English Grammar Exercises for B2 – Modals: ability, permission, advice, criticism, obligation and necessity, degrees of certainly exercise

A. If a word or phrase in bold is correct, put a tick (✓). If it is incorrect, rewrite it correctly on the line.

1   Can you to speak French?   …………………………..

2   I’ll can give you a hand tomorrow morning, if you like.   …………………………..

3   I’ll can take my driving test after a few more lessons.   …………………………..

4   Jack can play the guitar before he learnt to talk!   …………………………..

5   If only I can afford to buy that top!   …………………………..

6   We can have gone up the Eiffel Tower while we were in Paris, but we decided to go to the Louvre instead.   …………………………..

7   I could get a more expensive computer, but it didn’t seem worth it.   …………………………..

8   I wish I could get out of the maths test tomorrow!   …………………………..

9   I bet you’d love to be can to get satellite TV.   …………………………..

10   You’d better tell the coach if you can’t playing on Saturday.   …………………………..

B. Circle the correct word or phrase. If both options are correct, circle both.

1   Hello. Could / Can I speak to Mrs Johnson, please?

2   We could / were allowed to go home early yesterday because our teacher was ill.

3   The head teacher said we could / were allowed to go home.

4   Do you think I should / could be worried about these spots on my forehead?

5   You ought to / should enter that talent contest!

6   You couldn’t / shouldn’t talk to people like that! It’s rude!

7   Alan should write / have written two essays in the exam yesterday, not one!

8   No, you may / should not go out tonight. You know you’re grounded!

9   Diana should have waited / been waiting for me at the corner. I wonder where she went.

10   What were you doing in the park? You ought to have done / been doing your homework then!

11   Yes, of course you can / are able to open the window if you’re too hot!

C. Write a form of must, have to, need or need to in each gap to complete the sentences. If more than one possibility is correct, write all possibilities.

1   Oh, I ………………………… remember to get some potatoes on the way home tonight.

2   Jason ………………………… see the headmaster during the next break. I wonder what it’s about?

3   We ………………………… light lots of candles during the power cut two nights ago.

4   I’ll ………………………… start doing my Christmas cards soon. It’s nearly December.

5   Carl, you ………………………… run into the street like that without looking first. It’s dangerous!

6   People with solar-powered cars ………………………… worry about the price of petrol.

7   I wouldn’t like to ………………………… get up at five o’clock every morning.

8   We ………………………… do any washing-up after the picnic because we’d used disposable plates and cutlery.

9   Do professional musicians ………………………… practise every day?

10   I ………………………… have bothered cooking all that food; they’d eaten before they arrived.

D. Complete each second sentence using the word given, so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. Write between two and five words in each gap.

1   His lights are on so I’m pretty sure Dan is at home.   as

     Dan ………………………………………… his lights are on.

2   Susie’s car’s not here so she’s almost certainly taking Dobber to the vet.   be

     Susie ………………………………………… Dobber to the vet since her car’s not here.

3   There’s no way that boy’s Simon. He’s much taller!   boy

      That ………………………………………… Simon. He’s much taller!

4   I’m certain the Winners don’t think we’re coming tonight; we arranged it for next Tuesday.   expecting

     The Winners ………………………………………… tonight; we arranged it for next Tuesday.

5   I bet you were exhausted after such a long journey!   have

      You ………………………………………… exhausted after such a long journey!

6   The only explanation is that Evan was on the phone to someone in Australia!   talking

      Evan ………………………………………… on the phones to someone in Australia!

7   There’s no way Casey won the disco dancing competition – he’s got two left feet!   have

     Casey ………………………………………… the disco dancing competition – he’s got two left feet!

8   I don’t believe Helen’s been trying to call us all day. The phone hasn’t rung once.   been

     Helen ………………………………………… to call us all day. The phone hasn’t rung once.

E. Use the words in the box only once to complete the sentences in Table A. The meaning of the sentences in Table B will help you.

F. Circle the correct answer.

1   …………… I have a look at those shoes in the window, please?

