Speculating about the Past
To make an educated guess about the past, use a present tense modal verb (kan or må) with a perfect infinitive (have + past participle).
Use kan have (may have / might have) to express a possibility:
| The archaeologist may have been here many years ago. | Arkæologen kan have været her for mange år siden. |
| A Viking may have dropped the coin here. | En viking kan have tabt mønten her. |
Strong Deductions with "Må have"
For a strong deduction, use må have (must have). As in English, this expresses a logical conclusion rather than an obligation:
| She must have planned the excavation. | Hun må have planlagt udgravningen. |
| He must have found the coin during the excavation. | Han må have fundet mønten i løbet af udgravningen. |
| The Viking must have used the heavy sword. | Vikingen må have brugt det tunge sværd. |
Speculating with Adverbs
You can also speculate using adverbs like formentlig (presumably), which usually follow the first verb in a main clause:
| They presumably found the coin a thousand years ago. | De fandt formentlig mønten for tusind år siden. |
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