Modal Verbs (Verbos Modais) - 40 Exercícios Gabaritados

Segue uma sequência de Questões sobre os Verbos Modais: can, could, must, may, might, would, should e ought to.

01. (UNIRIO) Research shows that sunscreens may not be as effective as hoped at preventing sunburn. Users may be spending long hours in the sun with a false sense of security.

The word may expresses the idea of:

a) permission.

b) possibility.

c) prohibition.

d) obligation.

e) expectation.

02. (PUCCAMP) 

Janet: Look, our boat is sinking!

Peter: Oh, dear! Can you swim?

Janet: Yes, but we won’t have to, there’s a life boat on board.

In the above dialogue, the verbs CAN and HAVE TO express respectively __________ and __________.

a) ability – obligation

b) permission – prohibition

c) possibility – prohibition

d) permission – possibility

e) ability – necessity

03. (UEL) Assinale a alternativa que preenche corretamente a lacuna da frase a seguir:

- “Excuse me, sir. __________ you tell me the time?”

- “Sure, it’s 5:20.”

a) May

b) Do

c) Can

d) Have

e) Shall

04.  (UEL) Assinale a tradução correta da frase entre aspas apresentada no diálogo a seguir:

- “Can you tell me how to get there?”

- Of course I can.

a) Você pode me dizer como se consegue isso lá?

b) Quem pode me contar como se faz isso?

c) Você pode me ensinar o caminho?

d) Como se pode ir de lá para cá?

e) Você consegue atravessar para o outro lado?

05. (UEL) Assinale a versão correta da frase entre aspas: “Não posso comprar um carro novo.”

a) I shouldn’t be thinking of a new car.

b) I can’t afford a new car.

c) I can’t buy anything new.

d) If it is new, I don’t want it.

e) Who needs a new car anyway?

06. (UEL)  Assinale a letra correspondente à alternativa que preenche corretamente a lacuna da frase apresentada: 

Bob, __________ you do me a real favor?

a) may

b) could

c) must

d) ought

e) should

07. (UNESP) Assinale a alternativa correta:

Doctors and dentists should always __________ with their training.

a) continued

b) continue

c) continuing

d) will continued

e) have continue

08. (UNESP) Assinale a alternativa correta:

Could I __________ earlier tomorrow?

a) to leave

b) leave

c) leaves

d) left

e) leaving

09. (FAAP) Assinale a alternativa correta:

I’m sorry the train was late and I _______ arrive earlier.

a) couldn’t

b) ought not

c) don’t

d) mustn’t

e) wouldn’t

10. (FEI) Complete: I’d prefer to stay here. That’s what I’d __________.

a) do

b) do best

c) have done

d) rather do

e) doing

11. (MACKENZIE) Indicate the alternative that best completes the following sentence: “He might have done it.” So, __________.

a) he was permitted to do it.

b) we don’t know whether he did it or not.

c) he didn’t do it.

d) he did it.

e) he wasn’t able to do it.

12. (UFRGS) In “he should have reached the door of 10 Downing Street”, the form “should have reached” indicates the same as:

a) must have reached.

b) was expected to reach.

c) will have reached.

d) can have reached.

e) was going to reach.

13. (MACKENZIE) Look how wet the ground is. It ________ last night.

a) might be sunny

b) must have rained

c) should have been warm

d) may be snowing

e) ought to dry

14. (UNESP) Universities abroad may __________ a more recent result when the IELTS was taken a long time ago.

a) requires

b) require

c) to require

d) requiring

e) required

15. (UNIRIO) How dreadful for them to sense, as they must, the lack of enthusiasm of the audience. 

“As they must” sugere:

a) obrigação.

b) advertência.

c) recomendação.

d) dedução.

e) permissão.

16. (UFSM) Research suggests the cause may lie internally, in terms of abnormal biological functioning. 

A melhor tradução para o segmento “may lie” é:

a) pode estar.

b) consegue revelar.

c) parece encobrir.

d) deixa passar.

e) permite enganar.

17. (UNESP) Yoshinori Haga said that __________ a great potential and that, among other reasons, toys __________ used for entertainment.

a) there was – can be

b) there is – were

c) there were – couldn’t be

d) there was – could be

e) there wasn’t – can’t be

18. (UFRGS) The verb which can be classified both as a FULL VERB and a MODAL is:

a) gets.

b) turned.

c) dares.

d) envisions.

e) enjoy

19. (UFRJ) In the sentence “May I ask why you do it?”, the word that best replaces the capital word is:

a) should.

b) ought to.

c) need.

d) can.

e) must.

