Question 1

Identify the error in the sentence: 'She (A) should have (B) completed the report, but she (C) could not finished (D) it on time. No error (E)'

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). After the modal 'could not', the base form of the verb must be used. The correct form is 'could not finish', not 'could not finished'. Modal verbs (should, could, would, must, etc.) are always followed by the base form of the verb, not the past participle or -ed form.

Question 2

Identify the error in the sentence: 'The manager (A) said that the employees (B) must to submit (C) their reports by Friday. (D) No error (E)'

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). The modal verb 'must' should be followed by the base form of the verb without 'to'. The correct form is 'must submit', not 'must to submit'. In English, modals never take the infinitive marker 'to'.

Question 3

Identify the error in the sentence: 'You (A) should not (B) have went (C) to the meeting without informing me. (D) No error (E)'

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). After 'should not have', the past participle must be used, not the simple past form. The correct form is 'should not have gone', not 'should not have went'. The structure 'should + have + V3' requires the past participle.

Question 4

Identify the error in the sentence: 'The students (A) might have (B) been studying (C) for the exam, but they could not (D) passed it. No error (E)'

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (D). After the modal 'could not', the base form of the verb must be used. The correct form is 'could not pass', not 'could not passed'. The sentence mixes a correct past modal structure ('might have been studying') with an incorrect one ('could not passed').

Question 5

Identify the error in the sentence: 'The director (A) would rather (B) you did not (C) disclose the information to anyone. (D) No error (E)'

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. The structure 'would rather + subject + past tense' is correct for expressing preference. The past tense 'did not disclose' is grammatically required after 'would rather', even though it refers to a present or future action. This is a special case in English grammar.

Question 6

The manager said that the employees (A) should not have submitted / (B) must not submit / (C) ought not to have submitted / (D) cannot submit the report without proper authorisation. No error

Accepted Answer

The sentence requires a modal that expresses a past prohibition or regret about an action that was already completed. The context 'said that' indicates reported speech about a past event. Option (A) 'should not have submitted' is the correct form—it uses the past modal construction (should + not + have + V3) to express that the submission was improper and should not have occurred. Option (B) 'must not submit' is present/future prohibition, not past. Option (C) 'ought not to have submitted' is grammatically acceptable but awkward in reported speech context. Option (D) 'cannot submit' is present inability, not past prohibition.

Question 7

Identify the error in the sentence:
She (A) might have went (B) to the conference (C) if she had received the invitation earlier (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (B). After the modal 'might have', the past participle form should be used. The correct form is 'might have gone', not 'might have went'.

Question 8

Identify the error in the sentence:
The manager (A) said that employees (B) must to complete (C) their reports by Friday (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (C). After the modal verb 'must', the base form of the verb should be used without the infinitive marker 'to'. The correct form is 'must complete', not 'must to complete'.

Question 9

Identify the error in the sentence:
The director (A) insisted that all staff members (B) should attend (C) the mandatory training session next week (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. All parts are grammatically correct. The modal 'should' is correctly followed by the base form 'attend', the subject-verb agreement is correct, and the time reference is appropriate.

Question 10

Identify the error in the sentence:
The employees (A) would rather work (B) from home than come (C) to the office every day (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. The construction 'would rather...than' is correctly used with the base form of verbs on both sides. Both 'work' and 'come' are in the correct form.

Question 11

Identify the error in the sentence:
The consultant (A) advised that the company (B) could have implemented (C) the new strategy more effectively if they had planned ahead (D). No error (E)

Accepted Answer

There is no error in this sentence. The modal 'could have' is correctly followed by the past participle 'implemented', and the conditional structure with 'if' clause is grammatically sound.

Question 12

The manager said that the employees (A) should have completed the project by now, but they (B) might not finish it on time because the client (C) has been delaying the approval process, which (D) could affect the final deadline. No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The sentence is grammatically correct. All modal constructions are appropriate: 'should have completed' (past modal for unfulfilled obligation), 'might not finish' (present modal for possibility), 'has been delaying' (present perfect continuous for ongoing action), and 'could affect' (modal for possibility). The tense sequence and modal usage align with the context of a past statement about a present/future situation.

Question 13

The director announced that the project (A) may have been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, and the team (B) ought to have communicated the risks earlier so that stakeholders (C) could have prepared contingency plans, which (D) might have mitigated the financial impact. No error (E)

Accepted Answer

The error is in part (A). The phrase 'may have been delayed' is grammatically incorrect in this context. The sentence uses 'announced', which is a past tense verb indicating a definite past statement. If the director made a definite announcement about a delay, the correct form should be 'has been delayed' (present perfect, indicating a completed action with present relevance) or 'was delayed' (simple past, indicating a completed past action). The modal 'may have been' suggests uncertainty about whether the delay occurred, which contradicts the definite nature of an 'announcement'. The correct form is 'has been delayed' or 'was delayed', not 'may have been delayed'. This is the error.

SBI PO Modals

Modals— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Modals — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Modals