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Difficulty: MediumModal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

Select the option that best completes the sentence:

Considering the tight deadline, the project team __________ submitted the proposal yesterday, but technical difficulties delayed their final upload.

Which of the following modal verb structures correctly completes the sentence?

  1. ought to haveAnswer
  2. B
    might can have
  3. C
    must to have
  4. D
    should had

Answer

The correct option is 'ought to have'.
The phrase 'ought to have' correctly expresses an action that was expected to happen in the past. The semi-modal verb 'ought' requires the preposition 'to', followed by the base auxiliary 'have' and the past participle 'submitted'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence context and temporal frame
The clause mentions an action scheduled for the past ('yesterday') that was expected but hindered by technical difficulties.
Past unfulfilled expectations or obligations require a perfect modal verb structure (modal + have + past participle).
2
Evaluate candidate modal structures for grammatical correctness
'Ought to have' follows standard grammar rules for semi-modal past obligations. Options featuring double modals, redundant 'to' particles after pure modals, or past-tense auxiliary forms like 'had' violate core modal syntax rules.
Pure modals take bare infinitives and cannot be combined or followed directly by past tense forms.

Key Concept

Past Modality and Modal Inflection Rules
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Modal Auxiliaries and Expressing Modality

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