Matakuliah
Tahun
Versi
: G0134/Grammar III
: 2005
: revisi 1
Pertemuan 10
Modal Verbs (2) + link words
1
Learning Outcomes
Pada akhir pertemuan ini, diharapkan mahasiswa
akan mampu :
• Menganalisa kesalahan pemakaian modal
verbs dan link words dalam kalimat.
2
Outline Materi
• Certainty, probability, possibility
• Link words / phrases: purpose and reason
3
Certainty
CERTAINTY
• Talking about the present
• We use:
must when we are sure something is true: It
must be from Steven because he’s in Australia.
(= I am certain it is from Steven …)
can’t / couldn’t when we are sure something is
not true: It can’t be / couldn’t be from Steven
because that’s not his writing. (= I am certain it’s
not from Steven …)
4
Possibility
POSSIBILITY
We use:
•  might / may / could when we think
something is possibly true: The letter
might be / may be / could be from Dad’s
friend, Tony, because he moved to
Australia recently. (= I know Tony lives
there and it is possible, not certain, that
the letter is from him)
5
Possibility
might not / may not when we think
something is possibly not true: It may not
be / might not be from anyone that we
know. (= it is possible that it is not)
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Certainty & Possibility
Present
Certainty
TRUE
Must+
infinitive
without to
Possibility Might/may/co
uld + infinitive
without to
NOT TRUE
Can’t/couldn’t +
infinitive without to
Might not/may not +
infinitive without to
Notice that could means the same as might and
may, but couldn’t is different from might not
and may not.
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Talking about the past
Talking about the past
• Certainty
We use:
• Must have when we are sure something is true:
Steven must have arrived in Bandung by now.
(= I am certain he has arrived …)
• Can’t / couldn’t have when we are sure
something is not true: He can’t / couldn’t have
got there yet because it will take at least two
weeks. (= I am certain he hasn’t got there …)
8
Link words: purpose and
reason
• Because, as, since  have similar meanings.
They show the reason or cause of something.
They come before a clause:
LINK WORD
because
We stayed at home as
since
CLAUSE
it was raining.
• There is almost no difference in meaning
between because, as and since, but because
can emphasize the reason more strongly.
• As and since assume that the reason is obvious:
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Link words: purpose and
reason
• I’ll do it because I want to, not because
you asked me to.
• As/Since everyone is here, we can begin.
(=It is obvious)
• We use only because when we answer
with a clause on its own:
• ‘Why are you late?’ ‘Because I missed the
bus.’
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