As we saw in the inicial lesson on modal verbs, these verbs express modality, such as possibility and probability. When used with the infinitive form of the present perfect (“have” + past participle), modal verbs indicate speculation about things in the past.
Uses
Must have
“Must have” is used to express a logical conclusion about something that occurred in the past. We are unsure of what exactly happened, but based on the evidence, we can come to some conclusion. As opposed to “might have” or “may have”, as we will see later, “must have” expresses more certainty.
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The lights are off. They must have gone out.
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I never see John and Claire together anymore. They must have separated.
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I know you love chocolate. It must have been difficult to say “no” to that piece of cake.
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John never called you last night? He must have been working late.
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Frank failed the exam. He must not have been paying attention in class.
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May have/Might have
“May have” and “might have” are used to express possibility in the past. The use of these two modal perfects also express uncertainty.
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I think it may have worked but we gave up too soon.
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They might have won if their star player hadn’t been injured.
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I don’t know, it might have been different if you were there.
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Can’t have
“Can’t have” is used in a similar manner to “must have”, but in the negative. We use “can’t have” when we are fairly certain that something didn’t happen or wasn’t true in the past.
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I know you love chocolate. It can’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake.
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Frank failed the exam. He can’t have been paying attention in class.
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They had a lot of work to do and little time. They can’t have finished everything.
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Could have
“Couldn’t have” can be used instead of “can’t have”.
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I know you love chocolate. It couldn’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake.
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Frank failed the exam. He couldn’t have been paying attention in class.
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They had a lot of work to do and little time. They couldn’t have finished everything.
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“Could have” is also used to express that something was possible in the past, but in fact did not happen.
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If it hadn’t stopped raining, the party could have been a disaster.
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She could have run faster, but she wanted to save her energy.
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We could have bought a new car, but we decided to use the money to go on vacation.
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“Could have”, in the affirmative, is similar to “might have” or “may have”, in that it expresses possibility in the past.
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I think it could have worked, but we gave up too soon.
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They could have won if their star player hadn’t been injured.
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I don’t know, it could have been different if you were there.
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Should have/Ought to have
“Should have” and “ought to have” are used when something didn’t happen but it would have been better if it had. In the negative, these modals indicate that something happened but it would have been better if it hadn’t.
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I told you, you should have studied more!
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Ben ought to have gone to the doctor sooner. Now they say it will be a month before he is fully recovered.
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We should have left earlier. Now we are going to be late.
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I shouldn’t have eaten that last cookie.
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She shouldn’t have been angry, it wasn’t your fault.
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Would have
“Would have” is used to form the conditional in English. See the lesson on conditional sentences for more information.
“Would have” is used to form the conditional in English. See the lesson on conditional sentences for more information.
Los verbos modales, como vimos en la lección anterior, expresan posibilidad o probabilidad. Cuando se utilizan con la forma infinitiva del perfecto (“have” + participio pasado), los verbos modales indican especulación sobre cosas en el pasado.
Uses (Usos)
Must have
“Must have” se usa para expresar una conclusión lógica sobre algo que ocurrió en el pasado. No estamos seguros de lo que sucedió exactamente, pero basándonos en las pruebas, podemos llegar a alguna conclusión. A diferencia de “might have” o “may have”, como veremos más tarde, “must have” expresa más certeza.
Ejemplos:
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The lights are off. They must have gone out.(Las luces están apagadas. Se deben haber ido.)
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I never see John and Claire together anymore. They must have separated.(Ya nunca veo a John y Claire juntos. Se deben haber separado.)
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I know you love chocolate. It must have been difficult to say “no” to that piece of cake.(Sé que te gusta el chocolate. Debe de ser difícil para ti decir “no” a un pedazo de pastel.)
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John never called you last night? He must have been working late.(¿John no te llamó anoche? Debe haber trabajado hasta tarde.)
