Friday, November 15, 2019


“Modal Auxiliaries : Expressing Present and Past Possibility and Probability with Must and Must Have”

1.      Expressing Present Possibility
In affirmative and negative statements, may (have), might (have), could (have) express possibility. All mean “Possibly” or “Perhaps”.


a.      May
Structure : may (not) + simple form.
-          May shows possibility in the present.
Example :
                                    Where my keys? They may be in the car.
-          May is formal and is often found in writing , like this example :
Side effects of this medication may include upset stomach and fever.
b.      Might
Structure : might (not) + simple form
-          Possibility in the present
Example :               
      Where are my keys? They might be in the car.
-          Might is less formal than may, and is more common in conversation.
c.       Could
Structure : Could (not) + simple form
-          Possible in the present
Example :
      Where are my keys? They could be in the car
-          Could shows options or possibility
-           
2.      Expressing Past Possibility
May, Might, and Could are all used to show possibility in the past.
Structure :  Modal verb + have + past participle
Example :
-          He might have brought the cake
-          She may have gone home early
-          They could have worked late

3.      Expressing Probability with must and must have
Using must plus the verb when you are almost 100 percent sure that something is the case.
Present : must + simple form
Example :
-          They must be in Spain by now. They told me they were going last week.
-          Jack must think I am crazy I think grammar is easy.
Past : must have + past participle
Example :
-          She must have done well on the test
-          Alice must have asked for some help on the test




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