During the summer of 1981, when it looked like parts of New York and N

Question

During the summer of 1981, when  it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run  short of water, many businesses and homes were affected by the stringent restrictions on the use of water.

(A) it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run
(B) it looked as if parts of New York and New Jersey would have run
(C) it appeared that parts of New York and New Jersey would run
(D) appearances were that parts of New York and New Jersey would run
(E) it was the appearance that parts of New York and New Jersey would be running

aritrar4 · Answer

(A) it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run

like is used to compare clauses. Incorrect.

(B) it looked as if parts of New York and New Jersey would have run

Use of participle "would have run" is not required here.

(C) it appeared that parts of New York and New Jersey would run

correct option. Though "it" doesn't have a proper antecedant, but this is acceptable in the context of this sentence. A simila4 example would be "it looks like it is going to rain"

(D) appearances were that parts of New York and New Jersey would run

"appearances were that" is not preferred over "appeared". Incorrect

(E) it was the appearance that parts of New York and New Jersey would be running

Same as D. "Appeared" is better than "appearance". Incorrect

Option C IMO

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ravigupta2912 · Answer

(A) it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run — “like” is used to compare nouns while we are comparing a clause here.

(B) it looked as if parts of New York and New Jersey would have run - “would have” is the incorrect tense. We need “would” to refer to future in the past.

(C) it appeared that parts of New York and New Jersey would run — Keep for now. No obvious errors.

(D) appearances were that parts of New York and New Jersey would run - “appearance were”? I think we need a placeholder pronoun here prior to “appearances”

(E) it was the appearance that parts of New York and New Jersey would be running - “was the appearance” is not correct. It doesn’t convey the meaning. We want to draw a parallel it appeared as if or it looked as if. “Would be running” is again incorrect tense. When referring to future in the past, we need “would”. Eliminate.

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SurajSharma · Answer

Why is C a preferred answer over A?

svasan05 · Answer

During the summer of 1981, when  it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run  short of water, many businesses and homes were affected by the stringent restrictions on the use of water.

(A) it looked like parts of New York and New Jersey were going to run  "looked like" is used to express similar appearance. This sentence is trying to express a future possibility and not similarity in appearance. Eliminate.

(B) it looked as if parts of New York and New Jersey would have run  Same error as in (A). Also, incorrect use to present perfect "have run" for a future possibility. Eliminate.

(C) it appeared that parts of New York and New Jersey would run  Correct answer - above errors are rectified and no new errors are introduced.

(D) appearances were that parts of New York and New Jersey would run  "appearances" is a plural noun which is incorrect in the present context. We want to express a possibility and not talk about literal "appearances" here. Eliminate.

(E) it was the appearance that parts of New York and New Jersey would be running  As in (D), use of noun is incorrect. Also, use of present continuous "running" for a future prediction is incorrect. Eliminate.

Hope this helps.

During the summer of 1981, when it looked like parts of New York and N

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During the summer of 1981, when it looked like parts of New York and N

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