OFFICIAL EXPLANATION



THE PROMPT

• Issues: conditional statements
Zero conditional: IF simple present, THEN simple present
Type 1: IF simple present, THEN simple future
Type 2: IF simple past, THEN present conditional (would + bare infinitive)
Type 3: IF past perfect, then perfect conditional (would + have + past participle verbED)

THE OPTIONS

• the condition (if) clause and the main/result (then) clause are not consistent
→ If . . .were requires would verb
Because the verb in the IF clause is in simple past, the result clause must be in present conditional (would + verb)
The result clause in this option sounds like a fait accompli. Finis.
The result clause is not rendered, as Type 2 conditionals require, in the would + base verb.
That result clause mimics what we would see in a Type 3 conditional.
We cannot mix a Type 2 and Type 3 construction.
ELIMINATE A


• Improperly mixes Type 3 and Type 2 conditionals
→ If had been = (if past perfect) = Type 3
→ [then] would have = (then present conditional) = Type 2

Careful. The result clause, would have, looks very similar to what Type 3 requires, namely, would have had (would have verbED).
The two result clause constructions are not the same.
Another complicating factor is that have,the correct verb, is not a helping verb but rather a main verb meaning "possessed."

We cannot mix Type 3 and 2 conditionals.
ELIMINATE B


• Good - we have consistency
→ IF simple past, THEN present conditional= Type 2
→ IF X were . . . THEN Y would have [have = main verb]

• This statement is a classic hypothetical
→ Its facts are possible but not very likely
→ Its time is now or any time
→ We are reading about a theoretical possibility (Type 2), not a lost opportunity (Type 3)
KEEP C


• improper mixing of Type 3 and Type 2
→ we can use "had" in Type 3 conditionals as a shortened form of an IF clause without the IF
had X been = IF X had been
Had he been quiet = IF he had been quiet
→ Had Texas been = past perfect = Type 3, BUT
→ would have = present conditional = Type 2
(as in option B, recall that Type 3 must be would have had)

Starting conditionals or hypotheticals with had or were (and should, though I do not recall having seen "should" in official questions) is a sophisticated way to phrase a sentence.
Improperly mixing conditional structures, though, is not sophisticated. Doing so is incorrect.
ELIMINATE D


• WAS should be WERE
→ Wrong: If I was you
→ Correct: If I were you
→ In the case of a hypothetical Type 2 conditional (something imagined, supposed, hypothesized), we change a to be verb to were for everything and everyone, singular or plural.
Wrong: If he was honorable, he would not lie.
Correct: If he were honorable, he would not lie.

We signal that we are talking about a hypothetical by using were.
We infuse this type of conditional with a subjunctive mood by always using were rather than was.

The usage of were only sounds strange when we involve the pronouns, I, he, she, and it.
We would never say "you was."
Similarly, in this situation, we must always use were
ELIMINATE E

The answer is C..

COMMENTS

These comments will be nearly identical to those in my other OE for today.

The Thanksgiving holiday just ended in the U.S.
The Lincoln Project created the most memorable Thanksgiving video I have ever seen.
The Lincoln Project Gives Thanks is the epitome of simple eloquence—in under two minutes.

You know, the effect of tryptophan really is a thing.
I wasn't too sure. I'm sure.

These answers are satisfactory.
Assertion is not explanation.
In keeping with a proven POE strategy in which we eliminate the worst four answers: Why are the four incorrect answers incorrect?
After reading a post, will a future aspirant who does not know this fairly difficult material understand why the wrong answers are wrong?

Be safe, everyone.

The 2nd conditional(hypothetical) for IF-THEN case is : If X were...(hypothetical) , Y would...

If Texas were a country, it would have the highest incarceration rate in the world.

Hence, C is correct.

If Texas were a country, it would have had the highest incarceration rate in the world.

IMO C

A) If Texas were a country, it would have had

B) If Texas had been a country, it would have (missing past participle)

C) If Texas were a country, it would have
Correct

D) Had Texas been a country, it would have (??)

E) If Texas was a country, it would have

If Texas were a country, it would have had the highest incarceration rate in the world.


A) If Texas were a country, it would have had Incorrect

had uses wrong,

B) If Texas had been a country, it would have Incorrect

subjunctive mood - had been wrong, were required

C) If Texas were a country, it would have Correct

D) Had Texas been a country, it would have Incorrect

subjunctive mood - had been wrong

E) If Texas was a country, it would have Incorrect

subjunctive mood - was wrong

IMO C

Can solve this question easily if we see the Meaning Aspect.

Posted from my mobile device

The official explanation is here.