☰ خطة العام · اللغة الإنجليزية (Connect)

Climate at school, a weather interview and guessing with modals

الأسبوع 6 · الوحدة 3 «احمِ الطبيعة، احمِ المستقبل» (أ): الافتتاحية ومقال عن المناخ والعدالة (للقراءة في الكتاب فقط) وتعابير عن اللوم وتحمّل العبء والأسماء المركبة وحوار إذاعي مع خبير طقس (بنص نقرؤه بصوت عالٍ) وكلمات الطقس واستماع عن المدن الساحلية وأفعال الاستنتاج في الحاضر والماضي (must وmight وcan’t) وshould / shouldn’t have للّوم والندم ومهمة مقال وصفي · 3 دروس
3

Guessing with must, might and can’t; should have for regret

English Secondary 3 Term 1, Unit 3 Lesson 3: pp. 41–43
GoalMake guesses about the present and the past with modal verbs and express regret and blame with should have.
New words
deduction · a guess that you make from the clues you seecertain · completely surepossible · something that may be trueregret · a sad feeling about something that you did or did not doblame · to say that someone did something wrongevidence · facts or signs that help you to decide
Explanation

We use modal verbs to guess from clues. For the present, use must when you are very sure that something is true, can’t when you are very sure that it is not true, may or could when you are quite sure, and might when you are not sure: The lights are on, so Mr Zaki must be in his office. That can’t be Karim’s pen, because his is green. For the past, use have and the past participle: The window is open, so someone must have opened it. She can’t have finished in ten minutes. He might have forgotten. We do not use numbers here: think of three steps from very sure to not sure. Should have and shouldn’t have talk about the past. We use them for regret about ourselves (I should have brought a hat) and for blame about someone else (You shouldn’t have left the tap running). Compare: You should drink water is advice now; You should have drunk water is a regret about the past. Common slips are must to be, can’t to have gone and should have went. Your book has the full set on pages 41 to 43.

How sure?PresentPast
Very sure: yesmust bemust have been
Very sure: nocan’t becan’t have been
Quite suremay / could bemay / could have been
Not suremight bemight have been
Regret or blame—should / shouldn’t have + past participle
Worked examples

The school yard is wet this morning, but the sky is clear. It can’t have rained last night, because the benches in the yard are dry. The caretaker may have watered the plants. The tap by the wall is still dripping, so he must have forgotten to close it. There might be a puddle by the gate too. He should have checked the tap before he went home.

Listen to six sentences about a wet school yard. A grown-up reads them.
Present deduction: “That must be Nour’s bag, because her name is on it.” “It can’t be Karim’s, because his is green.” “The bus may be late.” “She might need a coat.”
Past deduction: “The window is open, so someone must have opened it.” “The test was hard, so she can’t have finished in ten minutes.” “He might have forgotten his bag.”
Regret and blame: “I should have brought a hat; my head hurts” is regret. “You shouldn’t have left the tap running” is blame.
Advice or regret? “You should drink water” is advice now. “You should have drunk water” is a regret about the past. The form of the verb shows the difference.
Class activity

Descriptive essay. Write 70 to 90 words: what could happen at our school this summer if nobody saved water? Use two uses of could or might, one may and one should. Do not blame any person or country. If you can, write up to 120 words.

Practice
1
Choose: The door is locked and nobody answers, so they ___ home. (must have gone / must go / should be gone)
2
Choose: That ___ be Karim’s pen, because his is green. (must / can’t / should)
3
Choose: I did not revise last night, and now I am worried. I ___ last night. (should have revised / should revise / must have revised)
4
Find the mistake: “She should have went earlier.”
5
Which sentence is a regret about the past? (a) You should drink water. (b) You should have drunk water.