If the pharmaceutical company ______ the clinical trial protocol earlier, the regulatory approval would have been granted last month.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. had submitted
- Step 1: Identify third conditional structure: 'would have been granted' in the main clause expresses an unreal past outcome.
- Step 2: The conditional if-clause requires the past perfect tense: 'had submitted'.
Answer
had submitted.
Why not the others: 'submits' is present tense; 'submitted' forms a second conditional referring to the present; 'would submit' introduces an incorrect modal in the if-clause.
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