20. (FATEC) Assinale a alternativa que apresenta o significado correspondente mais próximo a “Sales may get a boost”:

a) Sales are going to get a boost.

b) Sales are able to get a boost.

c) Sales will get a boost.

d) Sales must get a boost.

e) Sales might get a boost.

21. (MACKENZIE) In which of the statements does the modal MUST express necessity?

a) There’s somebody in the other o ce. It must be my boss!

b) You mustn’t smoke here!

c) She must be a very good student. She always gets A’s.

d) I must go right now!

e) Who must he be? There are lots of people around him!

22.  (UFPEL) A expressão “business may sound complicated and expensive” traz consigo a idéia de:

a) permissão.

b) possibilidade.

c) certeza.

d) habilidade.

e) obrigação.

23. (UFRRJ) In the sentence, “the casualties were fewer than might have occurred”, the underlined word implies:

a) possibility.

b) permission.

c) necessity.

d) assumption.

e) capacity.

24. (UFRGS) Consider the following sentences:

I. The magic should come from another place.

II. It would be necessary for the magic to come from elsewhere.

III. The magic had to come from any other place.

Which of them means the same as the sentence The magic would have to come from somewhere else?

a) Only I.

b) Only II.

c) Only III.

d) Only I and III.

e) Only II and III.

25. (UNESP) Indique a sentença que expressa um conselho:

a) When depressed, teens always ask for adult guidance.

b) Teens see more of what life has to o er and then they become depressed.

c) Adolescents who never make new friends become depressed.

d) Adolescents don’t try to make new friends when they feel depressed.

e) When teens become depressed, they should try to ask an adult for help.

26. (PUCRIO) In the sentence “One reason TV can become instructive, when parents explain why children should not copy what they saw”, the word can expresses the idea of:

a) ability.

b) request.

c) inability.

d) permission.

e) possibility.

27. (JFS) Fill in the following sentence correctly: In my opinion, Marla __________ study harder. She __________ be approved, but she __________ improve.

a) can – could – ought

b) should – can –must

c) ought to – should – can

d) should –must – cannot

e) ought – can – must

28. (EFOMM) Mark the correct alternative.

a) We had better not to call him today.

b) I ought to read this book, oughtn’t I?

c) John is eighteen, so his sister must to be twenty.

d) I suggested she added this book to the list, and she finally would.

e) Last year I lived with my boyfriend but I knew I can live with my parents again at any time.

29. (ESCOLA NAVAL) Which is the correct option to complete the excerpt below?

The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall

'[...] Where did you get this recipe for roast chicken, my dear? Quite delicious.'

'It's the same thing we have every day, Daddy,' replied Annabel.

Is it really? It tastes quite different this week. Do you have a good cook at Hartlepool Hall, Edward? Is Mrs. Horton still there? But she ______ be. She ______ be dead by now. '

(TORDAY, Paul. The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012)

a) might not /can't

b) can't /will

c) can't /must

d) shouldn't/mustn't

e) shouldn't /can't

30. (ESCOLA NAVAL) In which alternative is the idea expressed by the modal verb INCORRECTLY stated in brackets?

a) In China, there might be 10 million teenage internet addicts. (Possibility)

b) It must be hard for him to work and study at the same time. (Obligation)

c) You mustn't park here or you'll receive a fine. (Prohibition) 

d) Could you lend me your book for a week? (Request)

e) If you're getting fat you should go on a diet. (Advice)

31. (ObjConc) Considering the meaning of the sentence, check the alternative that CORRECTLY fills the gap below:

He can’t play tennis very well now, but he _____ fairly well when he was younger.

a) does

b) can

c) could

d) do

e) has

32. (DIRENS-Adp) Match the columns according to the meaning of the modal verb in bold in each sentence below.

1 – Impossibility

2 – Possibility

3 – Prohibition

4 – Advice

(__) Mark studied hard for his exams, but he got poor marks; he can’t be very clever.

(__) You should work less! You look too tired!

(__) She may be in the garden.

