There are five mistakes with modal verbs in the text. Find them and write the corrections below.
(11) Last summer I decided to get a part time job so I could have earned some money. I got the newspaper and circled all the jobs that I thought I could do. (12) I mustn’t have applied for more than 20 jobs – everything from working in a supermarket to teaching English. (13) However, I could have written a good letter because I wasn’t invited to any interviews. I got email after email politely telling me that my application had been rejected. (14) One company even told me that with my lack of experience I needn’t applied. I was really disappointed and in the end I gave up looking for a job. (15) A few weeks later I realised I should had asked my dad. He’s a gardener and he had been looking for someone to help him for the summer. He didn’t ask me because he didn’t think I would want to work with him.
(11) "could have earned"
Correction: "could earn"
Explanation: The sentence is about the ability to earn money in the future, not a past possibility. "Could earn" is the correct form.
(12) "mustn’t have applied"
Correction: "must have applied"
Explanation: "Mustn’t have applied" is incorrect because it implies prohibition. The intended meaning is certainty about applying, so "must have applied" is correct.
(13) "could have written"
Correction: "couldn’t have written"
Explanation: The context suggests that the speaker did not write a good letter, so "couldn’t have written" is the correct form to express inability or doubt.
(14) "needn’t applied"
Correction: "needn’t have applied"
Explanation: "Needn’t" requires the perfect infinitive ("have applied") to indicate that the action was unnecessary in the past.
(15) "should had asked"
Correction: "should have asked"
Explanation: "Should" is followed by the perfect infinitive ("have asked") to express a past obligation or regret. "Should had asked" is grammatically incorrect.
Corrected Text:
(11) Last summer I decided to get a part-time job so I could earn some money. I got the newspaper and circled all the jobs that I thought I could do. (12) I must have applied for more than 20 jobs – everything from working in a supermarket to teaching English. (13) However, I couldn’t have written a good letter because I wasn’t invited to any interviews. I got email after email politely telling me that my application had been rejected. (14) One company even told me that with my lack of experience I needn’t have applied. I was really disappointed and in the end, I gave up looking for a job. (15) A few weeks later I realised I should have asked my dad. He’s a gardener and he had been looking for someone to help him for the summer. He didn’t ask me because he didn’t think I would want to work with him.