NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 1 –42Wisdom Paves the Way (play) — Let us learn (IV–VI) — Modal verbs

Book page 41 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

IV. Match the highlighted words in the sentences in Column 1 with the functions they express in Column 2. Column 1: 1. I will gladly pay your fee if you can cure it. 2. You must have stolen it and sold it off. 3. You shall come with me to face the King! 4. How could you possibly know that? 5. I am confident he would recognise our talents and appoint us to his service. 6. A camel with a long tail would have fended off these pests with ease. 7. They may tell us more than meets the eye. 8. May your wisdom shine upon Ujjain and guide us to prosperity. 9. Indeed, we ought to be united in this hope. 10. We need to devise a strategy. 11. You speak of my camel as if it stood before you, yet you dare to claim not to have seen it! Column 2: (i) expression of disbelief, (ii) imagined (hypothetical) possibility, (iii) moral obligation or advice, (iv) challenge, (v) logical conclusion, (vi) wish or hope, (vii) necessity, (viii) prediction, (ix) willingness, (x) command, (xi) possibility

Answer

No.	Modal / expression	Function	Why
1	will gladly pay	(ix) willingness	the word gladly settles it — he is offering, not predicting
2	You must have stolen it	(v) logical conclusion	must have + past participle = the only explanation the speaker can see
3	You shall come with me	(x) command	shall with you as subject is an order, not a plan
4	How could you possibly know	(i) expression of disbelief	possibly in a question turns could into astonishment
5	he would recognise our talents	(viii) prediction	a confident statement about what the King will do
6	would have fended off	(ii) imagined (hypothetical) possibility	an imaginary camel that does not exist — the tail is short
7	They may tell us	(xi) possibility	the tracks might or might not reveal more
8	May your wisdom shine	(vi) wish or hope	may at the head of the sentence is a blessing
9	we ought to be united	(iii) moral obligation or advice	ought to = what is right, not what is compulsory
10	We need to devise	(vii) necessity	something the situation requires
11	you dare to claim	(iv) challenge	dare throws the accusation back at the listener

The two pairs designed to catch you out:

7 and 8 both use may. Position decides the meaning: may after the subject (“They may tell us”) is possibility; may before it (“May your wisdom shine”) is a wish. Word order carries the whole difference.
5 and 6 both use would. The bare form would recognise looks forward to something expected; would have + past participle looks back at something that never happened. One is a prediction, the other an impossibility.

Q2.

V. Complete the following story with modal verbs in the box given below by using the clues from the functions given within brackets. may · must · should · can · might · could · need to An old man, known for his wisdom, lived in a small village. One day, a young boy asked him, “How 1. _______ (ability) I become wise like you?” The old man smiled and said, “Wisdom 2._______ (necessity) be earned through patience. You 3. _______ (suggestion) listen, more than you speak.” The boy thought for a while and replied, “It 4. _______ (weak possibility) take years, but I’ll try.” The old man nodded. “You 5._______ (obligation) learn from your mistakes too. Wisdom 6. _______ (possibility) come slowly, but it always arrives for those who seek it.” The boy knew he 7. _______ (ability) become wise if he followed the old man’s advice.

Answer

Blank	Modal	Function asked for	Why this one
1	can	ability	present ability, in a direct question — “How can I become wise?”
2	must	necessity	the strongest modal; there is no other way to earn wisdom
3	should	suggestion	advice, not an order — the old man is recommending, not commanding
4	might	weak possibility	might is weaker than may; the boy is unsure how long it will take
5	need to	obligation	something required by the situation itself
6	may	possibility	an open possibility — wisdom may arrive slowly, or not
7	could	ability	past-tense narration (“The boy knew”), so can shifts to could

Why 1 and 7 take different words for the same function: Both mark ability, but blank 1 sits inside the boy’s spoken question, in the present — can. Blank 7 sits in the narrator’s sentence “The boy knew he ___ become wise”, and after a past-tense verb of reporting, can becomes could. This shift is called backshift, and it is the same rule that turns will into would in reported speech.

Tip: Each of the seven words is used exactly once. If you have written one twice, an earlier blank is wrong — check 4 and 6 first, since may and might are the pair students most often swap. Remember: might is the weaker of the two.

Q3.

VI. Rewrite the following sentences using appropriate modal verbs. You may take clues from the highlighted words. One example has been done for you. 1. It is advisable for you to think before you speak. → You should think before you speak. 2. It is unnecessary to worry about things beyond your control.

Answer

You need not worry about things beyond your control.

Which modal, and why: the clue is unnecessary → the absence of necessity → need not (or do not have to). Take care not to write must not: “You must not worry” would forbid worrying, which is a very different statement. Need not removes an obligation; must not creates a prohibition.

Q4.

3. It is not possible for a person to gain experience without taking risks.

Answer

A person cannot gain experience without taking risks.

Tip: Not possible → cannot. Keep “a person” as the subject; rewriting it as “You cannot gain experience…” narrows a general truth into personal advice and loses the meaning of the original.

Q5.

4. It is essential to treat others with kindness, even when they disagree with you.

Answer

You must treat others with kindness, even when they disagree with you.

Why must and not should: the clue word is essential, which is stronger than advisable. Sentence 1 of the exercise used advisable and took should; this one raises the strength, so the modal must rise with it. Matching the force of the modal to the force of the adjective is the whole point of the exercise.

Q6.

5. It is not allowed to interrupt when someone else is speaking.

Answer

You must not interrupt when someone else is speaking.

The contrast with sentence 2: not allowed is a prohibition, so here must not is correct — the very word that was wrong in sentence 2. Put the two side by side:

need not = you are free not to (no obligation)
must not = you are forbidden to (a prohibition)

May not would also be acceptable here, in the sense of “not permitted”.

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