle (but not could not have) as the negative.
She didn’t phone. She might / may not have known my number. (= It’s possible she didn’t know it)
c. We use must have and can’t / couldn't have + past participle to make logical deductions about the past.
You can't / couldn't have seen Louis in town. He lives abroad now. (= It’s not possible that you saw him.)
You must have seen somebody who looks like him. (= That is the only possible explanation.)
d. We use should / shouldn't have + past participle to criticise past actions.
You should have phoned her before you went out.
You shouldn't have used all the credit on your phone.
4. Read the Learn this! box. Underline the past modal verbs in the dialogue in exercise 1.
(Đọc Tìm hiểu điều này! hộp. Gạch dưới các động từ khuyết thiếu trong quá khứ trong đoạn hội thoại ở bài tập 1)
Bài Làm:
The sentences with past modal verbs are:
- "Well, you might have sent it earlier. But I got it yesterday."
- "I can’t have sent you an email. My phone hasn't been working for a week."
- "Somebody must have used your account."
- "You shouldn't have clicked on the link. You've possibly downloaded some malware onto your phone."
- "You might not have downloaded anything. It’s possible that you were lucky."
