Modals of Ability

When we talk about ability, we mean two things.

First, we mean general ability. This is something that once you have learned you
can do any time you want, like being able to read or swim or speak a language, for
example.

The other kind of ability is specific ability. This mean something that you can or
can't do in one particular situation. For example, being able to lift something heavy,
or find somewhere you are looking for.

Present:
can / can't (for both general and specific ability)

 I can play the piano.

 She can speak English.
 He can't drive – he's too tired.
 We can't come now.

Past:
could / couldn't (for general ability)

 I could read when I was four.

 She could speak French when she was a child, but now she has forgotten it.
 He couldn't dance at all until he took lessons.
 My grandfather couldn't swim.

was able to / couldn't (for specific ability)

 When the computer crashed yesterday, I was able to fix it. (not 'I could fix it')
 She was able to pass the exam, even though she hadn't studied much. (not
'she could pass')
 He called us because he couldn't find the house.
 I couldn't open the window.

could + have + past participle (an ability someone had in the past, but didn't
use)

 I could have played the piano well but I didn't practise enough.
 We could have come earlier.
 She could have studied law, but she preferred to become a secretary.
 Future:
will / won't be able to (general ability)

 At the end of the course, you will be able to make your own website.
 He won't be able to speak Japanese in a week! It will take months.

can / can't (specific ability)

 I can help you tomorrow

 I can't come to the party

Modals of Ability

Exercise:

1 Put in 'can' / 'can't' / 'could' / 'couldn't'. If none is possible, use 'be able to' in
the correct tense.

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

Modals of Obligation 1

We can use have to + infinitive, must + infinitive and should + infinitive to

express obligation (something you have to do).

Present Positive Negative

have to / strong obligation (possibly no obligation

don't have to from outside)
 I don't have to work on
 Children have to go to Sundays.
school.

(sometimes 'have got to')

 You don't have to eat
anything you don't like.

must / strong obligation (possibly negative obligation

mustn't based on the speaker's
opinion)  You mustn't smoke
here.
 I must study today.
 should / mild negative obligation or
mild obligation or advice
shouldn't advice
 You should save some
 You shouldn't smoke
money.
so much.

Be careful about the difference between mustn't and don't have to!
Mustn't means it's not allowed, or it's a bad idea:

 You mustn't eat so much chocolate, you'll be sick

Don't have to means you don't need to do something, but it's fine if you want to
do it:

 I don't have to get up early at the weekend (of course, if I want to get up
early, that's fine, but I can stay in bed if I want).

Past Positive Negative

had to / obligation in the past

no obligation in the past
didn't have to
 I had to wear a school
 We didn't have to go to
uniform when I was a
school on Saturdays.
child.

must* changes to 'had to' -

should have a past action which didn't a past action which didn't
+ pp / happen: the advice / regret is happen: the advice / regret is
shouldn't too late too late
have + pp
 You should have gone  You shouldn't have
to bed earlier, now you taken that job., it was a
have missed the train. bad idea.

* Remember 'must have done' is a modal verb of deduction or speculation, not

obligation in the past. For example: Julie must have left. Her coat's not here.
Modals of Obligation 1

Exercise

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.

10. We _______________ miss the train, it’s the last one tonight.

11. She _______________ do this work today, because she can do it tomorrow.

12. I _______________ clean the floor today because I cleaned it yesterday.

13. We _______________ forget to lock all the doors before we leave.

14. We _______________ 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.

16. They _______________ get up early today, because it’s Sunday.

17. I _______________ eat too much cake, or I’ll get fat!

18. We _______________ be late for the exam.

19. You _______________ tidy up now. I’ll do it later.

20. He _______________ cook tonight because he’s going to a restaurant.

Modals of Probability

1: Talking about the present:

must / might / could / may / can't + infinitive
For example:

I am waiting for Julie with another friend, David.

I ask: 'Where is Julie?'
David guesses:

 She must be on the bus. (I'm fairly sure this is a good guess)
 She might come soon. (maybe)
 She could be lost. (maybe)
 She may be in the wrong room. (maybe)
 She can't be at home. (I'm fairly sure this isn't true)

Notice that the opposite of 'must' is 'can't in this case.

Will / won't

We use will and won't when we are very sure:

 She'll be at work now.

Should / shouldn't
Should and shouldn't are used to make an assumption about what is probably
true, if everything is as we expect:

 They should be there by now.

 It shouldn't take long to drive here.

This use of should isn't usually used for negative events. Instead, it's a better
idea to use will:

 The underground will be very busy now (not: 'should be').

Can
Can is used for something that is generally possible, something we know
sometimes happens:

 Prices can be high in London.

Can is not used to talk about specific possibilities:

 He could be on the bus (not: 'can be').

 2: Using modal verbs to talk about the past:
must / might / could / may / can't + have + past participle

 must have + past participle

 might / might not have + past participle
 could / couldn't have + past participle
 may / may not have + past participle
 can't have + past participle

For example:

You: Where was Julie last night?

David:

 She must have forgotten about our date.

 She might have worked late.
 She could have taken the wrong bus.
 She may have felt ill.
 She can't have stayed at home.

Will / won't + have + past participle

Will and won't / will not + have + past participle are used for past certainty
(compare with present use of 'will' above):

 The parcel will have arrived before now.

Should + have + past participle

Should + have + past participle can be used to make an assumption about
something that has probably happened, if everything is as we expect (compare
with present use of 'should' above):

 The train should have left by now

Could
We can use could + infinitive to talk about a general possibility in the past
(compare with the use of 'can' above):

 Prices could be high in the sixteenth century.

