Fill in the blanks with an appropriate auxiliary verb.
1. Anybody who wants to participate …………………….. register. (Ability)
Correct!
Wrong!
2. I ……………………… have bought that car if I had more money. (Past ability)
Correct!
Wrong!
3. She ……………………… arrive in the afternoon. (Possibility)
Correct!
Wrong!
Might shows less possibility than may.
4. ‘We went hiking yesterday.’ ‘That …………………….. have been a lot of fun.’ (Logical conclusion)
Correct!
Wrong!
Must
5. One day, it ………………………… be possible to connect with extra terrestrial life. (Future prediction)
Correct!
Wrong!
6. I ………………………… pay you back when I get a job. (Promise)
Correct!
Wrong!
7. Glass ………………………. be blown. (Theoretical possibility)
Correct!
Wrong!
Use can to talk about theoretical possibility.
8. You ………………………. have called me if you weren’t coming. (Criticism)
Correct!
Wrong!
9. You ………………………. not violate the law. (Prohibition)
Correct!
Wrong!
10. The saplings ………………………. be watered regularly. (Necessity)
Correct!
Wrong!
11. By next December, I ………………………. have been teaching here for twenty years. (Future certainty)
Correct!
Wrong!
12. What ………………………. we do now? (Asking for suggestion)
Correct!
Wrong!
Use shall or should to ask for suggestion.
Answers
- Anybody who wants to participate can register.
- I could have bought that car if I had more money. (Past ability)
- She may / might arrive in the afternoon. (Possibility)
- ‘We went hiking yesterday.’ ‘That must have been a lot of fun.’ (Logical conclusion)
- One day, it will be possible to connect with extra terrestrial life. (Future prediction)
- I will pay you back when I get a job. (Promise)
- Glass can be blown. (Theoretical possibility)
- You should have called me if you weren’t coming. (Criticism)
- You must not violate the law. (Prohibition)
- The saplings should be watered regularly. (Necessity)
- By next December, I will have been teaching here for twenty years. (Future prediction)
- What shall we do now? (Asking for suggestion)
