Modal verbs advanced - Examples and exercises

Ejemplo resuelto
Modal perfect: "She ___ (must/pass) the exam. She's celebrating."

Solution: "She must have passed the exam." Modal + have + past participle = deduction about the past. Must have = almost certain. Might/may have = possible. Can't have = impossible.

Ejemplo resuelto
Should have: "I failed the exam."

Solution: "I should have studied more." (regret/criticism about the past). "You shouldn't have said that." (you said it, but it was wrong).

Ejemplo resuelto
Could have vs was able to: "He ___ (escape) the fire." (he did escape)

Solution: "He was able to escape the fire." (specific achievement in the past). "He could have escaped earlier." = he had the possibility but didn't. Could = general ability in the past. Was able to = specific achievement.

Ejercicios
1. Complete with the correct modal perfect: a) She's not here. She ___ (must/leave) early. b) He didn't answer. He ___ (might/not/hear) the phone. c) You ___ (should/tell) me earlier! d) They ___ (can't/finish) already - it's only been 5 minutes.
2. Speculate about a mystery picture using: must have, might have, can't have.
3. Express regret with should have/shouldn't have (5 sentences about your past).
4. Translate: a) Debería haber estudiado más. b) No puede haber sido él - estaba en casa. c) Podría haber ido, pero no quise.
5. Rephrase: "Perhaps she forgot." -> She may/might have forgotten.