9. Set Phrases with Can, May, Might

A. can’t help

If you say that you can’t help doing something, you mean that you are forced to do it: something makes you, even if you don’t want to or shouldn’t.

She’s a very selfish woman, but somehow you can’t help liking her.

Excuse me - I couldn’t help overhearing what you said.

In Russian it means ‘не могу удержаться от...’ or‘не могу не делать (чего-то)’

Can’t help is sometimes followed by but + infinitive (without to); the meaning is the same as can’t help ... ing, but the structure is not very common, and is unusual in spoken English. In Russian it is ‘(мне) ничего другого не остается, как...’

I could not help but realize that something was wrong.

B.can’t (couldn’t)possibly do means ‘просто не могу (не мог) сделать...’

He can’t possibly do it.

I couldn’t possibly refuse him.

C. may/might as well

This phrase is used in an informal style to suggest that one should do something because there is nothing better, more interesting, more useful etc. to do. There is no real difference between may and might here.

As there isn’t anything more to do, I may as well go home.

( я, пожалуй, пойду домой)

I might as well stay at home tonight.. (я, пожалуй, останусь дома...)

Might as wellis also used to compare one unpleasant situation with another.

You never listen - I might as well talk to a brick wall.

(я с таким же успехом мог бы разговаривать с....)

D. if I may say so has become a stereotyped phrase in which the meaning of permission is considerably weakened.

If I may say so, I think you have treated him very badly.

E. It might have been worse means Things are not so bad after all. In Russian it is:

Могло бы быть и хуже

or В конце концов дела обстоят не так уж плохо.

F. May in wishes

Mayis used (especially in a formal style) to introduce wishes for people’s health, happiness, success, etc.

May you both be happy!

May the New Year bring you all your heart desires.

May God be with you.

May she rest in peace. (Prayer for a dead person.)

G. may.... but.....

May can be used in an argument or discussion to refer to a point which one is going to answer.

It may be a very fast and comfortable car, but it uses a lot of petrol.

Может эта машина, конечно, быстрая и удобная, но она....

He may be clever, but he hasn’t got much common sense.

Может он и умный, но у него не очень много здравого смысла.

10. Must and Have for Deduction and Assumption

A. Forms:

Present - must + present infinitive (stative verbs) He must live here.

must + continuous infinitive (dynamic verbs) He must be living here.

Past- must + perfect infinitive He must have lived here.

must + continuous perfect infinitive He must have been living here.

mustis not used with reference to the future. In this case modal words are used instead:

He will evidently know all about it. She will obviously come tomorrow.

B. Must can be used to say that we are sure about something (because it is logically necessary).

Mary must have some problems: she keeps crying.

‘I’m in love.’ - ‘That must be nice.’

Must is only used in this way in affirmative sentences. In questions and negatives, we use can and can’t instead.

‘There’s the doorbell. It must be the postman.’

- It can’t be the postman, it’s only seven o’clock.

What do you think this letter can mean?

must is used in the interrogative only when expressing a doubt about a deduction with must:

There is a lot of noise from upstairs. It must be Tom.

- Why must it be Tom? Other people use that flat.

To express deduction with negative meaning the following is employed:

He must have failed to get in touch with her.

He must be misunderstanding you.

He must have misunderstood you.

He must be unaware of that.

He must have never guessed the truth.

No one must have told him about it.

Must is used with the perfect infinitive for deductions about the past (can and can’t in questions and negatives).

He must have taken sleeping pills last night. He didn’t wake up

till lunch time.

Must with the perfect infinitive may indicate the action begun in the past and continued into the moment of speaking:

He must have been here since breakfast.

Must with the perfect infinitive may indicate the action going on at a certain past moment:

It was a car crash, but no one was hurt. They must have been

wearing the seat belts.

C. must (deduction) compared to may/might The difference is best seen by example:

Imagine that we have three keys on a ring and we know that one of these keys opens the door. We might begin by picking one key and saying:

This may/might be the key. (Perhaps this is the key.)

But after trying two keys unsuccessfully, we will pick up the third key and say: This must be the key. No other choice remains.

Similarly, when considering a past action:

He may have come by taxi. (Perhaps he came by taxi but there are other possibilities).

But He must have come by taxi implies that he had no choice.

D. have/had used for deduction

This is an American usage which is sometimes heard in Britain. have/had here is chiefly used with to be:

There’s a tall dark-haired boy fishing in the river.

- It has to be/must be George’s son.

had + to be can express the speaker’s feeling of certainty in the past. It can also be an alternative to must + perfect infinitive:

I wonder who took the money.

- It had to be Tom/It must have been Tom.

He’s the only one who was there.

But to avoid confusion it is advisable to stick to the must forms.

E. can’t and couldn’t used for negative deduction

Negative deduction about a present event can be expressed by can’t/couldn’t with the simple infinitive of stative verbs or with the continuous infinitive of dynamic verbs:

You can’t/couldn’t be hungry. You’ve just had dinner.

He says he’s still reading ‘The Murder in the Hotel’.

— He can’t/couldn’t still be reading it. He must be joking.

I lent it to him ages ago and it’s quite a short book.

Negative deduction about a past event is expressed by can’t/couldn’t + perfect infinitive (simple or continuous):

A man answered the phone. I suppose it was her husband.

It can’t/couldn’t have been her husband. He’s been dead for ages.

To express deduction with the ‘so-called’ double negation negative prefixes dis- or mis- are used with the verbs or the verb fail:

He can’t dislike the performance. Не может быть, чтобы ему не нравился…

He can’t fail to recognize her. Невероятно, что он не узнает ее.

He can’t have misunderstood the rule. Не может быть, чтобы он не понял…

He can’t have failed to recognize her. Не может быть, чтобы он не узнал ее.

Couldn’t not can’t must be used when the deduction is introduced by a verb in the past tense:

He said it couldn’t be an aeroplane.

She said I couldn’t have come on the 10.30 train.

D. can and could in questions (see 7.1)

To express doubt with negative meaning prefixes dis- or mis- are used with the verbs or the verb fail:

Can he dislike the performance. Неужели ему не нравится спектакль?

Can he fail to recognize her. Неужели он не узнает ее?

Can he have misunderstood the rule. Неужели он не понял правило?

Can he have failed to recognize her. Неужели он не узнал ее?

MUST, HAVE TO, NEED, OUGHT TO, SHOULD, TO BE TO AND HAD BETTER FOR OBLIGATION