Grammar Exercises Modal Verbs and their Equivalents

				Present	Past	Future
can		be able to		can	could
				am is able to are	was able to were	shall be able to will
must		have to		must
		be to should		have to (has to) am (is, are) to	had to was (were) to	shall have to will
may		be allowed to		may	might
				am is allowed to are	was allowed to were	shall be allowed to will

I. Complete the sentences. Use can or can’t + one of these verbs:

come, find, hear, see, speak

1. I am sorry, but we …..can’t come…. to your party next Saturday.

2. She got the job because she ……………………five languages.

3. You are speaking very quietly. I ……………………………..you.

4. Have you seen my bag? I………………………it.

5. I like this hotel room. You …………………………………….the mountains from the window.

II. Complete the sentences. Use can or couldn’t + one of these verbs:

eat, go, go, see, sleep, understand

1. I was tired but ….I couldn’t sleep… .

2. She spoke very quickly. I couldn’t ……………….. her.

3. His eyes are not very good. He ………………. very well.

4. I wasn’t hungry yesterday. I ………………… my dinner.

5. He …………………… to the concert next Saturday. He is working.

6. He ………………….. to the meeting last week. He was ill.

III. Complete the sentences. Use must +one of the verbs:

be, buy, go, go, help, hurry, learn, meet, phone, read, wash, win.

1. We …..must…… go to the bank today. We haven’t got any money.

2. I …………………………………………. . I haven’t got much time.

3. She is a very interesting person. You ……… her.

4. I forgot to phone Dave last night. I……………………………him today.

5. You ………………………………. to drive. It’s very useful.

6. This is an excellent book. You ………………………it.

7. We …………………… some food. We’ve got nothing for dinner.

8. My hair is dirty. I ……………………… it.

9. I ……………………. To the post office. I need some stamps.

10. I have a big problem. You …………………………………..me.

11. The game tomorrow is very important for us. We ……………………….. .

12. You can’t always have things immediately. You …………………… patient.

IV. Put in must or had to:

1. I …….had to…… go to the bank yesterday to get some money.

2. The windows are very dirty. I ………………….. clean them.

3. The windows were very dirty yesterday. I …………………………… clean them.

4. I ………………………….. get up early tomorrow. I’ve got a lot to do.

5. Come on! We ……………………….. hurry. We haven’t got much time.

6. We arrived home very late last night. We ………………… wait half an hour for a taxi.

7. These cakes are very nice. You ……………………. have one.

8. Ann came to the party but she didn’t stay very long. She ………………….. leave early.

9. He didn’t know how to use the machine. I ………………………. Show him.

10. I was nearly late for my appointment this morning. I …………………………. Run to get there on time.

V. Complete the sentences. Use should + one of these verbs:

Clean go read visit watch wear

1. When you play tennis, you ….. should watch ….. the ball.

2. You look tired. You …………………………… to bed

3. You …………………………… your teeth after every meal.

4. The city museum is very interesting. You ……………………………….. it.

5. When you are driving, you ………………………… a seat-belt.

6. It’s a good book. You …………………….. it.