Grammatical question. Q: of the seven continents were placed in the Pacific Ocean, there would still be room left for another continent the size of Asia.A. Each B. If each C. Were each D. Since each

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Henry

Grammatical question.

Q: of the seven continents were placed in the Pacific Ocean, there would still be room left for another continent the size of Asia.

A. Each B. If each C. Were each D. Since each

I know the Q is about the usage of subjunctive mood (虚拟语气）. I chose B, because the conditional clause tells a thing that would never happen.

Beyond my surprise, standard answer is C, explaining that the conditional clause is dispensed with “ if” and inverts the placement of verb. However, I notice there is still a verb—were in the clause.

So I wanna figure out ,

if there is no typo in the question, B is a right answer or not?

Or if C is the right answer, the were in the clause is redundant or not?

2019년 7월 17일 오전 2:37

댓글 · 4

As written, the correct answer is B, since we do not repeat the verb “were”. In order to use C, we would need to drop the second “were.” Also, we need the word “for”: It should be “left for another…”.

2019년 7월 17일

You are correct if answer C then there is a "typo" with an extra "were".

Seems like the author did not proof read correctly and has gotten two questions mixed up.

leaving the possibility of two answers to two questions

Question 1:

Q: of the seven continents were placed in the Pacific Ocean, there would still be room left for another continent the size of Asia.

A. Each B. If each C. Were each D. Since each ---- b = correct

Question two:

Q: of the seven continents placed in the Pacific Ocean, there would still be room left for another continent the size of Asia.

A. Each B. If each C. Were each D. Since each -----c = correct

2019년 7월 17일

Without the typo of the extra "were," this is an example of a type 2 conditional with the "if" being replaced by inversion.

[excerpt]

Conditionals with inversions

In conditional sentences we can sometimes replace the 'if' with an inversion:

<ul><li><em>If I had known </em>it would be so difficult I would never have enrolled.</li><li><em>Had I known</em> it would be so difficult I would never have enrolled.</li></ul>

Source:

https://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lesson_contents/verbs/inversion.html

2019년 7월 17일