He's a nice boy. It can't be him stealing the pencil! - CORRECT
He's a nice boy. It musn't be him stealing the pencil! - WRONG
*Must is NOT often used to express certainty in NEGATIVE clauses.
It is used to express the conclusion that something is certain or highly probable.
E.g.,
He's a bad boy. It must be him stealing the pencil! - CORRECT!
There are a lot of common errors in English that can be encountered among my students, friends, colleagues and other Malaysians. I usually don't have the heart to tell them upfront as it might hurt their feelings. Besides, I don't want them to think that I think I'm too good, because I am not that good. In fact, I still have a lot to learn. Hopefully, this blog will help us to correct our errors so that we could practise good and standard English together.
Sunday, 1 December 2013
"MUSTN'T" or "CAN'T"? (in expressing improbability)
Labels:
can't,
certainty,
deduction,
improbability,
must,
probability,
uncertainty
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