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Chapter 5 · Class 11 English

Grammar - Modals — Important Questions

25 questions With answers CBSE format

SUMMARY: The chapter on Modals in Class 11 English focuses on the use and function of modal verbs in English grammar to express ability, possibility, permission, and obligation.
KEY TOPICS: modal verbs, can and could, may and might, must and have to, shall and should, will and would, expressing ability, expressing permission, expressing obligation, expressing possibility

Q1 1 Mark

Choose the correct modal: You ____ wear a helmet while riding a bike. It's the law.

Acan
Bmust
Cmay
Dmight
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — must
Q2 1 Mark

Fill in: ____ I borrow your pen for a moment?

AMust
BMay
CShould
DWould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — May
Q3 1 Mark

Choose: She ____ swim very well when she was young.

Acan
Bmust
Ccould
Dshould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 3 — could
Q4 1 Mark

Fill in: You ____ work harder if you want to succeed.

Acan
Bmay
Cmight
Dshould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 4 — should
Q5 1 Mark

Choose: It ____ rain later. Take an umbrella.

Amust
Bmight
Cshould
Dcan
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — might
Q6 1 Mark

Identify: 'I ____ to attend the meeting tomorrow' (necessity).

Acan
Bhave
Cneed
Dought
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — have
Q7 1 Mark

Fill in: He ____ have left already; his car is gone.

Acan
Bmust
Cmight
Dshould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — must
Q8 1 Mark

Choose: When I was a child I ____ run for hours without getting tired.

Acan
Bcould
Cmay
Dmight
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — could
Q9 1 Mark

Fill in: You ____ not enter the lab without permission.

Acan
Bmust
Cmight
Dmay
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — must
Q10 1 Mark

Choose: ____ you please help me with this question?

AMust
BMay
CCould
DShould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 3 — Could
Q11 1 Mark

Identify: 'You ____ better see a doctor' (advice).

Ahad
Bhave
Cshould
Dought
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 1 — had
Q12 1 Mark

Fill in: She ____ have forgotten about the appointment.

Acan
Bmust
Cmight
Dshould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 3 — might
Q13 1 Mark

Choose: Students ____ submit assignments by Friday.

Acan
Bmay
Cmust
Dmight
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 3 — must
Q14 1 Mark

Fill in: ____ I open the window? It's quite hot in here.

AMust
BShall
CShould
DWould
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 2 — Shall
Q15 1 Mark

Choose: He ____ pass the exam if he studies hard.

Amust
Bcan
Cmay
Dmight
Check answerHide answer
Correct answer: Option 1 — must
Q16 3 Marks

Fill in with a suitable modal: 'You ____ smoke in the hospital.'

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'must not / cannot'. Modals 'must not' or 'cannot' express prohibition. 'Must not' carries a stronger sense of forbidden behaviour particularly in regulated public spaces.
Q17 3 Marks

Convert into a polite request using a modal: 'Open the door.'

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'Could you please open the door?' or 'Would you mind opening the door?' Modals 'could' and 'would' soften imperatives into polite requests; 'please' adds further courtesy.
Q18 3 Marks

Use 'must' or 'have to' appropriately: 'I ____ wear a uniform at school' (school rule) and 'I ____ leave now' (personal urgency).

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'have to' for the school rule (external obligation imposed by an institution) and 'must' for personal urgency (internal speaker-driven necessity). The distinction is fine but standard.
Q19 3 Marks

Identify and correct: 'She can to swim very fast.'

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Correct: 'She can swim very fast.' Modals are followed directly by the bare infinitive (V1) without 'to'. Only 'ought' takes 'to' (e.g. 'ought to').
Q20 3 Marks

Use suitable modal: 'I ____ have studied harder; I would have passed the exam.'

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'should'. 'Should + have + V3' expresses regret about a past action that was not done. The speaker reflects that not studying hard was a mistake.
Q21 3 Marks

Fill in: 'Children ____ obey their parents.'

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'should' or 'ought to'. Both express moral obligation or advisability without the absolute force of 'must'. They are appropriate for cultural and moral expectations.
Q22 3 Marks

Convert into a sentence expressing possibility: 'It will rain.'

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'It might rain' or 'It may rain.' 'May' and 'might' express possibility; 'might' suggests slightly weaker probability than 'may'.
Q23 3 Marks

Identify the modal and its function: 'You should respect your elders.'

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Modal: 'should'. Function: advice or moral obligation. 'Should' is used for advisability and weaker obligation than 'must'.
Q24 3 Marks

Fill in with negative modal: 'You ____ park here; this is a no-parking zone.'

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'cannot / must not'. 'Cannot' expresses lack of permission; 'must not' adds prohibition. Both work in contexts where parking is officially forbidden.
Q25 3 Marks

Use suitable modal for past ability: 'He ____ play the guitar very well as a teenager.'

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'could'. 'Could' is the past form of 'can' used for general past ability. For a single specific past achievement we use 'was/were able to' instead.

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