Fill in the blank with the most appropriate modal:
Aditi has not answered my calls since morning. She ______ forgotten her phone at home, but I cannot say for sure.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → might have
Complete sentence: Aditi has not answered my calls since morning. She might have forgotten her phone at home, but I cannot say for sure. The words “I cannot say for sure” show the speaker’s doubt.
| Option | Meaning and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) might have (answer) | might have + past participle (V3): a past action that possibly happened; the speaker is not sure | Rohan might have taken the wrong train, but nobody knows yet. |
| (2) must have | with V3, a confident guess about the past; the speaker is almost sure | The floor is wet, so someone must have mopped it. |
| (3) needn’t have | with V3, something was done but was not necessary | I needn’t have woken up early, because the class was cancelled. |
| (4) can’t have | with V3, we are sure something did not happen | Ishaan was in Pune all week, so he can’t have broken the window. |