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Auxiliaries
+ perfect infinitives
Exercise
1
Auxiliaries + perfect infinitives.
Use the perfect
infinitive of the verbs in brackets with a suitable auxiliary verb:
-
I’ve never seen a London policeman.
-
You (see) one! You’ve been in London a week already!
You must
have seen one.
Note that not
placed before the verb in brackets refers to the auxiliary verb:
-
I heard their phone ringing.
-
You (not hear) their phone ringing. They haven’t got a
phone.
You couldn’t
have heard their phone ringing.
1
Jack: I’ve finished.
Ann: But you were
only half way through when I went to bed. You (work) all night!
2
The instructions were in French. I translated them into English for
him. -
You (not
translate) them. He knows French.
3
Tom: What’s happened to Jack? We said 7.30 and now it’s 8.00 and
there’s no sign of him.
Ann: He (forget)
that we invited him. He is rather forgetful. I (telephone) him
yesterday to remind him. (It was foolish of me not to telephone.)
4
Tom: Or he (get) lost. He hasn’t been to this house before. I
(give) him directions. (7 didn’t give him directions, which was
stupid of me.)
Ann:
Or he (have) a breakdown or a puncture.
Tom: A puncture
(not delay) him so long.
5
Ann: Or he (stop) for a drink and (get) involved in an argument.
Jack’s arguments go on for hours!
Tom: Or he (run)
out of petrol. Perhaps we’d better go and look for him.
6
You (not feed) the bears! (It was foolish of you to feed them.) Now
they’ll be angry if the next campers don’t feed them too.
7
Nobody has been in this house for a month.
-
Nonsense! Here’s last Monday’s paper in the wastepaper
basket; somebody (be) here quite recently.
8
Two of the players spent the night before the big match at a :
party. -
That was very
foolish of them. They (go) to bed early.
9
He says that when walking across Kensington Gardens he was attacked
by wolves. - He (not be attacked) by wolves. There
aren’t any wolves in Kensington. He (see) some Alsatian dogs and
(think) they were wolves.
10 I waited from
8.00 to 8.30 under the clock and he says he waited from 8.00 to 8.30
under the clock, and we didn’t see each other!
-
You (wait) under different clocks! There are two in the station, you
know.
11 He set off
alone a month ago and hasn’t been heard of since.
-
He (fall) into a river and (be eaten) by crocodiles.
-
Or (be kidnapped) by tribesmen.
-
Or (catch) fever and (die) of it.
12
We (start) yesterday (this was the plan)) but the flight was
cancelled because of the fog, so we’re still here, as you see.
13
Mary to Ann,
who has just toiled up six flights of stairs: You (not
walk) up! You
(come) up in the lift. It’s working now.
14
I left my car here under the No Parking sign; and now it’s gone.
It (be) stolen!
-
Not necessarily. The police (drive) it away.
15
He had two
bottles of Coke and got frightfully drunk.
-
He (not get) drunk on Coke. He (drink) gin with it.
16
He
was riding a bicycle along the motorway when he was hit by the
trailer of a lorry. These big lorries are very
dangerous.
-
Perhaps, but Paul (not ride) a bicycle along the motorway;
bicycles are not allowed.
17
I’ve lost one of my gloves!
-
The puppy (take) it. I saw him running by just now with
something in his mouth. It (be) your glove.
18
We’ve run out of petrol!
-
I’m not surprised. I noticed that the tank was nearly empty
when we left home.
-
You (tell) me! We (get) petrol at the last village. Now we’ve
got a 10-mile walk!
19
If the ground hadn’t been so soft the horse I backed (win) instead
of coming in second. He never does very well on soft ground.
20
I’ve written to Paul.
-
You (not write). He’s coming here tomorrow. You’ll see him
before he gets your letter.
21
They (build) a two-storey house (this was the original plan), but
money ran out so they built a bungalow instead.
22
If the dog hadn’t woken us we (not notice) the fire for several
hours, and by that time it (spread) the house next door.
Why
didn’t you wait for me yesterday?
-
I waited five minutes.
-
You (wait) a little longer!
24
How did Peter get here?
-
He (come) on a motorcycle. (This is a possibility.)
- He (not come)
on a motorcycle. He doesn’t ride one.
-
He (come) as a pillion passenger.
25
(Alice,
staying at a hotel for the first time, carefully washes up the early
morning tea things.)
Mother: You (not
do) that. The hotel staff do the washing up.
26
Why are you so late? You (be) here two hours ago!
27
Mrs Smith: I’ve cooked scrambled eggs for Mr Jones, because of his
diet, and steak and onions for everyone else.
Mr Jones: You
(not cook) anything special for me, Mrs Smith; I’m not on a diet
any longer.
28
If I’d known we’d have to wait so long I (bring) a book.
-
If I’d known it was going to be so cold I (not come) at all!
