cyrwr1 wrote:Is the OA C? Please give me insight about this question. Thank you
The answer should be C.
Conditionals problems will usually include three possible errors:
1) Mixing up or otherwise disturbing the correct structure of the three conditional forms.
Conditional I: If...present ......present / future
If the capital is invested, it generates income.
If the capital is invested, it will generate income
Conditional II: if....past simple/progressive....future past (would)
If the capital
were invested, the income
would be generated
Conditional III: if....past perfect (had+V3) .....would+have+V3.
If the capital
had been invested, the income
would have been generated.
Note that the order of the "condition" part and the "result" part can be reversed, but the structure must remain the same. For example, C inverts the order of the conditional, but is still correct:
the income would be generated if the capital were invested.
This is why it's important to think in terms of "condition (if) part" and "result part" - not in terms of "first" and "second" parts. Once we understand this, the problem with E is clear: it mixes up the second and third conditional forms. The result part comes before the underlined section, and uses "would", not "would have + v3"; this conforms to the second conditional and not the third, so we need past "were", not past perfect "had been".
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2) The second common error in conditionals is the error of C Vs. D: the second conditional uses "were", not "was". This is the one case where the rules of subject verb agreement break down, and is thus a favorite diction error: when using the second conditional with the past form of the verb "be", always use "were", not "was", regardless of whether the subject is plural or singular.
3) Last common error tested in conditional questions pits the conditional Vs. Whether: the question here is whether a true condition is actually needed, i.e. does the sentence present an if (condition) then (result) case, or just a whether or not case.
Incorrect: the weatherman is not sure if it will rain.
No real condition + result case, so the correct form replaces the conditional with "whether"
Correct: the weatherman is not sure whether it will rain.
