UNIT III: Modals Used for Speculations and Assumptions

	Assumption/ prediction	Logical assumption:	Possibility (supposition):
modals	will/ should	must/ can’t	may/ might/could
certainty	90 - 95 %	80 - 90%	40 - 60%
similar meaning	I assume. I’m quite sure	I’m sure, probably	maybe, perhaps, It’s likely/ unlikely
Ukrainian Russian equivalents	має, напевно, скорее всего (все маєбути гаразд)	напевно, не може бути, должно быть, не может быть	можливо, малоймовірно, возможно, вероятно
Future	Everything will / should be OK.	‘must’ is rarely used	He may/ might/ could come soon.
Present	It’s 8. He will be at home now. He should be waiting for us.	He must be sleeping because it’s dark in the room.	He may/ might/ could be sleeping.
Past	He will have paid by now. ‘Should’ is rarely used.	His car is in the garage so he must have come home.	He might havecome home by now. I’m not sure
Negative	You won’tknow him. It shouldn’t be difficult.	It’s late He can’t/ couldn’t be still in his office.	He may/ might not have finished his report yet.
Questions	Where willhe be now? Do you think he shouldpass his exam?	_____	Could he be so silly? Is he likely to come? ‘Might’ is rarely used. ‘May’ is not used.

Assumptions: will/ should/ must/ can’t/ couldn’t

Ex. 1 Fill in the gaps with ‘will’, ‘won't’, ‘must’, ‘can't’, or ‘should’, and an appropriate infinitive to express assumptions.

- OK. Don't worry about the phone. I'll answer it. It............. (be) David ringing me about tonight's meeting. Hello. 37885.

- Hello John. It's David. I tried ringing you earlier, but I got no reply. You.................... (be) out.

- I haven't been out all morning. You …. (get) the right number. Never mind. What about the meeting? How many people can we expect?

- There ……... (be) quite a few judging by the number of enquiries we've been having. One thing's worrying me. I haven't heard from the speaker, Joan Bakewell. I'm sure she....................... (forget), but it isn't like her not to get in touch. Shall I give her a ring?

- Not now, no. She …………. (teach). You'd better wait an hour or so.

- I've bought twenty bottles of wine for the party afterwards. That........................ (be) enough, don't you think?

- Yes, plenty. I'll see you later, then. Bye.

Ex. 2 Use ‘should’ to criticize and ‘must’ to make a logical assumption. E.g.: He shouldn’t have driven so fast. (не слід було) He must have been in a hurry.(напевно)