Mastering Modal Verbs and Passive Voice in English Grammar

1. Modal Verbs of Possibility and Certainty

Exercise 1

1-Vera might be back before lunch time.-That must be the new student.-Italian can’t be that difficult.-The teacher can’t have the results already.-Jackie must have a lot of money.-Wait! That might not be.

Exercise 2

2-You must have heard about the accident.. -You must have gone to bed late. -You can’t have seen this film before.-I might have left my notebook in the kitchen.-The teacher can’t have gone yet because her car is still in the car park. -I missed a call this morning. It might have been Simon, but I don’t think it was his number.

Exercise 3

3-If we’d arrived earlier, we would have got better seats.-I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes if I had revised more.-If they had been more careful, the disaster would never have happened.-If I had known you were in town.-He wouldn’t have become-We would have been on time if the traffic hadn’t been so bad.

Exercise 4

4-Dave might have gone to the bank.-I would have gone out last night if I’d had enough money.-Those can’t be the same shoes that you wore to our wedding three years ago!-If I hadn’t drunk so much coffee last night, I would have slept well. -That must be our new teacher because she’s holding our course book.

Exercise 5

5-That can’t be the right train. It’s not 8.30 yet.-Those boots must be expensive!.-It might be hot on the beach, so take some suntan lotion.-You must like detective fiction.-That can’t be the right phone number.–Don’t buy a book for Tara’s birthday. She might already have it. Get her some flowers instead.

Exercise 6

6 -Stuart might have gone to play tennis –The people who stole the painting must have been professional art thieves. –Paul can’t have cooked this cake –Jamie might have gone shopping –Ralph can’t have repaired –We must have missed the turning.

2. Mixed Conditionals

Exercise 7

7.-If I’d read my essay more carefully, I would have corrected the mistakes.-If it hadn’t rained, Nadal would have won the match easily.- I would have been able to buy the new iPad.-If you had told me you needed money, I would have lent you some.-He wouldn’t have missed the train if his alarm clock had been working.-The government would have been more popular if they had lowered taxes when they had the opportunity.

Exercise 8

8-If I hadn’t been so tired last night, I would have gone to the party.-That must be Bill’s new girlfriend because she’s holding his hand!-Can’t have finished the work already!-Your work at the college must be very interesting.- You must have put on the wrong channel because this isn’t the documentary we wanted to watch.

3. Passive Voice

Exercise 9

9- Someone is delivering our new computer later today. Our new computer is being delivered later today. -Someone has asked me to tell you about the new working arrangements. I have been asked to tell you about the new working arrangements.-I tried to change the order, but they had already sent the books. I tried to change the order, but the books had already been sent. -A service company regularly repairs our computers. Our computers are regularly repaired by a service company.

Exercise 10

10-I have been asked by the head teacher to inform you of the arrangements for the parents’ evening which is being held this evening. Parents have been told to go to the main hall where Mrs Davies will welcome them. After talking to individual teachers, coffee and snacks are being provided in the cafeteria. The main hall has been closed since this morning and students from classes J, K and X are expected to help put out tables and chairs this afternoon. We hope the evening will be as successful as last year’s, when a lot of money was raised by the parents for the new computer room.

4. Technology Vocabulary

Exercise 11

• This morning laptops on the train.
• My computer hard drive
• Put the memory USB port
• I’m sorry, the webcam isn’t working.
• My computer screen gives me headaches.

Exercise 12

• Download
• Surf
• Online
• Broadband
• Screen engine

Exercise 13

• I’ve tried sending this email several times, but it keeps bouncing back.
• Unfortunately, I deleted your last email by mistake.
• Can you forward this email to all your friends?
• I don’t usually check my email more than once a day.
• I typed in the wrong email address and it went to the wrong person. I was very embarrassed!

Exercise 14

• I was asked to give a talk about global warming.
• Meat is not often eaten in our family.
• Your computer should be protected against viruses.
• Mike has been arrested for stealing.