Welcome to our English lesson on making deductions! At the A2 level, you’re already understanding more and more English. Now, let’s learn how to use your English to figure things out – to make deductions! Making deductions means using clues and information to guess or decide what is probably true. It’s like being a detective in English!

What are Deductions in English?

Imagine you see someone wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. What can you guess about the weather? You can deduce that it’s probably raining! Making deductions in English is all about using the information you have to make logical guesses. We use special words and phrases to show how sure we are about our deductions. This is super useful for understanding conversations and speaking more naturally.

In this lesson, we’ll focus on simple and common ways to make deductions in English, perfect for A2 learners. We’ll learn about words like must, might, may, could, and can’t. These are your detective tools!

How to Make Deductions: Key Phrases for A2 English Learners

Let’s explore the key phrases we use to make deductions. We’ll learn when to use each one and see lots of examples to help you understand.

Using “Must” for Certainty

We use must when we are almost sure about something. We have strong evidence or reasons to believe it’s true. It shows a strong deduction, close to certainty.

Structure: Subject + must + be + [description]

• Example 1: You see your friend yawning a lot. You say: “You must be tired.” (You deduce this from the yawning.)
• Example 2: The floor is wet inside the house. You say: “It must be raining outside.” (The wet floor is the evidence.)
• Example 3: Your teacher is not in the classroom. You see their coat on the chair. You say: “She must be in the office.” (Her coat is the clue.)

Remember, must shows a very strong feeling of certainty based on what you know.

Using “Might”, “May”, and “Could” for Possibility

When we are not sure, but we think something is possible, we use might, may, or could. These words show a weaker deduction, just a possibility. They all have a similar meaning in this context and are great for English speaking practice.

Structure: Subject + might/may/could + be + [description]

• Example 1: You hear a noise upstairs, but you don’t know what it is. You say: “It might be my cat.” (It’s a possibility, but you’re not sure.)
• Example 2: Your friend is late for a meeting. You say: “He may be stuck in traffic.” (Traffic is a possible reason for being late.)
• Example 3: You see dark clouds in the sky. You say: “It could be going to rain later.” (Dark clouds suggest rain is possible.)

Might, may, and could are useful when you want to make a guess but you are not very confident. They express possibility.

Using “Can’t” for Impossible Deductions

We use can’t when we are sure something is NOT true. It’s a negative deduction, showing something is impossible based on the situation. It’s the opposite of must in certainty.

Structure: Subject + can’t + be + [description]

• Example 1: Your friend says they slept for two hours last night and look very energetic. You say: “You can’t be tired!” (Sleeping only two hours usually makes people tired, so it’s impossible to be energetic in this case.)
• Example 2: It’s very cold outside, and someone is wearing a T-shirt. You say: “He can’t be warm.” (A T-shirt is not enough in cold weather.)
• Example 3: You know your brother doesn’t like coffee, and you see him drinking tea. You say: “That can’t be coffee.” (Because you know his preference.)

Can’t is used for strong negative deductions, when something is logically impossible or very unlikely based on the facts.

Common Phrases for Making Deductions at A2 Level

Here are some more examples of how we use these phrases in everyday situations. Understanding these will really help you with spoken English practice and improve your fluency.

• About People’s Feelings:
  • “She’s smiling. She must be happy.”
  • “He didn’t eat anything for lunch. He might be feeling sick.”
  • “They are shouting. They can’t be having a friendly conversation.”
• About Locations:
  • “I can hear music next door. They must be at home.”
  • “The shop is closed now. The staff may be having a break.”
  • “The car isn’t here. He can’t be at home.”
• About Possessions:
  • “This is an expensive car. They must be rich.”
  • “She has a lot of books. She could be a student.”
  • “This phone is very old. It can’t be new.”

Examples of Making Deductions in Everyday Situations

Let’s see how these deductions work in conversations:

Situation 1: At Work

Person A: “John isn’t at his desk today.”
Person B: “Oh, he said he wasn’t feeling well yesterday. He must be sick and stayed home.”

Situation 2: Looking out the Window

Person A: “Look at all those people with umbrellas!”
Person B: “Yes, it must be raining very heavily outside.”

Situation 3: Talking about a Friend

Person A: “Sarah is studying very hard for her exams.”
Person B: “She must want to get good grades.”

Situation 4: A Mystery!

Person A: “The cake is gone! Who ate it?”
Person B: “It could be Tom. He loves cake!”
Person C: “But Tom is on a diet. It can’t be him. It might be Mary, she was very hungry earlier.”

Let’s Practice Making Deductions!

Now it’s your turn to practice! Read each situation and choose the best phrase (must be, might be, could be, can’t be) to complete the sentence. This is great practice to learn English deductions.

1. You see a car parked outside your house that you don’t recognize. It _______ your neighbor’s friend visiting.
2. Your friend is very good at playing the piano. He _______ practiced a lot.
3. The restaurant is very empty at lunchtime. It _______ very popular.
4. Your phone is ringing in your bag. It _______ a call from your friend.
5. Your brother is wearing a thick coat and gloves inside the house. He _______ feeling cold.

Answers to Practice Exercises

1. You see a car parked outside your house that you don’t recognize. It could be your neighbor’s friend visiting. (Possibility)
2. Your friend is very good at playing the piano. He must have practiced a lot. (Certainty – Note: In this case, we use ‘must have’ because it refers to past practice, but ‘must be’ practicing a lot now also works in some contexts. For A2, focusing on ‘must be’ is sufficient initially).
3. The restaurant is very empty at lunchtime. It can’t be very popular. (Impossible/Negative Certainty)
4. Your phone is ringing in your bag. It must be a call from your friend. (Very likely/Certainty in this situation)
5. Your brother is wearing a thick coat and gloves inside the house. He must be feeling cold. (Certainty)

Improve Your English Deductions and Speaking with Lingofrnd

Congratulations on learning about making deductions in English! Practice is key to getting better. To really improve your skills and improve English vocabulary related to deductions, and most importantly, to practice speaking and using these phrases in real conversations, we recommend Lingofrnd.com!

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Keep practicing, and you’ll become a deduction master in English!