Question

You want to borrow your friend’s camera. What do you say to him?
Do you think ____________. Choose the correct word to fill in the blank.
(This question has multiple correct options.)
A. Could I borrow your camera?
B. May I borrow your camera?
C. Will I borrow your camera?
D. Need I borrow your camera?

Answer 1

Hint: Modal verbs are a kind of auxiliary verb. They facilitate the key verb to indicate ability, opportunity, expectation, possibility, permission, and obligation.

Complete answer:
For the third-person singular, modal verbs don't end with -s when used with the main verb. Modal auxiliary verbs never change form, but they have a different form to be used in the past tense. Will, can, must, may, should are the modal auxiliary verbs. The past tense of these modal auxiliary verbs are would, could, might, should.

The willingness to do something in the future is demonstrated by will. Whereas the unwillingness to do something is shown by will not (won’t). General or repeated willingness is indicated by would and it also deals with preference in the present. The modal auxiliaries may, can, might, could express ability and possibility. Can expresses ability and could expresses ability with an option. Both may and might express possibility. Necessity is expressed by ‘must’. Probability and obligation is expressed by should. Should is sometimes replaced by ought to and had better.

Now, let us look at the given question. As mentioned already, there can be multiple correct answers for this question. As it is about borrowing a camera from a friend, the correct answers will be options A and B. Both the options indicate taking permission for something and hence these are the correct ones.

Hence the correct answers are options ‘A’ & ‘B’.

Note: Often there are possibilities that more than one given option is correct as most of the modal auxiliary verbs express the same sense. After finding out the suitable possibilities, you can write any one from that or both as per the question’s requirement.