1.

Modals of ability
Real ability Current or general ability Can, can’t You can’t really speak seven
languages fluently.
Past ability Could, couldn’t There’s no way you could read
when you were two!
Decision about future ability Can, can’t, could, I can get you a paper when I go to
couldn’t the shop, if you like.
Future ability Will/won’t be able to One day, maybe, all adults will
be able to read and write
Hypothetical Current or general ability Could, couldn’t I couldn’t go on a quizz show. I’d
ability be too scared.
Future ability Could, couldn’t I could go to the cinema with
them, but I’ve seen this movie.
Past ability Could/ couldn’t have They could have asked the Prime
Minister much more questions.
• ‘Can’ and ‘could’ cannot be used as infinitives. We use ‘to be able to’ instead.
I’d love to be able to come with you to the cinema tomorrow, but I just can’t.
• For past ability on one occasion, we use ‘was able to’, ‘managed’ or ‘succeeded’
Luckily, she was able to finish the article on time.
• For stative verbs (see, hear, feel), we can use ‘could’ for past ability on one occasion.
I could see that she was tired.

2. Modals of permission

Asking for permission May, could, couldn’t, can, can’t Can I finish watching this before I
go to bed?
Giving/refusing permission May, may not, could, couldn’t, No, you can’t.
can, can’t
• To talk about past permission, we use ‘was/were allowed to’
We were allowed to buy one comic each.

3. Modals of advice
Asking for and giving advice Should, shouldn’t, ought to, You should try to get that poem
oughtn’t to, had better polished.

4. Modals of criticism
Criticising past behaviour Should have, shouldn’t have, You shouldn’t have spoken to her
ought to have, oughtn’t to have like that.
Expressing annoyance Could have, might have You could have told me you were
going to be late!
Criticising general behaviour Will He will slam the door every time
he goes out.
Criticising a specific example of Would You would take the car just when I
someone’s behaviour wanted to go out.

5. Modals of obligation
Current or general obligation Must, mustn’t, have to, need to You have to be a good
communicator to be a press
spokesperson.
Lack of current or general Don't have to, haven’t got to, You don’t always need to have a
obligation needn’t, don’t need to degree to be a journalist.
 You’ll have to do quite a lot of
Will have to, must, mustn’t, have research before you write this
Future obligation to, will need to report.
I’m glad we won’t have to write
Don't/won’t have to, haven’t got any more essays on this course.
Lack of future obligation to, needn’t, don’t/won’t need to
We had to come up with three
Had to, needn’t to questions each.
Past obligation In the past, politicians didn’t have
Didn't have to, didn’t need to, to deal with being in a 24-hour
Lack of past obligation needn’t have media spotlight.

6. Degrees of certainty
Certainty about now, the future or Will, would, must, can, can’t, It’ll rain soon, look at the clouds.
generally could, couldn’t
Certainty about the past Will have, won’t have, would have, They won’t have heard the news,
wouldn’t have, must have, can’t will they?
have, couldn’t have They must have heard by now,
surely.
Probability about now, the future Should, shouldn’t ought to, The weather should be good
or general oughtn’t to, may/might well, could tomorrow, shouldn’t it?
well, might easily The forecast said it might well rain.
Jan should have finished writing
Probability about the past Should have, shouldn’t have, her article by now, shouldn’t she?
ought to have, oughtn’t to have, She might well have.
may/might well have, might easily
have I might just have time to get to the
Possibility about now, the future Could, may, might, mightn’t, library before it closes.
or general may/might/could just Jim might not have checked his e-
Possibility about the real past Could have, may have, might mail yet.
have, mightn’t have

