Select the verb form that indicates an unreal counterfactual state after 'as though':
The junior administrator addressed the international delegation as though he ________ the plenipotentiary ambassador himself.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. were
Answer: were. Why not the others: 'was being' suggests a temporary progressive action rather than an irrealis hypothetical identity; 'is' is indicative present, which implies that he actually is the ambassador; 'has been' introduces present perfect aspect that disrupts the counterfactual mood.
- Step 1: Analyze the comparative clause: 'as though' introduces a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact comparison.
- Step 2: In formal English syntax, an unreal hypothetical state in the present or concurrent past takes the irrealis subjunctive 'were' regardless of the singular subject 'he'.
Practise more Advanced Conditionals, Inverted Conditionals, and Modality.
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