Modal Verbs · Exercises
C2Proficient practice
Subtle past modals, formal passives and fine meanings.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- C2 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
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What you’ll practise at C2
- Negatives: can’t, shouldn’t, don’t have to
- Questions: Can I…? Do I have to…?
- Deduction: must / might / can’t be
- Past modals: should have, must have, can’t have
- needn’t have or didn’t need to?
- Passive: must be done, can’t have been done
Need a refresher? Learn the modal verbs: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Complete the sentence. Meaning: it happened, but it was a bad idea.
Ali lost all his photos. He _____ the backup.
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Ali lost all his photos. He shouldn't have deleted the backup.
shouldn’t have + participle = you did it, but it was a bad idea.
Write the passive.
The boxes _____ (have to / carry) upstairs.
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The boxes have to be carried upstairs.
Passive with a modal: modal + be + past participle (about the past: modal + have been + participle). The boxes have to be carried upstairs.
Make a question.
Noah has to practise the piano every day.
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Does Noah have to practise the piano every day?
have to makes questions with do / does: Does Noah have to practise the piano every day?
They didn’t do it. Choose the right form.
My sister lent me her dress, so I _____ a new one.
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My sister lent me her dress, so I didn't need to buy a new one.
didn’t need to = it wasn’t necessary (so we didn’t do it). needn’t have + participle = we did it, but it wasn’t necessary.
Write the modal about the past.
Carlos’s plants are dead. He _____ (shouldn't / water) them so much.
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Carlos’s plants are dead. He shouldn't have watered them so much.
Modal + have + past participle. shouldn’t have + participle = you did it, but it was a bad idea.
Find the word that is wrong.
I could have gave you a lift.
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I could have given you a lift.
After have, use the past participle: give – gave – given. could have + participle = it was possible, but it didn’t happen.