Select the option that synthesizes the two sentences using formal inverted conditional syntax:
1. The international consortium did not disburse emergency credit facilities.
2. The national central bank was forced to devalue the sovereign currency.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Had the consortium disbursed emergency credit, the central bank would not have devalued the currency.
Answer: Had the consortium disbursed emergency credit, the central bank would not have devalued the currency. Why not the others: 'Should the consortium...' describes a future possibility rather than a counterfactual past event; 'Were the consortium...' mispairs the subjunctive 'were' with past indicative 'was'; 'If the consortium...' uses indicative simple past instead of third-conditional 'would have'.
- Step 1: Analyze the original facts: both events are completed past occurrences. A counterfactual past conditional (third conditional) is needed to show what would have happened if credit had been disbursed.
- Step 2: Inverted third conditional syntax fronts 'Had', followed by the subject and past participle: 'Had the consortium disbursed emergency credit, the central bank would not have devalued...'.
Practise more Cohesive Devices, Discourse Markers, and Error Identification.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed MUET Malaysia (Malaysian University English Test) mock tests.
More Cohesive Devices, Discourse Markers, and Error Identification questions
- Select the formal discourse marker that introduces a concessive fact:
________ several contentious disagreements during bilateral trade tal… - Choose the concessive connector that correctly modifies an adjective phrase:
The newly developed synthetic catalyst achieved high molecular… - Select the formal subordinating conjunction that means 'since' or 'to the extent that':
________ the experimental methodology lacked double… - Choose the conjunctive adverb that introduces a reciprocal opposite proposition:
Developed nations possess substantial technological capita… - Select the discourse marker that introduces an explicit clarification or restatement:
The patient exhibited acute aphasia; ________, she ha… - Identify the underlined portion that contains a grammatical error:
The persistent degradation (A) of coastal mangrove forests along the wes…