Fill in the blank with the most appropriate modal:
If the farmers had got the flood warning a day earlier, they ______ moved their grain sacks to safety.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → would have
Complete sentence: If the farmers had got the flood warning a day earlier, they would have moved their grain sacks to safety. “Had got” is in the if-part, so the result part needs “would have”.
| Option | Meaning and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) will have | with the past participle (V3), something will be finished by a time in the future | By Sunday, the painters will have painted the whole house. |
| (2) must have | with V3, a confident guess about the past | The front door is unlocked, so Papa must have come home early. |
| (3) would have (answer) | would have + V3 in the result part when the if-part has had + V3; it imagines a past that did not happen | If Raju had run faster, he would have won the race. |
| (4) needn’t have | with V3, something was done but was not necessary | We needn’t have hired a taxi, as the hotel sent its own car. |