Modal Verbs

I. Put in ‘can’ / ‘can’t’ / ‘could’ / ‘couldn’t’.

1. _________________ you swim when you were 10?
2. We _________________ get to the meeting on time yesterday because
the train was delayed by one hour.
3. He _________________ arrive at the party on time, even after missing
the train, so he was very pleased.
4. He’s amazing, he ______________ speak 5 languages including Chinese.
5. I _________________ drive a car until I was 34, then I moved to the
countryside so I had to learn.
6. I looked everywhere for my glasses but I _________ find them anywhere.
7. I searched for your house for ages, luckily I _________________ find it
in the end.
8. She’s 7 years old but she _________________ read yet – her parents are
getting her extra lessons.
9. I read the book three times but I _________________ understand it.
10. James _________________ speak Japanese when he lived in Japan, but
he’s forgotten most of it now.
11. I _________________ understand the chapter we had to read for
homework. It was so difficult.
12. I _________________ lift this box – it’s too heavy! Would you help me?
13. Lucy _________________ make it to our meeting after all. She’s stuck in
traffic at the moment.
14. John ______________ play tennis really well. He’s champion of his club.
15. Unfortunately, I really _________________ sing at all! No-one in my
family is musical either.
16. When the car broke down I was really pleased because I _____________
solve the problem.
 17. Julian _________________ play excellent golf when he was only ten.
18. My grandmother _________________ use a computer until last month.
Since then, she’s been taking lessons at the library.
19. I _________________ open this window. I think it’s stuck!
20. Gill _________________ play the piano. She’s never studied it.

II. Put in ‘mustn’t’ or ‘don’t / doesn’t have to’.

1. We have a lot of work tomorrow. You _______________ be late.
2. You _______________ tell anyone what I just told you. It’s a secret.
3. The museum is free. You _______________ pay to get in.
4. Children _______________ tell lies. It’s very naughty.
5. John’s a millionaire. He _______________ go to work.
6. I _______________ do my washing, because my mother does it for me.
7. We _______________ rush. We’ve got plenty of time.
8. You _______________ smoke inside the school.
9. You can borrow my new dress but you _______________ get it dirty.
[Link] _______________ miss the train, it’s the last one tonight.
[Link] _____________ do this work today, because she can do it tomorrow.
12.I _______________ clean the floor today because I cleaned it yesterday.
[Link] _______________ forget to lock all the doors before we leave.
[Link] ___________ stay in a hotel in London, we can stay with my brother.
15.I _____________ spend too much money today. I’ve only got a little left.
[Link] _______________ get up early today, because it’s Sunday.
17.I _______________ eat too much cake, or I’ll get fat!
[Link] _______________ be late for the exam.
[Link] _______________ tidy up now. I’ll do it later.
[Link] _______________ cook tonight because he’s going to a restaurant.
III. Put in ‘must + infinitive’ or ‘must + have + past participle’:
1. Keiko always does really well on exams. She ____________ (study) a lot.
2. That woman drives a very expensive car. She _____________ (have) a
lot of money.
3. You _____________ (practise) a lot before you gave your speech.
It was really great.
4. When Lizzie got home yesterday, there were flowers on the table.
Her husband _____________ (buy) them.
5. Where is my purse? I saw it earlier, so it ____________ (be) in this room.
6. Sarah couldn’t find her glasses. She thought she _____________ (leave)
them at her office.
7. It _____________ (be) cold outside. That man in the street is wearing a
coat.
8. All my plants _____________ (be) dead! I forgot to water them before I
left for my holiday.
9. Susie is so late! She _____________ (miss) the train.
[Link]’s rubbish all over my garden! A fox ____________ (be) in the bin.
11. Anna has a huge library in her house. She _____________ (love) books.
[Link] no, I don’t have my keys! I _____________ (leave) them in the taxi.
[Link] Lucy got home she found the ice cream had melted.
It _____________ (be) too hot in the car.
[Link] you haven’t eaten all day, you _____________ (be) hungry.
[Link] and Louisa ____________ (be) very tired. They have a new baby.
[Link] _____________ (rain) a lot in the night. There are puddles everywhere.
[Link] ____________ (be) happy. His girlfriend just agreed to marry him.
[Link] an amazing kitchen you’ve got! You ____________ (like) cooking.
[Link] _____________ (eat) all the biscuits! There are none left.
[Link] I got up this morning, the kitchen was spotless.
Lily _____________ (tidy) it before she went to bed last night.
IV. Put in ‘can’t’ or ‘must’:
1. Why is that man looking around like that? He _____________ be lost.
2. That woman _____________ be a doctor! She looks far too young.
3. John always fails the tests, even though he’s clever.
He _____________ study enough.
4. The food is really good at that restaurant.
They _____________ have a great chef.
5. Who’s that at the door?
It _____________ be Susie – she’ll still be at work now.
6. This _____________ be John’s house. This house has a red door,
and it’s number 24, just like he said.
7. Julie _____________ have much money, or she would buy a new car.
Her old one is falling apart.
8. He _____________ be at work now, can he? It’s nearly midnight.
9. What a lot of lovely flowers you have! You ______ really like gardening.
[Link] _____________ drink a lot of coffee. He’s finished two packets
already this week!
[Link] _____________ be Jamie’s coat. He’s very tall, and this is tiny.
[Link] life __________ be easy. She has four children and very little money.
[Link]’s Lucy? She _____________ be at the library, as she often goes
there at this time.
[Link] bill _____________ be right! £50 for two cups of coffee!
[Link]’s amazingly good at the piano. She _____________ practise a lot.
[Link] car in front is driving so slowly that I think they _____________ be
looking for something.
[Link]’ve already eaten enough for three people! You _____________ still
be hungry!
[Link] book _____________ belong to the library. It’s certainly not mine.
 [Link] only takes three hours to fly from London to Sydney?
That _____________ be correct!
[Link] _____________ be something wrong with the fridge!
It’s making a very unusual noise.

