Central modal auxiliary verbs

Multiple-choice exercise

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  1. 'She must be here soon - it's getting late.'
    1.   expresses strong possibility
    2.   expresses a firm logical deduction
    3.   expresses strong advice
  2. 'should' can express
    1.   permission, advice or obligation
    2.   advice, possibility or permission
    3.   advice, obligation, or deduction
  3. The first-person use of 'should' is considered more formal than the use of 'would' in contingent uses.
    1.   False
    2.   True
    3.   Only in US English
  4. 'I ought to write to my mother.'
    1.   expresses strong obligation
    2.   expresses a sense of duty rather than obligation
    3.   expresses strong advice
  5. It is possible to omit the 'to' after 'ought'
    1.   when it is used to express negative obligation
    2.   when it is used to express advice
    3.   False
  6. 'You might have told me.' and 'You could have told me.' express
    1.   complaints only
    2.   past possibility only
    3.   complaints or past possibility
  7. '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
  8. 'can' expresses
    1.   ability, permission, possibility and requests
    2.   ability, logical deduction, possibility and requests
    3.   ability, permission, possibility and 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. The negative of 'must' for denying permission
    1.   can be expressed using 'don't have to'
    2.   can be expressed using 'can't'
    3.   can be expressed using 'couldn't'
  11. '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
  12. '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' to express strong advice
    3.   is a use of must which can be negated with 'needn't' or 'don't have to'
  13. 'must' is used informally for strong advice.
    1.   True
    2.   Only in British English
    3.   False
  14. '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 past ability
    3.   is the use of 'could' for logical deduction
  15. 'You might try speaking French to him.' expresses
    1.   a possibility
    2.   a complaint
    3.   a suggestion
  16. 'could', when used for asking permission, is
    1.   considered more polite than 'might'
    2.   considered more polite than 'can'
    3.   a reference to someone's ability to do something in the future
  17. 'would' can express
    1.   personal characteristics and permission
    2.   past habits and requests
    3.   requests and possibilities
  18. 'May your life together be a long and happy one.'
    1.   expresses possibility
    2.   expresses permission
    3.   is an odd, formal subjunctive use of the modal
  19. '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
  20. 'would' can be used to express requests
    1.   False
    2.   Only when the request is based on a current or past habit
    3.   True