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MODAL VERBS OF PROBABILITY
Sometimes Modal auxiliary verbs can express probability, or how certain a situation is.
Can't= logically improbable
We're not absolutely sure but we're pretty certain
(Ex. She can't have a ten-year-old daughter! She's only 24!)
The continuous infinitive is formed with be + ing
(Ex. You must be joking
I could be sitting)
֍ Probability in the past
The perfect infinitive is formed with have+past participle.
(Ex. He must have caught a later train)
The continuous infinitive is formed with have+been+ing
(Ex. She must have been joking
They can't have been trying very hard
He could have been lying to you)
