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Past Perfect Modals 1

Type the correct past perfect modal for the following sentences. Sometimes negative forms are used.

1. Your house looks great. You________________________ spent a lot of time painting it.

2. Michael went running in the rain. He _________________________ gotten sick.

3. It was so dark that I fell down the stairs. I _____________________fixed the light.

4. Patty__________________________ gone by bus. Why did she walk?

5. I called his apartment and nobody answered. He ____________________________ gone out.

6. You ______________________________shovelled the front walk. It looks so clean.

7. He ______________________________stolen the car. He was with me all the time.

8. My bicycle is broken. I never ___________________________ ridden it down the stairs.

9. Jim looks happy. I think he ___________ gotten a new job.

10. The chocolate cake is all gone! Someone ___________________________eaten it.

Modal Verbs - by Viv Quarry (www.vivquarry.com)

In order to understand English modal verbs, it is important to recognise how they can be used. Modal verbs in
English can be used in TWO WAYS:

1. To show LEVELS OF PROBABILITY (deduction).

2. To perform SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS (additional meaning) like obligation, permission etc.

MODAL VERBS USED TO SHOW LEVELS OF PROBABILITY

LEVEL OF MODAL TIME = TIME =

PROBABILITY VERB PRESENT & FUTURE PAST

CERTAINTY WILL (Be) He'll be here by Friday. That will / would have been
Susan who called.
It won't / wouldn't have been
CERTAINTY WON'T (Be) She won't be here. John, I think he's in São
Paulo.

IMPOSSIBILITY CAN'T Be It can't be Fred, he's in He can't / couldn't have

COULDN'T Be the USA. written this, he doesn't speak
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It couldn't be right. Arabic.

PROBABILITY MUST (Be) He must be right, he's He must have finished by

(LOGICAL) an expert in this area. now, he's a fast worker.
PROBABILITY SHOULD (Be) He should be finishing He should have finished by
(LOGICAL + now, he's a fast worker. now, the exam's nearly over.
PREFERENCE)

POSSIBILITY MIGHT (Be) They might win, but I If they had played better,
doubt it. they might have won.
POSSIBILITY MIGHT NOT (Be) It's very cloudy, but I If I hadn't read that book I
might not rain. might not have passed the
exam.

POSSIBILITY MAY (Be) We may go to Greece She may have got lost.
for our holidays.
POSSIBILITY MAY NOT (Be) I may not arrive on He may not have done it.
time.

POSSIBILITY COULD (Be) You could be right, but He could have had an
I doubt it. accident even though he's a
very good driver.
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MODAL VERBS USED TO PERFORM SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS

MODAL TIME = TIME =
FUNCTION VERB PRESENT& FUTURE PAST
COMPULSION MAKE SB (Do) She makes them tidy their The teacher made them write it
room. out six times.
PROHIBITION CAN'T/NOT My dad says that I can't She wasn't allowed to see him
ALLOWED TO see you anymore. anymore.
PERMISSION MAY (Be) May I go now? I was allowed to go.
STRONG MUST (Do) I must remember to pay I had to apologize.
OBLIGATION the phone bill.
STRONG MUSTN'T (Do) Mother: "you mustn't play The children weren't allowed to
OBLIGATION with matches." play outside.
NO OBLIGATION DON'T HAVE TO (Do) I don't have to wake up I was happy that I didn't have to
early on Saturdays. see him again.
NO OBLIGATION NEEDN'T (Do) You needn't pay it now if You needn't have done it, but
you don't want to. I'm glad you did.
NO OBLIGATION DON'T NEED TO (Do) I don't need to study He didn't need to revise for the
French anymore. exam.
DUTY SUPPOSED TO Your supposed to arrive at You were supposed to have
work at 8am. done this by now.
DUTY NOT SUPPOSED TO You not supposed to be I wasn't supposed to have been
here! at the meeting.
FORMAL WOULD (Do) I'd arrive on time if I were I would have arrived on time if
ADVICE you. I'd been him.
FORMAL WOULDN'T (Do) I wouldn't do that if I I wouldn't have done that if I'd
ADVICE were you. been him.
INFORMAL SHOULD (Do) You should always dress You should have dressed well at
ADVICE well at interviews. the interview.
INFORMAL SHOULDN'T (Do) You shouldn't speak to You shouldn't have spoken to
ADVICE him like that. him like that.
INFORMAL OUGHT TO (Do) You ought to be here You ought to have been there
ADVICE earlier. earlier.
INFORMAL NOT OUGHT TO (Do) You didn't ought to touch You didn't ought to have done
ADVICE that. that.
REQUESTS CAN (I/you) Can/Could you help me, I asked him to help me.
please?
ABILITY CAN (Do) I can speak English. I could speak English when I
was five.
ABILITY BE ABLE TO (Do) Will you be able to come? She was able to answer all the
questions.
ABILITY MANAGE TO (Do) Does he manage to get He managed to rescue her.
here on time?
NORMAL WILL She'll always do her She would always do her
BEHAVIOUR homework. homework.
OFFERS WILL I'll help you with that. I'd have helped you.
OFFERS SHALL Shall I give you a hand. I should have helped you.
SUGGESTIONS SHALL (LET'S) Shall we meet at 9pm? I suggested meeting at 9.
WILLINGNESS WON'T (Do) I won't do it! She wouldn't do it.
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Before using a modal verb, you must decide whether you are using it to show probability or possibility.

