Modals Exercise 1
can could have to must might should
1. Ted's flight from Amsterdam took more than 11 hours. He _________ be
exhausted after such a long flight. He _________ prefer to stay in tonight
and get some rest.
2. If you want to get a better feeling for how the city is laid out, you
_________ walk downtown and explore the waterfront.
3. Hiking the trail to the peak _________ be dangerous if you are not well
prepared for dramatic weather changes. You _________ research the route
a little more before you attempt the ascent.
4. When you have a small child in the house, you _________ leave small
objects lying around. Such objects _________ be swallowed, causing serious
injury or even death.
5. A: _________ you hold your breath for more than a minute?
B: No, I can't.
6. Jenny's engagement ring is enormous! It _________ have cost a fortune.
7. Please make sure to water my plants while I am gone. If they don't get
enough water, they _________ die.
8. I _________ speak Arabic fluently when I was a child and we lived in
Egypt. But after we moved back to Canada, I had very little exposure to
the language and forgot almost everything I knew as a child. Now, I
_________ just say a few things in the language.
9. The book is optional. My professor said we _________ read it if we needed
extra credit. But we _________ read it if we don't want to.
10. A: Where is the spatula? It _________ be in this drawer but it's not here.
B: I just did a load of dishes last night and they're still in the dish
washer. It _________ be in there. That's the only other place it _________ be.
11. You _________ take your umbrella along with you today. The
weatherman on the news said there's a storm north of here and it
_________ rain later on this afternoon.
12. _________ we pull over at the next rest stop? I really _________ use the
bathroom and I don't know if I _________ hold it until we get to Chicago.
13. Oh no! Frank's wallet is lying on the coffee table. He _________ have left
it here last night.
14. A: _________ I borrow your lighter for a minute?
B: Sure, no problem. Actually, you _________ keep it if you want to. I've
given up smoking.
15. I _________ believe she said that to Megan! She _________ insult her
cooking in front of everyone at the party last night. She _________ have just
said she was full or had some salad if she didn't like the meal.
16. Do you _________ chew with your mouth open like that? Geez, it's
making me sick watching you eat that piece of pizza.
17. Mrs. Scarlett's body was found in the lounge just moments ago, and
it's still warm! Nobody has left the mansion this evening, so the killer
_________ be someone in this room. It _________ be any one of us!!!
18. A: I don't know why Denise started crying when I mentioned the
wedding.
B: It _________ have been what you said about her brother. Or, perhaps
she is just nervous. After all, the big day is tomorrow.
19. _________ you always say the first thing that pops into your head?
_________ you think once in awhile before you speak?
20. I was reading the book last night before I went to bed. I never took it
out of this room. It _________ be lying around here somewhere. Where
_________ it be?
