5 80 Modal verbs Did this really happen? a) Read the following story about a robber who behaved rather strangely. While reading, fill in suitable modal verbs. There might be more than one possible word for each gap. Try to find them all. Just after eight o’clock in the morning, a young man walked into a garage in Chicago. “This guy may/might/could 1 cause trouble,” the employees thought. The man waved his gun at the employees behind the counter. “Open up the safe,” he ordered. “And give me all the money.” The employees looked nervously at each other. “We 2 do that,” they told the robber. “Only our boss has the combination to the safe. We 3 open it without him. And he’s not here yet.” The young robber 4 have expected such a problem. He got angry. “When is he coming in?” he asked. “We’re not sure,” one of the workers said. “He 5 come back some time before lunch.” “But I 6 wait here all morning!” the robber complained. “I’ve got things to do.” “We 7 call you when our boss gets in,” the employee said bravely. There was a moment of tense silence. Maybe he 8 have said that. But to everyone’s amazement the robber nodded his masked head. “Call me on my mobile as soon as he gets in,” he ordered. “You guys 9 call me!” he warned the employees. “Otherwise I’m going to come back to shoot you.” Later that morning, they did call the robber back. But they also phoned the Chicago police. And so, the criminal was arrested as soon as he came back to the shop. “Put your hands up!” the police officer ordered. “Everything you’ll say from now on 10 be used against you in court.” b) What do you think? Did this really happen?* c) Rewrite the following sentences using suitable modal verbs. Compare the use of different modal verbs to put special emphasis on the sentences. 1. It is possible that the man causes trouble. The man may/might/could cause trouble. 2. The employees are not able to open the safe because they don’t know the code. 3. They are not allowed to open the safe without their boss. 4. It is possible that the boss will come back before lunch. 5. It would have been better if the employee hadn’t said that they could call the robber back. 6. The employees have to stay at the back of the shop while the robber is being arrested. Should have, would have, could have Write six sentences about the story using each of the words below. Tip T See grammar in the coursebooks • Prime Time Transition 5: Unit 5 page 67 • Prime Time 5: Unit 6 page 84 • Prime Time Transition 5: Grammar page 158 • Prime Time 5: Grammar page 156 • Prime Time 6: Grammar page 176 1 2 must(n’t) need(n’t) should(n’t) (don’t) have to had better (not) ought (not) to Answer to task 1b: Yes. This story appeared in many newspapers. * Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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