Modals of Deduction (Present & Past)
B2Pasti, mungkin & tidak mungkin
Dipakai saat kamu menyimpulkan sesuatu dari bukti, bukan dari fakta yang sudah pasti: must (pasti), might/may/could (mungkin), can't (tidak mungkin). Untuk masa lalu tambahkan have + V3, sedangkan should have/could have + V3 dipakai untuk penyesalan atau kritik.
Pagi-pagi kamu lewat meja Budi. Laptopnya menyala dan kopinya masih mengepul, jadi he must be here (pasti ada). Kalau cuma ada jaketnya, yang bisa saja tertinggal kemarin, he might be here (mungkin); kalau dia sedang cuti, he can't be here (tidak mungkin). Jadi modalnya dipilih dari seberapa kuat buktimu, dan kalau Budi sudah kamu lihat sendiri, cukup he is here tanpa modal.
Rumus Modals of Deduction (Present & Past)
| Bentuk | Rumus | Contoh |
|---|---|---|
| Sekarang | S + must / might / may / could / can't + V1 (be, know, have…) | She isn't answering. She must be in a meeting.Dia tidak mengangkat telepon. Dia pasti sedang rapat. |
| Sedang berlangsung | S + must / might / can't + be + V-ing | He might be working from home today.Mungkin hari ini dia kerja dari rumah. |
| Masa lalu | S + must / might / may / could + have + V3 | Rina's laptop is gone. She must have taken it home.Laptop Rina tidak ada. Dia pasti membawanya pulang. |
| Masa lalu: tidak mungkin | S + can't / couldn't + have + V3 | He can't have read my email. He was on a plane.Tidak mungkin dia sudah membaca email saya. Dia sedang di pesawat. |
| Penyesalan & kritik | S + should / shouldn't / could + have + V3 | We should have checked the numbers.Seharusnya kita mengecek angkanya. |
Kapan dipakai? Skala keyakinan
Pakai modal ini saat kamu menebak berdasarkan bukti, bukan saat kamu sudah tahu faktanya. Pilih modalnya sesuai seberapa yakin kamu:
- Andi has worked twelve hours today. He must be exhausted.Andi sudah bekerja dua belas jam hari ini. Dia pasti capek sekali.
- The client isn't replying. She might be on holiday.Kliennya tidak membalas. Mungkin dia sedang cuti.
- That can't be the final price. It's far too cheap.Itu tidak mungkin harga final. Terlalu murah.
| Keyakinan | Modal | Arti | Contoh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% (fakta) | — (tanpa modal) | memang | She is tired. |
| ± 90% ya | must | pasti | She must be tired. |
| ± 50% | might / may / could | mungkin | She might be tired. |
| ± 90% tidak | can't / couldn't | tidak mungkin | She can't be tired. |
Might dan may hampir sama. Might sedikit kurang yakin dan lebih sering dipakai saat bicara. Could juga bisa berarti "mungkin": It could be a system error.
Jebakan: lawan must adalah can't
Untuk "pasti tidak", pakai can't, bukan mustn't. Mustn't artinya larangan (tidak boleh).
- can't / couldn't = yakin tidak (tidak mungkin).
- might not / may not = mungkin tidak, belum yakin. Tulis lengkap, karena bentuk singkatnya jarang dipakai.
Satu catatan: di American English, must not (tidak disingkat) juga dipakai untuk "pasti tidak": He must not be home. Tapi can't aman dan dipahami di mana pun.
- That can't be Budi at the door. He's in Japan this week.Tidak mungkin itu Budi di depan pintu. Minggu ini dia di Jepang.
- She may not know about the change yet.Mungkin dia belum tahu tentang perubahan itu.
- They might not come. The traffic is terrible.Mungkin mereka tidak datang. Macetnya parah sekali.
Kesalahan umum: He mustn't be at home. His car isn't there. → He can't be at home. His car isn't there.
Mobilnya tidak ada, jadi kamu yakin dia tidak di rumah: can't. Mustn't berarti dilarang, maknanya lain sama sekali.
Masa lalu: modal + have + V3
Untuk menyimpulkan kejadian yang sudah lewat, pakai modal + have + V3. Skalanya sama dengan bentuk sekarang:
- must have + V3 = pasti sudah…
- might / may / could have + V3 = mungkin sudah…
- can't / couldn't have + V3 = tidak mungkin sudah…
Setelah modal selalu have, tidak pernah has atau had, lalu V3. Kalau kegiatannya sedang berlangsung di masa lalu, pakai must have been + V-ing.
- The office is dark. Everyone must have gone home.Kantornya gelap. Semua orang pasti sudah pulang.
