Choose the correct word excuse me could

A. Circle the correct word or phrase. If both are correct, circle both.

1   You can’t / couldn’t really talk when you were one year old, can / could you?

2   We can / could give you a lift home tonight, if you want.

3   I wish I can / could speak Russian, then I’d be able to / I could read Tolstoy in the original.

4   Excuse me, could / may you tell me how to get to the leisure centre from here?

5   I’m afraid we can’t / won’t be able to come to the wedding after all.

6   Thankfully, we could / managed to get to the airport just in time so we didn’t miss the plane.

7   Dawn couldn’t go / have gone to the barbecue as she had to work.

8   Would you like to could / be able to buy the flat you’re renting?

9   In a thousand years, can humans / will humans be able to travel faster than the speed of light?

10   ‘Mum, can I watch TV and do my homework later?’

        ‘No, you may / might not!’

11   We could catch / have caught the last train after all, but of course we didn’t know that at the time.

12   Mayn’t / Can’t I at least stay up till the end of the film?

13   Everyone could / was able to tell that Julie was upset about something.

14   May / Can I open the window, please? It’s a little stuffy in here.

15   Because we had guests last Saturday, the kids could / were allowed to stay up till midnight.

Answer

B. Write a verb from the box in the correct form in each gap.

do • eat • feel • go • have • invite • provide • recover • sit • speak • stand • work

1   It seems there’s nothing anybody can ………………… to stop the conflict escalating further.

2   She couldn’t ………………… anything in her left arm for about two hours. She said it was completely numb.

3   I don’t think the Prime Minister will ever manage ………………… from this scandal.

4   Can I ………………… Tracy round after tea? We want to play my new computer game.

5   Liz has had another ice cream so why can’t I ………………… one? It’s not fair!

6   When I was a child, my brothers and sisters and I weren’t allowed ………………… with the grown-ups except on special occasions.

7   Darren’s allergic to wheat, so he can’t ………………… bread under any circumstances.

8   Dominic had said he spoke German, but when we got there it turned out he couldn’t ………………… a word!

9   I’d love to be able ………………… from home, but in my job it’s just not possible.

10   James could ………………… for Parliament at the last election – he had enough support – but he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his privacy.

11   A small cot for babies can ………………… if you ask at reception.

12   We couldn’t ………………… to the concert anyway as Jamie wasn’t very well.

Answer

C. If the word in bold is correct, put a tick. If it is incorrect, rewrite it correctly.

1   Shouldn’t you getting planning permission before you start building? ……………………..

2   Gavin really ought not to be worn casual clothes to the interview last week. ……………………..

3   She might have gave us a call to let us know she was all right. ……………………..

4   You should better get a second opinion before you do anything drastic like knock down a supporting wall. ……………………..

5   I don’t think you must go to school today if you’re not feeling well. ……………………..

6   We definitely should not judge Karen until we know exactly what happened. ……………………..

7   I probably won’t get the job but I should as well apply for it, I suppose. ……………………..

8   You could have told us you’d changed your mind about the holiday. How are we going to find a fourth person at this late stage? ……………………..

9   We had rather book the tickets now, hadn’t we? They might have sold out on the day. ……………………..

10   Terry would leave his bedroom in such a mess all the time. It’s just not good enough. ……………………..

11   Michael was late, but then again he will be. ……………………..

12   You may have asked me if I wanted to come with you! You know I need to go to the bank! ……………………..

Answer

D. Write a word or short phrase in each gap so that the second sentence has a similar meaning to the first sentence.

1   I would suggest seeing a doctor if it doesn’t clear up.

     You had ……………………………. a doctor if it doesn’t clear up.

2   It was typical of Jerry to forget to feed the cat, wasn’t it?

     Jerry ……………………………. to feed the cat, ……………………………. he?

3   I’m annoyed Diana didn’t invite us to her engagement party.

     Diana ……………………………. us to her engagement party.

4   Buying a yellow car was a mistake – everyone thinks I drive a taxi!

     I ……………………………. a yellow car – everyone thinks I drive a taxi!

5   Teenagers are noisy, aren’t they?

     Teenagers ……………………………. make so much noise, ……………………………. they?

6   It won’t harm us to see what special offers are on at the moment.

     We ……………………………. what special offers are on at the moment.

7   Don’t you think you should type that essay, rather than write it in pen?

     ……………………………. better type that essay, rather than write it in pen?

8   It would probably have been a good idea if you’d asked Dad what he thought.

     You ……………………………. to ……………………………. Dad what he thought.

Answer

E. Write a word from the box in each gap. You will need two of the words twice.

doesn’t • got • had • has • have • must • needn’t • will

1   I ……………….. have bothered preparing so much food; nobody ate anything anyway.

2   Do you ……………….. to have that music on so loud? I can’t concentrate!

3   You ……………….. call before you come round, as we’ll definitely be in.

4   It was difficult, but I knew I ……………….. to apologise.

5   Trisha ……………….. need to get a summer job as her parents are quite well-off.

6   ……………….. you have to be there in court yourself, or can a lawyer represent you?

7   We didn’t ……………….. to wear a uniform to school today, so I went in jeans and a T-shirt.

8   I think Damien ……………….. to stay in hospital for the next four or five weeks.

9   Children ……………….. not be left unattended under any circumstances.

10   We haven’t ……………….. to move out for another six months, but we’ve started looking for a new place anyway.

Answer

F. Complete using must, have to, need or need to in the correct form and the correct form of the words in brackets.

1   You ……………………….. (pay) me back now, but of course you can if you like!

2   Dogs ……………………….. (keep) on a leash at all times.

3   If Linda ……………………….. (pick up) from school tomorrow, maybe we could spend the afternoon in town.

4   We ……………………….. (rely) on phone lines in the future as we’ll all have mobile phones which connect to the Internet.

5   The invitations ……………………….. (send off) soon otherwise they won’t get there in time.

6   Sorry I’m late. I ……………………….. (get) a few things from the supermarket on my way here.

7   ……………………….. (you/ make) a fuss to get your money back, or was the manager quite reasonable?

