She must have missed/ should have missed the train.

[englishhobby]

I know that should sometimes expresses possibility. With this in mind, can each of the underlined structures be used in the following situation? If yes, is there any difference in meaning?

- Where is Sally? She must be/ should be here now.
- I don’t know what’s happened to her. She must have missed/ should have missed the train.

 

[Tarheel]

Say:

She should be here now. (You were expecting her to be at that place at that time. If you say "She must be here now" you think she is there.)
​

Say:

She must have missed the train. (You think that is what happened. If you say "She should have missed the train" she didn't miss the train, but you think she should have.)
​

 

[Matthew Wai]

May I say 'She might have missed the train' to express possibility?

Not a teacher.

 

[Rover_KE]

Yes.

 

[Weaver67]

As far as I know, "should" can be used to express possibility only in certain cases. The first thing that comes to mind is conditional clauses:

a) Should he pop in, thank him for what he's done.
b) If they should be late, don't allow them to enter.
c) If you should decide not to go on the trip, you will get a full refund.

When we say something like "she should be here in ten minutes" , it is called probability - she is being expected to come. And, again, as far I know, "probability" doesn't necessarilly mean the same as "possibility".

Not a teacher.

 

[englishhobby]

And, again, as far I know, "probability" doesn't necessarilly mean the same as "possibility".

Not a teacher.

As I view it, probability is a "strong" possibility. My initial question can be rephrased as "Can 'should have done' express probability"?

 

[englishhobby]

Say:

If you say "She should have missed the train" she didn't miss the train, but you think she should have.)​

I know that. But is it the only possible meaning of this phrase? Can it mean "Perhaps she missed the train" in some context? Can it express probability/possibility?

 

[Matthew Wai]

'By now, he should have finished the task.'
Can it express possibility/probability?

Not a teacher.

 

[bhaisahab]

Can it mean "Perhaps she missed the train" in some context?

No.

 

[Weaver67]

'By now, he should have finished the task.'
Can it express possibility/probability?

To my mind, it means only that he was expected to, but that has not happened. I can't "feel" anything of probability/possibility here. That, however, may well be for the reason that I am not an English teacher nor a native English speaker.

 

[Weaver67]

As I view it, probability is a "strong" possibility. My initial question can be rephrased as "Can 'should have done' express probability"?

Not a teacher

There are many opinions about what makes probable different from possible. But I've heard one that I specially like:

There are a whole load of things that are possible, but among them, there are much fewer that are probable. That said, as you rightly pointed out, the differnce may not be so much signicant here.

 

[Tarheel]

As I view it, probability is a "strong" possibility. My initial question can be rephrased as "Can 'should have done' express probability"?

No. A probability is something that might happen (more than 50%). The phrase in question expresses an opinion about something that didn't happen but could have happened. A probability, on the other hand, has to do with the future. ("It will probably rain.")

 

[Tarheel]

I know that. But is it the only possible meaning of this phrase? Can it mean "Perhaps she missed the train" in some context? Can it express probability/possibility?

We are getting into a weird area here. Why don't we know if she missed the train? (If the train hasn't arrived yet it would probably be best to wait until it does.)

 

[Tarheel]

'By now, he should have finished the task.'
Can it express possibility/probability?

Not a teacher.

No, it expresses neither. It's a statement of what the speaker expected to happen (by now). Perhaps it is a work assignment, and his supervisor expected the task to take so long and no longer.

 

[Matthew Wai]

It's a statement of what the speaker expected to happen (by now).

As the speaker expected it to happen, s/he should have thought that it was possible to happen. Then does the statement imply possibility?

Not a teacher.

 

[Tarheel]

As the speaker expected it to happen, s/he should have thought that it was possible to happen.

Absolutely.

Then does the statement imply possibility?

Definitely.

(Of course, cell phones have changed everything. You don't wonder if a person has missed the train. She simply tells you. Example: "Hey, I missed the train. I'll be on the next one.")