- I can't find the file. I might have deleted it by mistake.Saya tidak bisa menemukan file-nya. Mungkin tidak sengaja saya hapus.
- You must have been waiting a long time. Sorry!Kamu pasti sudah lama menunggu. Maaf!
| Sekarang | Masa lalu |
|---|---|
| She must be busy. | She must have been busy. |
| He might know the answer. | He might have known the answer. |
| They can't be at home. | They can't have been at home. |
| It could be a mistake. | It could have been a mistake. |
Saat bicara, must have diucapkan cepat jadi must've /ˈmʌstəv/, mirip bunyi must of. Karena itu banyak orang salah menulis must of. Bentuk itu selalu salah.
Should have & could have: penyesalan dan kritik
Bentuknya sama (modal + have + V3), tapi di sini fungsinya bukan menebak:
- should have + V3 = seharusnya, tapi tidak dilakukan. Isinya penyesalan atau kritik.
- shouldn't have + V3 = seharusnya tidak, tapi sudah dilakukan.
- could have + V3 = sebenarnya bisa, tapi tidak dilakukan. Isinya kesempatan yang terlewat atau kritik halus.
- couldn't have + V3 sering dipakai untuk berterima kasih: I couldn't have done it without you.
Jadi could have punya dua arti: mungkin sudah (menebak) atau sebenarnya bisa (tapi tidak terjadi). Konteks yang menentukan.
Ada peribahasa "nasi sudah menjadi bubur": kejadiannya sudah lewat dan tidak bisa diulang. Should have + V3 adalah cara bahasa Inggris membicarakan bubur itu: I should have set an alarm, harusnya tadi pasang alarm, tapi tidak. Jadi bentuk ini selalu menunjuk ke pilihan yang benar, tapi tidak diambil.
- I should have saved the file before the update.Seharusnya saya menyimpan file-nya sebelum update.
- We shouldn't have promised such a tight deadline.Seharusnya kita tidak menjanjikan tenggat yang seketat itu.
- You could have told me the meeting was cancelled!Kamu kan bisa memberi tahu saya kalau rapatnya batal!
Di kantor, kritik dengan You should have… bisa bikin rekan tersinggung. Lunakkan dengan we atau maybe: Maybe we should have tested it first.
Kesalahan khas orang Indonesia
Bahasa Indonesia cukup memakai "pasti sudah", "mungkin sudah", atau "seharusnya" + kata kerja. Bahasa Inggris ikut mengubah bentuk kata kerjanya:
- V2 setelah modal: He might missed the bus ✗ → He might have missed the bus ✓
- has / had setelah modal: He should has called ✗ → He should have called ✓
- must of: They must of left ✗ → They must have left ✓
Kesalahan umum: She must forgot about the meeting. → She must have forgotten about the meeting.
Kamu menebak kejadian yang sudah lewat, jadi polanya must have + V3: forget jadi forgotten. Must forgot tidak ada.
Ingat!
- Yakin ya: must. Mungkin: might / may / could. Yakin tidak: can't.
- Lawan must (menebak) adalah can't, bukan mustn't (larangan).
- Masa lalu: modal + have + V3, misalnya must have gone, can't have seen. Tidak pernah must had atau must of.
- should have + V3 = seharusnya, tapi tidak. could have + V3 = sebenarnya bisa, tapi tidak.
Contoh soal Modals of Deduction (Present & Past) dan pembahasannya
1. Kamu yakin. Lina has been on calls with clients all day. She ___ be exhausted.
- might
- must
- can't
- must to
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: must
Buktinya kuat: seharian menelepon klien. Kamu yakin dia capek, jadi must be. Might terlalu ragu, dan must to tidak ada.
2. Kamu yakin tidak. That ___ be Budi at the door. He is in Japan this week.
- must
- might
- should
- can't
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: can't
Budi sedang di Jepang, jadi kamu yakin itu bukan dia. Untuk "tidak mungkin", pakai can't be, karena might masih ragu padahal buktinya jelas.
3. Pilih kalimat yang benar.
- He must have left early.
- He must had left early.
- He must of left early.
- He must has left early.
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: He must have left early.
Setelah must selalu have + V3: must have left. Must of cuma tiruan bunyi must've, sedangkan has dan had tidak pernah dipakai setelah modal.
4. "Seharusnya kamu memberi tahu saya lebih awal." Pilih terjemahan yang tepat.
- You must have told me earlier.
- You can't have told me earlier.
- You should told me earlier.
- You should have told me earlier.
Lihat jawaban
Jawaban: You should have told me earlier.
"Seharusnya" di sini kritik tentang masa lalu, jadi should have + V3. Must have told artinya "pasti sudah memberi tahu", maknanya lain sama sekali.
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