Speculating and hypothesising about causes, consequences, etc.

Speculating and hypothesising means talking about possible causes, outcomes, or reasons when you are not certain. In business English, we use specific phrases and modal verbs to express different degrees of certainty and to sound polite and professional.

• Use modal verbs (may, might, could) to show possibility.
• Use modal perfect forms (may have, might have) to speculate about the past.
• Use hedging expressions (It could be that..., There’s a chance that...) to soften claims.
• Use 'must' for strong logical deduction (less common when you want to remain tentative).

Choose your verbs and phrases based on how certain you are and whether you speak about the present, future or past.

• 'may / might / could' = present/future possibility (neutral)
• 'may have / might have / could have' = past possibility
• 'must' = strong logical deduction (use carefully)
• Use hedges (I suspect, It could be that) to soften claims in business contexts

When speculating about past events, combine a modal with 'have' + past participle.

Watch out for these universal errors that can make your speculation unclear or incorrect.

• Mixing certainty levels in the same sentence (e.g., 'It must might be...').
• Using 'must' when you mean a mere possibility—'must' implies strong deduction.
• Forgetting the modal perfect for past speculation (use 'may have' / 'might have').
• Overusing hedges leads to vague communication; balance politeness and clarity.
• Incorrect word order in questions and indirect speech when hedging (e.g., 'I wonder if whether...').

Aim for clear softening: choose one modal or hedge and keep tense consistent.