English test by Tallinn Learning

Modal verbs at work

You should…, Could you…?, We need to…, You mustn’t…, You don’t need to…

This topic has 26 questions at level A2 on key words and typical phrases. Each answer comes with a short explanation, and you get a review of your mistakes at the end. Module goal: talk about your tasks, write short work messages, understand dates, deadlines and tool names.

Sample questions with explanations

  1. You ___ commit directly to the main branch. It is against the team rules.

    • could
    • don’t need to
    • ✓ mustn’t
    • would

    mustn’t = it is forbidden. Use it for rules.

  2. The app is slow. I think we ___ add caching.

    • can’t
    • couldn’t
    • mustn’t
    • ✓ should

    should = advice or a good idea.

  3. ___ you review my pull request, please?

    • ✓ Could
    • Must
    • Need to
    • Should

    Could you …? is a polite request.

Words and phrases (8)
modal verb
a verb like can, should or must that is followed by a base verb
ability
being able to do something
permission
being allowed to do something
advice
an idea about what someone should do
obligation
something you have to do
requirement
something that is needed by a rule
forbidden
not allowed
polite request
a kind way to ask someone to do something