Grammar-Quizzes › Verb Phrases › Verb Groups › Modals › Might have vs. Must have
MIGHT HAVE |
---|
Might expresses an opinion: an uncertain guess, a speculation, based on very little information. Might have expresses an opinion about an earlier (past) situation. |
A GUESS |
The car driver might have tried to pass between two buses. |
One of the bus drivers might have changed lanes without looking first. |
The bus drivers might not have been able to see the smaller, lower car. |
The road might have narrowed and so they all tried to move into the same lane. |
MUST HAVE |
---|
Must expresses an opinion: an inference, a conclusion, based on known details. Must have expresses an opinion about an earlier (past) situation. |
A CONCLUSION |
The car driver must have panicked when he saw the buses moving in on both sides. |
The bus passengers must have heard a crunch. (sound) |
The car passengers must have escaped out the back. (No other exits were available.) |
The insurance company must have declared this car "totaled". |
infer (V) – to form an opinion that something is probably true because of information that you have
inference (N) – an opinion that is formed on details or knowledge that you have
panic / panicked (V) – a sudden strong feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly
speculate (V) – to guess about the possible causes or effects of something, without knowing all the facts or details
totaled (Adj) – not worth fixing; totally gone
See Modal Review "Degree of Certainty / Possibility"
MUST – CONCLUSION |
---|
Must have expresses a conclusion about what happened (past), and is based on putting details and clues together and making an inference (a sure guess). |
Traffic officers must be accustomed to seeing occasional bizarre accidents like this one, because they see so many accidents each year |
The passengers in the car must have been extremely frightened. |
MUST – NECESSITY |
---|
Must expresses an opinion about what needs to be done in the present or future, and is based on one's personal sense of what is right and what is wrong. |
Drivers must not make unsafe lane changes. (present tense) |
Each of the drivers had to file an accident report. (past tense) |
Also see Was / Must have / Might have and Should have / Needed to
SENT TYPE | SUBJECT | MODAL | VERB BASE | |
---|---|---|---|---|
STATEMENT | ||||
guess |
She |
might |
be |
upset. |
inference |
She |
must |
be |
upset. |
NEGATIVE | ||||
guess |
She |
might not |
be |
upset. |
inference |
She |
must not |
be |
upset. |
PAST | ||||
guess |
She |
might have |
been |
upset. |
inference |
She |
must have |
been |
upset. |
NEG. PAST | ||||
guess |
She |
might not have |
been |
upset. |
inference |
She |
may not have |
been |
upset. |
W / ADVERB | ||||
guess |
She |
might really have |
been |
upset. |
inference |
She |
must truly have |
been |
upset. |
The title is a play on the words "in plain sight".
Diana: It looks as if the ground is swallowing the car. Rain must of washed the soil away under the road.
Alan: Or a water main might have broke leaving a hole.
Diana: I wonder how the car got there. The driver might parked it there the night before.
Alan: Or the driver might have trying to pass the damaged road by driving on the side.
Diana: Either way, the driver must being frustrated to learn his car is caught in the hole.
soil (N) – dirt, earth
swallow (V) – consume, eat
water main (N) – water supply pipe
A pod of killer whales was found surfacing through a breathing hole in the ice of Hudson Bay, Quebec. The whales were taking turns rising up through a single hole which was about the size of a pickup truck. The whales (became) trapped by a late winter freeze. Observers thought there (were) as many as a dozen whales including several small ones. Some observers worried that some whales (become) trapped under the ice and died. The mayor of the remote Inuit community called for an icebreaker to save the whales, but none was nearby. Other people made plans to enlarge the 30 by 30 foot ice hole with chainsaws. The mayor was against these plans because they (put) local people in danger of falling into the ice hole. However, changing weather conditions overnight allowed the ice to break up and the whales to escape.
This incident was rare. Normally, as the ice moves in and breathing holes close up, Arctic animals move south. This pod of whales (was) confused. Biologists believed that the late freeze (caught) the whales unexpectedly. With global warming the Arctic area is freezing over later and later.
The area usually freezes over at the end of November. Locals think these whales (stayed) to feed on an abundant supply of seals, sea lions and other small whales.
The local people found that neither they nor the Canadian government was well-equipped to help the whales escape. Had the ice not broken on its own, most of the whales would have died. For the remote Inuit community of Inukjuak, Quebec, this (was) a worrisome experience. Fortunately for all, it turned out well.
"The Mystery of Hudson Bay's Trapped Killer Whales." The Pew Charitable Trusts. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. <www.pewenvironment.org>.
Oldenberg, Suzanne. "Stranded Killer Whales Break Free from Hudson Bay Ice." TheGuardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2014. <guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jan/10>.
abundant (Adj) – exists in large quantities; more than enough
breathe (V) – take air into the lungs and let it out; respire
chainsaw (N) – small equipment that cuts wood or ice
escape (V) – get away or out of a small space (jail, prison)
freeze (V) – become cold and change from water to ice
icebreaker (N) – a large ship capable of breaking through ice
incident (N) – situation, circumstance; event
Inuit – people of the Arctic; Alaska, Greenland, Canada
locals (N) – local people; people who live nearby
panic / panicked (V) – a sudden strong feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly
observer (N) – a person who is watching, paying attention
pod – quantifier for a family of whales or dolphins
remote (Adj) – far away from city centers; distant
surface (V) – rise above water into the air
supply (N) – an amount of something that you are able to use
take turns – one after the other; share in a fair manner
trapped (Adj) – caught within a small space or object