satishchandra wrote:The health commissioner said that the government had implemented strict measures to eradicate the contaminated food and, despite the recent illnesses, it will try to prevent the outbreak from recurring in the future.
(A) it will try
(B) that it tried
(C) it had tried
(D) it would have tried
(E) that it would try
[spoiler]OA: D;
IMO: E [/spoiler]
However, E is not too convincing either.
Placement of 'that' should be before "despite the recent.... " What do you think?
To indicate the
future-in-the-past tense -- an action taking place in the past after another past action -- we use WOULD:
The health commissioner SAID (in the past)...that [the government] WOULD TRY (also in the past but after the government SAID) to prevent the outbreak from recurring.
Eliminate A, B and C.
In D,
would have tried implies that the government DIDN'T TRY, changing the intended meaning of the sentence. Eliminate D.
The correct answer is
E.
In E, the placement of
despite indicates that it modifies the primary action of the sentence (SAID):
The health commissioner SAID, DESPITE THE RECENT ILLNESSES, that [the government] would try to prevent the outbreak from recurring.
The meaning here is that the recent illnesses did not prevent the health commissioner from saying what he SAID.
If
despite were positioned after THAT, the modifier would refer to the action of the final clause (WOULD TRY), changing the intended meaning:
The health commissioner said that, DESPITE THE RECENT ILLNESSES, {the government] WOULD TRY to prevent the outbreak from recurring.
The meaning here is that the recent illnesses would not prevent the government from trying what it WOULD TRY.
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