GMAT Grammar Book: Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Ex 28 Q4 answer is not can't, instead should/ought to

Exercise 28: Using Modals



IMO Answers are :

1. My cousin might have taken you to the airport if you __could___ have asked him.
2. If I finish this large pot of stew before lunchtime, I __could__ take it to the homeless shelter.
3. Had Jonathon not fallen down the stairs, he _better__ be playing in the game tonight.
4. You ___should/ought to___ get that cough checked if you don’t want to end up in the hospital.
5. Mike ___could___ have won the competition if he had studied harder.
6. If you __could__ guarantee that I will get paid, I will do the job.
7. Sally __will__ be able to go with us if she finishes her errands.
8. __Could__ you please tell me where the museum is located?
9. If he grows any bigger, he __may/might/can/could__ fit into any of his clothes.
10. You __should/ought to__ do that if you don’t want to get into trouble.

plz confirm

Real Conditions (Possibly True)

Following are the formulas for conditional sentences which have the possibility of being true.
Remember: The formula can be reversed, placing the if clause in the middle of the sentence. Also, when placing the if clause first, a comma is used after it.

Future

If I raise enough money, I will start my own business.
Our team will win if they play well.

Habitual

NOTE: A modal is not used in the habitual conditional form of a sentence.

If the traffic is heavy, I am late for work.
Margaret sings in the church choir if she has free time.

Command

If you go to the store after work, please buy bread.
Contact me if we win the project bid.
 

Unreal Conditions (Not True)

Following are the formulas for conditional sentences which are not true.
Remember: Unreal conditionals use the opposite verb tense then what is being relayed.

Present or Future

If John knew math better, he could help you with your homework.
(John doesn’t know math better) (He can’t help you with your homework.)

I would drive you to town if I had a car.
(I won’t drive you to town.) (I don’t have a car.)

If you didn’t have to work, we could go to the party.
(You have to work.) (We cannot go to the party.)

Past


If she had taken that bus, she would have been in the accident.
(She didn’t take that bus.) (She wasn’t in the accident.)

They might have arrived on time if they hadn’t taken that bus.
(They didn’t arrive on time.) (They took that bus.)

If Rob hadn’t gone to the party, he wouldn’t have lost his job.
(Rob went to the party.) (He lost his job.)

The unreal condition can also be expressed without using if. In this situation, the auxiliary verb had is placed before the subject instead of after it. This clause normally comes first in the sentence.

Past

Had he heard the news sooner, he would have prepared a better speech.
Had they flown to Italy last week, they would have encountered the horrible storm.

Exercise 31: Using Real and Unreal Conditionals

Provide the correct form of the verb in parentheses for each of the following sentences.
1. Had Bob known it was his cousins birthday he would ___________________ (take) the day off.
2. You could __________________ (move) in today if they offer the place to you.
3. Sue might __________________ (accept) your offer if she thought it was fair.
4. The repairmen would fix your problem if you would ___________________ (contact) them.
5. If you would __________________ (go) when I told you, you wouldn’t have missed him.
6. If I __________________ (talk) slower, do you think you could understand me?
7. We wouldn’t be lost if we would ___________________ (take) better instructions.
8. If I can go to the concert, I ____________________ (call) you later.
9. Mary can go swimming if she ____________________ (have) extra time.
10. I would help you with the equation if I _____________________ (know) more about physics.

Whether / If

Basically, the difference between the words whether and if is that whether indicates a choice between two possibilities, whereas if is based on a condition of something happening or not.
Sometimes, whether or if can be used interchangeably. In the following sentences, both indicate that Alex may or may not call Shelly tonight.

Shelly didn’t know whether Alex would call her tonight.
Shelly didn’t know if Alex would call her tonight.

However, if the sentence gives two distinct possibilities then whether should be used.
Shelly didn’t know whether Alex would call her tonight or tomorrow night.
Using the word if in the above sentence would change the meaning.
Example:
Shelly didn’t know if Alex would call her tonight or tomorrow night.

Now this sentence indicates that Alex may call Shelly tonight, tomorrow night, or not at all. Therefore, always use whether when two clear choices are given and use if for conditional sentences.

20. CAUSE CONNECTORS

Cause connectors are words which give a reason of why something happened.

Because / Because Of

The cause connector because, when by itself, must always be followed by a clause. Remember that a clause which stands alone is a complete sentence, containing a subject and a verb. The cause connector because of if followed by a noun or noun phrase and does NOT have a verb.

NOTE: The phrase because of can also be expressed with the phrase due to.
Ralph missed class because the bus broke down.
subject verb

Ralph missed class because of the bus.
noun phrase

Christy was crying because there were spiders.
verb subject

Christy was crying because of the spiders.
noun phrase
The cause clause can also begin the sentence. When this occurs, a comma is used to separate it from the main clause.
Because of the spiders, Christy was crying.

