This fourth gap fill test contains 25 multiple choice questions on the topic of modals of English grammar. Both English learners and ESL teachers can use this online exercise as a revision to check the knowledge of modal verbs.
Question 1
Cold deserts, which don't receive much precipitation, _____ in snow.
Can + passive infinitive expresses general possibility: something that is sometimes true. Cold deserts are not always snowy, but snow cover is possible, so can be covered fits. Not must be covered, which means it is certain or necessary. Not might have been covered, which refers to the past.
Question 2
The money in our pockets _____ far less today than it _____ ten years ago.
Use can for ability or possibility in the present (today) and could for the past (ten years ago): Money can buy less today than it could ten years ago. The second could stands for could buy. Not could buy / would, because would does not express past ability here.
Question 3
They reminded me that we _____ an early start the next morning, so we _____ late to bed.
In reported speech, will becomes would. The original words were We will make an early start, so we won't be late to bed, which become we would make … we wouldn't be. The past reporting verb reminded and the next morning are the clues. Not must have made / can't be, because these are deductions about the past, not a reported future plan.
Question 4
Emergency supplies _____ the earthquake area as soon as possible with the help of the UN. It is crucial.
Must expresses strong present necessity or obligation. The clues as soon as possible and It is crucial show the supplies need to arrive urgently. Not should have reached, which criticises something that did not happen in the past.
Question 5
When I entered the kitchen, I realized that the chocolate cake was all gone! Someone _____ it.
Must have + past participle is a confident deduction about the past. The cake is all gone, so the speaker is sure that someone must have eaten it. Not should have eaten, which means someone was supposed to eat it but didn't.
Question 6
No one knows exactly who the first Americans were, but scientists exploring caves have found evidence that they _____ from Asia.
Must have + past participle is a logical conclusion about the past based on evidence. The scientists have found evidence, so they conclude the first Americans must have arrived from Asia. Not should have arrived or ought to have arrived, which mean something was expected or desirable but did not happen.
Question 7
After the spraying, when residents reported health problems, state health officials said the amount of insecticide applied in Monterey _____ severe health risks.
Should (not) have + past participle can express what was expected or probable in the past. The officials mean that, by their expectations, the amount of insecticide should not have posed serious risks, even though residents reported problems. Not mustn't have posed, because a negative deduction about the past uses can't have, not mustn't have. Not needn't have posed, which means something was done unnecessarily.
Question 8
If the jury members _____ agreement, the case _____ retried before a new jury.
This is a real present/general condition: If + present (can't reach), then a present modal for obligation (must be retried). Can't reach agreement means the jury is unable to agree, and the rules then require a retrial. Not can't have reached, which is a deduction about the past and doesn't work after if here.
Question 9
The people who lived there _____ everything they needed from the gifted forest.
Could expresses general ability or possibility in the past. The past verb lived sets the time, so the people could get everything they needed from the forest. Not should get, which suggests obligation or advice rather than ability.
Question 10
If a store manager decides to take a shoplifter to court, the legal process _____ both time-consuming and expensive.
May expresses possibility: the legal process is possibly, but not certainly, slow and costly. May be fits a sentence describing what can happen if a manager goes to court. Not must be, which is too strong because it shows certainty or necessity.
Question 11
Some European politicians, it seems, _____ spend billions on aid than allow poor-world farmers to sell attractively priced food to Europe’s consumers.
Would rather + base verb + than + base verb expresses preference: would rather spend … than allow. The bare infinitive spend and the word than are the clues. Not would prefer, which needs to + infinitive (would prefer to spend … rather than allow).
Question 12
Governments _____ regions in their countries more autonomy so that they _____ and enjoy their own cultures rather than serving the centralized policies of the capital city.
Should gives the writer's recommendation (Governments should give …). So that + can expresses the purpose (so that they can protect …). Not should have given / would have protected, because these refer to the past, while the sentence makes a general present proposal. Not can protected, which is wrong because can takes the base form.
