Central modal auxiliary verbs

Multiple-choice exercise

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  1. 'You might try speaking French to him.' expresses
    1.   a possibility
    2.   a complaint
    3.   a suggestion
  2. 'I'm tired and it must be getting late.'
    1.   is a use of 'must' to express a logical deduction
    2.   is a use of must which can be negated with 'needn't' or 'don't have to'
    3.   is a use of 'must' to express strong advice
  3. 'must' is used informally for strong advice.
    1.   False
    2.   Only in British English
    3.   True
  4. 'May your life together be a long and happy one.'
    1.   expresses possibility
    2.   is an odd, formal subjunctive use of the modal
    3.   expresses permission
  5. 'She must be here soon - it's getting late.'
    1.   expresses strong possibility
    2.   expresses a firm logical deduction
    3.   expresses strong advice
  6. 'would' can express
    1.   requests and possibilities
    2.   personal characteristics and permission
    3.   past habits and requests
  7. '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
  8. 'I couldn't see what he was driving at.'
    1.   is the use of 'could' for logical deduction
    2.   is the use of 'could' for expressing a complaint
    3.   is the use of 'could' for past ability
  9. '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 the same as 'I might have left my car in his garage.' when referring to possibility
    3.   is always the same as 'I might have left my car in his garage.'
  10. 'can' expresses
    1.   ability, permission, possibility and past ability
    2.   ability, logical deduction, possibility and requests
    3.   ability, permission, possibility and requests
  11. 'I ought to write to my mother.'
    1.   expresses strong advice
    2.   expresses strong obligation
    3.   expresses a sense of duty rather than obligation
  12. 'should' can express
    1.   advice, obligation, or deduction
    2.   permission, advice or obligation
    3.   advice, possibility or permission
  13. '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' in a conditional clause
    3.   is the use of 'will' for intentional future
  14. It is possible to omit the 'to' after 'ought'
    1.   when it is used to express negative obligation
    2.   False
    3.   when it is used to express advice
  15. 'Careful. There might be a snake in the hall.'
    1.   is the use of 'might' to refer to permission
    2.   is the use of 'might' to refer to unlikely present possibility
    3.   is the use of 'might' that implies greater likelihood than 'could'
  16. 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'
  17. The first-person use of 'should' is considered more formal than the use of 'would' in contingent uses.
    1.   Only in US English
    2.   True
    3.   False
  18. 'You might have told me.' and 'You could have told me.' express
    1.   past possibility only
    2.   complaints only
    3.   complaints or past possibility
  19. 'would' can be used to express requests
    1.   False
    2.   Only when the request is based on a current or past habit
    3.   True
  20. 'You would have been able to do it if you'd done your revision.'
    1.   is a common use of 'would' to express contingency in conditionals
    2.   is 'would' used to express likelihood
    3.   is a double use of 'would' in a conditional sense