V. Make the correct past modal form

(use could have / would have / should have + past participle):
1. I ___________________________________ (buy) bread but I didn’t
know we needed it. (past possibility)
2. We ___________________________________ (invite) so many people
to our party! I’m worried that we won’t have enough room for everyone.
(past negative advice / regret)
3. I ________________________________ (start) saving money years ago!
(past advice / regret)
4. We ___________________________________ (join) you at the
restaurant, but we couldn’t get a babysitter. (past willingness)
5. The weather ___________________________________ (be) any worse!
(past negative possibility)
6. I __________________________ (arrive) on time, even if I’d left earlier.
There were dreadful traffic jams all the way. (past negative possibility)
7. They __________________________________ (win) the football match,
but John hurt his ankle. (past possibility)
8. Amanda ___________________________________ (finish) the work,
but she felt ill and had to go home. (past willingness)
9. Lucy ___________________________________ (left) earlier.
She missed her flight. (past advice / regret)
[Link] ________________________ (finish) the game, even if we’d wanted
to. It was raining very hard and we had to stop. (past negative possibility)
11.I ___________________________________ (eat) so much chocolate!
I feel sick! (past negative advice / regret)
[Link] ___________________________________ (pass) the exam if he’d
studied a bit more. (past possibility)
[Link] ___________________________________ (call) Amy,
but he didn’t have her number. (past willingness)
[Link] ___________________________________ (be) rude to him.
He’s going to be really angry now. (past negative advice / regret)
[Link] ___________________________________ (come) to the restaurant
if she’d left work earlier. (past possibility)
[Link] ___________________________________ (take) this job.
I can see you’re not enjoying it. (past negative advice / regret)
[Link] race was really difficult. She ___________________________ (win)
because she’s not fit enough. (past negative possibility)
[Link] neighbours ____________________________ (cut) down the tree in
their garden. It was a really beautiful tree. (past negative advice / regret)
[Link] children __________________ (do) their homework last night. Then
they wouldn’t be panicking on the way to school. (past advice / regret)
20.I’m really cold! I ______________ (bring) my coat. (past advice / regret)
21.I ___________________________________ (come) to see you!
I didn’t know you were ill. (past willingness)
[Link] ___________________________________ (go) to Cambridge
University, but he decided to travel instead. (past possibility)
[Link] ___________________________________ (be) kinder to me.
They were absolutely lovely. (past negative possibility)
[Link] ___________________________________ (buy) some milk at the
shops. We don’t have any milk. (past advice / regret)
[Link] __________________________________ (come) to have breakfast
with us, but they went to bed too late the night before. (past willingness)