Modal Passives — certainty

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Environmental journalists and campaign groups have argued for decades that this kind of framing could have been used deliberately to deflect blame and delay binding commitments on carbon emissions.

Grammar Reference · Modal Passives — certainty

Modal passive —

The damage may have been underestimated for years. — past possibility, uncertain

Modal passive —

This could have been prevented if targets had been set earlier. — missed opportunity

Modal passive —

Accountability must be assigned in every treaty. — strong present obligation

Common error

It may been done... ✗ → It may have been done... ✓ — never drop have

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Modal Passives — certainty

1.The scale of the deforestation (underestimate) by the government for at least a decade.

2.The carbon emissions (reduce) much sooner if the treaty had been ratified in 2005.

3.All agentless constructions (remove) from future environmental reports by international law.

4.The damage to the North Aral Sea (prevent) if Soviet planners had listened to scientists.

5.Framing strategies (use) deliberately by several corporations to deflect blame over many years.

6.A binding commitment on salinity levels (sign) before the restoration project begins next year.

02Exercise 2 — Find and Correct the Error

find the error · rewrite the sentence

1.The accountability report should been published before the summit began.

2.Carbon emissions must be been tracked monthly under the new agreement.

3.The framing strategy could have use to deflect blame in the official statement.

4.The salinity problem may been underestimated when the restoration project was first designed.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Modal Passives — certainty01EnglishPlans.com