MORE PRACTICE MODALS UNIT 2

1 Choose the sentence which is closer in meaning to the original sentence.

1. I can’t find my keys. I may have lost them. 4. They could have brought a small gift for her.
a. I’m sure I lost them. a. It was nice that they brought her a gift.
b. It’s possible I lost them. b. They didn’t bring her a gift.
2. He should have told us he wouldn’t be coming.
a. He didn’t tell us he wouldn’t be coming.
b. It was considerate of him to tell us he couldn’t come.
3. You had better not arrive late. 5. Thanks for your help. I couldn’t have repaired the computer myself.
a. Try not to be late a. It was impossible to repair the computer.
b. You must arrive on time. b. The computer was eventually repaired.
2 Choose the correct answer.
1. The food is delicious. You should / had better eat it.
2. Don’t wait for us. We might be / might have been late.
3. Joe isn’t aware of the terrible news. He must have been / would have been away when it happened.
4. He doesn’t work on Saturdays, so he needn't / had better not get up early.
5. I’m angry with Jeff. He could have called / may have called me to wish me good luck.
3 Complete the sentences with the modal perfects below.
should have ■ can’t have ■ needn’t have ■ must have ■ would have ■ could have
1. There’s no noise coming from the house. They .................................. stayed at home.
2. The show doesn’t start for an another hour. We .................................. come so early.
3. It was a beautiful gift you gave your mother. She .................................. loved it.
4. I’m so sorry I didn’t attend your performance. I’m sure I .................................. enjoyed it.
5. We .................................. driven to work but it was such a beautiful day.
6. It’s really cold this evening. We .................................. brought sweaters with us.
4 Choose the correct answer.
Many tragedies 1. don’t have to / might not happen. They happen because people are careless or irresponsible. For
example, drunk drivers cause accidents although they know they 2. mustn’t / needn’t drive when they’ve been drinking.
In 1989, irresponsible behaviour led to the death of 96 people in the overcrowded Hillsborough football stadium in
England. The police 3. can’t control / weren’t able to control the crowds after they let too many fans into one part of
the stadium. There 4. must have been / would have been more than 10,000 of them in an area designed to hold 8,000.
People were crushed as they tried to get out when the stands collapsed. It was a disaster that
5. had better not happen / shouldn’t have happened.
5 Correct the sentences below with a suitable modal or modal perfect. There may be more than one
possible answer.
1. It was very dark so I can’t see anything.
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2. There are people at the bus stop. The bus wouldn’t have come yet.
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3. The restaurant is always empty at this hour. We may not reserve a table.
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4. She sent the letter too late to be accepted. She must have sent it weeks ago.
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5. It’s a great film. You had better go and see it.
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6 Rewrite the following sentences using the modal or modal perfect form of the words in brackets.
You may need to form the negative.
1. He didn’t have to come early today; nobody has arrived yet. (need)
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2. Is it possible that I saw you at the cinema? (could)
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3. Perhaps they are sleeping at the moment. (may)
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4. I’m sure she isn’t ill; I just saw her an hour ago. (can)
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5. There’s a possibility that they’ve already arrived. (might)
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