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Quiznet
Modal auxiliary verbs

1. She's lived in Tokyo for five years now so she _______ Japanese fluently.
a) could speaks
b) can speak
c) could spoke
d) can speaks

2. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow. We ______ a picnic if the weather is nice.
a) might having
b) might to have
c) might have
d) might will have

3. You really _______ smoking. It's so bad for you.

a) should give up
b) ought to give up
c) must give up
d) Any of the above

4. They're always going on exotic holidays. They _______ be really rich.

a) can't
b) may
c) must
d) might

5. A: Is that Simon over there?

B: No, it _______ Simon. He's on holiday in Spain just now.
a) can't be
b) might be
c) can be
d) should be

6. It's after 8 o'clock. Lights out! You _______ be fast asleep by now, _______ you?
a) shouldn't / should
b) should / shouldn't
c) should / should
d) shouldn't / shouldn't

Quiznet © BBC Learning English 2009

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ANSWERS:

1. She's lived in Tokyo for five years now so she _______ Japanese fluently.
a), c) and d) The form isn't correct. Try again.
b) This is the right answer. Well done!

2. I'm not sure what we'll do tomorrow. We ______ a picnic if the weather is nice.
a), b) and d) The correct form is modal + bare infinitive (infinitive without 'to'). Try again.
c) This is correct. Let's hope it's perfect picnic weather tomorrow then!

3. You really _______ smoking. It's so bad for you.

a), b) and c) This is correct but there are other options that are correct too.
d) This is the right choice. Well done!

4. They're always going on exotic holidays. They _______ be really rich.

a), b) and d) You need a different modal auxiliary verb to show you're certain they are very
wealthy.
c) This is the right answer. Well done!

5. A: Is that Simon over there?

B: No, it _______ Simon. He's on holiday in Spain just now.
b), c) and d) You need a different modal auxiliary verb to show that you're certain it isn't Simon.
a) Correct – this means you are certain the man you're looking at isn't Simon.

6. It's after 8 o'clock. Lights out! You _______ be fast asleep by now, _______ you?
a) These two words are the wrong way round.
b) This is the right answer. Well done!
c) The first answer is right but the second one isn't.
d) The second answer is right but the first one isn't.

Try the quiz online:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1320_modals

Quiznet © BBC Learning English 2009

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