Modals

Lesson 5: Modals

MODALS

Form:        modal verb + main verb

                   modal verb + have + past participle

                                                                                       

MODALS	FUNCTIONS	EXAMPLES
must	Obligation (pr. fut.)	Muslims must pray five times a day.
	Certainty (pr)	He has a big car; he must be rich.
must have	Certainty (past)	He is late; his car must have broken down.
mustn’t	Prohibition (pres)	You mustn’t use your phone in class.
have to	Obligation (pr; past)	Citizens have to abide by the laws of their country.
had to	Obligation (past)	He had to overwork as all his colleagues were on vacation.
don’t have to	No obligation (pr)	It isn’t far; she doesn’t have to take a taxi.
didn’t have to	No obligation (past	He didn’t have to explain again as the lesson was too easy.
can	Ability (pr. fut)	My brother can jump two metres.
	Permission (pr. fut)	You can use a calculator during the test.
	Possibility (pr. fut)	Take your umbrella, it can rain later.
can’t	Inability (pr)	I can’t see very well in this fog.
	Prohibition (pr)	Muslims can’t eat ham.
	Impossibility (pr)	She’s too old; she can’t be pregnant.
can have	Possibility (past)	I can have seen him, but I forgot.
can’t have	Impossibility (past)	She’s too smart; she can’t have made such a mistake.
could	Ability (past)	We couldn’t buy it as we didn’t have enough money.
	Possibility (pr)	I’m not sure, but she could be at work now.
could have	Possibility (past)	You could have had an accident last night but thank God.
may	Possibility (pr. fut)	I don’t know but the train may come late.
	Permission (pr)	May I use your telephone please?
may have	Possibility (past)	She may have missed the bus. That’s why she’s absent.
might	Possibility (pr)	I don’t know but the train may come late.
might have	Possibility (past)	You could have had an accident last night but thank God.
should	Advice (pr. fut)	Mothers should breastfeed their babies.
	Probability (pr)	They departed early; they should be at home now.
should have	Regret (past)	You should have bought a new car, not a second-hand one.
needn’t	No obligation (pr)	I needn’t tell him; he already knows.
needn’t have	No obligation (past)	You needn’t have bought so much food; the guests are few.

Supply the correct modal verb and put the main verb in the correct form

1-      Oh, she’s so rich; she _________________________ (work).

2-      You _____________________ (hit) your baby brother. That’s horrible behaviour!

3-      You _______________________ (book) a hotel room. November isn’t a busy month.

4-      I ___________________________ (see) a doctor earlier; my illness has worsened.

5-      Look at that sign; we __________________________ (walk) on the grass.

6-      The cinema is crowded; the film ________________________ (be) good.

7-      You _______________________ (look) up every word you don’t understand.

8-      We __________________________ (tell) her about the accident; she broke down.

9-      Ali isn’t at home; he _______________________ (go) out.

10-  I haven’t decided yet but I ________________ (travel) to Tangiers next holiday.

11-  I ________________________ (read); it’s too dark.

12-  You ______________________ (take) off your shoes before you enter the mosque.

13-  They _____________________ (win) the match if the referee had been fair.

14-  You ______________________ (watch) TV after you do your homework.

15-  All his clothes are wet; he _______________________ (walk) under the rain.

16-  Hassan has caught the flu. He ______________________ (take) a cold shower.

17-  My sight is decreasing, I ___________________________ (change) my glasses.

Well, yes, you _______________________ (change) them a long time ago.

18-  You ___________________________ (continue) the treatment, you have recovered now.

See you soon for the key to the exercise. Study hard. J-33