Task 5. Modals meaning. Choose the correct word to complete each conversation.

1. We might/can be away for a week. Is there enough food? –Maybe not. Let’s pack a little more in case we stay longer.

2. Should/Might we drive around in the nature preserve? – We’d better not. The roads are bad.

3. Do you think it’s going to rain? - It can’t/ may not. I don’t see any clouds.

4. We’d better not/might not forget the camera this time. – I know. Last year, we can’t/weren’t able to take pictures.

5. I hear the phone. Who could/should that be? – It must/ couldn’t be the kids. I told them to call before we left.

6. You’d better/may not remind Kate to feed the dog. – You are right. She is so busy, she should/might not remember.

7. Well, we can/must always call her on the cell phone and remind her. – How were we able/ did we have to survive without cell phones?

8. Did I turn off the stove? I just can’t/may not remember. – Maybe we should/shouldn’t check the house one more time.

9. I think the clerk is the killer. – It couldn’t/might not be the clerk. She was on a plane to Paris at the time of the last murder. Remember?

10. Do you think the Browns aren’t Jane’s real family? – They can’t/must be. She looks just like them.

 

Task 6. Read each numbered statement. Then choose the sentence (a or b) that best describes the situation. The first one is done for you.

1. I shouldn’t have called him.

a. I called him.

b. I didn’t call him.

2. My parents ought to have moved away from that neighbourhood.

a. They are going to move, but they are not sure when.

b. Moving was a good idea, but they didn’t do it.

3. I should have told them what I thought.

a. I didn’t tell them, and now I regret it.

b. I told them, and that was a big mistake.

4. We could have told you the movie was no good.

a. We didn’t know you were planning to go, we didn’t tell you.

b. We haven’t seen the movie yet, so we can’t tell you about it.

5. He might have warned us about the traffic.

a. He didn’t know, so he couldn’t tell us.

b. He knew, but he didn’t tell us.

6. Patricia could have been a vice president by now.

a. Patricia didn’t become a vice president.

b. Patricia is a vice president.

7. I ought to have practiced more.

a. I practiced enough.

b. I didn’t practice enough.

8. They shouldn’t have lent him their car.

a. They refused to lend him their car.

b. They lent him their car.