29
Tom (looking out of the window): Fortunately that teapot didn’t
hit anyone, but you (not throw) it out of the window, Ann! You (kill)
someone.
30
Look at this beautiful painting! Only a very great artist (paint)
such a picture!
-
Nonsense! A child of five (paint) it with his eyes shut.
31
I wonder how the fire started.
-
Oh, someone (drop) a lighted cigarette. Or it (be) an
electrical fault.
32
You don’t think it (be started) deliberately?
-
Well, I suppose it (be). (It is possible.) But who would do a
thing like that?
33
There is only one set of footprints, so the kidnapper (carry) his
prisoner out. He not (do) it in daylight or he (be) seen. He (wait)
till dark.
34
I went with him to show him the way.
-
You (not do) that. (That wasn’t necessary.) He knows the
way.
35
Then an enormous man, ten feet tall, came into the ring.
-
He (not be) ten feet tall really. He (walk) on stilts.
36
He jumped out
of a sixth-floor window and broke his neck.
-
You say ‘jumped’. It (not be) an accident?
-
No. The window was too small. It (be) deliberate.
Exercise
2
Auxiliaries + perfect infinitives. Use the perfect
infinitive of the verbs in brackets with a suitable auxiliary verb.
1
Tom: I had my house painted recently, but when they sent in the bill
I was appalled. If I'd known it was going to cost so much I (not
have) it done.
2
Peter: But it’s your own fault, Tom. You (ask) for an estimate
before letting them start.
3
Mother (very anxious about her son, aged ten): Where is he? He (be)
here an hour ago? (It’s now 5.00 and he is usually home by 4.00.)
4
Friend: He (go) to the playground to watch a football match.
Mother: No, if
there’d been a match today he (tell) me. He always tells me all the
football news.
5
Friend: His teacher (keep) him in as a punishment.
Mother: She (not
keep) him in for a whole hour.
6
Friend: Then he (go) to a friend’s house.
Mother: Yes, or
he (be) knocked down crossing the street. He may be lying unconscious
in hospital!
Friend: If that
had happened the hospital (ring) you.
Mother: They (not
ring) me. My phone isn’t working!
7
He jumped out of the aeroplane and landed unhurt!
-
You mean he parachuted down?
-
He didn’t say anything about a parachute.
- He (have) a
parachute. Otherwise he (be) killed.
8
I bought a sweater at Marks and Spencer’s last Sunday.
-
You (not buy) it on Sunday. Marks and Spencer’s is shut on Sundays.
9
Tom’s had another accident. He came out of a side road rather fast
and a lorry crashed into him.
-
It sounds like Tom’s fault. He (wait) till the main road was
clear.
10
I wonder who carried the piano upstairs. I suppose it was Paul.
-
Paul (not carry) it by himself. Someone (help) him.
11
I was on the
Circle Line and we were just leaving Piccadilly.
-
Then you (not be) on the Circle Line. It doesn’t go through
Piccadilly. You (be) on the Bakerloo Line or the Piccadilly Line.
12
The plane disappeared two weeks ago and no one knows what happened
to it.
-
It (crash) into the sea. If it had crashed on land someone
(report) it by now.
13
But what do you think caused the plane to crash?
-
Who knows? It (blow) up. Someone (plant) a bomb on board
before take-off, or one of the passengers (have) explosives with him.
14
Or someone (try) to hijack the plane. And there (be) a fight during
which the plane crashed.
15
Or something (go) wrong with the engines, or it (be) a case
of metal fatigue.
-
It (not be) metal fatigue because it was a brand new plane.
16
The pilot (collapse) at the controls.
-
But if that had happened the second pilot (take over).
17
Maria (new to English customs): He said, ‘How do you do?’ so I
told him about my migraine.
Ann: You (not do)
that. (That wasn’t the right thing to do.) You (say), ‘How do you
do?’ too.
18
It was the depths of winter and we had to wait eighteen hours
in an unheated station.
You (be) frozen
by the time the train arrived.
19
I’ve done
all the calculations. Here you are -six pages.
-
But you (not do) all that work! We have a computer to do that
sort of thing.
-
You (tell) me! Then I (not waste) all my time!
20
He failed the exam but he (pass) it. {He had the ability to pass
it.) It’s all his own fault; he (work) much harder during the term.
21
He’s not here! Yet I locked him in and bolted the door too, so he
(not possibly open) the door from inside. And he (not get) out of the
window; it’s too small.
22
Somebody (let) him out. One of his friends (follow) you here and
(slip) in when your back was turned.
23
Passenger: Fares are awful! I had to pay £2 for my ticket and £1
for the baby.
Another
passenger: But you (not buy) a ticket for the baby. Babies travel
free.
24
Immediately after drinking the coffee I felt very sleepy and the
next thing I remember is finding myself lying in the middle of the
road.
-
They (drug) your coffee and (dump) you there.
-
If I hadn’t woken up when I did I (be run) over.
-
That (be) part of their plan. {It
is possible that it was part of their plan.)
25
I found he knew all my movements for the past week. He (bribe) one
of the other students to give him the information.
-
Or he (follow) you himself.
-
No, he (not do) that. (That is not
possible.) I (see) him.
26
I stamped it and posted it.
-
You (not stamp) it. It was a reply-paid envelope.
27
He walked from London to Cambridge in three hours.
-
He (not do) it in that time! Someone (give) him a lift.
28
I found that everything I said on the phone had been reported to the
police.
-
Your phone (be) tapped.
29
My ring’s gone! It was on the table by the window only a minute
ago! Who (take) it?
-
It (be) a magpie. There are some round here and they like
shining things. A magpie (hop) in through the window and (snatch) it
when you were out of the room. (This is possible.)
30
I had to walk home yesterday: I had no money for my fare.
-
You (tell) me! I (lend) you the money!
31
I (not take) a taxi. I (walk); it was only a hundred metres. ( took
a taxi but it wasn't necessary.)
32
The
shoplifter thought she was unobserved but when she got to the door a
store detective stopped her. They (watch) her on closed- circuit
television.
33
When I rang the exchange and asked for the number the operator said,
‘You (not ring) the exchange! You (dial) the number direct!’
However, he put me through.
34 One moment the
conjurer’s handkerchief was empty and the next moment it was full
of eggs!
-
He (have) the eggs up his sleeve!
35
Well, I suppose he (have) eggs up his sleeve: but for his next trick
he produced a bowl of goldfish out of the air. He (not have) a bowl
of goldfish up his sleeve, now, could he?
36
Mary: My grandmother knew a girl whose fiance was sent to prison for
twenty years. This girl (marry) any one of a dozen men because she
was a real beauty, but she waited till her fiance came out of jail!
Jack: She (love) him very much.
Ann: She (be) an
idiot!
Exercise
3 Auxiliaries + perfect infinitives.
Use the perfect
infinitive of the verbs in brackets with the appropriate auxiliary.
Phrases in bold type should not be repeated but their meaning should
be expressed by auxiliary + perfect infinitive.
You (bought)
bread, which was not necessary.
You needn’t
have bought bread.
1
To someone who was not at the party: ‘We had a wonderful time; you
(be) there.’
2
It is possible that Shakespeare (write) it.
-
Shakespeare (not write) it because events are mentioned that
didn’t occur till after Shakespeare’s time.
3
I found this baby bird at the foot of a tree. It (fall) from a nest.
4
I used to visit her and I always wondered why she had those dreadful
pictures on the walls.
-
It is possible that she (like) them.
5
During the gale, the captain was on the bridge the whole time. He
(be) exhausted afterwards.
6
You (send) a telegram, which was quite unnecessary; a letter
would have done.
7
Yob (leave) a note.
(It was very inconsiderate of you not to do so.)
8
Somebody phoned at lunchtime but I couldn’t catch the
name.
- It (be) my
brother. He sometimes rings me up then.
9 The lecturer
was a tall thin man with white hair.
-
Then it (not be) Dr Fell because he is short and fat. It (be)
Dr Jones; I think he is thin.
10
You (not go) out yesterday without a coat. No wonder you
caught cold.
11
I saw them in the street but they didn’t stop to speak to me.
-
It is possible that they (be) in a hurry.
12
They (be) married next week but now they have quarrelled and the
wedding has been cancelled.
13
If we hadn’t had this puncture we certainly (be) home by now.
14
You
(carry) the dog, which was unnecessary. He can walk very well.
15
People were
waiting but the bus didn’t stop.
-
It is possible that it (be) full.
16
We went
sailing on a lake in a London park. I think it was the Round
Pond,
-
It (not be) the Round Pond. There are only toy boats there. It
(be) the Serpentine.
17
Look, there’s a tree right across the road!
-
So there is. It (be) blown down by the gale last night.
18
This building (be) finished by the end of last year (this was the
plan), but there have been so many strikes that it isn’t finished
yet.
19
But for the fog they (reach) the top next day.
20
You (cross) the road by the subway, (but you didn’t)
21
It is a pity you (not bring) your kite. It is just the day for
kites.
22
It is possible that I (be) mistaken.
23
I sat on a seat in the park and now my coat is covered in green
stripes.
-
The paint (be) wet.
24
I suppose it was Charles who left the kitchen in such a mess.
-
No, it (not be) Charles. He never has a meal in. It (be) Bill.
25
I know she was in because I heard her radio, but she didn’t open
the door.
-
Possibly she (not hear) the bell.
26
If you had told me that you were in London I (put) you up. (This
would have been possible.)
27
If they had gone any further they (fall) over a precipice.
