Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1His hair is completely dry, so he ............... have been swimming in the pool.
Wrong!
Use "can't" when the wet-hair clue makes the idea impossible or very unlikely.
2All the lights are off in the library, so it ............... be open now.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the lights-off cue shows that the library is not open now.
3Tom's car isn't outside, so he ............... be at home.
Wrong!
Use "can't" to say the speaker deduces he is not at home because his car is not there.
4I can hear loud music and dancing from Anna's room; she ............... be studying.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the loud music makes it unreasonable to think she is studying.
5You saw Marco at the office at ten, so he ............... have been at the meeting across town at ten.
Wrong!
Use "can't" for a negative deduction about the past, because Marco was seen at the office at the same time.
6The taxi app says the hotel is twelve hours away, so it ............... be a two-minute walk away.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because a twelve-hour journey makes a two-minute walk impossible.
7The fridge is empty, so Dad ............... be making dinner.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the empty fridge proves the speaker is not preparing dinner.
8The email says this report arrived this morning, so it ............... have been sent yesterday.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the email timestamp shows the report was not sent yesterday.
9Ms Green is standing at the board, so she ............... be absent today.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the teacher is standing in front of the class, so she is not absent.
10The seal is still unbroken, so someone ............... have opened this box before.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the sealed box shows nobody opened it before.
11These shoes are size 38, and Ben wears size 45, so they ............... belong to Ben.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the shoes are size 38 and Ben wears size 45.
12The sign says 'Closed on Mondays,' and today is Monday, so the café ............... be open.
Wrong!
Use "can't" because the sign says closed on Mondays, and today is Monday.
Answers
- His hair is completely dry, so he can’t have been swimming in the pool.
- All the lights are off in the library, so it can’t be open now.
- Tom’s car isn’t outside, so he can’t be at home.
- I can hear loud music and dancing from Anna’s room; she can’t be studying.
- You saw Marco at the office at ten, so he can’t have been at the meeting across town at ten.
- The taxi app says the hotel is twelve hours away, so it can’t be a two-minute walk away.
- The fridge is empty, so Dad can’t be making dinner.
- The email says this report arrived this morning, so it can’t have been sent yesterday.
- Ms Green is standing at the board, so she can’t be absent today.
- The seal is still unbroken, so someone can’t have opened this box before.
- These shoes are size 38, and Ben wears size 45, so they can’t belong to Ben.
- The sign says ‘Closed on Mondays,’ and today is Monday, so the café can’t be open.
