Complete the conditional sentence: 'Had the emergency drainage valves been inspected regularly, the catastrophic overflow _______ prevented.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. would have been
- Step 1: Recognize inverted third conditional syntax ('Had + subject + past participle') expressing an unreal past condition.
- Step 2: The main clause of a third conditional requires 'would have + past participle' (passive: 'would have been prevented').
Answer
would have been.
Why not the others: 'would be' is second conditional; 'will have been' is future perfect; 'is going to be' is future passive.
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