Complete the mixed conditional construction:

If the lead researcher ________ so fluent in Mandarin, she would not have been selected to negotiate the bilateral research treaty last year.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. were not

Answer: were not. Why not the others: 'had not been' implies that her fluency was an ephemeral past state that terminated prior to the negotiation; 'would not be' incorrectly introduces modal would into the conditional protasis; 'is not' is an indicative present form that contradicts counterfactual conditional framing.
  1. Step 1: Analyze the temporal relationship: the researcher's language fluency is a permanent ongoing attribute (present state), while the selection event occurred in the past ('last year', 'would not have been selected').
  2. Step 2: A counterfactual present enduring state that influenced a past event takes the subjunctive 'were not' in the if-clause and 'would have + past participle' in the result clause.

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