Modals of ability and obligation 2 He should have given the dog a biscuit Yesterday the police had to help a robber whe et down from a tree. Jim Sly went into the house of 80-year-old F y Bishop while she ep. Her dog, Rover, woke up \d ran after Sly. The d st but Sly was able to g 2 could run t into the garden and up the tree. Emily said, ‘The man needn’t have run away. Rover is a very nice dog. He should have said Hello and given him a biscuit sold both her hot | should | The multimillionaire Kelly Rogers has small village in Scotland. | needed to chi have done thi | my life an (He couldn't r was usiny e to should have tI had to get a j didn’t have to g, Match each person to the correct action: 1Emily a finished university 2 sly b bought anew house 3 Kelly c ran away froma dog 4 Tom d phoned the police 48Modals of ability and obligation 2 Could and be able to 1 Use could (not) or was / were (not) able to for ability inthe past. Could is more common than was / were able to. The dog could run fast. He wasn’t able to finish it 2. Use was / were able to (NOT could) when talking about ‘one event in the past. In the negative, both forms are possible. He was able to get into the garden. NOT He-cotld-== Luckily, | was able to open the door in time. NOT =-teould = !wasn't able to / couldn't open the door in time. Had to 3. There is no past form of must. Use had to for statements and questions about obligation in the past. Use couldn't or wasn’t allowed to for negatives. thad to get a job. Iwas on a diet so! couldn't eat chocolate. Practice Needed to and didn't have to 4 Use needed to and had to for what was necessary in the past. Ineeded to / had to change my life. Use didn’t need to and didn’t have to for what was not necessary in the past. I didn't need to | didn't have to do this course but it was interesting. Should have 5. Use should have + past participle for something that ‘was necessary in the past but that you didn’t do. Use should not have + past participle for something that was unnecessary in the past but that you did anyway. | should have finished in 1989.(I didn't finish then, unfortunately) We shouldn't have broken it. (We did break it, unfortunately.) Ought to have and need to have 6 We sometimes use ought (not) to have, need to have and need not have for obligation in the past but these forms are not very common, You ought to have listened to me. ‘The man needn't have run away. ‘A Match the famous people to the correct sentence endings. {Look on the Internet if you're not sure about the answers.) 1 Eis a shouldn't have opened the box. 2 Napoleon b wasn't allowed to marry Romeo. 3 Pandora € didn’t need to die so young. It was tragic. 4 Houdini d could sing very well 5 Juliet € should have written more books. 6 Nelson Mandela was able to get out of strange places. 7 Jane Austen g had to go to prison for many years 8 Princess Diana hi didn't need to fight at Waterloo. wth. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 B_ Rewrite these sentences in the past. 1 Ineed to see her. I needed £6 see her, 2 We must go. 3 We mustn't go. 4 You should buy it. 5 She doesn't need to come. 6 They can speak French. 7 He has to sleep. 8 He's not able to be here. Modals of ability and obligation 2 49ic D 50 Underline the correct option. 1. | could /had to read when | was three years old. 2. Itwas very cold and we could /had to put on warm coats. 3. Mike should have spoken /needed to speak to Mel, so he phoned her. 4 We couldn't /didn’t have to do it if we didn't want to. 5. | was able to /could speak to her before the lesson began. 6 That’sa secret. You shouldn't have /couldn’t have told her. 7. Sharon loved food and she could /needed to cook very well 8 We needn't have /didn't need to spend so much money. 9 Were you able /could you to open the box? 10. The children didn't have to/weren't allowed to watch TV late. Yesterday, Alice’s boss left her a list of things to do. Change the notes into sentences using past modals. Hi Alice. 1, Phone James!!! 2. Done eat all the chocolates. 3, Use my campucer (it you want). 4. Buy sone mare paper ~ very important! 5. Not necessary to finish the report. 6. Check my emails (pens). 7. Don't worry about going to the meeting 8. Dont forget Maggie’ birthday. ‘See you tomorrow, Brian 1 She had to phone Janes, 2 3 4 E What were the consequences of these facts? Answer using past modals. 125 years ago, there were no mobile phones. Peaple kad to phone fom kane, Thay couldnt phone ther fans on the tain, 2. 50 years ago, there were no home computers. 3. 75 years ago, not many people had cars. 4 100 years ago, not many children went to school. 5 150 years ago, there were no fridges. 6 500 years ago, there were very few hospitals,F Circle the correct option. Give reasons for these situations us They can be funny! Sent Helen Jones spent the night in Lincoln History ‘Museum. She +... get out after the museum closed and 2. stay there until the morning. Helen 3... get some Information fora history projet, so she went to the ‘museum on Saturday afternoon. Her friends *... g0, they x00 project, so she was alone. Helen. ake photos (you are not allowed to use a ‘camera in the museum) but she”... get alot of information. She was so interested inthe museum that she didnt noice thetime. There®... two museum workers on Saturday, Ted ‘and Bill, but Ted was ill and Bill °... close the museum himself. Bll closed the museum while Helen was still inside Helen. cal anyone because she din’ thave her mobile phone with her. The next moming, Bill opened the museum and found Hen Helen was very ted after such & long night bat she 1. get up and answer our phone call this morning. “14oot fel well’ she said, Twas hungry, 0 Tate some ‘sweets I found in the museum. 172... eaten those sweets. “They were $00 years od” 1 Youd do your homewore ive my pet elephant a bath, last night. gh drew ony book and | couldnt read it You are meeting your friend but you are late. You forgot your friend's birthday. You didn't do the shopping could b should @couldn't d shouldn't must b musthave c hadto d hasto You had an argument neededto b needed c neededhave d need hadto b haveto mustnot d didn't have to didn’tneed b hadn'tto c didn'tneed to need not wasableto b couldn't mustn't d needed to You didn't wash your hair last night. shouldhave b oughtto c need d wasableto should have been b could be c wasable to be were able to be 9 ahaveto b must cneeded d hadto 10 a didn'thaveto b couldn't c didn'tneed to d needn't have 11 a could b wasableto chadto d should have 12 awasabletohave b wasn't able to have ¢ shouldn't haved should have your mum, Circle the correct option. 1. Emily was 80 years old but she see very well. a could b hadto c didn'thaveto 2 Rover outside because the road was very dangerous. a mustn't go b wasnttallowedtogo c needed to go 3 Tom become a professor? a Had..to b Needed...to c¢ Should... have 4 Emily get out of bed and phone the police. a could b wasableto ¢ needed 5 Tom was very clever, so he hard. a hadtostudy b must study c didn't have to study Modals of ability and obligation 2 51