Grammar exercises · 12 questions
Modals of deduction exercises
In short
Test yourself on modals of deduction with 12 interactive questions. Every answer comes with an explanation, and if you get one wrong, the AI tutor can explain exactly why your answer didn't work.
Question 1 of 12
The office is dark and the door is locked; everyone ___ home.
Shaky on the rule?
Guessing gets you through a quiz; understanding gets you through the exam. Read the full Modals of deduction lesson: Modals of deduction (must, might/may/could, and can't) let a speaker judge how likely something is from the evidence available, not state it as fact. Present deduction uses modal + be or base verb ('must be', 'might work'); past deduction uses modal + have + past participle ('must have left', 'can't have known'). Must shows near-certainty, might/may/could show possibility, and can't shows impossibility.