      A   Must     B   Would

      C   Should     D   Could

2   We …………… pay for the tickets as Josie won them in a competition.

      A   mustn’t     B   didn’t have to

      C   couldn’t     D   hadn’t to

3   You really …………… make such a mountain out of a molehill!

      A   can’t     B   won’t

      C   mightn’t     D   shouldn’t

4   You won’t …………… to connect to the Internet once you’ve got broadband as you’re online twenty-four hours a day.

      A   need     B   must

      C   ought     D   able

5   I hope we …………… find the cinema easily.

      A   could     B   may

      C   might     D   can

6   We couldn’t find a hotel room so we …………… sleep in the car. It was awful!

      A   must     B   should

      C   had to     D   could

7   We’d love to …………… afford to go on a round-the-world cruise.

      A   can     B   be able to

      C   will have to     D   have to

8   Fiona can’t …………… about the meeting. I reminded her this morning!

      A   forget     B   be forgetting

      C   have forgotten

      D   have been forgetting

9   She could …………… in the garage when we came round, which would explain why she didn’t hear the bell.

      A   work     B   be working

      C   have worked     D   have been working

10   You’ll …………… tell the police that your house was broken into.

      A   have to     B   must

      C   had to     D   should

G. Write a modal or semi-modal in each gap to replace the phrase in brackets. Add any other words you need.

1   Bruce ………………………… (is able to) finish most crosswords in under ten minutes.

2   Charlotte didn’t get to the Craig David concert because she ………………………… (wasn’t able to) get tickets.

3   I ………………………… (had the opportunity to go) to Oxford but I decided to go to a more modern university.

4   You ………………………… (were wrong to tell) Angus. You know he can’t keep a secret!

5   If you have a cashpoint card, you ………………………… (are not forced to) go into the bank to get money from your account.

6   We ………………………… (were made to) apologise to the police for wasting their time.

7   That ………………………… (almost definitely wasn’t) the last can of soda in the fridge. I bought loads this morning!

8   ………………………… (Were you obliged to) talk about two photographs during the interview?

9   Children ………………………… (are not allowed to) be left unattended.

10   The weather ………………………… (will probably) be good tomorrow.

H. Choose the correct answer.

Choosing a gym

Choosing to go to a gym regularly (1) …………… change your life for the better. Don’t let it be a decision you regret!

Good gyms have a lot to offer. They (2) …………… provide exercise equipment that is just too expensive to buy and their trained staff are (3) …………… to provide quality health and fitness advice. But if you’re planning to join a gym, you (4) …………… definitely ask to look round before you become a member. There are a number of things to bear in mind before choosing which gym to join.

Before the law changed a few years ago, anyone (5) …………… set up a gym and even today gyms (6) …………… employ trained fitness instructors. Find out what qualifications the staff have. If they’re untrained, it’s best to go elsewhere.

You (7) …………… be put off by the gym’s hard sell. Just because they want you to sign up – they want your money, after all – that doesn’t mean you (8) …………… decide there and then. See a few gyms before you make your final decision.

Ask yourself: What kind of equipment and facilities do they have? There’s little point joining a gym and then thinking a few months later, ‘I (9) …………… have chosen a gym with a pool.’ Do you (10) …………… book equipment in advance, or can you just turn up and use it? How busy does the gym get? It (11) …………… be very pleasant turning up to find there’s no room in the changing room and there’s a huge queue for each piece of equipment. It (12) …………… also be a good idea to talk to people who already go to that gym to find out their opinion.

1   A must   B would   C should   D will have to

2   A can   B could   C would   D must

3   A made   B forced   C allowed   D able

4   A should   B would   C might   D will

5   A can   B could   C might   D may

6   A mustn’t   B don’t have to   C can’t   D shouldn’t

7   A mustn’t   B couldn’t   C won’t   D mightn’t

8   A can’t   B can   C would   D have to

9   A ought to   B must   C have to   D can’t

10   A able   B must   C have to   D allowed

11   A won’t have to   B doesn’t have to   C mustn’t   D won’t

12   A must   B might   C has to   D ought to

I. Write one word in each gap.

When I broke my arm a week ago, I guess it (1) …………… to have hurt. But it didn’t! We were doing PE at school, and we were making a pyramid. We (2) …………… to stand on each other’s shoulders. I was right at the top. We (3) …………… have been doing it properly because suddenly the pyramid collapsed and we all fell. I landed on my arm.

Mr Jenkins (4) …………… have known immediately that I’d broken my arm because he sent someone to call an ambulance. ‘Sit still, and don’t move your arm at all until the ambulance comes,’ he said. I (5) …………… still remember the feeling – my arm was numb, and looked very strange, but there was no pain at all. I remember thinking: ‘It (6) …………… be broken. If it was broken, I’d be in agony.’ I suppose not feeling any pain (7) …………… have been because I was in shock.

The plaster (8) …………… come off in about three weeks but it (9) …………… have to stay on longer. It depends on whether the break has healed properly or not. The next three weeks may (10) …………… be the best three weeks of my life – no basketball, no playing in the playground, no swimming – but I’m counting my blessings. It (11) …………… have been a lot worse!