Exercise 1.
Circle the correct word or phrase.
1. You can’t/ couldn’t really talk when you were one year old, can/ could you?
2. We can/ could give you a lift home tonight, if you want.
3. I wish I can/ could speak Russian, then I’d be able to/ I could read Tolstoy in the original.
4. Excuse me, could/ may you tell me how to get to the leisure centre from here?
5. I’m afraid we can’t/ won’t be able to come to the wedding after all.
6. Thankfully, we could/ managed to get to the airport just in time, so we didn’t miss the plane.
7. Dawn couldn’t go/ have gone to the barbecue as she had to work.
8. Would you like to could/ be able to buy the flat you’re renting?
9. In a thousand years, can humans/ will humans be able to travel faster than the speed of light?
10. ‘Mum, can I watch TV and do my homework later?’
‘No, you may/ might not!’
11. We could catch/ have caught the last train after all, but of course we didn’t know that at the time.
12. Mayn’t/ Can’t I at least stay up till the end of the film?
13. Everyone could/ was able to tell that Julie was upset about something.
14. May/ Can I open the window, please? It’s a little stuffy in here.
15. Because we had guests last Saturday, the kids could/ were allowed to stay up till midnight.
Exercise 2.
Write a verb from the box in the correct form in each gap.
Do • Eat • Feel • Go • Have • Invite • Provide • Recover • Sit • Speak • Stand • Work
1. It seems there’s nothing anybody _________________ to stop the conflict escalating further.
2. She _________________ anything in her left arm for about two hours. She said it was completely numb.
3. I don’t think the Prime Minister _________________ from this scandal.
4. _________________ I _________________ Tracy round after tea? We want to play my new computer game.
5. Liz has had another ice cream so why _________________ I _________________ one? It’s not fair!
6. When I was a child, my brothers and sisters _________________ with the grown-ups except on special
occasions.
7. Darren’s allergic to wheat, so he _________________ bread under any circumstances.
8. Dominic had said he spoke German, but when we got there, it turned out he _________________ a word!
9. I’d love to _________________ from home, but in my job it’s just not possible.
10. James _________________ for Parliament at the last election- he had enough support- but he wasn’t
willing to sacrifice his privacy.
11. A small cot for babies _________________ if you ask at reception.
12. We _________________ to the concert anyway as Jamie wasn’t very well.

Exercise 3.
If the word in bold is correct, put a tick. If it is incorrect, rewrite it correctly.
1. Shouldn’t you getting planning permission before you start building? _________________
2. Gavin really ought not to be worn casual clothes to the interview last week. _________________
3. She might have gave us a call to let us know she was all right. _________________
4. You should better get a second opinion before you do anything drastic, like knock down a supporting
wall. _________________
5. I don’t think you must go to school today if you’re not feeling well. _________________
6. We definitely should not judge Karen until we know exactly what happened. _________________
7. I probably won’t get the job, but I should as well apply for it, I suppose. _________________
8. You could have told us you’d changed your mind about the holiday. How are we going to find a fourth
person at this late stage? _________________
9. We had rather book the tickets now, hadn’t we? They might have sold out on the day. ________________
10. Terry would leave his bedroom in such a mess all the time. It’s just not good enough. ________________
11. You may have asked me if I wanted to come with you! You know I need to go to the bank! _____________
12. Michael was late, but then again he will be. _________________

Exercise 4.
Rewrite the sentences using the appropriate modal verbs. Do not change the original meaning.
1. I would suggest seeing a doctor if it doesn’t clear up.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
2. It was typical of Jerry to forget to feed the cat, wasn’t it?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. I’m annoyed Diana didn’t invite us to her engagement party.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Buying a yellow car was a mistake- everyone thinks I drive a taxi!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
 5. Teenagers are noisy, aren’t they?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
6. It won’t harm us to see what special offers are on at the moment.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Don’t you think you should type that essay, rather than write it in pen?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
8. It would probably have been a good idea if you’d asked dad what he thought.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.
Write a word from the box in each gap. You will need two of the words twice.
Doesn’t • Got • Had • Has • Have • Must • Needn’t • Will
1. I _________________ have bothered preparing so much food, nobody ate anything anyway.
2. Do you _________________ to have that music on so loud? I can’t concentrate.
3. You _________________ call before you come round, as we’ll definitely be in.
4. It was difficult, but I knew I _________________ to apologise.
5. Trisha _________________ need to get a summer job as her parents are quite well-off.
6. _________________ you have to be there in court yourself, or can a lawyer represent you?
7. We didn’t _________________ to wear a uniform to school today, so I went in jeans and a T-shirt.
8. I think Damien _________________ to stay in hospital for the next four or five weeks.
9. Children _________________ not be left unattended under any circumstances.
10. We haven’t _________________ to move out for another six months, but we’ve started looking for a new
place anyway.

