Unit 4 Cae

Question 1

Modal and semi modals

Ability

• can in present
• could in past

Answer 1

• He is lucky he can remember facts very easily

- when I was a child I could speak welsh but now I have forgotten it completely

Question 2

Ability

-To talk about an achievement or sthg that was done with difficulty:
. Was / were able to + inf
- to express that someone was successful in doing sthg on their e occasion

Answer 2

• she was able to mémorise all the words before the test

- were you able to get his autograph after the concert

Question 3

Permission

• CAN and Could for permission
• can’t and couldn’t for prohibition
• may and mayn’t are more formal

Answer 3

À

Question 4

Request, suggestions and polite orders:

• can and Could are used to make offers and requests and to give polite orders and suggestions
• can is informal
• could is neutral

-Might: very formal situations

Answer 4

Can/Could I help you with that

Might I suggest that we take a vote on this proposal

Question 5

Possibility and probability

• may, might and could use to speculate about the present and future
  Might : lower probability than may or could
  Couldn’t : almost total certainty. Much greater than may not or might not.

Answer 5

E

Question 6

Possibility and probability 2

• May/ might/ could have + past participle are used to speculate about the
• it could be used to express speculation about sthg that did actually happen. We must examine the context

Answer 6

I left a message at their hotel but they might not have got it yet

• didn’t you use a map ? You might have got lost. ( but you did not)
• she was very intelligent and could have gone to university ( but she did not )

Question 7

Possibility and probability

• can’t : express negative certainty about the present based on evidence
• can’t + have+ past participle : express negative certainty
• CAN / could are used to talk about theoretical possibility. Could indicate less confidence than can

Answer 7

The bill can’t be right. We have only had two coffees

This doesn’t taste right. They can’t have followed the recipe.

The school can take 1000 pupils. It usually does.
The school could take 1000 pupils but it would be difficult in terms of space

Question 8

Possibility and probability 3

-may / might/ Could + be + vb + Ing are used to speculate about events and situations in the immediate present and in the future

Answer 8

Where is Sam ? He might be studying in his room

Question 9

Obligation

• must/ have to are used to say what you think is necessary or to recommend someone else to do sthg
• have to ( not must ) is used to say what someone else has told you to do. The speaker is not giving their own opinion.

Answer 9

You must remember to email Jelena

I have to write 400 words for my projects

Question 10

Necessity

• need to / don’t need to + infinitive are used to say what is necessary
• didn’t need to is used to say that it was not necessary to do sthg, so you did not
• needn’t have + past participle is used to say you did sthg but it was not necessary

Answer 10

You need to make three copies of this
You needn’t hurry

I did not need to go to the bank

I needn’t have gone to the bank ( I went to the bank but it was not necessary)