In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Social media companies (1)______ claim that they promote democracy and are dedicated to the empowerment of ordinary individuals. The assertion (2)______ entirely unfounded. Recent history shows how (3)______ citizens have been mobilised against totalitarian regimes on social networking sites. Starting from MeToo to Black Lives Matter, digital networks (4)______ indispensable in bringing together critical voices against social and political (5)______ .
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank no. 2.
- (a)cannot
- (b)may not be
- (c)should
- (d)shall
Answer
Why
Correct — B. 'unfounded' is an adjective, and an adjective cannot be a predicate on its own. The blank must supply a linking verb, normally a form of be.
Only one option contains be. The bare modals leave 'The assertion cannot entirely unfounded' — a sentence with no verb in it at all.
may not be supplies the verb and fits the sense: 'may not be entirely unfounded' concedes the claim has some basis, which is what the rest of the paragraph then illustrates → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)cannot — cannot is a modal with nothing after it, so 'unfounded' is left stranded without a verb. The flat denial also overshoots a paragraph that immediately concedes the claim.
- (c)should — should has the same structural fault — no be to carry the adjective — and would express obligation or expectation rather than the writer's cautious concession.
- (d)shall — shall is again a modal with no be behind it, and with an inanimate third-person subject it reads as a legal or formal directive.
Concept
An English predicate needs a finite verb. When the thing predicated is an adjective — unfounded, ready, alive — that verb is a linking verb, normally a form of be.
Modals cannot do that job. A modal is followed by a bare infinitive, so 'may' has to be joined by 'be' before an adjective can attach: may be unfounded, should be ready.
The test settles this blank before meaning enters. Three options offer a modal alone; one offers the modal plus be.
'may not be entirely unfounded' is litotes — an idea stated by negating its opposite. The writer is not rejecting the companies' assertion. The double negative concedes it has some basis, and the next two sentences supply the evidence.
Key facts
- A predicate adjective needs a linking verb, as in 'The assertion is unfounded'.
- Modals take the bare infinitive, so an adjective can only be reached through 'be': may be, should be, shall be.
- not ... unfounded is a double negative that concedes a point instead of denying it.
- unfounded means having no basis in fact or evidence.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing on meaning first and missing that three options leave the sentence without a verb.
- Reading 'may not be entirely unfounded' as a rejection of the claim rather than a concession.
- Assuming a modal alone can head a clause when the complement is an adjective.
A cloze blank settled by structure rather than sense also appears at 23 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.25, where the key is 'should not be restricted' and the trap option is 'should restricted' — the same missing 'be'.
In this passage, English Q.23 and Q.25 are decided on meaning instead.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.