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Past Modals — Exercise 1

Complete the dialogues. Rewrite the phrases in brackets using might (not) have, must have, or can’t have + past participle.
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A: Why is Emma crying?
B: She
an argument with her boyfriend. (Perhaps she had an argument with her boyfriend)
A: Why is Emma crying?
B: She might have had an argument with her boyfriend.
  1. 1.
    A: Why are the trains running on a different schedule today?
    B: I don’t know. There
    a timetable change. (Maybe there was)
  2. 2.
    A: Can you lift your arm?
    B: No, it’s too painful. I think I
    it. (Perhaps I have dislocated it)
  3. 3.
    A: Look! The garage door is wide open and the car is missing.
    B: Oh no! We
    it open when we went out. (I’m sure we left it open)
  4. 4.
    A: Oh no, the soup is boiling over!
    B: You
    too high. (You definitely turned the heat up)
  5. 5.
    A: The car keys are missing. We
    them. (I’m sure we didn’t lose them)
    B: Yes, you’re right. They must be in the hallway somewhere.
  6. 6.
    A: Why isn’t the project submitted yet?
    B: The client
    the final draft. (Perhaps the client didn’t approve the final draft)
  7. 7.
    A: Jason won the company’s Employee of the Year award!
    B: Wow! He
    in a lot of effort. (I’m sure he put in a lot of effort)
  8. 8.
    A: Dad, I’m heading out to meet my friends now.
    B: What? You
    all your chores already. (It’s impossible you’ve completed all your chores already)
  9. 9.
    A: We didn’t see Tom and Lucy at the party.
    B: They
    the location. I heard there were some issues with directions. (Perhaps they didn’t find the location)
  10. 10.
    A: I emailed you about the meeting, but I didn’t get a response.
    B: Sorry. I
    your email by accident. (I’m sure I missed your email)
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