Select the verbal construction that expresses the anticipated completion of an action prior to a specified future point:

By the time the new high-speed rail corridor opens in November, the civil engineering consortium ________ over three hundred kilometers of electrified track.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. will have laid

Answer: will have laid. Why not the others: 'will lay' describes a simple future action occurring at or after the opening, rather than one completed prior to it; 'is laying' expresses current present continuous action; 'has laid' is present perfect and cannot indicate future completion relative to 'by the time'.
  1. Step 1: Identify the temporal marker: 'By the time [present clause: opens in November]' specifies a future deadline.
  2. Step 2: An action that will be completed prior to a designated future time requires the future perfect tense: 'will have + past participle' ('will have laid').

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