NDA (II) 2024 General Ability Test · Question 19 of 141

Correct — C, 'it could be worse'. 'Could' expresses possibility, and 'it could be worse' is a set expression meaning things are bad but not as bad as they might have been — exactly the concession the contrast word 'but' introduces after 'his condition is serious'.

• (a)it should be worse — 'should' expresses expectation or obligation, so 'it should be worse' oddly implies the condition ought to deteriorate — the opposite of the intended reassurance.
• (b)it ought to be worse — 'ought to' likewise carries expectation/obligation and yields the illogical sense that the condition is expected to be worse.
• (d)it had been going to be worse — 'had been going to be' is a malformed, over-stacked tense that does not fit the simple present contrast of the sentence.

Modals of possibility vs expectation: 'could' marks what is possible, whereas 'should/ought to' mark expectation or obligation; 'it could be worse' is the idiomatic concession.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the correct completion: We lost the match, but ______

  • (a)it should be worse
  • (b)it could have been worse
  • (c)it ought to be worse
  • (d)it had been worse

  Answer(b) it could have been worse — 'could (have)' expresses the possibility that the outcome was not the worst.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the correct completion: The room is small, but ______ for the two of us.

  • (a)it should do
  • (b)it could do
  • (c)it ought do
  • (d)it had do

  Answer(b) it could do — 'could' here expresses that the room can possibly suffice.