Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable option.
You ____ do your homework. If you don’t, you’ll fail the examination.
(a) Must
(b) Had to
(c) May
(d) Might

Answer 1

Hint:Read the given sentence and try to understand the context of the given sentence. Choose the option which can best express the action being shown while keeping in mind that the context of the sentence should not be changed.

Complete answer: Modal verbs refer to those verbs that are used to indicate capability, probability or necessity. For example- Can, could, may, might, will, etc.
Let’s look at the usage of different modal verbs-
i. Must- ‘Must’ is used to indicate obligation or duty to do something. For example- You must fill the details.
ii. Had to- ‘Had to’ is the past tense form of ‘must’. It is used to indicate obligation in the past. For example- I had to visit the store last night.
iii. May- ‘May’ is used to indicate possibility or permission. For example- You may enter the room.
iv. Might- ‘Might’ is used to indicate possibility. It is the past tense of ‘may’. For example- I might be late to work.
In the context of the question, we know that if X doesn’t complete his homework, he will fail the examination.
Hence, the correct answer is; You must do your homework. Here, we have used ‘must’ to indicate obligation and duty.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘Must’ is the correct option because it is used to indicate duty and obligation.
Option b- ‘Had to’ is an incorrect option because it is used in the past tense form.
Option c- ‘May’ is an incorrect option because it is used to indicate possibility.
Option d- ‘Might’ is an incorrect option because it is used in the past tense form.
The correct answer is Option ‘a’.

Note: Always remember that ‘must’ can also be used to highlight the importance of something. For example- You must keep your passport and tickets.