Modals (2) 4

Grammar
F May / might / could + be + present participle; may / might / could + have + past
participle

M.1

But of course, he might be lying (not 2,,at of cow Jerat-con be tyre-0 (= in the present: it's possible he's lying)
They could have got in through a window up on the fourth floor. in the past: its possible they got in)

With a future time reference we can use may I might I could + be + present participle and may! might I could
+ have + past participle to say it is possible that something will happen in the future
Nik's flight was cancelled, so he may/might/could be arriving much later than expected.
The thieves may/might/could have left the country by the time we get to the airport.

Egi May / might / could + have been + present participle

We can use may/might/could + have been + present participle to talk about situations or activities that were
possibly happening at a particular past time
Do you think he might have been expecting them?

up Would / will + have + past participle

We use would have + past participle to talk about an imaginary past situation:
People would have seen them from the street below.
To show that we think a past situation actually happened, we use will have + past participle
If they smashed a window to get in, people living nearby will certainly have heard something.

EL, Should! ought to + have + past participle

We use should I ought to + have + past participle to talk about something that didn't happen in the past,
particularly when we want to imply some regret or criticism:
He must know that he ought to have called the poke as soon as he found the door open.
We should have been contacted earlier. (passive)
We can also use should I ought to + have + past participle to talk about an expectation that something
happened, has happened, or will happen:
The forensic team should have finished examining the building by now.

Egi Must! can't / couldn't + have + past participle

So someone else must have opened the door from the inside. (active)
It must have been opened from the inside. (passive)
We can use must have + past participle to draw a conclusion about something in the past.

To draw a conclusion about a past event, saying that it was not possible, we use can't have + past participle or
couldn't have + past participle
One man alone couldn't have carried all those paintings. (not ... mustnIt-litave-earned

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4 Modals (2)

To draw a conclusion about something happening at a particular past time, saying that it was likely or certain,
we use must have been + present participle
The driver must have been waiting nearby.

2.6 Must be + present participle

We can use must be + present participle to draw a conclusion about something happening around the time of
speaking. We can use must be + present participle or must be going to to draw a conclusion about something
likely to happen in the future
I'll speak to the curator of the museum later. She must be feeling devastated.
They're taking the head cleaner to the police car They must be going to arrest him. or They must be arresting him.

EgiDare and need

He gets annoyed easily, so t daren't criticise him.! A good car needn't cost a lot.
She dared me to jump across. / We need to talk to them.
Dare and need can be used either as modal verbs (+ bare infinitive) or ordinary verbs (+ to-infinitive).

As modals, dare and need are mostly used in negative contexts. We can use either dare to or dare (without to)
when it is not followed by not
But no one would have dared (to) climb up the outside of the building.
I daren't tell him I've got another job. (not 1-dareWt-te461 ...)
We can't include wafter needn't
We needn't interview everyone in the block (not nccdn't to ...)

2.8 Had better

We can use had better instead of should I ought to, especially in spoken English, to say that we think it is a good
idea (or not) to do something
We'd better find out all we can about that guard as soon as possible
We'd better not go in until the forensic team has finished.
We use should or ought to when we talk about the past or make general comments:
I should! ought to have phoned her earlier.
People should! ought to support the police more. (not PeoPie-haid-b•tter --)

2.9 Be allowed to
We can use could or was/were allowed to to say that in the past someone had general permission to do something
Only the security guard could / was allowed to stay in the museum after it closed.
To talk about permission on a particular occasion, we use was/were allowed to (not could):
Although he had no ID, the man was allowed to enter the building.
In negative sentences we can use either could or was/were allowed to when talking about permission in general
or on particular occasions:
They let reporters into the crime scene, but they couldn't! weren't allowed to take photos.

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 Modals (2) 4
2.10 Be supposed to
We can use be supposed to to express a less strong obligation than with should or ought to. Using be supposed to
often suggests that events do not happen as expected:
The entry code is supposed to be known only by the security guard. (= suggests that it was in fact known by
others)
We can use be supposed to to report what people think is true
The building is supposed to be one of the most secure in the country. (= people say it is.) (noti-ht-imitding-sheatel-

eft Other verbs with modal meanings

A number of other verbs are used with similar meanings to modal verbs:
No one is to enter the building until the police give permission. (= obligation — formal)
Everyone present was required to give a statement to the police. (= obligation)
How did they manage to get in? (= ability)
We have succeeded in narrowing down the list of suspects. (= ability)
He might be prepared to tell us more. (= willingness)
The suspects have refused to co-operate. (= unwillingness)
From the evidence found, it follows that it was carefully planned. (= conclusion — formal)
We can conclude that the paintings were stolen by professionals. (= conclusion)

Grammar exercises
in Choose the correct verbs.
1 You should must have been mad to jump off the wall like that You might / will have broken a leg.

2 I didn't dare to admit I couldn't be admitting that I'd dropped his laptop. He will have been / would have been
so angry with me.

