Modals in the Past

Carbon emissions rose 12% last year. The government ______ seen this coming — the data was clear.

The company's data was exposed. They ______ invested in cybersecurity — it was clearly a risk.

She turned down three job offers. She ______ been very confident in her skills to do that.

The algorithm they used ______ been tested properly — it crashed immediately on launch.

The fall in biodiversity ______ been caused by deforestation — there are several possible factors.

The workforce ______ been better prepared for automation — the warning signs were there for years.

She achieved carbon neutrality for her start-up in under two years. It ______ taken enormous effort.

The inequality data ______ been more widely shared — it was available to all researchers.

The government ______ acted on fossil fuels decades earlier — the science was clear.

That data breach ______ been an accident — it was far too deliberate.

The entrepreneur ______ worked around the clock — she delivered in half the time.

The fall in carbon emissions ______ been caused by the new renewable energy policy, but we need more evidence.

Companies ______ introduced retraining earlier — many redundancies were predictable.

I'm sure the algorithm was not tested properly before launch. HAVE
The algorithm ______ properly before launch.

It was a mistake not to tackle inequality earlier. SHOULD
We ______ inequality earlier.

Perhaps the deforestation was caused by illegal logging. MIGHT
The deforestation ______ illegal logging.

It's impossible that she knew about the data breach before it was reported. HAVE
She ______ about the breach before it was reported.