Exercise 6.
Complete the sentences using ‘must’, ‘have to’, ‘need’ or ‘need to’ in the correct form and the correct form of
the words in brackets.
1. You _________________ (pay) me back now, but of course you can if you like!
2. Dogs _________________ (keep) on a leash at all times.
3. If Linda _________________ (pick up) from school tomorrow, maybe we couldn’t spend the afternoon in
town.
4. We _________________ (rely) on phone lines in the future as we’ll all have mobile phones which connect
to the Internet.
5. The invitations _________________ (send off) soon, otherwise they won’t get there on time.
6. Sorry I’m late. I _________________ (get) a few things from the supermarket on my way here.
7. _________________ (you/ make) a fuss to get your money back, or was the manager quite reasonable?
8. You _________________ (believe) everything Graham tells you. He’s lied to me before.
9. Thankfully we _________________ (put) Flossie in a cattery as our neighbours offered to feed her.
10. What time _________________ (farmers/ get up) every morning?
11. I’d hate _________________ (commute) to work every morning and evening, wouldn’t you?
12. Although we took CDs with us, we actually _________________ (do) as there was no CD player to play
them on.

Exercise 7.
Write one word in each gap.
As editor of the most popular British tabloid, I need (1) _________________ make sure we give our readers what
they want. And what do they want? Scandal. It is my job to tell the readers when a celebrity has done
something they should not have (2) _________________, or when a politician (3) _________________ to have done
something but didn’t. One accusation that is often levelled at tabloids is that we think we (4) ________________
not need to worry about the truth, but that is just not true. I have (5) _________________ be shown proof from at
least two sources before I run a story. As a newspaper, you have (6) _________________ to get your facts right
and you (7) _________________ not print a story just because you want it to be true. There are times when, in
retrospect, we (8) _________________ not have been so careful and could have broken a story days before we
did, but we (9) _________________ to have absolute proof first. I often get asked why so many celebrities sell
their stories to us. The truth is that we tell them we are going to run a story about them anyway, so they realise
they might as (10) _________________ put their side of the story across. They know they (11) _________________
definitely have to speak out at some point, so why wait? And, let’s face it, celebrities need to (12) ____________
talked about constantly or they stop being famous, so they (13) _________________ not complain, in my view.
What I would say to celebrities and politicians that do criticise tabloids is that you (14) _________________ not
fear us if you haven’t done anything wrong. But if you have, you (15) _________________ better look out, because
we are going to catch you.

Exercise 8.
Circle the correct word or phrase.
1. Did you hear a noise?
That’ll/ That must probably be the cat.
2. I had to walk all the way here.
You must be/ have been exhausted. Put your feet up. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea.
3. Your favourite programme’s on.
It mustn’t be/ can’t be. It’s only half past five.
4. Andy made me redo every single one of the reports.
You must/ can be furious.
5. Laura walked right past me in the street without saying a word.
She can’t/ couldn’t have seen you.
6. I can’t believe I got the final question in the pop quiz wrong.
Don’t worry. I wouldn’t/ won’t have known the answer either.
7. I can’t wait to get that blue top tomorrow.
I wouldn’t get too excited. They only had one left, so they may/ might well have sold out.
8. It’s got very cold.
Yes, I think it must/ might easily snow tomorrow.
9. I can’t wait till Roger gets here!
He should land/ have landed by now, so he’ll be here in about an hour.
10. I hope they’ve got some tickets left.
We should/ might just be lucky and get the last two.