Must и can’t: как не ошибиться с выбором
Сегодня тема урока — английские модальные глаголы Must и can’t. Наша задача рассмотреть правила их использования в предложении. уточнить грамматические ограничения, с ними связанные,
А также мы на примерах разберем и постараемся понять, как надо переводить предложения с глаголами must и can’t. Вы правы, мало кто путает эти два модальных глагола. Но корректный перевод текстов с глаголами must и can’t требует определенных знаний, иногда выходящих за пределы курса иностранных языков высшей школы.
A. Study this example:
- A: My house is very near the motorway.
- B: It must be very noisy.
We use must to say that we feel sure something is true:
- You’ve been travelling all day. You must be tired. (Travelling is tiring and you’ve been travelling all day, so you must be tired.)
- ‘Jim is a hard worker.’ ‘Jim? A hard worker? You must be joking. He’s very lazy.’
- Carol must get very bored in her job. She does the same thing every day.
We use can’t to say that we feel sure something is not possible:
- You’ve just had lunch. You can’t be hungry already. (People are not normally hungry just after eating a meal. You’ve just eaten, so you can’t be hungry.)
- Brian said he would definitely be here before 9.30. It’s 10 o’clock now and he’s never late. He can’t be coming.
- They haven’t lived here for very long. They can’t know many people.
Study the structure:
| I/you/he (etc.) | must can’t |
be (tired / hungry / at work etc.) |
| be (doing / coming / joking etc.) | ||
| do / go / know / have etc. |
B. For the past we use must have (done) and can’t have (done).
Study this example:
George is outside his friends’ house. He has rung the doorbell three times but nobody has answered.
They must have gone out. (otherwise they would have answered)
- The phone rang but I didn’t hear it. I must have been asleep.
- I’ve lost one of my gloves. I must have dropped it somewhere.
- Jane walked past me without speaking. She can’t have seen me.
- Tom walked straight into a wall. He can’t have been looking where he was going.
Study the structure:
| I/you/he (etc.) | must can’t |
have | been (asleep / at work etc.) |
| been (doing / working etc.) | |||
| done / gone / known / had |
Couldn’t have… is possible instead of can’t have:
- She couldn’t have seen me.
- Tom couldn’t have been looking where he was going.
Еще статьи про правила использования глагола must
EXERCISES
1 Put in must or can’t.
- You’ve been travelling all day. You must be very tired.
- That restaurant________________ be very good. It’s always full of people.
- That restaurant________________ be very good. It’s always empty.
- You’re going on holiday next week. You ________________ be looking forward to it.
- It rained every day during their holiday, so they ______________ have had a very nice time.
- Congratulations on passing your exam. You ________________ be very pleased.
- You got here very quickly. You ________________ have walked very fast.
- Bill and Sue go away on holiday very often, so they ________________ be short of money.
2 Complete the sentences with a verb in the correct form.
- I’ve lost one of my gloves. I must have dropped it somewhere.
- They haven’t lived here for long. They can’t _know_ many people.
- Ted isn’t at work today. He must___________________ ill.
- Ted wasn’t at work last week. He must___________________ ill.
- (The doorbell rings) I wonder who that is. It can’t________________ Mary. She’s still at work at this time.
- Carol knows a lot about films. She must___________________ to the cinema a lot.
- Look. Jack is putting on his hat and coat. He must___________________ out.
- I left my bike outside the house last night and this morning it isn’t there any more. Somebody must _______________ it.
- 9 Ann was in a very difficult situation. It can’t___________________ easy for her.
- 10 There is a man walking behind us. He has been walking behind us for the last 20 minutes. He must ___________________ us.
3 Read the situations and use the words in brackets to write sentences with must have and can’t have.
- The phone rang but I didn’t hear it. (I / asleep) I must have been asleep.
- Jane walked past me without speaking, (she / see / me) _She can’t have seen me_
- The jacket you bought is very good quality, (it / very expensive)_____________________________
- I haven’t seen the people next door for ages. (they / go away)______________________________
- I can’t find my umbrella. (I / leave / it in the restaurant last night)__________________________
- Don passed the exam without studying for it. (the exam / very difficult)______________________
- She knew everything about our plans, (she / listen / to our conversation)_____________________
- Fiona did the opposite of what I asked her to do. (she / understand / what I said)_______________ ______________________________________________________________________
- When I woke up this morning, the light was on. (I / forget / to turn it off)______________________
- The lights were red but the car didn’t stop. (the driver / see / the red light)____________________
- I was woken up in the middle of the night by the noise next door. (the neighbours / have / a party)
