Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
If I could go anywhere in the world, I ____ to Japan.
(a) Would go
(b) Will go
(c) Went
(d) Had gone

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given question and try to understand the information it is trying to convey. Now go through the options, recall what they signify and choose the one that fits the context of the sentence and helps it to convey the information in the best possible way.

Complete answer: A verb refers to a word that indicates the action performed by the subject. For example- He danced on the floor.
Now, let’s look at modal verbs-
Modal verbs are those verbs that indicate possibility or the ability of the subject to act. For example- She would do it tomorrow. Here, ‘would’ is a modal verb that indicates possibility.
Let’s look at the usage of different modal verbs-
i. Would- It is used to indicate imaginary situations. For example- I would like to go to New York.
ii. Will- It is used to indicate the possibility of action. It also indicates the occurrence of an action in the future. For example- I will visit the market tomorrow.
Now, in the given question- We can see the indication of an imaginary situation. Hence, the correct answer is; If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to Japan.
Let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘Would go’ is the correct option because it is used to indicate imaginary situations.
Option b- ‘Will go’ is an incorrect option because it does not indicate imaginary actions.
Option c- ‘Went’ is an incorrect option because it does not suit the context of the sentence.
Option d- ‘Had gone’ is an incorrect option because it does not match with the context of the sentence.
The correct answer is Option ‘a’.

Note: Keep in mind that ‘would’ also acts as the past tense form of the modal verb ‘will’. Hence, ‘would’ can be used to indicate actions of the past while ‘will’ indicates the actions of the future.