English Course · Level 4 (B1+) · Week 4 of 12

Work-Life Balance

Grammar: Past modals — should have, could have, must have, might have, can't have

This week's plan

Day	Learn	Listen / Watch	Practise
Day 1	Words: Working life · Sentences 1–2	BBC 6 Minute English: “Why are we all so stressed?” (podcast)	Exercise 1
Day 2	Words: Stress · Sentences 3–4	TED: Nigel Marsh, “How to make work-life balance work” (video)	Exercise 2
Day 3	Words: Balance · Sentences 5–6	engVid (James): “Could have, would have, should have – modals of lost opportunity” (video)	Exercise 3
Day 4	Words: At the office · Sentences 7–8	British Council: “Modals: deductions about the past” (grammar) + BBC 6 Minute English: “Flexible working” (podcast)	Exercise 4
Day 5	Words: Past modals · Sentences 9–10	British Council: “Millennials in the workplace” (reading)	Write & Speak
Day 6	Review all 30 words + 10 sentences	TED: Shawn Achor, “The happy secret to better work” (video)	Redo mistakes
Day 7	Free day ☺	TED-Ed: “How to manage your time more effectively (according to machines)” (video)	Tick your tracker

30 minutes a day: review, learn, listen, practise, speak. Day 7 is a free day. Tap a resource to find it.

30 words to learn

Set 1 · Working life

a nine-to-five jobوظيفة بدوام ثابت (من ٩ إلى ٥)
a deadlineموعد نهائي / ديدلاين
a side hustleشغل جانبي إضافي / شغلانة جنب الشغل
a commuteالمشوار اليومي إلى العمل
job satisfactionالرضا الوظيفي
remote workالعمل عن بُعد

Set 2 · Stress

under pressureتحت ضغط
stressed outمتوتر جدًا / مضغوط
burnoutالاحتراق الوظيفي / الإرهاق التام
exhaustedمنهك / مرهق جدًا
take a toll onيؤثر سلبًا في / يرهق
on edgeمتوتر / أعصابه مشدودة

Set 3 · Balance

quality timeوقت مفيد وممتع (مع الأسرة)
prioritiseيرتّب الأولويات / يعطي الأولوية لـ
set boundariesيضع حدودًا
unwindيسترخي / يفُكّ عن نفسه
rechargeيستعيد نشاطه / يشحن طاقته
a day offيوم إجازة

Set 4 · At the office

a backlogأعمال متراكمة / شغل متأخر
multitaskيؤدي عدة مهام في وقت واحد
a bonusمكافأة / بونص
take onيتولى / يتحمّل (مسؤولية جديدة)
delegateيفوّض / يوزّع المهام
run lateيتأخر عن موعده

Set 5 · Past modals

must have doneلا بد أنه فعل
might have doneربما فعل
can't have doneلا يمكن أن يكون قد فعل
should have doneكان ينبغي أن يفعل
could have doneكان بإمكانه أن يفعل
needn't have doneلم يكن ضروريًا أن يفعل (لكنه فعل)

10 sentences to memorise

1I should have left the office earlier; now I'm stuck in traffic.كان ينبغي أن أغادر المكتب مبكرًا؛ أنا الآن عالق في الزحام.
2You shouldn't have worked all weekend — you look exhausted.ما كان ينبغي أن تعمل طوال عطلة نهاية الأسبوع؛ تبدو منهكًا.
3Ahmed must have been really tired; he fell asleep at his desk.لا بد أن أحمد كان متعبًا جدًا؛ فقد نام على مكتبه.
4She can't have finished the report already — it's 200 pages!لا يمكن أن تكون قد أنهت التقرير بالفعل؛ إنه ٢٠٠ صفحة!
5They might have missed the email; let's call them.ربما فاتهم البريد الإلكتروني؛ لنتصل بهم.
6I could have asked for help, but I didn't want to look weak.كان بإمكاني أن أطلب المساعدة، لكنني لم أرد أن أبدو ضعيفًا.
7Long working hours started to take a toll on my health.بدأت ساعات العمل الطويلة تؤثر سلبًا في صحتي.
8I'm under a lot of pressure to meet this deadline.أنا تحت ضغط كبير لتسليم هذا العمل في موعده.
9It's important to set boundaries and switch off after work.من المهم أن تضع حدودًا وأن تبتعد ذهنيًا عن العمل بعد انتهاء الدوام.
10I spend quality time with my children every Friday.أقضي وقتًا ممتعًا ومفيدًا مع أطفالي كل يوم جمعة.

