Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
Sometimes we know a fact for certain: "It is raining." But very often in real life we are not sure, and we need to say how likely something is. Is it certain? Is it just possible? Is it impossible? English uses a small group of modal verbs to show exactly how confident we are.
In this unit you will learn the modals of possibility and deduction: may, might and could (possible), must (I'm almost sure it is true), and can't (I'm almost sure it is impossible). Choosing the right one is one of the most useful speaking skills at B1.
Modals are easy to build. After the modal, we always use the base verb (the infinitive without to). The modal never changes for the subject — there is no -s in the third person, and we never add do / does.
| Subject | Modal | Base verb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | may / might / could | be, rain, know | They might know the answer. |
| he / she / it | may / might / could | be, rain, know | She could be right. |
| it (deduction) | must / can't | be, mean | It must be a mistake. |
To say that something is possible now or possible in the future, we use may, might or could. In most everyday sentences the three are almost the same in meaning — each one means "perhaps".
| Modal | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| may | perhaps (a little more formal) | It may rain this afternoon. |
| might | perhaps (very common in speech) | She might be at home now. |
| could | perhaps (one of several options) | He could be right — I'm not sure. |
This is the heart of the unit. Think of a "certainty line". At one end you are sure something IS true; at the other end you are sure it is NOT true. The modal you choose shows exactly where you are on that line.
| How sure? | Modal | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 100% sure it is true | must | She must be exhausted. |
| Maybe true (about 50%) | may / might / could | She might be exhausted. |
| Maybe not true | may not / might not | She might not be exhausted. |
| 100% sure it is impossible | can't | She can't be exhausted — she slept all day! |
Be careful: there are two ways to be negative, and they mean very different things. May not / might not means "perhaps not". Can't (or couldn't) means "impossible" — much stronger.
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| may not / might not | it is possible that it is NOT true | He might not come to the party. (Maybe he won't.) |
| can't / couldn't | it is impossible / I'm sure it is not true | He can't be at the party — he is in Paris! (Impossible.) |
When we look at the evidence and reach a confident conclusion, we use must (I'm sure it is true) or can't (I'm sure it is not true). This is called deduction. Notice: can't is the negative of must here — not "mustn't".
| Evidence | Conclusion | Example |
|---|---|---|
| The lights are on and I can hear music. | must (positive) | Someone must be at home. |
| It's midnight and every window is dark. | can't (negative) | They can't be awake now. |
| He hasn't eaten since morning. | must (positive) | He must be really hungry. |
These are the errors B1 students make most often with modals of possibility. Check your own sentences against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| It can rain later, take a coat. | It might rain later, take a coat. | for possibility in a statement we use may/might/could, not "can". |
| She mights be at work. | She might be at work. | no -s and no "to" after a modal. |
| He must to be tired. | He must be tired. | modal + base verb, never "to". |
| That mustn't be true. | That can't be true. | negative deduction uses can't, not mustn't. |
| They can be Turkish, I'm not sure. | They could be Turkish, I'm not sure. | uncertain guess → may/might/could. |
Two friends see a stranger at a party and try to work out who he is. Read it twice and notice how they move along the "certainty line" — from a wild guess, to a possibility, to a confident conclusion.
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them to speculate about the world around you.
Write 8 sentences in which you speculate about people or situations. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): possible · possibility · perhaps · certain · clue · evidence · obvious · probably · likely
When Aylin arrived at work on Monday morning, something was strange. The lights in the main office were on, but nobody was there. Her colleague Berk's coat was hanging on his chair, and a cup of coffee sat on his desk. However, Berk himself was nowhere to be seen.
Aylin had worked at the company for almost three years, so she knew the office very well. On a normal Monday, the building was full of quiet sounds: keyboards clicking, phones ringing softly, and the coffee machine humming in the corner. This morning, though, everything was silent. The only sound was the clock on the wall, and even that seemed louder than usual. Aylin put her bag down slowly and looked around the room, trying to understand what had happened before she arrived. She liked to think carefully before she made a decision, and she did not want to worry for no reason. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that mornings could be unpredictable. Perhaps someone had simply forgotten to lock a door, or perhaps a colleague had arrived unusually early. Whatever the reason, she was sure there would be a sensible explanation.
Berk was one of her closest colleagues. He was friendly, organised, and almost never late. In fact, he often arrived before everyone else and made the first pot of coffee for the whole team. Because of this, an empty chair with his warm coffee still on the desk felt very unusual. Aylin knew that when something is out of place, there is usually a simple reason behind it. 'I should look at the facts,' she told herself, 'and not jump to conclusions too quickly.'
'This is very odd,' Aylin thought. 'Berk is always at his desk by nine. He can't be far away, because his coat and coffee are still here.' She touched the coffee cup: it was still warm. 'He must be somewhere close,' she guessed.
