According to a recent survey of municipal services, the city`s streets

Question

According to a recent survey of municipal services, the city`s streets could be cleaner, its fire code  be better enforced, and its crime rate reduced  if the current administration improved its management practices.

A. be better enforced, and its crime rate reduced 
B. better enforced, and its crime rate reduced 
C. could be better enforced, and it could reduce its crime rate 
D. better enforced, and its crime rate could reduce 
E. could be better enforced, and its crime rate reduced

generis · Accepted Answer

This question tests parallelism in lists.

The challenge lies in the helping verb structure.
 The first item in the list sets the structure. 
If the administration improved its management practices, three things could happen.

Option A:
  the city's streets could be cleaner  
its fire code  be  better enforced,  could ]
and its crime rate   ] reduced  could be ]

Option C: 
the city's streets could be  cleaner,
its fire code  could be  better enforced,   
and  it  could   ] reduce its crime rate

Option D
the city's streets could be cleaner
its fire code better enforced,   could be  is omitted] 
and its crime rate could reduce   be   is omitted;  reduce  is a verb, not an adjective or adjective phrase; and the sentence is nonsencial

Option E
the city's streets  could be  cleaner
its fire code  could be  better enforced,  
and its crime rate  ________ ] reduced  could be,  which the third item needs because the first two have that construction]

The items in all the options above are not parallel.

By contrast, option B is:
 the city's   streets  could be  cleaner 
 its   fire code   better enforced , 
and  its   crime rate   reduced

Although items two and three omit  could be , that omission is fine.

In general, helping (auxiliary) verbs can be split from main verbs in lists.
The helping verb 
(1) is rooted and "carries over" or distributes to the other two items, and 
(2) its accompaniments (e.g., the main verb phrase or adjective) are presented in parallel form.
--  Correct  : Please make sure that the junior associates have proofread, cite checked, and submitted the appellate brief.
In that construction, the   have  in (have + past participle) is implied in items #2 and #3. 
 Correct but repetitive :  Please make sure that the junior associates have proofread, have cite checked, and have submitted the appellate brief.

The words "could be" can be omitted after the first item, or they can be repeated (not preferred), 
but whichever is the case must be the case for both item #2 (better enforcement of fire code) and item #3 (reduction in crime rate)

Answer B is correct.

cool16 · Answer

Could anybody explain me how if- then construction works in past tense , in context of above question
regards

kitipriyanka · Answer

Answer options for this question seems incorrect. Also underlined portion is different from option A. There is definitely some error in this question.

Bunuel  :Please have a look.

Posted from my mobile device

kitipriyanka · Answer

If then / We follow the above structure in case of simple past. Use of any other tense/structure is incorrect. Posted from my mobile device

generis · Answer

Edited. Thank you.

generis · Answer

cool16  , would you please check option E?
I think that the last word should be  reduced , not  reduce .
That elimination is much too easy, and the answer pattern suggests that E and B have the same last clause. Please check. Thanks.

generis · Answer

I assume that you are just curious, because we do not need to know anything about conditionals to answer the parallelism question. The non-underlined portions commit us to -- an IF clause in past tense ( if the administration improved ), and -- a RESULT or MAIN clause in the present conditional tense ( could be ) When the IF clause has simple past tense, we have a Type 2 conditional. Type 2 conditionals deal with a hypothetical or unlikely condition and its probable result. If THIS thing happened, Then THAT thing would (or could or might) happen (or then THAT thing would be happening) Only a Type 2 condition uses simple past tense in the IF clause. That fact is our cue that could, must, might , or another modal auxiliary verb will be in the main THEN clause. (I don't care whether we define would as a modal. Just know that it, too, is a very probable candidate for the main clause.) The present conditional is formed this way: would or modal + bare infinitive (+ the infinitive of the main verb, without to ) Examples, IF clause in simple past, main clause in present conditional: We might travel more often if we had more time. If he was angry with me, I could not have known. He could buy his school books if you lent him money. Modals are allowed only in the main clause of a Type 2 conditional statement, and never in the if statement. So we are locked into a Type 2 conditional by the sentence's structure in the non-underlined parts. Further, modals (could, might, etc.) (1) can show up in type 2 conditionals and (2) can be split off from the main verb, but that fact is not a function of the conditional dimension of the sentence. We can split the verbs in a list because English allows ellipsis (omission of words). English uses reduced phrases and clauses all the time, not only in conditional statements.

Hope that helps.

Hahshsh · Answer

i marked the answer right but i cant find a concrete reason to eliminate optoin a

VerbalBot · Answer

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According to a recent survey of municipal services, the city`s streets

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According to a recent survey of municipal services, the city`s streets

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