FCE (First Certificate) Modal Verbs
You will need to be able to use modal verbs (must, should, could etc.) and the different verb forms which come after them. If you want more details, you can read about these more in the main grammar pages of this website. More information about the modal verb would is in my FCE conditionals pages.
There are 5 patterns you need to remember which follow modal verbs:
| Modal + verb | |
| He should go. | a single action (usually future) or a state (now) |
| Modal + be + verb-ing | |
| He should be going. | an action in progress (usually now) |
| Modal + have + past participle (e.g. done, gone, been) | |
| He should have gone. | a finished action (usually past) |
| Modal + be + past participle (e.g. done, gone, been) | |
| He should be told. | passive (someone else does it to him) |
| Modal + have + been + past participle (e.g. done, gone, been) | |
| He should have been told. | past passive (someone did it to him) |
Obviously, the exact meaning depends on the modal verb used. For example, "He should have gone" means "he didn't go, and this was a mistake", while "He must have gone" means "I am sure that he went."
Practice 1
In the FCE exam, you might get questions for this in part 2 (open cloze). Choose the best word to complete these sentences.
Practice 2
You might also get this tested in the Key Transformations. Rewrite these sentences using 2-5 words. Be very careful that you keep the time the same!!!