Sally: Oh hello, Mum. You’re at home at last! I was beginning to think you _________________ (go) away for a few days. I ____________________ (try) to phone you all day.
Mother: I was out in the vegetable garden. I’ve spent the day ___________________ (dig) up this year’s new potatoes. How are you all?
Sally: Fine. Peter ____________________ (just/give) an enormous pay rise, which is wonderful because now we can afford to move house. We would both like __________________ (live) in the country. The only problem is that __________________ (commute) to work on the train every day __________________(be) really tiring, so we’ll have to think about it. If we __________________ (have) a car, life ___________________ (be) much easier.
Mother: Why doesn’t Peter take his driving test again? He _____________________ (probably/fail) last time if he ____________________ (stop) at the red light. After all, it was the first time he _______________________ (take) the test and hardly anybody ___________________ (pass) the first time.
Sally: Yes, I know. I just wish he ____________________ (see) that awful accident last year. He’s been terrified of ____________________ (drive) since then. Anyway, I must hang up as I need to go and pick up the kids from school. I’d better __________________ (get) there late again.
Mother: OK, dear. Give my love and congratulations to Peter when he ____________________ (come) home.
A couple of weeks ago, I _____________________ (invite) to a friend's birthday party. Although she said it _____________________ (be) better to take a taxi if I wanted to drink, I decided to drive, which I now deeply regret. _____________________ (Find) a place to park in the centre is never easy, especially on a Saturday night and I _____________________ (drive) round and round in circles for ages before.
I finally found a parking space. I left the party in the early hours of the morning and was just turning into the street where I ____________________ (park), when a car driven by two teenagers came round the corner at high speed. If I __________________ (get) out of the way in time, I __________________ (probably/kill)! Can you imagine how I ____________________ (feel) on realising that it was my own car? The police are quite optimistic and are sure that the car ______________________ (find) soon.
Exercise C. Modal Verbs. Complete with the appropriate tense/form of a modal auxiliary verb (e.g. CAN/MAY/SHOULD/MUST/NEED etc.) and the appropriate form of the verb in parentheses. Do not add any non-verbal forms.
A: How did the party go?
B: Great! Nearly everybody from work went. It was really crowded; there ______________ (be) at least 50 people there. We all missed you. You _____________ (come). Why didn't you? You ______________ (forget) about it because we were only talking about it yesterday.
A: I _______________ (go) because I ________________ (stay) at home and look after the children. My husband was ill with gastro enteritis. He's not certain what caused it but he thinks the beef he ate yesterday _________________ (be) bad. By the way, do you know where the boss is?
B: I'm not sure. I saw him go out the door a few minutes ago. He _________________ (have) a drink in the canteen or perhaps he's gone out for an early lunch.
Exercise D. Fill in the blanks, using the appropriate tense/form of the verbs in parentheses and incorporating any other words given along with them. In this exercise, some modal auxiliaries may be necessary. Do not add any non-verbal forms.
A: Hey, listen to this. There’s an advert here for female detectives. They ___________ (look) for single women, aged between 18 and 35. It says that, although a certain degree of physical strength ______________ (require), you _____________ (be) a karate expert or anything like that but you ___________ (have) patience, determination and good intuition. I think I ____________ (apply).
B: You ____________ (do) that! You ____________ (never/do) anything like that before and you’re hopeless at _____________ (keep) your mouth shut. If the agency ____________ (give) you some secret information, you ____________ (tell) the first person you ____________ (speak) to.
A: But it’s different when it’s your job. Anyway, I need a change. I ____________ (do) boring office jobs for over a year now and I _____________ (have) enough of them. I’d rather ____________ (do) something more exciting.
B: Yes, but you never know, ___________ (be) a detective ____________ (be) as exciting as you think. I think you ____________ (do) some kind of course and look for a more secure job at the end of it. I don’t know why you ____________ (drop) out of university anyway. You ____________ (finish) your degree and then you’d have stood a much better chance of ____________ (get) a job you are interested in.
Exercise E. David is in his first term at university. Read his account of being a student and fill in the gaps with either be used to + GER or used to + INF and a suitable verb.
At the moment, it’s a bit hard because I _____________________ away from home. I have to do everything myself, like cooking, washing and ironing. When I was at home, Mum ____________________ all that! Studying here is very different from school. We choose which lectures to go to and plan our own timetable. At school they ______________________ you what to do and when to do it. I ______________________ that kind of freedom, so I often leave my essays to the last minute. Then I have to work right through the night!
Exercise F. Fill in the blanks, using the appropriate tense/form of the verbs in parentheses and incorporating any other words given along with them. In this exercise, some modal auxiliaries may be necessary. Do not add any non-verbal forms.
I had an accident the other day while I ________________ (drive) to the country for the weekend. I ________________ (never/be) involved in an accident before, so I certainly wasn’t expecting it, but I suppose that if I ________________ (ever/stop) (think) about it I would have realized that something was likely ________________ (happen) some day, as I drive a lot. In fact, over that last five years I ________________ (drive) at least 150,000 miles. I’m a commercial traveller, you see, and ________________ (be) for several years now, so ________________ (travel) all over the place is an essential part of my job. Anyway, I suppose you ________________ (like) (know) what ________________ (happen). Well, it was around 11:30, and I ________________ (make) my way to the coast in very heavy traffic. I ________________ (be) at the wheel since 8 o’clock and ________________ (have) very much for breakfast, so I ________________ (probably/lose) a bit of my concentration by then. Suddenly, I realized I ________________ (overtake) by a lunatic: there he was, right beside me, on the wrong side of the road, with another car ________________ (come) towards him. I suppose I ________________ (brake) and let him ________________ (cut) in in front of me, but I was too tired ________________ (react) properly and I just ________________ (keep) going at the same speed, hoping he ________________ (return) to his own lane just behind me. I must admit that my own speed was perhaps a little excessive: I ________________ (do) at least 70 m.p.h. when the accident ________________ (occur). Luckily, however, the driver in the car coming towards him ________________ (can/break) in time, and, although my car collided with the one alongside, the damage was not very serious and nobody ________________ (hurt). Nevertheless, I had to stop and wait for the police ________________ (arrive) to give my version of what had happened. The police, in fact, ________________ (be) very interested in what I had to say.
KEY
A
had gone; I’ve been trying; digging; has just been given; to live; commuting; would be; had; would be; probably wouldn’t have failed; had stopped; had taken; passes; hadn’t seen; driving; not get; comes
B
was invited; would be; Finding; had been driving; had parked; hadn’t got; would probably have been killed; felt; will be found
C
must have been; should have come; can’t have forgotten; couldn’t go; had to stay; might/may/could/ have been; might be having
D
are looking; is required; needn’t/don’t have to be; have to have/should have; will/should apply; can’t do; have never done; keeping; gave; would tell; spoke; have been doing; have had; do; being; might not be; should do/ought to do; dropped; should have finished; getting
E
am not used to being; used to do; used to tell; am not used to (having)
F
was driving; had never been; had ever stopped to think; to happen; must have driven; have been; travelling; would like to know: happened; was making; had been; hadn’t had; had probably lost/must have probably lost; was being overtaken; coming; should have braked; cut; to react; kept; would return; must have been doing; occurred; was able to break; was hurt; to arrive; was.
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