(__)  You mustn’t enter here.

a) 1 - 4 - 3 - 2

b) 4 - 2 - 3 - 1

c) 1 - 4 - 2 - 3

d) 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

e) 4 - 1 - 2 - 3

33. (LJA) - Complete the sentence below with the modal verb. Choose the CORRECT answer.

“My friend: Ivette invited us to go to her house tonight!

Me: Sweet! What should we take?

My friend: She said that we ________ bring anything. She has enough food for everybody.

“Me: I’m sure she won’t mind if we bring some wine. It’s a way of saying thank you.”

a) can

b) must

c) could

d) might not

e) don’t have to

34. (FGV) - 

A powerful way of enabling people to understand how it might feel to be in the minority on a daily basis, whether in terms of physical abilities or cognitive function, is to set up experiential activities which challenge the participants to perform unusual tasks in conditions that make their usual way of working impossible. As well as being a fun way of introducing the topic for further discussion, these activities are usually very memorable and drive home the message that – in the vast majority of cases – lack of success in academic tasks is not due to laziness or stupidity.

Adapted from: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/raising-awarenessdiversity-language-classroom

The modal in “how it might feel to be in the minority” (3rd paragraph) indicates

a) possibility.

b) suggestion.

c) obligation.

d) necessity.

e) certainty.

35. (VUNESP) - In the sentence “The assumption is that a preoccupation with meaning-making will most likely lead to grammatical as well as communicative mastery of the language and that learners can learn through the process of communication”, the underlined modal verbs express, respectively,

a) a conjuncture; an ability.

b) a possibility; a possibility.

c) a future action; an ability.

d) a prediction; a possibility.

e) a certainty; a hypothesis.

36. (UEPB) - In the sentence “As the runner walks the race path, golden boxes with questions (multiple choice) appear that must be answered in order for the player to win prizes”, the modal verb expresses

a) obligation.

b) suggestion.

c) order.

d) advice.

e) necessity.

37. (ObjConc) - Considering the modal verbs, analyze the following items:

I. You’ve been working all day. You must be tired.

II. John knows a lot of books. He can’t like to go the libraries.

III. Should we invite Linda to the party?

Is/are CORRECT:

a) Only items II and III.

b) Only item II.

c) Only item I.

d) None of them.

e) Only items I and III.

38. (QUESTÃO) - Complete the sentences with the appropriate modal verb and choose de correct alternative.

I.It´s a cloudy day. Do you think it ____ rain later?

II.You _________ lock the door after leaving.

III.Mom says we _______ go out and play after we finish our homework.

a) I.Can - II.Could - III.Must.

b) I.Might - II.Can - III.Should.

c) I.Might - II.Should - III.Can.

d) I.Could - II.Can - III.Must.

e) No alternatives above.

39. (QUESTÃO) - The modal verb in “Children might find it silly” signals:

a) ability.

b) capacity.

c) certainty.

d) possibility.

e) No alternatives above.

40. (LJA) - Complete the sentence below with the modal verb. Choose the CORRECT answer.

“He didn’t know what we were talking about, so he _________ have read our letter.”

a) couldn’t

b) might not

c) mustn’t

d) shouldn’t

e) don’t have to

01. b) possibility.

02. e) ability – necessity

03. c) Can

04. c) Você pode me ensinar o caminho?

05. b) I can’t afford a new car.

06. b) could

07. b) continue

08. b) leave

09. a) couldn’t

10. d) rather do

11. b) we don’t know whether he did it or not.

12. b) was expected to reach.

13. b) must have rained

14. b) require

15. d) dedução.

16. a) pode estar

17. d) there was – could be

18. c) dares.

19. d) can.

20. e) Sales might get a boost.

21. d) I must go right now!

22. b) possibilidade.

23. a) possibility.

24. b) Only II.

25. e) When teens become depressed, they should try to ask an adult for help.

26. e) possibility.

27. b) should – can –must

28. b) I ought to read this book, oughtn’t I?

29. c) can't /must

30. b) It must be hard for him to work and study at the same time. (Obligation)

31. c) could

32. c) 1 - 4 - 2 - 3

33. e) don’t have to

34. a) possibility.

35. b) a possibility; a possibility.

36. a) obligation.

37. e) Only items I and III.

38. d) I.Could - II.Can - III.Must.

39. d) possibility.

40. a) couldn’t