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Difficulty: MediumModal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

Complete the sentence below by filling in the blank with the appropriate modal verb phrase to express a past unfulfilled obligation.

Answer:The lead researcher emphasized that the clinical team 【should have】 submitted the ethics committee approval before initiating the drug trial.

Answer

The correct modal verb phrase to fill the blank is 'should have' (or 'ought to have').
The sentence describes an obligatory administrative action that ought to have taken place prior to starting the trial. The modal phrases 'should have' and 'ought to have' followed by the past participle verb form express a past obligation that was not carried out.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the contextual clues in the sentence to identify the required modality.
The sentence refers to a required action (submitting ethics approval) that needed to occur before initiating the trial, implying that it was a duty which was neglected or unfulfilled.
Modal auxiliaries express distinct semantic functions such as past deduction, ability, necessity, or past duty.
2
Apply the grammatical structure for past unfulfilled obligation.
The structure 'should + have + past participle' (or 'ought to + have + past participle') indicates an action that was desirable or mandatory in the past but did not happen.
Using 'should have' combined with the past participle 'submitted' correctly conveys past unfulfilled obligation.

Key Concept

Past Unfulfilled Obligation with Modal Auxiliaries
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Modal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

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