Modal Verbs, explanations and exercises

MODAL VERBS - OBLIGATIONS AND PROHIBITIONS

When we want o express permission, responsibilities, obligation or prohibition we use modal verbs .

HAVE TO AND MUST are used to express obligation.

DON’T HAVE TO is used to express that something is not required / external obligation

MUSTN’T is used to express prohibition

MUST

MUST and MUSTN’T are the same for all persons¢ 

We use MUST when we think it is important to do an action or we give people¢ orders. 

You MUST be home by eleven

She MUST tidy up her room every day

We use MUST when the obligation comes from¢ the speaker. 

I must go to the doctor, I don’t feel well.

I must have my homework ready tonight

I must stop smoking.                                                       

HAVE TO 

We use HAVE TO when the obligation comes¢ from someone else, not the speaker; for an action that is necessary because of rules.

We HAVE TO be at the airport three hours before the flight leaves. 

At work I HAVE TO wear a uniform

My father HAS TO pay the rent every month.

MUSTN`T

MUSTN’T is used to say that something is against the rules or against the law.

You MUSTN’T smoke at school. 

You MUSTN’T use your telephone on a plane.

EXERCISES

Choose the correct modal verb to fill in the spaces in blank. 

1. You _____ come to the meeting, but it will be nice if you are there. (mustn’t- don’t have to) 

2. You ______ start saving money if you want to retire in a few years. (must- have to) 

3. We _________ to visit the doctor every year because the Social Security requires it. (must- have to) 

4. I ______ call my dad every day. (must- have to)

5. My brother _______ wear a tie at work, I do. (mustn’t – doesn’t have to) 

6. You _____ eat healthier and stop smoking, you will feel better. (must have to) 

7. I _____ study tonight, my exam is tomorrow. (must- have to)

8. People ______ drink and drive cars. It is prohibited (mustn’t - don’t have to)

9. John can’t come because he ____ work tomorrow. (must- has to)        

10.We _______ speak when the teacher is speaking. (mustn’t- don’t have to) 

11. I can hear you. You _______ shout. (mustn’t - don’t have to) 

12. She has a big problem. We ______ help her. (must- have to)

13. You ______ send a document without reading it first. (mustn’t – don’t have to)

Choose have to / has to or don't have to / doesn't have to.

1. Every man ………… do military service in my country. It's obligatory.

2. When do we ………… pay for the next term?

3. Policemen ………… wear a uniform.

4. A pilot ……….. train for many years.

5. Does Susan ………… work long hours?

6. I …………. get up early on Sundays. I can stay in bed.

7. You have ………….. a visa to come to Ukraine.

8. You …. to do it if you don't want to. 

9. My daughter ….. to cook, because I cook for the whole family. 

10. We ….pay. It's free.

Sequence of Tenses, Exercise 1

           

SEQUENCE OF TENSES – CONCORDANTA TIMPURILOR

Choose the correct answer:

1. “Well, I was just browsing / I just browsed some photo albums when I started / I was starting to remember our former classmates.”

2. “Oh, how nice! Did you laugh / Were you laughing when you saw our childish faces?”

3. “Not really. Some of us look the same. For example Damian… He has already divorced / had already divorced when I talked to him.”

4. “What happened? He is / is being one of the most intelligent boys.”

5. “Just his luck… When I met / meet him, he was applying for a position in a foreign company.”

6. “What about Alice? She married / had married by the time we graduated high-school.”

7. “I know. She has a company with her husband now. They were celebrating / celebrated her birthday at Miriam’s restaurant when I accidentally came across / was coming across them.”

8. “Donna, I’m awfully sorry! I would absolutely like to chat with you, but I baked / was baking some cookies for a while when you called…”

9.”You Did you read / Have you read `Think and grow rich`?”

10. “Not yet. I mean I started reading it five months ago, but I didn`t finish / haven`t finished it.”

11. “Do you mean you have been reading / have read it for a few months?”

12. “Well, not exactly. Meanwhile, I read / have read other books, too. I always liked Anthony Robbins. In fact I sent / have sent him an email. I waited / have been waiting for his answer since then.”

13. ”I see. Well, it seems that you were / have been very busy lately.”

14. “How many times a week you do you see / are you seeing your grandparents?”

15. “I don`t see / I`m not seeing them very often .”

16. “Did you see / have you seen them today?”

17. “No, not today. Today I had / I have had an appointment with my lawyer.”

18. I will stay here until the rain stops / will stop.

19. It`s time you stopped / have stopped feeling sorry for yourself / yourselves.

20. He hoped that he may / might get another chance. 

21. She plays the violin as if her life depends / depended on it.

22. She said she broke / was breaking the plate when she washed / was washing it.

23. They said that the Earth is / was round.

24.  He said he would come to see me after he finished / had finished work.

25. I will have finished studying / will finish studying by the time you come home.

26. She will go to England after she got / has got a visa.

27. Last year I worked more than I did / have done this year.

28. She promised / has promised her mother that she will help her.

29. I thought he would come if he has / had time.

30. He thought she has already come / she had already come.

31. I insist that you write / should write more carefully.

32. It is strange that he should not have accepted / should accept your invitation yesterday.

33. It was necessary that he act / should act like that.

34. John said that he would come when he could / can.

35. I was writing / wrote a letter when Tom was calling me up / called me up.

36. Father adviced / advised us not to go there / to not go there.

37. They found / were finding the book after you left / had left.

Translate into Romanian:

He should go now.                  

He must go now                              

He would go now…

He might go now.                   

He could go now.                             

He may go now.

He must go now.                     

He has to go now                            

He will go now.

Error Correction, Exercise 1

Correct the mistakes:

1. She recommended me that I take a few days off from work.

2. I tried to explain him the problem, but he had difficulty understanding me.

3. I don’t know why you didn’t go. If I were you, I should have gone.

4. Kate claims that if she got an MBA after finishing her bachelor’s degree, she might have been considered for the position.

5. Kevin says he stopped to travel internationally because of his family.

6. We regret informing you that your application has been denied.

7. The interview was broadcasted live over the internet.

8. I’m so glad that he spoke in my behalf because I felt awful that I couldn’t make it to the event.

9. At first I studied engineering in college, but I ended getting a marketing degree.

10. It was a frustrating situation because we were uncapable of helping.

11. When the check came, I tried to pay but John told me to put away my wallet and insisted that he paid for dinner.

12. They had managed a few crisises in the past, so they were able to handle this situation fairly well.

13. If you would’ve told me, I would have given you my honest advice.

14. The four participants discussed it between themselves.

15. We thought we were going to expand this year, but we actually have less people now than we did two years ago.

16. She’s trying to concentrate herself on finishing her degree.

17. Unfortunately, some species has got extinct due to human activity.

18. I’m a little afraid to do this by my own.

19. He told me that he had never been in that restaurant before.

20. Never before I had seen something quite like that.