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Intermediate Unit 8a

May, might, could, must, can't and couldn't are used to discuss possible and probable explanations of present situations. May, might and could are modal verbs. May not and might not are used to say that you think something is possible but that you cannot be certain that it is true. The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman Another mysterious creature, similar to Bigfoot, that may or 1 can't / must live in the Himalayas.

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658 views2 pages

Intermediate Unit 8a

May, might, could, must, can't and couldn't are used to discuss possible and probable explanations of present situations. May, might and could are modal verbs. May not and might not are used to say that you think something is possible but that you cannot be certain that it is true. The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman Another mysterious creature, similar to Bigfoot, that may or 1 can't / must live in the Himalayas.

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gallipatero
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Life

Intermediate Unit 8a
may, might, could, must, cant, couldnt: Speculating about the present

Bigfoot
A mysterious creature that may live in the forests of north-west Canada. Some theories suggest that the creature might be a bear, and others that it could be a giant ape similar to a gorilla. Similar stories are also told in Indonesia and Australia and many say there must be some truth to them. Others say the creatures cant possibly exist as no one has ever been able to find a body or the remains of a body.

Presentation
You can use may, might, could, must, cant and couldnt to discuss possible and probable explanations of present situations: It may live in the forests of north-west Canada. The creature might be a bear. It could be a giant ape. Many say there must be some truth to the stories. Others say they cant possibly exist.
may, might and could cant and couldnt

You use cant and couldnt to say that you think something is impossible: It cant be true.
must

You use must to say that you believe very strongly that something is true: There must be some truth to the story. You do not use mustnt to say that something is impossible: Say It cant be true. (dont say It mustnt be true.) May, might, could and must are modal verbs. See Unit 52 for notes on the rules of form for modal verbs.

You use may, might and could to say that you think something is possible but that you cannot be certain that is true: The creature may / might / could be a bear.
may not and might not

You use may not and might not to say that you think it is possible that something is not true: It may not exist.

Practical Grammar 2

1

National Geographic Learning

Intermediate Unit 8a
Exercises
1 Choose the correct modal verb. Sometimes both are possible.

The Yeti, or Abominable Snowman


Another mysterious creature, similar to Bigfoot, that may or 1 cant / may not live in the Himalayas. Some theories suggest that the creature 2 could / may be an ape and others say it 3 might / must be an enormous grey wolf. Locals say there 4 must / couldnt be some truth to the story and point to giant footsteps as proof of its existence. Scientists argue that it 5 cant / mustnt possibly be true as no real evidence has ever been found.

2  Complete the second sentence using the word given in brackets so that it has the same meaning
as the first sentence. 1

That man looks just like John. Its obviously his brother. (must) That man Im sure that answers wrong. Johns brother, they look so similar.

(cant) That answer right. They live in the same street. Perhaps they know each other. (might) They live in the same street. They He looks too young to drive a car. (cant)He old enough to drive a car. Its possible that the footprints belong to a large bear. (may) The footprints to a large bear. Theyve got three houses. Theyre obviously very rich. (must) Theyve got three houses. They very rich. each other.

3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Complete the sentences with might, must or cant. Then listen and check.

Is that Rose over there? No, it be. Shes gone to visit her mother. Youve been working since six oclock this morning. You be exhausted. Youre going in the sea? You be serious! Its too cold. Sue want us to bring some food to the party. Ill phone and ask her. He love his job. Hes always at the office. He works so hard, he spend much time with his family. Thats the phone. Ill get it. It be my mother. She sometimes phones around this time. Jamies so happy these days. Hes always smiling and singing to himself. He be in love!
2 National Geographic Learning

Practical Grammar 2

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