B2 Past Modals: Deduction and Criticism

B2 GRAMMAR · MODALS OF DEDUCTION

Who's Been In My Flat?

PICTURE

(you add this)

"She can't have gone far. She's fat and she hates the outdoors."

must / might / may / could / can't / couldn't have · should / ought to have

Listening

Speaking

A · LEAD-IN

Make as many theories as you can

A man arrives home to find his front door open, his dog asleep on the sofa, and a single muddy footprint in the hall. Nothing is missing.

1. What happened? Make as many theories as you can.

2. Which of your theories is the most likely? Which is the most entertaining?

3. What one extra clue would tell you the answer?

PICTURE

(you add this)

B · LISTENING FOR GIST

Something is wrong in the flat

Leo comes home to an open window, a moved chair and a laptop on the floor.

LISTEN ONCE AND ANSWER

PICTURE

1. What has happened to Leo's flat?

2. Who do Leo and Priya think is responsible?

(you add this)

B · LISTENING · TAPESCRIPT

Who's been in my flat?

LEO Priya. Priya, come here. Something's wrong.

PRIYA What? What's happened?

LEO Someone's been in the flat. The window's open. I definitely closed it this morning — I remember checking, because of the rain.

PRIYA You can't have checked. You never check. You must have left it open again.

LEO I didn't! Look — the chair's moved. And my laptop's on the floor. I wouldn't have left it on the floor.

PRIYA OK. OK, that's... odd. Is anything missing?

LEO No. That's the weird bit. My passport's there, the cash is there. Whoever it was, they can't have been a burglar. A burglar would've taken something.

PRIYA Could it have been your landlord? He might have come round to check the boiler.

LEO He'd have texted. He always texts. And he wouldn't have climbed in through the window, would he?

PRIYA So someone came in through the window... didn't take anything... moved a chair... and left.

LEO Do you think I should have called the police?

PRIYA For a moved chair? They'd laugh at you. Hang on. Where's the cat?

LEO ...Oh.

PRIYA Leo. Where is the cat?

LEO She was in here this morning. She must have got out through the— no. No, wait. The window opens outwards. She couldn't have opened it from inside.

PRIYA No, but she could have been sitting on the ledge, and the latch is broken — you should have fixed it weeks ago, by the way — and if she jumped against it...

LEO And then the wind blew the chair— no, wind doesn't move chairs.

PRIYA The chair's on wheels, Leo. And the laptop was on the chair.

LEO ...Oh. She must have jumped on the chair, the chair must have rolled, the laptop fell off, and she panicked and went out the window.

PRIYA Which was open because the latch is broken. Which you ought to have fixed. Weeks ago.

LEO Yes, thank you. So where is she now?

PRIYA She can't have gone far. She's fat and she hates the outdoors. Try the bins.

LEO I shouldn't have let her get so fat.

PRIYA You shouldn't have let her get so fat, you should have fixed the latch, and you ought to have checked the window. Shall I make a list?

LEO Just help me find the cat.

C · COMPREHENSION

Leo (L) or Priya (P)? Then: is the speaker sure, or not sure?

1. Thinks the other probably left the window open. ____

2. Is sure a burglar wasn't responsible. ____

3. Suggests the landlord may have visited. ____

4. Is sure the cat couldn't have opened the window from inside. ____

5. Criticises the other for not fixing the latch. ____

D · GRAMMAR FOCUS

Deduction: how sure are we?

a) You must have left it open again.

b) They can't have been a burglar. A burglar would've taken something.

c) He might have come round to check the boiler. / Could it have been your landlord?

d) She couldn't have opened it from inside.

1. What structure follows the modal verb in every sentence? (modal + ________ + ________)

2. In (a), is Priya certain in a legal sense, or making a logical deduction from evidence? Which modal means "I'm almost sure this happened"?

3. In (b), which modal means "I'm almost sure this didn't happen"? What is the opposite of must have — mustn't have or can't have?

4. In (c), how sure is Priya? Which three modals can express past possibility?

5. To say something possibly didn't happen we say she may / might not have seen it. Can we say she couldn't have seen it with that meaning?

6. Compare can't have in (b) with couldn't have in (d). Which is used for the more distant past, e.g. They couldn't have been married — they both died young?

D · GRAMMAR FOCUS

Regret and criticism

a) You should have fixed it weeks ago.

b) You ought to have checked the window.

c) I shouldn't have let her get so fat.

d) She should have phoned me. vs She must have phoned me.