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Frank failed the exam. He must not have been paying attention in class.(Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)
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May have / Might have
“May have” y “might have” se utilizan para expresar posibilidad en el pasado. El uso de estos dos modales también expresa incertidumbre.
Ejemplos:
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I think it may have worked, but we gave up too soon.(Creo que podría haber funcionado, pero nos rendimos demasiado pronto.)
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They might have won if their star player hadn’t been injured.(Ellos podrían haber ganado si su mejor jugador no se hubiera lesionado.)
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I don’t know, it might have been different if you were there.(No sé, podría haber sido diferente si tú hubieras estado allí.)
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Can’t have
“Can’t have” se utiliza de una manera similar a “must have”, pero en la forma negativa. Podemos utilizar “can’t have” cuando estamos bastante seguros de que algo no ocurrió o que no fue verdad en el pasado.
Ejemplos:
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I know you love chocolate. It can’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake.(Sé que te gusta el chocolate. No debió haber sido fácil para ti decir “no” a ese pedazo de pastel.)
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Frank failed the exam. He can’t have been paying attention in class.(Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)
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They had a lot of work to do and little time. They can’t have finished everything.(Tenían mucho trabajo que hacer y poco tiempo. No podrían haber terminado todo.)
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Could have
“Couldn’t have” se puede usar en lugar de “can’t have”.
Ejemplos:
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I know you love chocolate. It couldn’t have been easy to say “no” to that piece of cake.(Sé que te gusta el chocolate. No debió haber sido fácil para ti decir “no” a ese pedazo de pastel.)
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Frank failed the exam. He couldn’t have been paying attention in class.(Frank suspendió el examen. No debió haber estado atento en la clase.)
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They had a lot of work to do and little time. They couldn’t have finished everything.(Tenían mucho trabajo que hacer y poco tiempo. No podrían haber terminado todo.)
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“Could have” también se utiliza para expresar que algo fue posible en el pasado pero en realidad no pasó.
Ejemplos:
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If it hadn’t stopped raining, the party could have been a disaster.(Si no hubiera parado de llover, la fiesta podría haber sido un desastre.)
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She could have run faster, but she wanted to save her energy.(Ella podría haber corrido más rápido, pero quería ahorrar energía.)
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We could have bought a new car, but we decided to use the money to go on vacation.(Podríamos haber comprado un coche nuevo, pero decidimos usar el dinero para ir de vacaciones.)
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“Could have”, en la afirmativa, es parecido a “might have” o “may have”, expresa posibilidad en el pasado.
Ejemplos:
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I think it could have worked, but we gave up too soon.(Creo que podría haber funcionado, pero nos rendimos demasiado pronto.)
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They could have won if their star player hadn’t been injured.(Ellos podrían haber ganado si su mejor jugador no se hubiera lesionado.)
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I don’t know, it could have been different if you were there.(No se, podría haber sido diferente si tu hubieras estado allí.)
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Should have / Ought to have
“Should have” y “ought to have” se utiliza cuando algo no ocurrió, pero habría sido mejor si hubiera ocurrido. En la negativa, estos referentes indican que algo sucedió, pero habría sido mejor que no fuese así.
Ejemplos:
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I told you, you should have studied more!(Te lo dije, deberías haber estudiado más.)
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Ben ought to have gone to the doctor sooner. Now they say it will be a month before he is fully recovered.(Ben debería haber ido al médico antes. Ahora dicen que tardará un mes más en recuperarse por completo.)
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We should have left earlier. Now we are going to be late.(Deberíamos haber salido más temprano. Ahora vamos a llegar tarde.)
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I shouldn’t have eaten that last cookie.(No debería haber comido la última galleta.)
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She shouldn’t have been angry, it wasn’t your fault.(No debería haberse enfadado, no fue culpa tuya.)
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Would have
“Would have” se usa para formar frases condicionales en inglés. Ver la lección de frases condicionales para más información.
“Would have” se usa para formar frases condicionales en inglés. Ver la lección de las frases condicionales para más información.
