Fill in the blank with the most appropriate modal:
The milkman has not come today. He ______ fallen ill, or perhaps his cycle has broken down.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → may have
Complete sentence: The milkman has not come today. He may have fallen ill, or perhaps his cycle has broken down. The words “or perhaps” give another possible reason. So the speaker is only guessing.
| Option | Meaning and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) may have (answer) | may have + past participle (V3): something possibly happened, but we are not sure | Seema may have gone to the market, but I am not sure. |
| (2) must have | with V3, a confident guess about the past, when we are almost sure | It must have rained at night, as the ground is wet everywhere. |
| (3) should have | with V3, the right thing was not done in the past | You should have told me about the test earlier. |
| (4) can’t have | with V3, we are sure something did not happen | Riya can’t have eaten the sweets, as she was at school all day. |