Question

Fill in the blank with appropriate modal.

I ______ prefer not to give any explanation.

• A. would
• B. could
• C. may
• D. shall

Answer 1

The correct option is A would

Ruling out option B because 'could' is used to express ability to do something, which is not correct here because the speaker chooses to not give an explanation.

Ruling out Option C and D as 'may' and 'shall' are used to make polite requests or to express probability of occurring of an event.

Hence Option A is the right answer as 'would' is the past tense of will and is used to talk about the past or to talk about hypothetical situations– things that are imagined rather than true and also for politeness.