Speculating

Definition of speculating :

     A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture. American Heritage®

Guess, conjecture, supposition, surmise, surmisal, speculation, hypothesis(noun), a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence.

• I'm sure that ...
• —It's my speculation that ...
• —I hypothesize ...
• —I bet ...
• —I foresee that ...
• —It's worth speculating.
• —Maybe...
• —I guess...
• —I suppose...
• —Perhaps...
• —It’s quite possible that...

We can use these modal verbs (also called modals of deduction, speculation or certainty) when we want to make a guess about something. We choose the verb depending on how sure we are.

Guesses about the PRESENT MOMENT

MODAL+BE+VERB-ING   

to speculate about something happening at the moment.

A : Why is he in the kitchen?                                           

B : He might be eating.

Guesses about the PRESENT or the FUTURE

MODAL + VERB 

to speculate about unlimited present time.

Example : He is very fat. He must eat a lot of sweets. 

Guesses about the PAST

MODAL + HAVE + 3^rd COLUMN  

 to speculate about the past.                                                               

A: Why is Mark throwing up?                                           

B: I don’t know. He might have eaten sth bad. 

Probability

First, they can be used when we want to say how sure we are that something happened / is happening / will happen. We often call these 'modals of deduction' or 'speculation' or 'certainty' or 'probability'.

• —  It's snowing, so it must be very cold outside.
• —  I don't know where John is. He could have missed the train.
• —  This bill can't be right. £200 for two cups of coffee!

"Degree of Certainty and Possibility" refers to how sure we are-what we think the chances are-that something is true. If we are sure that something is true in the present, we do not need to use a modal. For example, if I say, "Martha is sick," I am sure; I am stating a fact that I am sure. My degree of certainty here is 100%. If I am asked "Why isn't Martha in class?" and I am not sure of the reason, I can respond in the following ways:

1. She must be sick. (I am 95% sure that she is, not 100%)
2. She may / might be sick. (I am 50% sure or less 50% sure that she is)
3. She could be sick. ( I am stating a mere guess. This is a very weak degree of certainty )  
4. She can't be sick. (I am 100% sure that she is not.)       

This topic was presented by 

Dea Ayu Tiara Hastika (@deatiarahastika), M. Rifky Adhani (@Rifky354), and

Vicitra P. (@Ciitra39vii) 

from group 3.