Question

Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word.
He ___ easily swim across this river.
A) Must
B) Could
C) Need to
D) Dare

Answer 1

Hint: A modal verb is a verb that expresses modality, such as probability, ability, permission, request, power, recommendations, order, duty, or advice. Modal verbs are often found with the base (infinitive) form of another semantic verb. The modal verbs can, should, could, had better, have to, and occasionally need or dare are commonly used in English.

Complete answer:
Verbs describe what a sentence or clause's subject is doing (or being). Individual, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, and voice are all used to conjugate verbs. Verbs are the building blocks of sentences and clauses, and they are needed for the creation of a complete thought.

The role of the main verb that it regulates is revealed by a modal auxiliary verb. Modals are used to express whether we think anything is certain, probable, or unlikely.

Now let us look at the given options:
Option A) Must: It is incorrect because it expresses extreme obligation to do something whereas in the given sentence we have to show an ability to swim not an obligation.
Option B) Could: This is the correct option since it expresses the ability mood that was meant to be shown in the past tense.
Option C) Need to: It is an incorrect option because it expresses the necessity of something whereas we have to show the ability of the person to swim.
Option D) Dare: This is an incorrect option because “dare” is an expression of challenging someone to do something whereas we have to show the ability to do something.

Additional information:
- Modals have a broad range of communicative roles, but these functions can be categorised into one of the following categories of modalities on a scale ranging from possibility ("may") to requirement ("must"):
- The theoretical probability of propositions being true or false is addressed in the epistemic modality (including likelihood and certainty)
- Deontic modality is concerned with the probability and obligation of acting freely (including permission and duty)
- Dynamic modality differs from deontic modality in that the conditioning mechanisms in dynamic modality are internal – the subject's own capacity or willingness to act.

Thus, the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: A verb is a term that conveys an event, an occurrence, or a state of being in syntax. It comes from the Latin verb, which means "word." The infinitive is the simplest type of English, and it can be used with or without the particle. Verbs are inflected in many languages to indicate tense, aspect, mood, and expression.