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VERBOS MODAIS
Uso de verbos modais para certeza, probabilidade e dedução.
Dependendo das informações disponíveis, você pode ser mais certo de que
sua conclusão é verdadeira, ou menos certo de que sua conclusão é
verdadeira - e usamos diferentes verbos modais para indicar o grau de certeza.
CERTEZA
Ao fazer deduções sobre o presente, usamos must se nós tivermos certeza que
algo é verdade e can’t se tivermos certeza que algo é
impossível.
• He must be a policeman.
• He can’t be a cook.
Maria trabalha todo dia das 9 horas da manhã até 17 horas da tarde, então...
• Anne got a tan. She must have spent a lot of time in the sun these days.
• There was one apple left, but now it's gone. My wife must have eaten it.
• The car is still dirty. Ian must not have washed it yet.
• She barely touched the pie. She must not have been hungry.
• Ryan couldn't have taken your backpack; he wasn't even here yesterday.
• The cookies are gone. But Melissa couldn't have reached the cookies on the
top shelf; she must have asked her father to get them.
Can’t have também pode ser usado, mas é bem menos comum do que
couldn’t have.
Aqui temos um exemplo que ilustra a diferença entre must not have e couldn’t
have:
• I don’t see the report here – he must not have printed it out.
• The printer’s been broken for the past week, so he couldn’t have printed out
the report.
(Nós sabemos que é impossível que ele tenha imprimido)
• He's definitely going to love this movie - it's by his favorite director.
• My wife will definitely be thrilled when I tell her we're going to Brazil.
Duas expressões ligeiramente mais formais que podem ser usadas para falar
sobre o futuro com certeza é falar que algo is certain to happen ou is sure to
happen:
EXPECTATIVA
Expectativa presente/futura
Quando você espera que algo acontece (embora você não tenha 100% de
certeza), você pode usar should/shouldn't para o presente ou futuro:
• Presente:
I took my dress to be washed yesterday and they said that would be ready in a
day - so my dress should be ready by now.
• Futuro:
Can you please help me decorate the house? It should only take about an hour.
• Presente:
• Futuro:
I've written out all the instructions, so she shouldn't run into any problems.
Expectativas no passado
Para expectativas sobre o que deveria ter acontecido no passado, você pode
usar should have e shouldn't have + past participle:
• I sent her present three weeks ago. She should have received it already. = eu
espero que ela já tenha recebido.
• This watch is brand new. It shouldn't have broken down. = eu esperava que
não tivesse quebrado.
• Marcus saw a man who needed help, but did nothing. "Marcus, you should
have helped him."
• She said something mean to her mom during an argument. "She shouldn't
have said that. It really made her sad."
POSSIBILIDADE
Possibilidade no presente/futuro
Nós podemos usar may, might e could para falar de coisas que são possíveis
no presente e no futuro.
Presente:
• Where's Chloe? She's not in the kitchen. She may be in the bathroom... or she
might be in her bedroom.
Futuro:
My mother may not / might not like it when she finds out.
• I may not /might not be the smartest person in the company, but I definitely
work the hardest.
I could not be the smartest person in the company, but I definitely work the
hardest.
Possibilidades no passado
• She may have misunderstood you when you talked to her last night.
• The person who stole the food could have been one of the employees.
• Jane’s not here. She might not have known about the party.
• If he hasn’t texted you back, he may not have listened to your voicemail yet.
Lembre-se que couldn't have é usado apenas quando temos certeza que algo é
logicamente impossível no passado: