Exercise 1
Which is correct?
1 We haven’t got much time. We must / mustn’t hurry.
2 We’ve got plenty of time. We mustn’t / don’t need to hurry.
3 I have to talk to Gary. I must / mustn’t remember to call him.
4 I have to talk to Gary. I mustn’t / needn’t forget to call him.
5 There’s plenty of time for you to make up your mind. You mustn’t / don’t need to decide now.
6 We needn’t / mustn’t wash these tomatoes. They’ve already been washed.
7 This is a valuable book. You must / needn’t take good care of it and you mustn’t / don’t need to lose it.
8 A: What sort of house do you want to buy? Something big?
B: Well, it mustn’t / needn’t be big – that’s not so important. But it must I mustn’t have a nice garden- that’s essential.
Answers
1
1 must
2 don’t need to
3 must
4 mustn’t
5 don’t need to
6 needn’t
7 must … mustn’t
8 needn’t … must
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences. Use needn’t + one of these verbs:
ask come explain leave walk
1 We’ve got plenty of time. We ……………………. yet.
2 I can manage the shopping alone. You ……………………. with me.
3 We ……………………. all the way home. We can get a taxi.
4 Just help yourself if you’d like more to eat. You ……………………. first.
5 I understand the situation perfectly. You ……………………. further.
Answers
2
1 needn’t leave
2 needn’t come
3 needn’t walk
4 needn’t ask
5 needn’t explain
Exercise 3
Write two sentences for each situation. Use needn’t have in the first sentence and could have in the second (as in the example).
1 Why did you rush? Why didn’t you take your time?
You needn’t have rushed. You could have taken your time.
2 Why did you walk ho me? Why didn’t you take a taxi?
…………………….
3 Why did you stay at a hotel? Why didn’t you stay with us?
…………………….
4 Why did she phone me in the middle of the night? Why didn’t she wait until the morning?
…………………….
5 Why did you shout at me? Why weren’t you more patient?
…………………….
6 Why did you leave without saying anything? Why didn’t you say goodbye to me?
…………………….
Answers
3
2 You needn’t have walked home. You could have taken a taxi.
3 You needn’t have stayed at a hotel. You could have stayed with us.
4 She needn’t have phoned me in the middle of the night. She could have waited until the morning.
5 You needn’t have shouted at me. You could have been more patient.
6 You needn’t have left without saying anything. You could have said goodbye to me.
Exercise 4
Correct the sentences where necessary.
1 We have plenty of time. We don’t need hurry. …………………….
2 You must keep it a secret. You mustn’t tell anybody else. …………………….
3 I’ll be all rig ht. You needn’t to worry about me. …………………….
4 You mustn’t wait for me. You go on and I’ll join you later. …………………….
5 You don’t need to keep these e mails. You can delete them. …………………….
6 I needn’t have gone out, so I stayed at home. …………………….
7 I needn’t have bought eggs. We had some already. …………………….
Answers
4
1 We don’t need to hurry.
2 OK
3 You needn’t worry / You don’t need to worry / You don’t have to worry
4 You needn’t wait / You don’t need to wait / You don’t have to wait
5 OK (You needn’t keep is also correct)
6 I didn’t need to go / I didn’t have to go
7 OK
Related Posts
- English Grammar Exercises – must(n’t), need(n’t), should(n’t) and don’t have to
- English Grammar Exercises – Phrasal verbs (03)
- English Grammar Exercises – Phrasal verbs (02)
- English Grammar Exercises – Phrasal verbs (01)
- English Grammar Exercises – Adjective/verb + preposition
- English Grammar Exercises – Prepositions (general)