Modal Perfect - BE 4 Unit 8: Team Building

We use modal perfect to speculate about events in the past.

I thought I saw Novi in the station, but it may/might/could have been someone else.

The project might/could have been a terrible failure, but turned out to be a great success. (We know it was a success, therefore may is not possible here.)

I wasn’t there myself, but from what I hear, it must have been a very stormy meeting.

She says she met me in Bali, but it cannot have been me, because I have never been to Bali.

Past modals can also used to express irritation.

She could/might have given me the information, but she didn’t bother.

Missed opportunities are also expressed using could or might.

She could/might have had a brilliant career, but she gave it all up for love.

Would have & Wouldn’t have are used to make hypothesis about the past.

The team would have been stronger if she had been with us.

We wouldn’t have achieved such goods results if we hadn’t worked together as a team.

Should have, shouldn’t have, & ought to have are used to criticize.

The report should have been submitted a lot of earlier.

He shouldn’t have resigned without having another job to go to.

You ought to have made a reservation – there are no seats left now.

Note the difference between needn’t have and didn’t need to.

I didn’t have to come into the office because there was no work for me to do, so I stayed at home.

I needn’t have gone into the office because there was no work for me to do when I got there.

**


The workshop must have finished early. I saw the participants in the cafeteria a minute ago.

They might have settled their disagreement; it seems to be business as usual between them.

I didn’t need to complete the report yesterday, so I was able to work on my presentation instead.

Lisa had to work overtime yesterday; she looks exhausted this morning.

The negotiation could have been a terrible failure, but it turned out to be very successful.

**

He had to go to Canada at the time of the team building workshop. So, he couldn’t have taken part.

The feedback suggests that if open and frank discussion had been encouraged, the conflict might have been avoided.

When he was working for Delta, he had to do unpaid overtime, never got a promotion, and was always harassed by his boss. What a dreadful experience that must have been!

The rules were very strict. If you didn’t want to be fired, you had to clock in at exactly 8.30 every day.

I didn’t know that the hotel would have such a high-tech executive centre, so I really needn’t have brought my own laptop.

There is absolutely no point in feeling sorry now. You simply should have been more careful.

I wasn’t going to insist on financial compensation, but at least they might have apologized.

The team leader is two hours late. What can have happened?