Grammar: modals must and can’t

NOTE:

• We can use must to say that you believe something is certain:

E.g. You’ve been travelling all day. You must be tired. (Travelling is tiring and you’ve been travelling all day, so you must be tired.)

‘Jim is a hard worker.’ – ‘Jim? You must be joking. He doesn’t do anything.’

• We can use can’t to say that you believe something is not possible.

E.g. You’ve just had lunch. You can’t be hungry already. (People are not normally hungry just after eating a meal. You’ve just eaten, so you can’t be hungry.)

I/you/he (etc.)

must can’t

be (tired/hungry/at work etc.) be (doing/going/joking etc.) do/get/know/have etc.

• For past we use must have (done) and can’t have (done).

E.g. I didn’t hear the phone. I must have been asleep.

Sue hasn’t contacted me. She can’t have got my message.

Tom walked into a wall. He can’t have been looking where he was going.

I/you/he (etc.)

must can’t

have

been (asleep / at work etc.) been (doing / looking etc.) gone / got / known etc.

7.	Put in must or can’t.

1. You’ve been travelling all day. You must be tired.

2. That restaurant ______ be very good. It’s always full of people.

3. That restaurant ______ be very good. It’s always empty.

4. I’m sure I gave you the key. You ______ have it. Have you looked in your bag?

5. You’re going on holiday next week. You ______ be looking forward to it.

6. It rained every day during their holiday, so they ______ have had a very nice time.

7. Congratulations on passing your exam. You ______ be very pleased.

8. You got here very quickly. You ______ have walked very fast.

9. Bill and Sue always travel business class, so they ______ be short of money.

8.	Complete each sentence with a verb (one or two words) in the correct form.

1. I’ve lost one of my gloves. I must have dropped it somewhere.

2. They haven’t lived here for very long. They can’t know many people.

3. Ted isn’t at work today. He must ______ ill.

4. Ted wasn’t at work last week. He must ______ ill.

5. (the doorbell rings) I wonder who is that. It can’t ______ Mary. She’s still at work at this time.

6. Sarah knows a lot about films. She must ______ to the cinema a lot.

7. Look. James is putting on his hat and coat. He must ______ out.

8. I left my bike outside the house last night and now it is gone. Somebody must ______ it.

9. Amy was in a very difficult situation when she lost her job. It can’t ______ easy for her.

10. There is a man walking behind us. He has been walking behind us for the last twenty minutes.He must _______ us.

9.	Read the situations and use the words in brackets to write sentences with must have and can’t have. The first one is done for you.

1. The phone rang, but I didn’t hear it. (I / asleep)

I must have been asleep.

2. Sue hasn’t contacted me. (she / get / my message)

3. The jacket you bought is very good quality. (it /very expensive)

4. I haven’t seen the people next door for ages. (they / go away)

5. I can’t find my umbrella. (I / leave / it in the restaurant last night)

6. Dave, who is very friendly, walked past me without speaking. (he /see /me)

7. There was a man standing outside the café. (he / wait / for somebody)

8. Liz did the opposite of what I asked her to do. (she / understand / what I said)

9. When I got back to my car, the door was unlocked. (I / forget / to lock it)

10. I was woken up in the night by the noise next door. (the neighbours / have / a party)

11. The light was red, but the car didn’t stop. (the driver / see / the red light)

10.



Describe the picture.

LAUGHS PARADE

Vigilant Sentry

“How was your guard duty yesterday, Tom?”

“OK. I was remarkably vigilant.”

“Were you?”

“Oh, yes. I was so vigilant that I heard at once the relief sergeant approaching my post though I was fast asleep.”

Unobserved Fire

“Why have you got to close one eye when aiming your weapon, Private Briggit?”

“But if I close both eyes I won’t see the target, sergeant.”

Straggler

“Why are you lagging behind the march column, Private Smith?”

“It’s not my fault, sir. They are too much in a hurry.”

No Time Lost for Training

A soldier was running the obstacle course. He puffed through till the last lap when he fell in getting over the last obstacle. The physical training instructor noticed the man on the ground.

“What’s the matter, Private Higgins?”

“My leg, sir. I think I broke it on that last hurdle.”

“Well, then, don’t waste time just lying there – do push-ups!”

UNIT: 28

PEACEKEEPING

Lesson 4

UNITED NATIONS POLICE

1.

In this exercise we’ll concentrate on the words and word combinations to be sure you know what they mean

1	arrest	seize (someone) by legal authority and take them into custody
2	murder	the deliberate and illegal killing of a person
3	thief	a person who steals another person's property, especially by stealth and without using force or threat of violence
4	steal	take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it
5	robber	a person who commits robbery
6	hostage	a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition
7	surrender	stop resisting to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority
8	assault rifle	a rapid-fire, magazine-fed automatic rifle designed for infantry use
9	back up	support
10	revolver	a pistol with revolving chambers enabling several shots to be fired without reloading
11	smugglers	people who take goods into or out of a country illegally.
12	arson	the criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property

2.

Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.