Identify the sentence with correct inversion after a negative adverbial:

'Under no circumstances ______ leave laboratory equipment unattended.'

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. should students

  1. Step 1: When a sentence begins with a negative or restrictive adverbial expression like 'under no circumstances', subject-auxiliary inversion is mandatory.
  2. Step 2: The auxiliary verb 'should' must precede the subject 'students': 'should students leave'.
Answer
should students.
Why not the others: 'students should' lacks the required subject-auxiliary inversion; 'students ought' lacks inversion and requires 'to'; 'must students to' incorrectly uses the bare infinitive with 'to'.

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