Question 13
Rich people _____ permitted to buy educational advantages by sending their children to private schools or _____ all schools be run by the state?
The sentence presents two alternatives about what is right, so should is used in both parts. The second part is a question with inversion: should all schools be run …? Not ought to, because its question form would be ought all schools to be run, not ought to all schools be run.
Question 14
Greenpeace operates internationally and _____ governments and large oil companies through feats of direct action which attract public sympathy.
Be able to expresses present ability and matches the present simple operates. Greenpeace is able to embarrass governments through direct action. Not would embarrass, because nothing in the sentence sets up a hypothetical or past habit.
Question 15
Do people have the right to smoke when children in the same house or colleagues in the same office _____ the smoke, whether they like it or not?
Have to expresses necessity imposed by circumstances: the children and colleagues have no choice. The clue whether they like it or not shows that breathing the smoke is unavoidable, not merely possible. Not might / may inhale, which only express possibility.
Question 16
Clients _____ the part of town where they want to be based if they want, though this _____ their choice of price-range.
Can expresses permission or option: clients can specify the area if they want. May expresses possibility: this choice may limit the price range. Not must specify, because if they want shows it is optional, not compulsory.
Question 17
During the twentieth century, women in Britain _____ vigorously for equal rights - the right to vote and the right to work in posts traditionally reserved for men.
Had to + base verb expresses necessity in the past. Women were forced to campaign because they were not given equal rights. The time phrase During the twentieth century needs a past form. Not must have campaigned, which is a deduction about the past, whereas this is a historical fact. Not must be campaigning, which refers to the present.
Question 18
Any kind of modification _____ without informing all the members at that meeting.
Ought not to have + past participle criticises a past action. The modification was made without informing the members at that (past) meeting, and this was wrong. The passive have been made is needed because a modification is made by someone. Not shouldn't have made, because it is active and has no object.
Question 19
The Supreme Election Council _____ the end results of the election at tomorrow’s gathering.
Be bound to + base verb means something is certain to happen, or that someone is obliged to do it. With tomorrow's gathering, it shows the council will definitely verify the results. Not might as well verify, which means 'there is no better option', and not would verify, which needs a hypothetical or past context.
Question 20
As an antielectron speeds along, it _____ come up against one of the trillions of ordinary electrons in its immediate neighbourhood. It will do that in perhaps a millionth of a second.
Be bound to + base verb means 'certain to happen'. The next sentence, It will do that in perhaps a millionth of a second, confirms that the collision is certain. Not ought, which needs to before the verb and expresses duty, not certainty. Not was unlikely to, which contradicts the next sentence and is in the wrong tense.
Question 21
Scientists fear that a patient's immune system _____ stem cells unless they _____ genetically identical to the patient's other cells.
May expresses possibility: scientists fear that rejection is possible. After unless, a present tense is used for a real condition (unless they are genetically identical). Not could reject / had been, because the past perfect does not fit a general present situation.
Question 22
I _____ to make myself heard above the noise lest I _____ lost there.
Had to expresses past necessity. Lest (formal, meaning 'so that … not') is traditionally followed by should + base verb or a subjunctive: lest I should get lost. Not used to shout / would get, because would is not used after lest.
Question 23
We _____ that we, the adults, are out to educate a group that mostly does not want education, and tailor our work accordingly.
Should + base verb gives advice or a recommendation about the present. The writer advises adults to remember this and tailor our work accordingly. Not must have remembered, which is a deduction about the past.
Question 24
A spokeswoman said the company has identified only four deaths to date where its recalled heparin _____ a role.
May have + past participle expresses possibility about the past. The company admits the heparin possibly played a role in those deaths, but it is not certain. Not must have played, which would be a confident deduction that a company spokeswoman is unlikely to make.
Question 25
It was so dark that I fell down the stairs last night. I _____ the light.
Should have + past participle expresses regret or criticism about something that wasn't done in the past. The speaker didn't fix the light and fell, so I should have fixed the light. Not must have fixed, which is a deduction that something happened.
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