Pure modal verbs

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'I could have left my car in his garage.'
1. is the same as 'I might have left my car in his garage.' when referring to ability
2. is always the same as 'I might have left my car in his garage.'
3. is the same as 'I might have left my car in his garage.' when referring to possibility
'can' expresses
1. ability, permission, possibility and requests
2. ability, logical deduction, possibility and requests
3. ability, permission, possibility and past ability
'would' can express
1. requests and possibilities
2. past habits and requests
3. personal characteristics and permission
'must' is used informally for strong advice.
1. False
2. True
3. Only in British English
It is possible to omit the 'to' after 'ought'
1. False
2. when it is used to express advice
3. when it is used to express negative obligation
'would' can be used to express requests
1. Only when the request is based on a current or past habit
2. True
3. False
'You might try speaking French to him.' expresses
1. a possibility
2. a complaint
3. a suggestion
'Careful. There might be a snake in the hall.'
1. is the use of 'might' to refer to unlikely present possibility
2. is the use of 'might' that implies greater likelihood than 'could'
3. is the use of 'might' to refer to permission
'May your life together be a long and happy one.'
1. is an odd, formal subjunctive use of the modal
2. expresses permission
3. expresses possibility
'If you will just wait outside for a few minutes.'
1. is the use of 'will' for polite requests
2. is the use of 'will' for intentional future
3. is the use of 'will' in a conditional clause
'You would have been able to do it if you'd done your revision.'
1. is 'would' used to express likelihood
2. is a double use of 'would' in a conditional sense
3. is a common use of 'would' to express contingency in conditionals
'I couldn't see what he was driving at.'
1. is the use of 'could' for expressing a complaint
2. is the use of 'could' for logical deduction
3. is the use of 'could' for past ability
'I'm tired and it must be getting late.'
1. is a use of 'must' to express strong advice
2. is a use of 'must' to express a logical deduction
3. is a use of must which can be negated with 'needn't' or 'don't have to'
The first-person use of 'should' is considered more formal than the use of 'would' in contingent uses.
1. Only in US English
2. False
3. True
'She must be here soon - it's getting late.'
1. expresses strong advice
2. expresses a firm logical deduction
3. expresses strong possibility
'should' can express
1. advice, possibility or permission
2. permission, advice or obligation
3. advice, obligation, or deduction
'I ought to write to my mother.'
1. expresses a sense of duty rather than obligation
2. expresses strong advice
3. expresses strong obligation
The negative of 'must' for denying permission
1. can be expressed using 'couldn't'
2. can be expressed using 'can't'
3. can be expressed using 'don't have to'
'You might have told me.' and 'You could have told me.' express
1. complaints or past possibility
2. past possibility only
3. complaints only
'could', when used for asking permission, is
1. considered more polite than 'can'
2. considered more polite than 'might'
3. a reference to someone's ability to do something in the future

Pure modal verbs

Multiple-choice exercise