Aylin decided to examine the desk more closely, just like a detective in one of the crime shows she enjoyed watching. The computer screen was still glowing, and a document was open on it, only half finished. His phone was not there, which suggested that he had taken it with him. Next to the keyboard, a pen lay on top of an open notebook, as if he had stood up in a hurry. Each small detail was a piece of evidence, and slowly a picture began to form in her mind.
'If he had gone home,' she reasoned, 'he would have taken his coat and switched off his computer. And if there had been an emergency, someone would surely have called me or sent a message.' She checked her phone, but there were no missed calls and no new messages. This made her feel calmer. 'So it can't be anything serious,' she thought. 'He must have stepped out for just a few minutes.'
There were several possibilities. Perhaps Berk was in a meeting, or maybe he had gone to get some breakfast. He might be talking to the manager upstairs. It was also possible that he was simply in the kitchen. Aylin was not certain, but she did not think anything was wrong.
To be sure, Aylin walked quietly to the kitchen at the end of the corridor. The kettle was cold and the room was empty, so she crossed that idea off her mental list. Next she glanced up the stairs towards the manager's office, but the door was shut and the lights inside were off. 'He probably isn't upstairs either,' she decided. One by one, she was removing the possibilities that did not fit the evidence, keeping only the ones that still made sense.
On her way back, she met Deniz, another colleague, who was just arriving. 'Have you seen Berk this morning?' Aylin asked. Deniz shook her head. 'No, but his car is in the car park, so he must be in the building somewhere,' she replied. This new piece of information was helpful. If Berk's car was still there, then he certainly had not driven away. 'Thank you,' Aylin said. 'That makes sense. He may well be sorting something out downstairs.'
Then she noticed a clue on the desk: a small note. It said, 'Back in 10 minutes.' Now the evidence was obvious. 'He can't be in trouble,' Aylin said to herself, feeling relieved. 'He probably just went to the shop.'
Aylin smiled at how quickly a small mystery had grown in her imagination. A few minutes earlier, she had pictured all sorts of dramatic explanations, yet the truth was almost certainly ordinary. She remembered something her old teacher used to say: when you hear the sound of hooves, think of horses, not zebras. In other words, the common answer is usually the correct one. The note, the warm coffee, and the parked car all pointed to the same simple conclusion.
Suddenly, the door opened and Berk walked in, carrying a large box. 'Sorry!' he said. 'The delivery van arrived early, so I went down to collect this.' Aylin laughed. The mystery was solved. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the likely one, and there is usually no need to worry.
Together, they opened the box and found a delivery of new printer paper and a few packets of pens for the office. It was the least exciting ending possible, and that was exactly why it was so satisfying. There had been no danger and no drama, only an early van and a helpful colleague. 'You should have seen my face when I found your note,' Aylin admitted, laughing. 'For a moment I imagined something terrible had happened.'
Berk grinned as he hung his coat up properly this time. 'You watch too many detective programmes,' he joked. 'Next time I'll just send you a message.' Aylin agreed that this would be a very good idea. Still, she was quietly pleased with herself. She had stayed calm, looked at the evidence, and reached a sensible conclusion instead of panicking. Good thinking, she realised, is a little like being a detective every day: you notice the clues, you weigh up the possibilities, and you choose the explanation that is most likely to be true.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE word from the text.
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. Why did Aylin decide that Berk "must be somewhere close"?
2. What possibilities did Aylin think of before she found the note?
3. Why do you think Aylin felt relieved when she read the note?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, because, however, or, then. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Todd and Sarah talk about how they react in different everyday situations.
You will hear two friends, Todd and Sarah, talking about what they do when they feel stressed, tired, bored or angry. You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your paragraph; your teacher will review it.
A list of short, separate sentences is not real writing. What connects your ideas is linking words. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add more powerful connectors: also, when, while, although and however. These let you show contrast, background and extra information like a confident writer — and they work perfectly when you speculate about a mystery.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | The door was open, and the lights were on. |
| but | show a small contrast | He might be here, but I can't see him. |
| so | show a result | The coffee was warm, so he must be close. |
| because | give a reason | It can't be Ana because she is abroad. |
| also | add an extra point | He may be at lunch. He could also be upstairs. |
| when | say at what time | When I arrived, the office was empty. |
| while | two things at the same time | While I was thinking, the phone rang. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although it looked strange, nothing was wrong. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | It might be serious. However, it was just a note. |
A "mystery" paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | Describe the strange situation | Last week I found a mysterious box outside my door. |
| 2. Body | Speculate: list possibilities with may/might/could, then reach conclusions with must / can't. Link with connectors. | It might be a gift, but it can't be from Ali, because he is away. It must be from a neighbour. |
| 3. Closing | Say what happened, or what you still wonder | In the end, I still don't know who sent it. |
Imagine you receive a mysterious parcel with no name on it. Write about who it might be from and what could be inside. Speculate with modals of possibility.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...