If the answer to this question is YES, then the present and future form will be:

+ VERB + OBJECT
MODAL VERB + BE + NOUN / ADJECTIVE
+ BE + GERUND

E.g. They may arrive on time. or

He might be the right person for the job. or

She should be arriving in a few minutes.

and the past form will be:

MODAL VERB + PRESENT PERFECT

E.g. It must have been a very difficult exam, everyone's looking worried.

If the answer to the question above is NO then things are much more complicated and you will have to learn the
modal verb used, and its past tense form, depending on the function.

Modal verbs - Difficult cases

Probability and possibility.

CAN

'Could be' or 'could have been' mean that something is possible but you are NOT CERTAIN.

E.g. "Where's John?"

"I don't know. He could still be at home" or
"I don't know. He could have gone home" (I've got no idea, it's just a guess)

BUT 'Can't be' or 'can't have been' are used to say that something is not possible: you are CERTAIN.

E.g. "Where's John?"

"I don't know. He can't still be at home because I've just come from there." or
"I don't know. He can't have gone home because his car's still here." or
"I don't know. He couldn't have gone home, I've just seen his car."
('Couldn't be' has the same meaning but is slightly weaker)

Specific functions

MUST AND HAVE TO

'Must' is used when the speaker has AUTHORITY to oblige someone to do something.

E.g. (Doctor to patient) "You must stop smoking immediately."

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(Mother to child) "John. You mustn't speak like that to your grandmother."
(To yourself) "I must remember to buy my mother a present."
THE PAST OF 'MUST' IS 'HAD TO'.

E.g. I had to remember to take my car keys with me when I went to the airport.

When the obligation comes from another person or organization, HAVE TO is used.

E.g. "I have to get up early tomorrow." (My job or a trip is obliging me to get up early)
"How many years do you have to work before you can retire?" (Obligation from rules)

Note! the pronunciation of 'have to' is /HAFTA/

Only 'Have to' is possible in the will future or the present perfect.

'MUSTN'T' means that there is an obligation NOT TO DO SOMETHING.

BUT 'DON'T HAVE TO' means that there is NO OBLIGATION.

E.g. (Teacher to student) "You mustn't forget to revise your modal verbs before the exam,
but you probably won't have to answer any difficult questions"

The past of mustn't is 'not be allowed to'.

E.g. "My mother told me that I wasn't allowed to talk to strange men."

CAN FOR ABILITY

'Can' (do something), 'can't' (do something) and 'couldn't' (do something) are used with stative verbs and when
the ability is GENERAL.

E.g. "When the light went off I couldn't see anything." (stative verb)
"I could swim when I was six years old." (I could swim at any time after 6 years old)

When you want to talk about ABILITY ON ONE SPECIFIC OCCASION you must use BE ABLE
TO or MANAGED TO.

