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Question

Difficulty: HardModal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

Complete the sentence below by filling in the blank with the most appropriate modal verb structure to express a formal past arrangement that was not fulfilled.

Answer:The foreign minister 【was to have signed】 the multilateral trade agreement at the summit yesterday, but the sudden collapse of coalition talks prevented her attendance.

Answer

was to have signed
The expression 'was to have signed' uses the semi-modal 'be to' in the past tense combined with a perfect infinitive to denote a pre-arranged or expected official action in the past that ultimately failed to happen because of an intervening circumstance.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the temporal context and communicative intent of the sentence.
The sentence describes an official arrangement set in the past ('yesterday') that was interrupted or thwarted by a subsequent event ('prevented her attendance').
Understanding whether an intended past event actually occurred determines the required modal aspect.
2
Select the modal auxiliary pattern designated for unfulfilled past obligations or formal arrangements.
The semi-modal structure 'was/were + to + have + past participle' ('was to have signed') explicitly conveys a past arrangement that did not take place.
Using the perfect infinitive ('to have signed') after 'was to' highlights the non-completion of the planned event.

Key Concept

Expressing Unfulfilled Past Plans using Semi-Modal Auxiliary Structures (was/were to have + past participle)
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Topics

Modal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

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