1. What are modals of speculation?
Modals of speculation are modal auxiliary verbs which express
degrees of certainty. In other words, they describe a fact or
situation that is definite, probable, possible, or impossible from the
speaker's point of view. (As the speaker is speculating, he/she may
be wrong.) Here we'll focus on speculating about present or future
events.
For example:
I may buy a new computer this summer, if I can afford it.
He might go back to school for his Master's Degree next year, but
he hasn't decided yet.
2. What is the sentence structure?
The sentence structure is as follows:
subject | modal verb | (negation) | main verb | object/complement
He | must | (not) | be | very happy.
Sandy | may | (not) | study | abroad next fall.
The main verb is always
in the plain form, even
when the sentence
expresses the future.
3. How are modals of speculation used?
Commonly used modals for present and future
events include the following:
Must / will express a definite situation, and must
not / will not / could not an impossible one.
On the other hand, may / may not / might / might
not / could aren't as clear.
The conversation and intonation may subtly change
the meaning.
However, may /may not are more certain than
might / might not / could, and these last three
modals express a weak probability.
4. must:
+ He must really enjoy life because he always has a smile on his face.
- He must not (mustn't) be very happy if he always has a frown.
will:
+ If all countries stop polluting, greenhouse gases will significantly drop.
- Many industrialized countries will not (won't) stop polluting the
environment!
may:
+ Sandy may study abroad next fall, but only if she gets good grades this
spring.
- If Sandy doesn't get good grades this spring, she may not study abroad
next fall.
might:
+ Although we might have cars that fly in 50 years, I doubt it.
- Gasoline-powered transportation might not exist in 50 years. We'll use
electric cars.
could:
+ I could vote for in the next election if one of the candidates interests me.
- Jim is very conservative. He could not (couldn't) ever vote for a liberal
politician.