8   You ……………………….. (believe) everything Graham tells you. He’s lied to me before.

9   Thankfully we ……………………….. (put) Flossie in a cattery as our neighbours offered to feed her.

10   What time ……………………….. (farmers/ get up) every morning?

11   I’d hate ……………………….. (commute) to work every morning and evening, wouldn’t you?

12   Although we took CDs with us we actually ……………………….. (do) as there was no CD player to play them on.

Answer

G. Write one word in each gap.

A tabloid editor speaks

As editor of the most popular British tabloid, I need (1) ……………………… make sure we give our readers what they want. And what do they want? Scandal. It is my job to tell the readers when a celebrity has done something they should not have (2) ………………………, or when a politician (3) ……………………… to have done something but didn’t. One accusation that is often levelled at tabloids is that we think we (4) ……………………… not need to worry about the truth, but that is just not true. I have (5) ……………………… be shown proof from at least two sources before I run a story. As a newspaper, you have (6) ……………………… to get your facts right and you (7) ……………………… not print a story just because you want it to be true. There are times when, in retrospect, we (8) ……………………… not have been so careful and could have broken a story days before we did, but we (9) ……………………… to have absolute proof first.

I often get asked why so many celebrities sell their stories to us. The truth is that we tell them we are going to run a story about them anyway, so they realise they might as (10) ……………………… put their side of the story across. They know they (11) ……………………… definitely have to speak out at some point, so why wait? And, let’s face it, celebrities need to (12) ……………………… talked about constantly or they stop being famous, so they (13) ……………………… not complain, in my view.

What I would say to celebrities and politicians that do criticise tabloids is that you (14) ……………………… not fear us if you haven’t done anything wrong. But if you have, you (15) ……………………… better look out, because we are going to catch you.

Answer

H. Circle the correct word or phrase. If both are correct, circle both.

1   ‘Did you hear a noise?’

     ‘That’ll / That must probably be the cat.’

2   ‘I had to walk all the way here.’

     ‘You must be / have been exhausted. Put your feet up. I’ll make us a nice cup of tea.’

3   ‘Your favourite programme’s on.’

     ‘It mustn’t / can’t be. It’s only half past five.’

4   ‘Andy made me redo every single one of the reports.’

     ‘You must / can have been furious.’

5   ‘Laura walked right past me in the street without saying a word.’

     ‘She can’t / couldn’t have seen you.’

6   ‘I can’t believe I got the final question in the pop quiz wrong.’

     ‘Don’t worry. I wouldn’t / won’t have known the answer either.’

7   ‘I can’t wait to get that blue top tomorrow.’

     ‘I wouldn’t get too excited. They only had one left, so they may / might well have sold out.’

8   ‘It’s got very cold.’

     ‘Yes, I think it must / might easily snow tonight.’

9   ‘I can’t wait till Roger gets here!’

     ‘He should land / have landed by now, so he’ll be here in about an hour.’

10   ‘I hope they’ve got some tickets left.’

       ‘We should / might just be lucky and get the last two.’

Answer

I. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between three and eight words, including the word given.

1   It’s possible that Greg didn’t go to Swansea after all. not

     Greg ……………………………….. to Swansea after all.

2   It’s quite likely that Sasha was lying about what Doug said. well

     Sasha ……………………………….. about what Doug said.

3   The most likely situation is that they awarded Grandpa the medal during the war. must

     Grandpa ……………………………….. during the war.

4   I’d be surprised if Derek has already arrived. ought

     Derek ……………………………….. yet.

5   Jake, is it definite that they haven’t announced the winner yet? will

     Jake, ……………………………….. announced yet?

6   It’s highly likely that Stephen was listening. may

     Stephen ……………………………….. listening.

7   It’s not possible that Andrew is half Spanish. be

     Andrew ……………………………….. half Spanish.

Answer

J. Choose the correct answer.

1   Even in a million years, we ………………. go back in time.

      A couldn’t   B can’t

      C won’t be able to

      D aren’t able to

2   I ………………. at the exam paper lying on Mr Gregson’s desk, but I didn’t want to risk it.

      A could look

      B can look

      C can have looked

      D could have looked

3   ………………. Eliot better tell his mum what happened?

      A Mustn’t   B Oughtn’t

      C Shouldn’t   D Hadn’t

4   You ………………. have let us know you’d changed your phone number.

      A may   B could

      C would   D will

5   ………………. lectures at your university?

      A Haven’t students got to have attended

      B Needn’t students have attended

      C Mustn’t students to attend

      D Don’t students have to attend

6   We ………………. as well try to sell this old sofa before throwing it out.

      A could   B should

      C might   D can

7   Jeremy may well not ………………. about the accident yet.

      A tell    B to tell

      C have told

      D have been told

8   It’s essential that the documents ………………. be destroyed immediately.

      A should   B would

      C ought to   D had better

9   Luckily I ………………. a new pair of sunglasses as I found mine at the bottom of a bag.

      A needn’t have bought

      B didn’t need to buy

      C needed not to buy

      D hadn’t to buy

10   I’m thinking of going on Million Euro Spender; I’d love to ………………. spend a million euros in one day!

      A have to   B must

      C can   D be able

Answer