This is not used to talk about specific possibilites in the past (instead we
use could + have + past participle):

 He could have been working late (not: 'could be'. As this is a specific
possiblity, 'could be' is present tense)
Modals of Probability

Exercise 1 - 1 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
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.

10. There's rubbish all over my garden! A fox _____________ (be) in the bin.

11. Anna has a huge library in her house. She _____________ (love) books.

12. Oh no, I don't have my keys! I _____________ (leave) them in the taxi.

13. When Lucy got home, she found the ice cream had melted. It
_____________ (be) too hot in the car.

14. If you haven't eaten all day, you _____________ (be) hungry.

15. Jimmy and Louisa _____________ (be) very tired. They have a new baby.

16. It _____________ (rain) a lot in the night. There are puddles everywhere.

17. David _____________ (be) happy. His girlfriend just agreed to marry him.

18. What an amazing kitchen you've got! You _____________ (like) cooking.

19. John _____________ (eat) all the biscuits! There are none left.

20. When I got up this morning, the kitchen was spotless. Lily _____________
(tidy) it before she went to bed last night.
Modals of Probability

Exercise 2

1 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.

10.David _____________ drink a lot of coffee. He's finished two packets already
this week!

11.This _____________ be Jamie's coat. He's very tall, and this is tiny.

12.Her life _____________ be easy. She has four children and very little money.

13.Where's Lucy? She _____________ be at the library, as she often goes

there at this time.

14.This bill _____________ be right! £50 for two cups of coffee!

15.Emma's amazingly good at the piano. She _____________ practise a lot.

16.The car in front is driving so slowly that I think they _____________ be

looking for something.
17.You've already eaten enough for three people! You _____________ still be
hungry!

18.This book _____________ belong to the library. It's certainly not mine.

19.It only takes three hours to fly from London to Sydney? That _____________
be correct!

20.There _____________ be something wrong with the fridge! It's making a very
unusual noise.

Past Modals

These past modal verbs are all used hypothetically, to talk about things that
didn't really happen in the past.

Could have + past participle

1: Could have + past participle means that something was possible in the
past, or you had the ability to do something in the past, but that you didn't do it.
(See also modals of ability.)

 I could have stayed up late, but I decided to go to bed early.

 They could have won the race, but they didn't try hard enough.
 Julie could have bought the book, but she borrowed it from the library
instead.
 He could have studied harder, but he was too lazy and that's why he failed
the exam.

Couldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't possible in the
past, even if you had wanted to do it.

 I couldn't have arrived any earlier. There was a terrible traffic jam (= it was
impossible for me to have arrived any earlier).
 He couldn't have passed the exam, even if he had studied harder. It's a
really, really difficult exam.
2: We use could have + past participle when we want to make a guess about
something that happened in the past. In this case, we don't know if what we're
saying is true or not true. We're just talking about our opinion of what maybe
happened.

Why is John late?

 He could have got stuck in traffic.

 He could have forgotten that we were meeting today.
 He could have overslept.

We can also choose to use might have + past participle to mean the same
thing:

 He might have got stuck in traffic.

 He might have forgotten that we were meeting today.
 He might have overslept.

Should have + past participle

1: Should have + past participle can mean something that would have been a
good idea, but that you didn't do it. It's like giving advice about the past when
you say it to someone else, or regretting what you did or didn't do when you're
talking about yourself.

Shouldn't have + past participle means that something wasn't a good idea,
but you did it anyway.

 I should have studied harder! (= I didn't study very hard and so I failed the
exam. I'm sorry about this now.)
 I should have gone to bed early (= I didn't go to bed early and now I'm
tired).
 I shouldn't have eaten so much cake! (= I did eat a lot of cake and now I
don't feel good.)
 You should have called me when you arrived (= you didn't call me and I
was worried. I wish that you had called me).
 John should have left early, then he wouldn't have missed the plane (= but
he didn't leave early and so he did miss the plane).

2: We can also use should have + past participle to talk about something that,
if everything is normal and okay, we think has already happened. But we're not
certain that everything is fine, so we use 'should have' and not the present
perfect or past simple. It's often used with 'by now'.

 His plane should have arrived by now (= if everything is fine, the plane has
arrived).
  John should have finished work by now (= if everything is normal, John
has finished work).

We can also use this to talk about something that would have happened if
everything was fine, but hasn't happened.

 Lucy should have arrived by now, but she hasn't.

Would have + past participle

1: Part of the third conditional.

 If I had had enough money, I would have bought a car (but I didn't have
enough money, so I didn't buy a car).

2: Because 'would' (and will) can also be used to show if you want to do
something or not (volition), we can also use would have + past participle to
talk about something you wanted to do but didn't. This is very similar to the third
conditional, but we don't need an 'if clause'.

 I would have gone to the party, but I was really busy.

(= I wanted to go to the party, but I didn't because I was busy. If I hadn't
been so busy, I would have gone to the party.)

 I would have called you, but I didn't know your number.

(= I wanted to call you but I didn't know your number, so I didn't call you.)

 A: Nobody volunteered to help us with the fair

B: I would have helped you. I didn't know you needed help.
(= If I had known that you needed help, I would have helped you.)

Could Have / Should Have / Would Have

Exercise

1 Make a sentence with a past modal.

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)

10. We ___________________________________ (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)

12. Luke ___________________________________ (pass) the exam if he'd

studied a bit more. (past possibility)

13. John ___________________________________ (call) Amy, but he didn't

have her number. (past willingness)

14. You ___________________________________ (be) rude to him. He's

going to be really angry now. (past negative advice / regret)

15. She ___________________________________ (come) to the restaurant if

she'd left work earlier. (past possibility)

16. You ___________________________________ (take) this job. I can see

you're not enjoying it. (past negative advice / regret)