Choose the correct opening for the contingency guideline:
________ any irregularities during the voting audit, the presiding officer must notify the electoral commissioner immediately.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Should the observers detect
Answer: Should the observers detect. Why not the others: 'If the observers detected' sets up a past/hypothetical condition that does not match the modal present directive 'must notify'; 'Were the observers detecting' suggests a hypothetical continuous scenario; 'Had the observers detected' sets up a past counterfactual condition that requires a modal perfect consequence.
- Step 1: Determine the type of condition: the main clause contains 'must notify' (an imperative/modal present directive), signaling a first conditional contingency (real possibility in present/future).
- Step 2: An inverted first conditional omits 'if' and fronts 'Should', followed by the subject and base verb: 'Should the observers detect'.
Practise more Advanced Syntax, Inversions, Cleft Sentences, and Subjunctive Structures.
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