3 The weather forecast said it might be raining can be raining later, so we'd better to / we'd better take an
umbrella when we go out.
4 The work on repairing the bridge is supposed to start / ought to start next month, but there have been a lot
of complaints about it. It's the height of the tourist season, so they couldn't / mustn't have chosen a worse
time to do it.
5 Jan must have to know must have known the brakes on the car weren't working properly. He really should
have warned / had better have warned me when he sold it to me.
6 There have been yet more delays in building our new office block. They must were supposed to have
finished by now, but I'm starting to think that I might can have retired before it's built.

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4 Modals (2)

leg Complete the sentences using the verbs from the box in one of these forms:
have + past participle be + present participle
have been + past participle have been + present participle

cause change find screw talk tempt wait work

1 A: The clouds are getting really dark.

8: Yes, I think it could be. snowing by morning.

2 k So how did the explosion happen?

B: They think it may by a gas leak

3 A: You were born in Wooton, weren't you? It's supposed to be a lovely village.
8: It certainly used to be, but it may since then — I haven't been there for years.

4 k. I rang Weis doorbell twice, but there was no answer.

8: He must in the garden.

5 k Cutting those roses was so difficult. I've still got thorns in my hands.
B: You might it easier if you'd been wearing gloves.

6 k I thought we were meeting Anika outside the theatre.

B: Yes, but I can't see her. I suppose she might for us inside.

7 A: Did you apply for that job in Canada I told you about?
13: Well, if the salary was higher I might but it was even less than I'm earning now.

8 A: When Aya said 'He's really lazy; do you think she meant me?
8: Well, she could about someone else, I suppose.

Ingl A group of geography students are going on a field trip to Iceland. Their teacher is talking about the
arrangements. Rewrite the underlined parts using one of the words or phrases from the box. You need to
add extra words in each case.

allow are to compulsory managed possibility of recommend refused succeeded

'Unfortunately, the authorities (1) won't allow us to carry out fieldwork on the glacier. Apparently, because
of weather conditions it's not safe at the moment. Instead, (2) we've been able to arrange a boat trip to study
coastal features, and (3) we may see whales. So I think (4) you should bring a pair of binoculars if you can.
You might want to bring a camera, too. In past years, students have (5) been able to take some excellent
photographs during our Iceland fieldwork Let me remind you, however, that no portable stereos with external
speakers (6) should be taken on the trip, although (7) you may bring an MP3 player if you want to. And finally,
can you remember that (8) everyone must arrange their own private medical insurance for the trip. I'll check
next week that everyone has done this ...'
1 have refused to 5
2 6
3 7
4 8

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 Modals (2)

Read these extracts from newspaper and magazine articles. Choose one phrase from each of the
pairs in the box to complete the sentences.

could be facing / can be facing eettkl4tavebeehrevertted / can-have ,triitrev

ought to give/ ought to have given would not have been able to grow / will not be able to grow
might be working / might have been working must get easier / must be getting easier

1 An enquiry into last year's explosion at the Amcon Refinery that killed 25 workers concluded that it
could- have been preventea if the refinery had installed a hazard warning system, as safety officers
had recommended.
2 There is some evidence to suggest that Jon Ricci as a secret agent
during the 1960s, although even after the end of the Cold War this was never confirmed.

3 Mateus Weber, chief executive of the Schools Examination Authority, said: 'The newspapers claim that the
improving results show that exams But we are absolutely certain that
standards have remained the same:

4 Mr Rosi will return to court on 31 January to hear his sentence, having been warned yesterday that he
a long period in prison.

5 Mesi them the lead just before halftime, but he shot straight at the
goalkeeper, who made an easy save.
6 For centuries the flooding of the Nile was very important because, without it, the people
crops in the dry desert. But global warming has changed the
traditional patterns of agriculture in this part of the world.

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II
Exam practice
Reading and Use of English Part 4
For questions 1 — 6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence,
using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and six words, including
the word given. Here is an example (0).

0 Those working with pre-school age children will probably find the course interesting.
INTEREST
The course is likely to be of biterest to those working with pre-school age children.

1 During the winter I prefer watching football to playing it.

SOONER
During the winter I it

2 Karen says it takes less than an hour to drive there, but I'm sure she has got it wrong.
MUST
Karen says it takes less than an hour to drive there, but she a mistake.

3 Students wishing to enrol on the course should complete all sections of the application forrn.
REQUIRED
Students wishing to enrol on the course in all sections of the application
form.

4 I wish I had considered the question more carefully before answering.

THOUGHT
I should the question more carefully before answering.

5 The factory has been able to reduce its CO2 emissions by 50% in the last year.
SUCCEEDED
The factory back its CO2 emissions by 50% in the last year.

6 It's a long walk home, so I advise you not to miss the last train.
BETTER
It's a long walk home, so the last train.

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