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Pankaj0901
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Thank you IanStewart for such a clear explanation. This makes perfect sense now. :thumbsup:

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ExpertsGlobal5

If it is hypothetical, then why WILL BE is correct? I thought this sentence is not hypothetical with clear markers such as "at present" and "in the future".

I don't agree with the post above that describes the choice of "could" (instead of "can") as a 'stylistic choice'. There's a difference in meaning -- if you say "I believe you could be right", that means "I think it's possible you're right". If you say "I believe you can be right", that means "I believe you have the ability to be right." In the original sentence, "could" is much better than "can", and, just as in the examples I just provided, the presence of the word "believe" doesn't mean we can then freely choose between "could" and "can", nor does it mean "can" is a better choice.

As for how this sentence uses "will be" and "could" in the same phrase, the sentence is describing the views of a large group of people. Really there are three points of view the observers can have: the Middle East will be more stable in future, the Middle East might be more stable in future, or the Middle East won't be more stable in future. The sentence is just saying that most observers hold one of the first two opinions -- some think it will be more stable, some think it might become more stable. A sentence like "A majority of poll respondents said they strongly agree or somewhat agree with raising taxes" does the same thing -- it describes a large group of people, and suggests they belong to one of two mutually exclusive groups (you can't both strongly agree and somewhat agree, but by inserting "or" between the two, the sentence conveys that the majority are in one or the other category).
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reva
A majority of observers interviewed see the Middle East as unstable at present but that it will, or could, become less volatile in the future.

(A) that it will, or could,
(B) that it would, or could,
(C) it will be or could
(D) believe that it will be or could
(E) think the Middle East would or could

Key decision makers:
(1) Parallelism - To make see...but...() parallel we need a verb after but. In this case, only option D and E have a verb in the beginning therefore Option A, B & C are incorrect.

D - (1) Parallelism 1 - Believe is parallel to see as verb to verb, (2) Parallelism 2 - the non underlined part has "become" that fits could - could become - to make a parallel statement ".....or could become" we need "will be" not just will. (2) Meaning - Here the reason to say will or could is to show difference in certainty - it will be (more certain) or it could become (less certain). This sentence is not describing something hypothetical, it is describing something uncertain. Therefore, using simple past tense is correct. Use of could is not contested because all options have it. So we shouldn't get confused into thinking of subjunctive or conditional mood.

E - (1) Parallelism 1 - Correct structure - see one thing but think another, (2) Parallelism 2 - By using would, the sentence is essentially talking about a hypothetical outcome. Here, the outcome is uncertain but not hypothetical. Therefore, would is incorrect.

Therefore, option D is the correct answer.

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Hi,
I saw lots of posts explaining the use of will vs would and could.

But can someone explain how to break down this question based on parallelism? Also, can you provide more information on how to tackle such a question on D day. I got completely thrown off by it.
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A majority of observers interviewed see the Middle East as unstable at present but that it will, or could, become less volatile in the future.

Option Elimination -
(A) that it will, or could, - We need that after the first verb to maintain parallelism. Or it would be better to have a verb after "but" and before the beginning of the relative clause.
(B) that it would, or could, - We need that after the first verb to maintain parallelism. Or it would be better to have a verb after "but" and before the beginning of the relative clause. Moreover, this is not a conditional or hypothetical situation. So, the use of would is wrong.
(C) it will be or could - We need another verb after but some equivalent of see. Otherwise, how can they see it as unstable and less volatile simultaneously? D communicates that very well with the contrast. They see it as unstable but believe it will be or could become less volatile.
(D) believe that it will be or could - perfect. "it will be less volatile in the future" or "could become less volatile in the future."
(E) think the Middle East would or could - "would" conditional can be used with past "thought," but here we have present "think." So we need a simple future "will be."
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