WREN & MARTIN's English grammar-10 MCQs on Auxiliaries and Modals — Must, Ought To — Their Uses
10 MCQs on Auxiliaries and Modals — Must, Ought To — Their Uses
1. "You must submit all the required documents to the concerned authority before the closing date." — Identify the use of "must" in this sentence.
- A) "Must" is used to express a past obligation that was not fulfilled
- B) "Must" is used to express a weak suggestion or mild recommendation
- C) "Must" is used to express strong necessity or compulsion
- D) "Must" is used to express a future possibility about submitting documents
Answer: C) "Must" is used to express strong necessity or compulsion ("Must" is used here to express a strong obligation or absolute necessity — it indicates that the action of submitting the documents is not optional but essential and compulsory — "must" expresses a stronger sense of obligation than "should" or "ought to" and is used when the speaker considers the action critically important or obligatory.)
2. "She must be the most dedicated researcher in the entire department given the quality of her work." — Identify the use of "must" in this sentence.
- A) "Must" is used to express a strong obligation or compulsion
- B) "Must" is used to express a logical deduction or strong inference
- C) "Must" is used to express a prohibition about being a researcher
- D) "Must" is used to express a polite request about the quality of work
Answer: B) "Must" is used to express a logical deduction or strong inference ("Must" is used here to express a logical conclusion or deduction based on the available evidence — the quality of her work provides the evidence from which the speaker draws the conclusion — "must" in this sense expresses near certainty or a strong logical inference about a present situation rather than an obligation.)
3. "You must not enter the restricted area of the laboratory without proper authorisation and safety gear." — Identify the use of "must not" in this sentence.
- A) "Must not" is used to express an absence of obligation
- B) "Must not" is used to express a past prohibition
- C) "Must not" is used to express a strong prohibition or absolute ban
- D) "Must not" is used to express a mild suggestion not to enter
Answer: C) "Must not" is used to express a strong prohibition or absolute ban ("Must not" is used here to express a strong prohibition — it indicates that entering the restricted area is absolutely forbidden and not permitted under any circumstances — it is important to distinguish "must not" which means something is prohibited from "need not" which means something is not necessary — these two expressions have very different meanings.)
4. "Ought to we not reconsider our approach to the problem in light of the new information available?" — Identify the use of "ought to" in this sentence.
- A) "Ought to" is used to express a strong compulsion to reconsider
- B) "Ought to" is used to express a moral duty or advisability
- C) "Ought to" is used to express a past habit of reconsidering problems
- D) "Ought to" is used to express a logical deduction about the problem
Answer: B) "Ought to" is used to express a moral duty or advisability ("Ought to" is used here to express what is advisable or the right course of action based on reason and sound judgement — "ought to" is very similar in meaning to "should" but carries a slightly stronger sense of moral duty or what is objectively right — "ought to" always takes the full infinitive with "to" unlike most other modal verbs.)
5. "She must have worked extremely hard to achieve such remarkable results in the examination." — Identify the use of "must have" in this sentence.
- A) "Must have" is used to express a past obligation that was fulfilled
- B) "Must have" is used to express a strong logical deduction about a past action
- C) "Must have" is used to express a past prohibition about working hard
- D) "Must have" is used to express a past possibility that may or may not have occurred
Answer: B) "Must have" is used to express a strong logical deduction about a past action ("Must have" is used here with the past participle "worked" to express a strong logical inference or deduction about something that happened in the past — the remarkable results provide the evidence from which the speaker deduces that she must have worked very hard — the structure "must have + past participle" expresses near certainty about a past situation.)
6. "You ought to apologise sincerely to your colleague for the hurtful remarks you made yesterday." — Identify the use of "ought to" in this sentence.
- A) "Ought to" is used to express a strong compulsion or absolute necessity
- B) "Ought to" is used to express a logical deduction about apologising
- C) "Ought to" is used to express moral obligation or what is ethically right
- D) "Ought to" is used to express a past habit of apologising to colleagues
Answer: C) "Ought to" is used to express moral obligation or what is ethically right ("Ought to" is used here to express a moral obligation — it suggests that apologising is the right and ethical thing to do given the circumstances — "ought to" conveys a sense of moral responsibility and what is considered proper conduct — it is slightly stronger than "should" in its moral connotation and implies an objective standard of right behaviour.)
7. "He must not be disturbed under any circumstances while he is delivering his keynote address." — Identify the use of "must not" in this sentence.
- A) "Must not" is used to express an absence of necessity
- B) "Must not" is used to express a mild suggestion
- C) "Must not" is used to express a past obligation
- D) "Must not" is used to express a strong prohibition
Answer: D) "Must not" is used to express a strong prohibition ("Must not" is used here to convey a strong prohibition — it absolutely forbids the action of disturbing him — the phrase "under any circumstances" reinforces the absolute and unconditional nature of the prohibition — "must not" is one of the strongest ways of expressing a prohibition in English and leaves no room for exceptions.)
8. "She ought to have submitted her application much earlier to avoid the last-minute rush." — Identify the use of "ought to have" in this sentence.
- A) "Ought to have" is used to express a past ability that was successfully used
- B) "Ought to have" is used to express a strong past compulsion
- C) "Ought to have" is used to express a past moral obligation that was not fulfilled
- D) "Ought to have" is used to express a logical deduction about a past action
Answer: C) "Ought to have" is used to express a past moral obligation that was not fulfilled ("Ought to have" is used here with the past participle "submitted" to express a past duty or obligation that was not carried out — the structure "ought to have + past participle" indicates that a particular action was the right or expected thing to do in the past but was not done — it implies mild criticism or regret about a past omission.)
9. "The results must be announced today as the students have been waiting anxiously for weeks." — Identify the use of "must" in this sentence.
- A) "Must" is used to express a logical deduction about the students
- B) "Must" is used to express a strong necessity or obligation to announce the results
- C) "Must" is used to express a past prohibition about announcing results
- D) "Must" is used to express a weak suggestion about announcing the results
Answer: B) "Must" is used to express a strong necessity or obligation to announce the results ("Must" is used here to express a strong sense of necessity and obligation — the fact that students have been waiting anxiously for weeks provides the justification for the obligation — "must" in this context expresses an external necessity or compelling reason that makes the action essential and non-negotiable.)
10. "Which of the following sentences correctly illustrates the difference between "must not" and "need not"?"
- A) You must not finish all the food — you need not take any more than you can eat.
- B) You need not carry your identity card today — you must not forget it tomorrow.
- C) She must not worry about the results — she need not have studied so hard.
- D) You must not drive without a valid licence — you need not drive if someone else can take you.
Answer: D) You must not drive without a valid licence — you need not drive if someone else can take you. (This sentence correctly illustrates the distinction between "must not" and "need not" — "you must not drive without a valid licence" expresses a strong prohibition meaning it is forbidden — "you need not drive if someone else can take you" expresses an absence of necessity meaning it is not compulsory — the contrast between prohibition and absence of necessity is clearly and correctly demonstrated.)
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