0 Im sure thats Robs bag. must
That...... must be...... Robs bag.
1 Maybe hes in the cafeteria, could
He........................... in the cafeteria.
2 Perhaps hell come back for it. might
He........................... back for it.
3 Maybe I wont see him this evening. may
I........................... him this evening.
4 Perhaps Jamie knows his address. Might.
Jamie........................... his address.
5 Im sure somebody has it. Must
Somebody........................... it.
7. Complete the letter. Use must, may (not), might (not), could or cant There may be more than one possible answer.
Congratulations on your exam results! You (0)...... must...... be really pleased!
Im, looking forward to seeing you next month. Im thinking of things we can do. We (1)........................ get bored here, so let's try to go to London. There (2)........................ be a good show on. Illcheck. We can also visit Jane in Scotland. I've never been- to her house, but I know its in a small village outside Edinburgh, so it(3)........................be beautiful! It (4)........................be big enough for all of us, though - I dont know. If we cant stay there, we can easily stay in a hostel. It (5)........................be difficult to find one.
Speculating about the past
We use must/may/might/could/cant + have + past participle to speculate about the past, to show how certain we are that something happened.
We use must + have + past participle when we are certain that something happened:
I sent the letter two weeks ago. He must have received it.
We use may/might/could + have + past participle when we think its possible that something happened: She might have left.
We use may/might not + have + past participle (but not couldnt) when we think its possible that something didnt happen: They may not have seen us.
We use cant + have + past participle when we think its impossible that something happened. Notice the difference between may/might not have and cant have: She might not have passed her exam. (= Its possible that she didnt pass.) She cant have passed her exam! (= Its impossible that she passed.)
Complete the sentences. Use must have or might (not) have and the verbs in
Brackets.
0 I...... might have bought...... the wrong book. Is this the one you wanted? (buy)
1 We...........................the door. I cant remember. (not lock)
2 That party was amazing! They...........................a lot of money on it. (spend)
3 Michaels finished his essay and he only started it last night! He...........................all night. (work)
4 He...........................your message. Why dont you leave another one? (not get)
5 I...........................her phone number in my file. Im not sure. (write)
6 That sounds awful! You...........................terrified! (be)
Circle the correct answer.
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0 I cant / might not have thrown away that letter. I never throw away letters.
1 They cant / might not have gone to the zoo. Im not sure if it was open.
2 I cant / may not have brought my camera. Ill go and look for it in the car.
3 There cant / might not have been many people in town this afternoon. Everyone was watching the football match at home.
4 Sophie cant / might not have taken these photos. Im not sure she was at that party.
5 They cant / might not have painted the whole flat in one day! Its too big.
6 The cat cant / might not have got out. All the doors and windows were shut.
10. Complete the conversations. Use must have, could have, might have or cant
Have and the verbs in brackets.
A: Are you ready?
B: Um... hang on a minute. Im just looking for my MP3 player. I dont know where it is. Maybe its in my bag. No, it isnt. Oh dear! I hope I havent lost it.
A: Lisa (0)...... could have borrowed...... (borrow) it. She uses it sometimes, doesnt she?
B: Yes, but she hasnt been at home today, so she (1)........................... (take) it.
A: Let me look in your bag. You (2)...........................(not see) it. Ah, here it is!
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A: Why didnt Lucy come to Kates last night?
B: I dont know. She (3)........................... (forget) all about it. Do you think Kate was upset?
A: She didnt say anything, but she (4)........................... (be) very disappointed. She really wanted Lucy to come.
B: Lucys often ill. She (5)........................... (not be) well yesterday.
A: She (6)........................... (be) ill. Ben saw her in the afternoon. She was fine.
Permission
To express permission or lack of permission, we use can/cant (present), could/couldnt (past) and (not) be allowed to (all tenses): You can give me the money tomorrow. You cant bring food into class. Can we/ Are we allowed to talk in the library? When I was a child, I couldnt/wasnt allowed to stay out after nine. Next year, students will be allowed to use dictionaries in exams.
May (not) is sometimes used in notices: Students may borrow CDs from the library. Visitors may not take photographs of the paintings.
Compare the use of could and was/were allowed to: In my last job, I could/was allowed to start at ten. (general permission: could or was/were allowed to)
I was allowed to leave early yesterday, (on a particular occasion: was/were allowed to, not could)
To ask for permission, we use can, could (more polite) or may (formal). We dont use be allowed to: Can I go now? Could I use your phone? May I sit here?
To answer yes, we can say: Yes, sure/all right/of course/certainly.
To answer no, we can say: (No,) Im sorry, but (+ a reason).