1. In (a) and (b), did Leo fix the latch? Did he check the window? Does should have describe something that happened, or something that didn't happen but was the right thing to do?

2. In (c), what does shouldn't have express — an action that didn't happen, or an action that did happen and was a mistake?

3. In (d), in which sentence am I sure she phoned? In which did she probably not phone?

D · THE RULES

Complete the rules

All of these are modal + have + past participle.

• ________ + past participle: we are almost sure something happened or was true.

• ________ / ________ / ________ + past participle: we think it's possible something happened. For the possibility that something didn't happen: may / might not have (NOT couldn't have).

• ________ / ________ + past participle: we are almost sure something didn't happen, or is impossible. Couldn't have is used for the more distant past.

• ________ / ________ + past participle: somebody didn't do the right thing — regret or criticism. Ought (not) to have is a more formal alternative.

CAREFUL

The opposite of must have is can't have, NOT mustn't have.

E · CONTROLLED PRACTICE

Rewrite the bold sentence using must / might (not) / can't + have + verb.

1. The laptop's on the floor. Perhaps the cat knocked it off. The cat...

2. The cash is still there. I'm sure it wasn't a burglar. It...

3. The landlord always texts first. I'm sure he didn't come round. He...

4. Perhaps the landlord didn't get your message. The landlord...

5. Her food bowl's empty. I'm sure she ate before she left. She...

6. The window opens outwards. It's impossible that she opened it from inside. She...

7. You look terrible. I'm sure you didn't sleep last night. You...

8. It's possible that he forgot the meeting. That's why he's not here. He...

9. She knew all the answers. I'm certain she saw the test in advance. She...

10. I'm sure it wasn't my phone that rang — mine was on silent. It...

E · CONTROLLED PRACTICE

Respond with should / shouldn't have or ought / oughtn't to have + a verb from the list.

fix · leave · tell · buy · go · take · check · feed

11. A: The cat got out through the broken window. B: You ______________ that latch weeks ago.

12. A: I'm exhausted — I didn't get to bed till three. B: You ______________ to bed earlier.

13. A: The milk's gone off. B: You ______________ it out of the fridge all night.

14. A: The cat's so overweight she can barely jump. B: You ______________ her so many treats.

15. A: My brother's furious that I didn't warn him about the party. B: You ______________ him in advance.

16. A: I spent 900 pounds on a coat and now I can't pay the rent. B: You ______________ it.

F · FREER PRACTICE

The scene

In pairs, write five clues for a mysterious scene — for example: an empty office at 9 a.m.: the computer's on, a coffee's still warm, one shoe is under the desk, the phone's off the hook, the window's open.

• Swap your clues with another pair.

• They must produce two must have, two might / could have and one can't have deduction...

• ...plus two should / shouldn't have criticisms of whoever was involved.

• Vote on the most convincing theory. The original pair then reveals the truth.

PICTURE

(you add this)

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

B GIST A window is open, a chair has moved and a laptop is on the floor, but nothing is missing. They conclude that the (overweight) cat jumped on the wheeled chair, the laptop fell, and she escaped through a window with a broken latch.

C 1 P — sure (must have) · 2 L — sure (can't have) · 3 P — not sure (might have) · 4 L — sure (couldn't have) · 5 P — not a deduction but a criticism (should have).

D DEDUCTION 1 modal + have + past participle. 2 A logical deduction; must have. 3 Can't have (NOT mustn't have). 4 Just a possibility; might / may / could have. 5 No — couldn't have means "almost impossible", not "possibly didn't". 6 Couldn't have.

D CRITICISM 1 No; no; something that didn't happen but was the right thing to do. 2 An action that did happen and was a mistake. 3 Must have = I'm sure she phoned; should have = she probably didn't.

RULES must have; might / may / could have; can't / couldn't have; should(n't) have / ought(n't) to have. The opposite of must have is can't have.

E 1-10 1 The cat might / could / may have knocked it off. 2 It can't have been a burglar. 3 He can't have come round. 4 The landlord might / may not have got your message. 5 She must have eaten before she left. 6 She can't / couldn't have opened it from inside. 7 You can't have slept last night. 8 He might / may / could have forgotten the meeting. 9 She must have seen the test in advance. 10 It can't have been my phone.

E 11-16 11 should have fixed / ought to have fixed · 12 should have gone · 13 shouldn't have left · 14 shouldn't have fed · 15 should have told · 16 shouldn't have bought. (check and take are distractors.)