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If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake

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ShirleyKL
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If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2020, 03:09
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C
D
E

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35% (medium)

Question Stats:

60% (01:03) correct 40% (01:29) wrong based on 158 sessions
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If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

Source: Ultimate GMAT Grammar

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I do not understand why "was" can be accepted in the OA. I thought that in unreal conditional sentence, "to be" is always "were"?
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D
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Kinshook
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Re: If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2020, 08:28
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ShirleyKL wrote:
If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

Source: Ultimate GMAT Grammar

Show Spoiler
I do not understand why "was" can be accepted in the OA. I thought that in unreal conditional sentence, "to be" is always "were"?


If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

IMO D
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Re: If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2020, 09:29
Kinshook wrote:
ShirleyKL wrote:
If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

Source: Ultimate GMAT Grammar

Show Spoiler
I do not understand why "was" can be accepted in the OA. I thought that in unreal conditional sentence, "to be" is always "were"?


If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

IMO D


Hi Kinshook

C may wrong because of using past continuous tense. But why “was” in D is correct while D is unreal condition?

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Re: If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink] New post   02 Jul 2020, 12:17
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ShirleyKL wrote:
Kinshook wrote:
ShirleyKL wrote:
If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

Source: Ultimate GMAT Grammar

Show Spoiler
I do not understand why "was" can be accepted in the OA. I thought that in unreal conditional sentence, "to be" is always "were"?


If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit his horse on the foot, causing the cowboy to fall off and roll down the hill.

a) had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
b) was a bit quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake ought not have bitten
c) were pulling the trigger faster, the rattlesnake might not have bit
d) was quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake wouldn’t have bit
e) had faster pulled the trigger, the rattlesnake shouldn’t have bitten

IMO D


Hi Kinshook

C may wrong because of using past continuous tense. But why “was” in D is correct while D is unreal condition?

Posted from my mobile device


This Question is wrongly formed. It should had been "Were" in the question, given that this is subjunctive.
From all the wrong choices, Option D was the least wrong. This answer is like choosing from the lesser of evils :lol:
+1 Kudos if you found this helpful :blushing:
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Re: If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink] New post   24 Apr 2022, 00:03
Hello from the GMAT Club VerbalBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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Re: If the cowboy had of been quicker to pull the trigger, the rattlesnake [#permalink]
24 Apr 2022, 00:03
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