Grammar: Past modals — should have, could have, must have, might have, can't have

modal + have + past participle talks about the past.

should have = it was a good idea, but you didn't do it (criticism / regret) · could have = it was possible, but it didn't happen · must have = I'm sure it happened · might / may have = maybe it happened · can't / couldn't have = I'm sure it didn't happen.

في العربية نقول «كان لازم أعمل كذا» أو «لا بد أنه كان…»، فيترجم المتعلم حرفيًا ويقول I should went أو He must was tired. القاعدة ثابتة لا تتغير: modal + have + التصريف الثالث للفعل (should have gone, must have been). وانتبه: عكس must have (أنا متأكد أنه حدث) هو can't have (أنا متأكد أنه لم يحدث)، وليس mustn't have. وفي الكلام السريع تُنطق should have مثل «شُدَف» (should've)، لكن لا تكتبها أبدًا should of.

Modal	Meaning	Example
should have / shouldn't have	criticism or regret	I should have slept earlier. You shouldn't have shouted.
could have	possible, but it didn't happen	We could have taken a taxi, but we walked.
must have	I'm almost sure it happened	The roads are wet. It must have rained.
might have / may have	maybe it happened	He might have forgotten the meeting.
can't have / couldn't have	I'm sure it didn't happen	She can't have seen me — she didn't say hello.

Wrong: He must was tired. ✔ He must have been tired.

Wrong: She mustn't have seen me. ✔ She can't have seen me.

Never write should of / could of — it is should have (should've).

Exercises

Exercise 1 · Choose the correct modal.

1) The lights are off. They (must have / should have) gone to bed.
2) I'm so tired. I (shouldn't have / can't have) stayed up so late.
3) He (can't have / must have) written this report — he was on holiday all week.
4) I'm not sure where Nour is. She (might have / should have) gone to the bank.
5) We (could have / must have) won the match, but our goalkeeper made a mistake.
6) You (should have / might have) told me about the deadline! Now I'm late.

Show the answers

1) must have 2) shouldn't have 3) can't have 4) might have 5) could have 6) should have

Exercise 2 · Complete with modal + have + past participle.

1) Omar looks very happy. He ___ (must / get) the promotion.
2) I ___ (should / not / eat) so much at lunch.
3) They ___ (can't / finish) already — they only started an hour ago.
4) She ___ (could / become) a doctor, but she chose art.
5) The manager isn't answering. He ___ (might / leave) early.
6) You ___ (should / ask) me for help.

Show the answers

1) must have got 2) shouldn't have eaten 3) can't have finished / couldn't have finished 4) could have become 5) might have left / may have left 6) should have asked

Exercise 3 · Correct the mistake.

1) You should of called me.
2) He must was very busy yesterday.
3) She mustn't have heard the phone — she was in the garden.
4) I could have go to the party, but I was ill.
5) They might have forget the address.
6) We should have leaving earlier.

Show the answers

1) You should have called me. 2) He must have been very busy yesterday. 3) She can't have heard the phone… / She couldn't have heard the phone… 4) I could have gone to the party… 5) They might have forgotten the address. 6) We should have left earlier.

Exercise 4 · Translate into English.

1) كان ينبغي أن أطلب يوم إجازة.
2) لا بد أنها كانت منهكة بعد تلك الوردية.
3) لا يمكن أن يكون قد نسي الاجتماع.
4) ربما فاتهم القطار.
5) من المهم أن تقضي وقتًا ممتعًا مع أسرتك.

Show the answers

1) I should have asked for a day off. / I should have taken a day off. 2) She must have been exhausted after that shift. 3) He can't have forgotten the meeting. / He couldn't have forgotten the meeting. 4) They might have missed the train. / They may have missed the train. 5) It's important to spend quality time with your family. / It's important to spend some good time with your family.

Do each exercise in pencil first, then open the answers to check.

Write & Speak

Write & Speak — Write an informal email (150–200 words) to a friend who has been working too hard. Say what you noticed, guess what happened (must have / might have), say what you should have done in a similar situation, and give advice. Then read it aloud as a voice message.

Example: Hi Karim, I hope you're OK. I saw you at Hany's wedding last Thursday, and you looked exhausted. You must have been working late again, and you might have missed lunch too, because you hardly ate anything. Your brother told me you've worked overtime every day this month. Please be careful. Two years ago I was in the same situation. I took on too many projects, I never said no to my manager, and I spent my weekends answering emails. In the end, I suffered from burnout and stayed at home for three weeks. I should have set boundaries much earlier, and I could have delegated some of the work to my team. I shouldn't have kept everything to myself. My advice is to talk to your manager about your workload and ask for flexible hours. Also, take a real day off soon and recharge. Switch off your work phone and spend some quality time with Salma and the kids. Shall we meet for coffee on Friday? Take care, Ahmed