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Lesson planB255 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
Someone Must Have Taken It! Past deduction
Students practise must have, can't have and might have to work out what happened in travel mix-ups, then write a travel mystery.
Deduction past · Travel · Airports
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Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use must have / can't have / needn't have + pp accurately
- Learn and use 14 words and phrases in 2 sets: At the airport, Solving a puzzle
- Read for detail: the wandering suitcase
- Writing task: a travel mystery
Stages · 55 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about travel and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 5 minControlled practice: Ex. 2
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 3
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 4
- 5 minAccuracy practice: Ex. 5
- 10 minReading: Ex. 6
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 7
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
must have / can't have + past participle
- Use must have + past participle when you're almost sure something happened: The bag's open, so someone must have opened it.
- Use can't have or couldn't have when you're almost sure something didn't happen: He can't have missed the flight: I saw him at the gate.
- Use might have, may have or could have when it's possible but you aren't sure (you met these at B1): She might have left it in the taxi.
needn't have + past participle
- Use needn't have + past participle for something you did that wasn't necessary: We needn't have arrived so early: the flight was delayed.
- Compare didn't need to, which usually means you didn't do it: We didn't need to show our passports, so we didn't.
Watch out
- For a negative deduction, use can't have, not mustn't have: She can't have seen us (not She mustn't have seen us).
- Always use have + past participle: must have gone (not must have go or must went).
Study tips
- When something strange happens, say three possible explanations: it must have…, it can't have…, it might have…
- Read a short news story and decide what must or can't have happened before it.
Glossary
- At the airport6 items
- Solving a puzzle8 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Travel and puzzle words
Match each word or phrase with its meaning. There is one extra meaning.
Tap an item…
…then its match
2
What happened?
Complete the sentences with must have, can't have, might have or needn't have and the correct form of the verb in brackets.
- a
Tom's bag arrived in Lisbon instead of Rome. There's no other explanation: someone (put) it on the wrong flight.
- b
You (see) Ana at the airport yesterday. She's been in Tokyo all week.
- c
We (book) a taxi. The hotel had a free bus from the airport.
- d
I'm not sure why he missed the train. He (get) stuck in traffic, or maybe he overslept.
- e
The hotel door was locked from the inside, but the money was gone. The thief (climb) in through the window.
- f
I (pack) so many jumpers: it was hot and sunny every day.
- g
Maria (leave) her phone on the plane: she sent me a message from the taxi.
- h
Look at his tan! He (spend) the whole holiday on the beach.
3
Key word transformations
Complete the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use the word in capitals and between two and five words, including the word given.
- a
I'm sure the driver took the wrong road.
MUST
The driver the wrong road.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- b
It's impossible that she lost her ticket: I saw it in her hand at the gate.
CAN'T
She her ticket: I saw it in her hand at the gate.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- c
It wasn't necessary for us to change money at the airport, but we did.
NEEDN'T
We money at the airport.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- d
Perhaps the airline sent your bag to Madrid by mistake.
MIGHT
The airline your bag to Madrid by mistake.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- e
I'm certain he didn't do it deliberately.
CAN'T
He deliberately.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
- f
I'm sure there was a misunderstanding at check-in.
BEEN
There a misunderstanding at check-in.
Use 2–5 words, including the word given.
4
Word formation
Use the word in capitals to form a word that fits the gap.
- a
The man at the gate was acting in a very way, so security stopped him.
SUSPECT - b
After watching the camera images, the police came to the that nothing had been stolen.
CONCLUDE - c
It was all a : the hotel had booked us for May, not March.
UNDERSTAND - d
Do you think he broke it , or was it an accident?
DELIBERATE - e
There was no that anyone had opened the case.
EVIDENT - f
Our was delayed by three hours because of the storm.
DEPART
5
Find and correct the mistake
Each sentence has one mistake. Write the correction.
- a
Someone must took my suitcase by mistake.
- b
He mustn't have seen us: he walked straight past.
- c
We needn't have to buy tickets: the museum was free.
- d
The plane can't have leave yet: the gate is still open.
- e
She might has forgotten that we were meeting at the station.
- f
You must have be tired after such a long journey.
6
Read: the wandering suitcase
Read the story. Choose the best answer.
When Elif landed after a long trip home, her suitcase didn't appear at baggage reclaim. She had changed planes on the way, and her connecting flight had left forty minutes late, so she assumed the bag simply hadn't been loaded in time. The airline told her the same thing and promised to deliver it the next day. Two days later, the suitcase arrived at her flat, but something was wrong. The lock had been changed, and inside, on top of her clothes, there was a bright yellow scarf that wasn't hers. Elif was suspicious at first. Had someone opened the case deliberately? Then she found the clue that explained everything, a note inside the scarf: "Sorry! Wrong bag. Lovely jumpers." The most likely explanation, the airline later admitted, was a simple misunderstanding. Another passenger with an identical case must have taken Elif's bag from the belt, opened it at home and realised the mistake. She can't have meant any harm: she returned everything, added a new lock and even left a present. Elif kept the scarf.
- a
At first, Elif thought her bag was missing because ___
- b
The suitcase reached Elif ___
- c
When the suitcase arrived, ___
- d
According to the airline, the bag was taken by ___
- e
The writer thinks the other passenger can't have meant any harm because ___
- f
In the end, the scarf ___
7
Write: a travel mystery
Write a short story.
Think of something strange or annoying that happened to you, or to someone you know, on a journey: a lost bag, a missed train, a mix-up at a hotel. Write the story (120–150 words). Explain what must have happened, what can't have happened, and anything you needn't have done. Word box: connecting flight · baggage reclaim · evidence · assume · suspicious · deliberately · misunderstanding · conclusion Example: When we got to the hotel, there was no record of our booking. There must have been a misunderstanding, because I had the email on my phone. We needn't have worried: they found us a room in ten minutes.
Suggested minimum: 120 words
0 words · aim for at least 120
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Fix ItFind the mistake in each sentence, then correct it.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 14 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
At the airport
- connecting flight
- a second flight you take to continue your journey
- baggage reclaim
- the place at an airport where you collect your bags
- departure
- the moment when a person, plane or train leaves
- delayed
- later than planned
- gate
- the place at an airport where you get on your plane
- suitcase
- a large bag with a handle for carrying clothes when you travel
Solving a puzzle
- mystery
- something strange that nobody can explain yet
- clue
- a piece of information that helps you find the answer to a problem
- evidence
- facts or things that show something is true
- assume
- to think something is true without checking
- suspicious
- making you think something is wrong or dishonest
- deliberately
- on purpose, not by accident
- misunderstanding
- a situation where someone gets the wrong idea
- conclusion
- what you decide is true after thinking about the facts
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