Introduction
Tell me about this picture. How do you think he feels? What do you think happened to him today to make him feel this way?
(Pic of a man in a bar)
Today we are going to focus on grammar used when speculating and/or drawing conclusions about something in the past.
Grammar 1
(There is shouting coming from the neighbor's house. The husband storms out of the house and drives off.)
(The neighbors could have had an argument. They could have been having an argument when he stormed out.)
We can speculate and draw conclusions about something in the past by using the following grammar.
could / must / may / might + have + past participle
Examples:
John was reckless. He could have gotten into an accident.
You must have been upset when you lost your job.
They must have worked really hard to earn all that money.
They must have gone out last night.
She might have changed her mind. I'm not sure.
We can also use:
("conceivably", "possibly" or "well" to say it is likely that something would have happened in the past, if the circumstances had been different.)
For example:
(Mary could conceivably have been fired, if her boss hadn't been such an understanding person.)
What circumstances prevented Mary from being fired? Why could Mary conceivably been fired?
The negative is: The neighbors couldn't have had an argument. What does this sentence tell us?
It tells us that we do not believe that they had an argument.
Controlled Practice 1
Speculate on what might have happened in the following situations.
("could/must/may/might" +" have" + past participle).
Possible answers are in parenthesis.
(There was a car accident. The highway is closed./might >>> They might have closed the highway due to the car accident.)
The poor woman was suddenly able to buy a car and house. She was interviewed on the evening news. (must)
(She must have won the lottery./She must have inherited a lot of money.)
I haven't seen John in weeks. His mail and newspapers are piling up. (must)
(He must have gone on vacation.)
It is raining. The playground is deserted. (may)
(The children may have gone home.)
Fill in the blank with the correct word. Use may/might, could or must.
The lights are out. They __________ have gone to bed.
John __________ have gone to NY yesterday. All the flights were cancelled.
She __________ have changed her mind about coming.
I missed my bus. My alarm clock __________ have stopped last night.
We __________ have gone out last night, but we were too tired.
I __________ not have put everything away in the right place.
Terry __________ not have heard that I’m in town.
The temple __________ have been destroyed by an earthquake.
Make sentences using the following words.
driver/may/drinking/ran the red light
(The driver may have been drinking when he ran the red light.)
company/might/well/arrived/decision/if/argumentative managers.
company/might/concealed/information/authorities
workers/might conceivably/stolen/password/if/tight security
someone/could/cooking/when the fire started
fire/may possibly/continued/if/for the brave firemen.
team/might possibly/lost the match/if/for the strong defense
dinosaurs/might/trying to seek shelter/when the asteroid hit
Language in Use
S1, You are detective trying to solve a break-in. Using the language which we have just learned, to speculate on what might have happened. Here are some words to help you,
(brick, window, ladder, gloves, screwdriver, back door).
S2 and S3, Contradict S1's statement.
Example:
(S1: He could have entered through the basement window. >>> S2: He could conceivably have entered through the basement window, if it had been opened.)