E.g. I wasn't able to fix the engine because I didn't have the parts I needed.

Managed to is used to stress the successful completion of the activity.

E.g. The girl was drowning, but the lifeguard managed to save her.

In the present 'can' and 'be able to' are sometimes interchangeable, but in the will future or in perfect tenses, 'be
able to' or 'managed to' must be used.

REQUESTS

The modal verb which is used for a request depends on THE LEVEL OF FORMALITY.
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In FORMAL SITUATIONS you can use WOULD or DO YOU MIND (DOING STH.).

E.g. "Would/Do you mind if I open the window?" or

"Would you mind turning down the music a bit?" (Talking to someone you don't know well)
In INFORMAL SITUATIONS use CAN (YOU DO STH.).

E.g. "Dad, can we go to the cinema on Saturday?" or

"John, can you pass me that book?" (Talking to a good friend or a member of your family)

In nearly ALL SITUATIONS you can use COULD (YOU DO STH. FOR ME).

E.g. "Could you help me with this exercise, please?" or

"Could I have six pounds of potatoes, please? (At home, in class or in shops)

OFFERS

WILL and SHALL are used when making offers.

WILL means I'M OFFERING TO HELP YOU.

It is usually used when you are talking to someone you know well, and it is obvious that you can help them.

E.g. "Oh dear. There are so many dishes to wash!"

"I'll help you do the washing up."

SHALL means I'M ASKING YOU IF YOU WANT ME TO HELP YOU.

It is usually used when you are talking to someone you don't know very well or when it is not clear that you can
be of help.

E.g. "Oh dear! These suitcases are very heavy."

"Excuse me. Shall I help you with them?" (Two people who don't know each other) or
"I'd like to go to a party next Friday, but I haven't got anyone to look after my son."
"Shall I baby-sit for you?" (I'm not qualified, but I'll help you if you like)

SHALL can also be used to make a suggestion. E.g. "Shall we go to the cinema tonight?"

WILL FOR CHARACTERISTIC BEHAVIOUR

When using this structure it should be contracted when writing and not stressed when speaking.

E.g. "He'll always be there when you need help."

If it is stressed when speaking, it means that the behaviour is annoying.

E.g. "He will keep on interrupting me."

NEEDN'T HAVE DONE v DIDN'T NEED TO DO

Needn't have done sth. means the action was completed, but was unnecessary.
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E.g. "You needn't have bought any butter. We've got lots of it."

Using 'didn't need to do sth.', we don't know if the action was completed, just that it wasn't necessary.
E.g. "I didn't need to do any shopping because I was eating out that night."

Modal verbs worksheet - Exercises

Put the correct modal verb in its correct form combined with the verb in brackets to make
deductions. In questions one to 6, try to use a different modal verb in each situation.

Situation : There are five milk bottles on their front door step.

1. They ____________________ (forget) to cancel their milk deliveries.

2. They ____________________ (wake up) yet.

3. There ____________________ (be) some guests staying with them.

Situation : His coat is on the floor.

4. He ____________________ (drop) it.

5. It ____________________ (be) his coat.

6. There ____________________ (be) some logical reason for it!

Put the correct modal verb in its correct form into the gaps.

7. He was very strong; he ____________________ ski all day and dance all night.

8. We ____________________ to borrow umbrellas; so we didn't get wet.

9. I was so far from the stage that I ____________________ see very well.

10. He sees very badly; he ____________________ wear glasses all the time.

11. NOTICE: All dogs ____________________ kept on leads!

12. Farmers ____________________ get up early.

13. You ____________________ drive fast; there is a speed limit here.

14. We ____________________ drive fast; we have plenty of time.

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15. They ____________________ get up early; they were on holiday.

Complete these sentences in an appropriate way.

16. I left my bicycle here and now it's gone.

Someone ____________________ (steal) it.

17. I bought two bottles of milk.

You ____________________ (buy) milk; we have loads in the fridge.

18. I have just watered the roses.

You ____________________ (water) them. Look, it's raining now!

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