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Q22 - SC Test 4

Expert replies
by garson0in » Mon Aug 06, 2007 11:26 am
Q22

A historian attempting to predict in the 1870's which nation would take over world leadership from the British probably would have guessed Bismarck's Prussia and been quite wrong.

a)....
b) have guessed that it would have been Bismarck's Prussia and he would be
c) have guessed Bismarck's Prussia and would be
d) guess Bismarck's Prussia and be
e) guess that it would be Bismarck's Prussia and would have been

Please advise the answer with details.
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

Post subject: Q22 - SC Test 4

by [email protected] » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:30 am
IMO D should be the answer.
As the sentence implies supposition, would and be are the correct forms of verb.
Please let us know OA
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Re: Post subject: Q22 - SC Test 4

by garson0in » Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:48 am
[email protected] wrote:IMO D should be the answer.
As the sentence implies supposition, would and be are the correct forms of verb.
Please let us know OA
OA is A. Looking for an explanation of the same.
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by garson0in » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:27 am
Any explanations please.
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by givemeanid » Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:23 pm
The statement talks about an event in the past. 'would guess' implies a future event. Eliminate D and E. We need 'would have been' to signify an event that finished in the past.

B is wordy and awkward.

C has 'would be' is the wrong tense because it indicates that historian has guessed but hasn't been proven wrong as yet.

A has the correct tense. 'would have guessed X and (would have) been quite wrong'.
So It Goes
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by garson0in » Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:03 am
Thanks Anid for the detailed explanation.
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by graem83d » Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:38 am
I would also go with A
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