Modals of Deduction in the Past

• When we look at past events in logistics and try to guess what happened, we use past modals of deduction. They show how sure we are about a past situation.
• Modal
• Meaning / Certainty
• Example
• must have + V3
• Almost certain (positive)
• The driver must have locked the doors in Chicago.
• might have / could have + V3
• Possible
• The warehouse in Dallas might have made a counting mistake.
• can't have / couldn't have + V3
• Almost certain (negative)
• The receiver in Boston couldn't have lost the pallets.
• Remember
• Use must have when you are sure something happened in the past based on evidence.
• Use might have or could have when you think something was possible, but you are not certain.
• Use can't have or couldn't have when you are sure something did not happen in the past.
• Always use the past participle (V3) after have.
• Examples
• Logan checked the security cameras; someone must have stolen the boxes in Atlanta.
• The broker agent wondered if the carrier might have delayed the delivery in Denver.
• The seal was intact, so thieves can't have opened the trailer in Phoenix.
• Common mistakes
• The driver must missed the exit.
• The driver must have missed the exit.
• They couldn't left the cargo in Miami.
• They couldn't have left the cargo in Miami.

Complete the sentences

• The cargo arrived short in Houston, so the shipper (forget) ____ to load one pallet.
• The seal was broken in Seattle, and someone (steal) ____ several boxes.
• Nathan checked the dock cameras, but the driver (not leave) ____ without signing the papers in Portland.
• The piece count was wrong because the clerk (miscount) ____ the boxes in Philadelphia.
• All seals were intact in Baltimore, so nobody (open) ____ the doors.
• The tracking signal stopped in Austin, so the truck (break down) ____ near the highway.

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