Lesson 53: Modal Verbs for Probability and Deduction (must, might, can’t)

Hi! Welcome to Lesson 53 from LingTrio!

¡Hola! ¡Bienvenidos a la lección 53 de LingTrio!

Today, we’re going to learn how to express certainty, possibility, or impossibility in English using some special modal verbs:

Hoy vamos a aprender cómo expresar certeza, posibilidad o imposibilidad en inglés usando algunos verbos modales especiales:

must, might, can’t

must, might, can’t

These words help you:

Estas palabras te ayudan a:

Show how sure you are about something

Mostrar cuán seguro estás de algo

Express doubt or uncertainty

Expresar duda o incertidumbre

Say that something is impossible or unlikely

Decir que algo es imposible o improbable

Let’s Learn Them One by One:

Aprendámoslos uno por uno:

Must

Must

Use "must" when you are very sure that something is true — based on evidence or logical conclusion.

Usa "must" cuando estés muy seguro de que algo es verdad — basándote en pruebas o conclusión lógica.

Structure:

Estructura:

must + base verb

must + verbo base

Examples:

Ejemplos:

She must be at home; I saw her car outside. (You are sure based on evidence)

She must be at home; I saw her car outside. (Estás seguro basado en pruebas)

He must be tired after working all day.

He must be tired after working all day.

Might (or may)

Might (o may)

Use "might" when you think there is a possibility that something is true — but you're not certain.

Usa "might" cuando pienses que hay una posibilidad de que algo sea verdad — pero no estás seguro.

Structure:

Estructura:

might + base verb

might + verbo base

Examples:

Ejemplos:

It might rain later. (Possible but not sure)

It might rain later. (Posible pero no seguro)

She might come to the party.

She might come to the party.

Can’t (or cannot)

Can’t (o cannot)

Use "can’t" when you are sure that something is impossible — based on evidence or logic.

Usa "can’t" cuando estés seguro de que algo es imposible — basándote en pruebas o lógica.

Structure:

Estructura:

can’t + base verb

can’t + verbo base

Examples:

Ejemplos:

He can’t be the thief; I saw him at work. (Impossible based on evidence)

He can’t be the thief; I saw him at work. (Imposible basado en pruebas)

That noise can’t be from the engine; it’s too loud.

That noise can’t be from the engine; it’s too loud.

When to Use These Modal Verbs:

Cuándo usar estos verbos modales:

must: almost certain / logical conclusion — She must be tired; she’s yawning a lot.

must: casi seguro / conclusión lógica — She must be tired; she’s yawning a lot.

might / may: possible / uncertain — They might go on vacation next week.

might / may: posible / incierto — They might go on vacation next week.

can’t: impossible / very unlikely — That can’t be true; I just saw him yesterday.

can’t: imposible / muy improbable — That can’t be true; I just saw him yesterday.

Summary:

Resumen:

Use must when you're very sure about something.

Usa must cuando estés muy seguro de algo.

Use might/may when you're unsure but think it’s possible.

Usa might/may cuando no estés seguro pero pienses que es posible.

Use can’t when you're sure something isn’t true.

Usa can’t cuando estés seguro de que algo no es verdad.

Great job! Now you can talk about certainty and doubt more naturally in English!

¡Buen trabajo! ¡Ahora puedes hablar de certeza y duda de forma más natural en inglés!

Let’s keep going with Lingtrio!

¡Sigamos adelante con Lingtrio!