Exercise 32: Using Because /Because Of

Fill in the blank with the appropriate form of because or because of.
1. Jack couldn’t go to the game _____________________ he had homework.
2. The writer wasn’t able to concentrate _______________________ all the noise.
3. Nancy had to go to the doctor’s ______________________ her throat hurt.
4. I love to play golf ______________________ it relaxes me.
5. John couldn’t play golf with me _______________________ his bad back.
6. They went to that restaurant ____________________ the recommendation.
7. ____________________ he was arrogant, Sally didn’t like the new boy.
8. We ended up going another way ____________________ the road was blocked.
9. The storm was extra strong ____________________ the weather conditions.
10. I am learning English quickly ____________________ I am studying a lot.

Purpose and Result (So That)

Clauses which show purpose are followed by the conjunction so that. A result clause containing a subject and a verb then follows the conjunction. The result clause must occur after the main clause in relation to time.

NOTE: The word that is often left out of these types of sentences in spoken English. However, it should always be included in formal written English.
The actors are practicing very hard so that they will be ready for the opening of the play.
We left early so that we wouldn’t be late to the conference.
George studied all night so that he would pass the exam.
She wrote detailed instructions so that we could complete the project correctly.
I exercise daily so that I feel good throughout the day.
 

Cause and Effect (So, Such)

Cause and effect relationships are constructed using the following formula.


He was so hungry that he ate the entire pizza.
The hill was so steep that Mario couldn’t climb it.
John needed money so badly that he sold his baseball card collection.
The children are playing so intently that they don’t notice it’s raining.
That fire is so hot that it could easily burn you if you get too close.
Intensive modifiers are commonly added to provide extra emphasis. Study the following rules for using intensive modifiers with plural count and non-count nouns.


Eric had so many puppies that he gave some away to friends.
My aunt’s health food store had so few customers that she had to close it.


She put so much sugar in her coffee that she couldn’t drink it.
Jason spent [u]so[/u] little time on the project that it wasn’t ready for the meeting.
Other forms which are commonly used are such a and such that.


Ricky had such a bad attitude that he was expelled from school.
Charlotte was such an intelligent student that she was offered a valuable scholarship.


Tommy has such outstanding skills that he could play professional baseball.
plural count noun

The referees made such bad calls that the fans were very angry.
plural count noun


She had such tarnished silver that she was embarrassed to use it for the reunion.
non-count noun

The burning building had such thick smoke that the firemen had difficulty seeing.
non-count noun

Exercise 33: Using So / Such

Fill in the blank with the appropriate form of so or such, using the above formulas.
1. Bill was _____________ happy about the promotion that he bought everyone lunch.
2. We had _____________ expectations for going that we cancelled all appointments.
3. Larry was _____________ a good friend that he loaned me his car.
4. The artwork was _____________ amazing that it won every prize.
5. The earthquake happened at ______________ an hour that we weren’t expecting it.
6. There were _______________ many ants on the cake that we had to throw it away.
7. Sally prepared ______________ thoroughly that she easily won the competition.
8. The Henderson’s were _______________ happy people that we visited them often.
9. The comedian was ________________ entertaining that we lost track of time.
10. Ronny was ________________ disappointed that he missed the party.

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hello,

please have a look at the following sentence :

We wouldn’t be lost if we __had taken__ (take) better instructions.

is it correct ?

why we use past perfect while we have a simple past in the modal sentence : would + verb "be" in simple form, so we must use simple past as the first rule in the unreal conditional sentence.

could you solve this plz ????

This is because of the mixed conditionals. It is possible for the two parts of a conditional sentence to refer to different times, and the resulting sentence is a "mixed conditional" sentence. There are two types of mixed conditional sentence.
1. PRESENT RESULT OF A PAST CONDITION
In this type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the past perfect, and the tense in the main clause is the present conditional.
Formula: If + past perfect --> present conditional
(If this thing had happened) --> (that thing would happen)
EXAMPLES
a. We wouldn't be lost if we had looked at the map.
b. If you had caught that plane you would be dead now.

2. PAST RESULT OF PRESENT OR CONTINUING CONDITION
In this second type of mixed conditional sentence, the tense in the 'if' clause is the simple past, and the tense in the main clause is the perfect conditional.
Formula: If + simple past--> perfect conditional
(If this thing happened) --> (that thing would have happened)
EXAMPLES
a. If we didn't trust him we would have sacked him months ago.
b. I would have been happy to help you if I wasn't in the middle of another meeting.

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