28
He (check) that his brakes were working properly, (but he didn’t)
29
You (apologize), which was not necessary.
30
I can’t think why they didn’t try to help him.
-
It is possible that they (not realize) that he was drowning.
31
He (thank) us. (We are offended that he didn’t.)
32
I (go) on Tuesday (this was the plan). But on Tuesday I had a
terrible cold so I decided to wait till Wednesday.
33
You (warn) him that the ice was dangerous, (but you didn’t)
34
If you had
kept quiet nobody (know) anything about it.
35
You (bought)
a new one, which wasn’t necessary. I could have lent you mine.
36
As soon as I
switched on my new electric cooker there was an explosion.
-
There (be) something wrong with it.
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Answers
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Exercise 1
(should used for obligation is replaceable by ought to.
may/might in the affirmative is replaceable by could.)
1
must have worked/been working 2 needn’t have translated. 3
may/might have forgotten, should have telephoned 4 may/might have
got lost, should have given, may/might have had, wouldn’t/couldn’t
have delayed 5 may/might have stopped and got, may/might have run
6 shouldn’t have fed 7 must have been 8 should have gone 9
couldn’t have been attacked, must have seen . . . and thought 10
must have waited/been waiting (could/may/might could replace
must.) 11 may/might have
fallen ... and been eaten ... or been kidnapped ... or caught.. .
and died 12 were to have started 13 needn’t have walked, could
have come 14 must have been stolen, may/might have driven. 15
couldn’t have got, must have drunk 16 shouldn’t have been
riding 17 may/might have taken, may/might have been 18
might/should have told, could have got 19 would have won 20
needn’t have written 21 were to have built 22 wouldn’t/shouldn’t
have noticed, would/mighti: have spread 23 should/might/could have
waited 24 may/might have ; come, couldn’t/can’t have come,
may/might have come 25 needn’t have done 26 should have been 27
needn’t have cooked 28 would/should have brought,
wouldn’t/shouldn’t have come 29 shouldn’t have thrown,
might/could have killed 30 could have painted, could have painted
31 may/might have dropped, may/might have been 32 could have been
started, could have been 33 must have carried, couldn’t have
done, would have been, must have waited 34 needn’t have done 35
couldn’t/can’t have been, must have been walking 36 Couldn’t
it have been, must have been
Exercise 2
1 wouldn’t/shouldn’t have had 2 should have asked 3
should have been 4 may/might have gone; would have told 5
may/might have kept; wouldn’t have kept 6 may/might have gone;
may/might have been; would have rung; couldn’t have rung 7 must
have had; would have been. 8
couldn’t
have bought 9 should have waited 10 couldn’t have carried; must
have helped 11 couldn’t have been; must have been 12 must have
crashed; would have reported 13 may/might have blown up; may/might
have planted, may/might have had 14 may/might have tried;
may/might have been 15 may/might have gone, may/might have been;
couldn’t have been 16 may/might have collapsed; would have taken
over 17 shouldn’t have done, should have said 18 must have been
19 needn’t have done; should have told; shouldn’t/wouldn’t
have wasted 20 could have passed; should/could have worked 21
couldn’t possibly have opened; couldn’t have got 22 must have
let; must have followed . . . slipped 23 needn’t have bought 24
must have drugged . . . dumped; might/would have been run;
may/might have been 25 must have bribed; may/might have followed;
couldn’t have done; would/should have seen 26 needn’t have
stamped 27 couldn’t have done; must have given 28 must have
been. 29 could have taken; may/might have been;
may/might have hopped in . . . snatched 30 should have told;
would/could have lent 31 needn’t have taken; could have walked
32 must have been watching/must have watched 33 needn’t have
rung/shouldn’t have rung; could have dialled/should have dialled
34 must have had 35 could have had/might have had; couldn’t have
had 36 could have married; must have loved; must have been
Exercise 3
(may/might in the affirmative is replaceable by could. In 1, 7,
10, 20, 23 should is replaceable by ought to.)
1 should have
been 2 may/might have written, couldn’t have written 3 must have
fallen 4 may/might have liked 5 must have been 6 needn’t have
sent 7 might/should have left 8 may/might have been. 9
can’t/couldn’t have been, may/might have been 10 shouldn’t
have gone 11 may/might have been 12 were to have been 13
should/would have been 14 needn’t have carried 15
may/might have been 16 can’t/couldn’t have been, must have
been 17 must have been 18 was to have been 19 would have reached
20 could/should have crossed 21 should have brought 22 may/might
have been 23 must have been 24 can’t/couldn’t have been, must
have been 25 may/might not have heard 26 could have put you up 27
would have fallen 28 should have checked 29 needn’t have
apologized 30 may/might not have realized 31 might/should have
thanked 32 was to have gone 33 should have warned 34 would have
known 35 needn’t have bought 36 must have been
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