Multiple choice

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is the best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose any one of the others.

Had he realized how near he was to qualifying, he would appear in the examination.

  1. he would appear in the examination.

  2. he would have appeared in the examination.

  3. he must appear in the examination.

  4. he could have appeared in the examination.

  5. he might have had appeared in the examination.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Explanation for (1): The sentence bears the error of construction of conditional sentence. A sentence beginning with 'had' should take 'would have' in another clause.

Explanation for (2): The sentence bears the error of construction of conditional sentence. A sentence beginning with 'had' should take 'would have' in another clause. This option corrects the error.

Explanation for (3): This option does not rectify the error of construction of conditional sentence. 'He must' is prescriptive, which is incorrect in context.
Explanation for (4): This option does not rectify the error of construction of conditional sentence. Explanation for (5): This option does not rectify the error of construction of conditional sentence. ('Might have' shows probability of occurrence in the past.)

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