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Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Guessing with "should", "must" and "has/have to"

Person A: He is speaking a foreign language now, what language is he speaking?

Person B: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese. 2) He must be speaking Portuguese. 3) He has to be speaking Portuguese.


As a guess, I think the three options that the person B says above are correct and have the same meaning in this scenario, is that right?


If I want to express a guess for the simple present tense like in the scenario below, which person expresses the right pattern, Person B or Person C?


Person A: He speaks a foreign language sometimes, what language does he speak?

Person B: 1) He should speak Portuguese. 2) He must speak Portuguese. 3) He has to speak Portuguese.

Person C: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese. 2) He must be speaking Portuguese. 3) He has to be speaking Portuguese.

  

Top answer

Person A: He is speaking a foreign language now, what language is he speaking? Person B: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese. 2) He must be speaking Portuguese.

— Clive

  • Person A: He is speaking a foreign language now, what language is he speaking?
  • Person B: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese.
  • 2) He must be speaking Portuguese.
  • 3) He has to be speaking Portuguese.
  • #2 and #3 are OK.
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4 Answers
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Person A: He is speaking a foreign language now, what language is he speaking?

Person B: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese. 2) He must be speaking Portuguese. 3) He has to be speaking Portuguese. #2 and #3 are OK.

But the most natural thing is to say 'I think he is speaking Portuguese'.



If I want to express a guess for the simple present tense like i

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AnonymousHe should be speaking Portuguese.

It is his duty to speak Portuguese.
It is advisable for him to speak Portuguese.
It would be a good idea for him to speak Portuguese.

AnonymousHe must be speaking Portuguese.

I conclude that he is speaking Portuguese.
I have deduced that he is speaking Portugue

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Thank you, I understand better now.
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"Should" is also used to show that something is likely, "must" is also used to show that something is very likely, and "have to/has to" is also used to show that something is highly likely. So all the options can be used as a guess in the scenarios. For the first scenario, all the options are OK as a guess: 1) He should be speaking Portuguese, 2) He must be speaking Portuguese, and 3) He has t

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