Lesson 9: Modal Verbs with Perfect Infinitive
This lesson focuses on understanding and using modal verbs in the perfect infinitive form.
About this lesson
In this lesson, we dive deep into the world of modal verbs combined with the perfect infinitive. You will learn how to express assumptions about past events, voice criticism, and talk about missed opportunities. Through practice in a variety of contexts, you will sharpen your grammatical accuracy and enhance your ability to express yourself in English.
40 minutes
What you'll learn
- Understand the function and meaning of modal verbs with the perfect infinitive.
- Correctly use 'must have done' to express a strong deduction about the past.
- Use 'should have done' to express regret or criticism about a past action.
- Use 'could have done' to express a missed opportunity in the past.
- Express various shades of probability and possibility relating to past events.
Lesson vocabulary
- speculate We can only speculate about what happened.
- regret I profoundly regret my decision to leave.
- opportunity This is a great opportunity for growth.
- criticize It's easy to criticize others.
- definitely She is definitely coming to the party.
- uncertainty There is a lot of uncertainty about the future.
- outcome The outcome of the experiments was surprising.
- obligation You have an obligation to help.
- ability His ability to learn quickly is impressive.
- probability There's a high probability of rain tomorrow.
- reproach His words were full of reproach.
- consequence Every action has a consequence.
- apology He offered a sincere apology.
- evidence There is no evidence to support his claim.
- necessity There is no necessity for you to go.