Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option
Last week I ______ go to town on a business trip as the Ministry of Education had asked me to come.
a) Had to
b) might
c) should
d) Could
e) Was able to

Answer 1

Hint: Tenses used in a sentence are consistent. In the second part of the sentence, we can see that the tense used is past perfect (had asked). Therefore, the first part of the sentence shall also be past perfect.

Complete answer:
Option a is the right answer because it is in the past perfect tense. I had to go because the Ministry had asked me to come. Both the tenses are consistent in the sentences.
Option b is wrong because “might go to” is a non-finite verb. It does not tell us the tense. “Might” is a modal verb that shows us ambiguity and possibility.
Option c is incorrect because “should” is also a modal verb. I should go to school. I should finish my project. You should listen to your parents.
Option d is also wrong because like options b and c, it is a modal verb and has nothing to do with tenses.
Option e is not the correct option though using it in the sentence does not render it grammatically incorrect. The usage of “was” in the option gives us a past tense.

Note:
 Students might be confused between option a and e. However, we have to understand what the question wants from us. The question is looking for an answer which is purely based on a tense. The consistency of tenses in a sentence is clearly proven through option a which is why it is the correct answer. Also, the use of “able” is not indicative of any tense.