deductions – English Grammar Profiler

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  • ‘Deduction’ is guessing how true we think something is.
  • We deduce this truth from the available information.
  • We usual use modal verbs to express how certain we are about the possibility.
  • It is similar to drawing a conclusion.

Here’s an example of past modality:

You HAD TO HAVE KNOWN about the problem before you started driving.

Before the car broke down on the highway, I am sure you noticed something was wrong with the car.

‘HAVE’ to have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 69 in the category of MODALITY is defined: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: ‘must’ to guess and deduce, most commonly with ‘it must be’, or ‘you must be’. *We cannot ensure automatically that this form will point to the usage.  We have deleted some ngrams that are obviously not the

You must be | It must be Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 188 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: PAST NEGATIVE, ‘can’t’ or ‘cannot have’ + ‘-ed’ to make deductions. It means that if we cannot have fired those torpedoes, someone else did. listen A search in iWeb: 1 CA N’T HAVE HELPED 61   The New York Times Emma Thompson Can’t Live Without Hannah Gadsby and

can’t have past participle Read More »

Modality is the grammatical expression of the speaker’s attitude or opinion about the possibility, necessity, or certainty of an action or state. Can’t is a modal verb that shows the negation of the verb can. It means that the subject is unable to do something, such as perform an action or demonstrate an ability. It can also be used to express deduction, which is a logical inference based on evidence or reasoning. For example:

She can’t swim. (ability)
He can’t be at home. It’s too early. (deduction)

can’t | cannot Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, there are essentially the same two points in the category of Modality at B2 for the same form. Point 144 is defined as: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: perfect form of ‘must’ to make deductions about the past. and point 166: PAST AFFIRMATIVE must have’ + ‘-ed’. For example: He had come such a long way, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could

MUST HAVE + past participle Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 137 in MODALITY is defined as: negative forms of ‘can’t’ and ‘cannot’ to guess, predict and deduce. This point is an extremely difficult point to locate because it heavily relies on usage.  The use of ‘can’t’ is A1 by default, but not ‘cannot’ which has not been given

‘It cannot be true’ (modality) Read More »