A street sign indicating Fifth Avenue in New York City

Activities: “How to make deductions in English?”

By: Stacey Shim Christensen
Associated Articles

These activities are part of our English Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Activity 1: Oh no! The baby is crying!

Oh no! The baby is crying! Choose the right modal to make deductions about why!

  • She ____ be cold. It’s warm in her room, but it’s still possible.

  • ____ she be sick? But it’s unlikely. She’s a very healthy baby.

  • I don’t know much about babies, but she ____ have a dirty diaper. We should check.

  • She ____ have a stomach ache. At least, that was the problem once.

  • She ____ be tired. She didn’t want to take her usual nap.

  • The baby is crying, but she ____ be hungry because I just fed her.

Activity 2: Fill in the blanks

For each sentence, fill in the blank with a modal + the verb in parentheses.

  • Your brother (be) a great soccer player. Everyone wants him on their team.

  • I don’t know why I’ve been so tired this week. I (be) staying up too late.

  • Do you know where Mom is? She (leave) — her car key is on the table.

    Can’t have left is the most natural option in this context.

  • Go and look in the basket in the mudroom. You (leave) your gloves in there.

  • Julie (like) the movie very much. She left before the movie ended.

  • Oh, we have a missed call from New York. It (be) from Mark. He said he would call today.

  • I saw Julie buying Mark’s favorite cologne. She (go) to Mark’s birthday party this weekend.

Activity 3: Make your own deductions!

A photo of the torso of a white man in a navy blue suit and tie, with a modern staircase in the background.

Based on the photo, create your own deductions using modals, adverbs, or set phrases and the given words.
ex: Tom is wearing a suit and tie today.
Since you are making your own conclusions, there are no "correct" answers for this activity!

  • (job interview).

    e.g. He must be going to a job interview.
    It looks like he’s going to a job interview.
    He’s probably going to a job interview.

  • (nervous).

    e.g. He might / may be nervous.
    He must be nervous.
    He’s probably nervous.
    It seems that he is nervous.

  • The interview (last one hour).

    e.g. The interview may / might / could last an hour.
    The interview can’t last more than an hour.
    It is unlikely that the interview will last more than an hour.

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