If the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer was written 500 years ago, hardly

Question

If the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer  was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone  would have understood a word of it.

A. was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
B. were written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
C. had been written 500 years ago, hardly anybody
D. were written 500 years ago, hardly anybody
E. had written 500 years ago, hardly anyone

ReedArnoldMPREP · Accepted Answer

"If X were true, Y would be true."

"If X had been true, Y would have been true."

"If X is true, Y will be true."

Since after the underline we have 'would have,' we must use 'had  .'

thakurarun85 · Answer

(1) General Rule with no uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza, THEN she BECOMES ill.
IF Present, THEN Present.
This pattern is equivalent to whenever: WHENEVER Sophie EATS pizza, she BECOMES ill,

(2) General Rule with some uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza, THEN she MAY BECOME ill.
IF Present, THEN Can or May.
Here, the helping verbs can or may can be used to allow for a somewhat uncertain outcome.

(3) Particular Case (in the future) with no uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza tomorrow, THEN she WILL BECOME ill.
IF Present, THEN Future.
Another possibility for the Particular Case (in the present) is Present Perfect: I f Sophie HAS EATEN
pizza, then she WILL BECOME ill.

(4) Unlikely Case (in the future)
IF Sophie ATE pizza tomorrow, THEN she WOULD BECOME ill.
IF Hypothetical Subjunctive, THEN Conditional.
Here, the writer thinks that Sophie is unlikely to eat pizza tomorrow. The Conditional Tense (would)
shows the hypothetical result of an unlikely or untrue condition. In place of would, the form could can
be used to indicate improbability as well.

(5) Case That Never Happened (in the past)
IF Sophie HAD EATEN pizza yesterday, THEN she WOULD HAVE BECOME ill.
IF Past Perfect, THEN Conditional Perfect.

Other patterns are possible, but if... then sentences that you encounter on the GMAT should conform
to one of these five patterns.

sivatx2 · Answer

Subjunctive mood example:
 If  I  were  you I  would  have gone to the movie.

A. was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone 
 Subjunctive mood requires were. Eliminate

B. were written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
 No error. Keep

C. had been written 500 years ago, hardly anybody 
 Subjunctive mood requires were. Anybody is informal. Eliminate

D. were written 500 years ago, hardly anybody 
 Anybody is informal. Eliminate

E. had written 500 years ago, hardly anyone 
 Subjunctive mood requires were. Eliminate

So B is the best answer choice.

asishron29181 · Answer

If the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer  was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone  would have understood a word of it.

A. was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone - Incorrect usage of 'was' for subjunctive mood.
 B. were written 500 years ago, hardly anyone - Correct.
C. had been written 500 years ago, hardly anybody- Incorrect . Incorrect usage of past perfect tense.
D. were written 500 years ago, hardly anybody - Incorrect
E. had written 500 years ago, hardly anyone - Incorrect. Same error as C.

IMO B

ak2121 · Answer

Can you please post the explanation for this one?
Im unable to wrap my head around why B is wrong

Posted from my mobile device

RahulHGGmat · Answer

Hi  thakurarun85 ,
I am aware of these patterns. However, I don't understand why option B is incorrect. 
If you know about that, I would request you to elaborate.

IanStewart · Answer

This sentence uses a construction known as a "counterfactual conditional". That is, it expresses a hypothetical about something known to be false. When we talk about a hypothetical past event that we know didn't happen, we use verbs in the same way as we do when using past perfect. So it is correct to say "if I had been alive in 1969, I would have watched the moon landing on television", or "if Shakespeare had been alive in the 1950s, he would not have appreciated the Theatre of the Absurd." So C is right here, and I'm not really even sure what B would mean. We use constructions like that in answer B when talking about hypotheticals in the present, not about those in the past: "If Neuromancer were written today, it would not seem as original as it did when Gibson wrote it in 1984" for example.

This whole topic is a bit complicated though (the complications are irrelevant on the GMAT though), and there are past situations where we aren't dealing with counterfactuals (things known to be false), but rather with hypotheticals (things that might have been true), and so the subjunctive mood might be appropriate in other sentences that superficially appear analogous to the one in this question.

Rasalghul853 · Answer

someone please explain why B is wrong. Thanks

Crytiocanalyst · Answer

A. was written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
Simple past isn't the right usage therefore out

B. were written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
Novel is singular therefore usage of were isn't right therefore out

C. had been written 500 years ago, hardly anybody
THe past perfect tense is the right usage therefore let us hang on to it

D. were written 500 years ago, hardly anybody
the novel is singular therefore were isn't the right usage therefore out

E. had written 500 years ago, hardly anyone
been is required long with had to convey the right tense therefore out

THerefore IMO C

Naptiste · Answer

I know that we can use "if then" construction in this case, but does anyone know what is the difference between "anyone" and "anybody" in this case? Hope I just rightly used "anyone" btw

Thanks

thakurarun85 · Answer

Can you please post the explanation for this one?
Im unable to wrap my head around why B is wrong

Posted from my mobile device

(1) General Rule with no uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza, THEN she BECOMES ill.
IF Present, THEN Present.
This pattern is equivalent to whenever: WHENEVER Sophie EATS pizza, she BECOMES ill,

(2) General Rule with some uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza, THEN she MAY BECOME ill.
IF Present, THEN Can or May.
Here, the helping verbs can or may can be used to allow for a somewhat uncertain outcome.

(3) Particular Case (in the future) with no uncertainty
IF Sophie EATS pizza tomorrow, THEN she WILL BECOME ill.
IF Present, THEN Future.
Another possibility for the Particular Case (in the present) is Present Perfect: I f Sophie HAS EATEN
pizza, then she WILL BECOME ill.

(4) Unlikely Case (in the future)
IF Sophie ATE pizza tomorrow, THEN she WOULD BECOME ill.
IF Hypothetical Subjunctive, THEN Conditional.
Here, the writer thinks that Sophie is unlikely to eat pizza tomorrow. The Conditional Tense (would)
shows the hypothetical result of an unlikely or untrue condition. In place of would, the form could can
be used to indicate improbability as well.

(5) Case That Never Happened (in the past)
IF Sophie HAD EATEN pizza yesterday, THEN she WOULD HAVE BECOME ill.
IF Past Perfect, THEN Conditional Perfect.

Other patterns are possible, but if... then sentences that you encounter on the GMAT should conform
to one of these five patterns.

Hi  thakurarun85 ,
I am aware of these patterns. However, I don't understand why option B is incorrect. 
If you know about that, I would request you to elaborate. 
Because We have conditional perfect (would have) not simple conditional in un-underline portion of statement.

RahulHGGmat

vishujn2 · Answer

Why we have used the word been in the past perfect sentence.
Been is used when there is no verb in sentence of past perfect here in the sentence verb is persent 
Than why the usage of been is correct?

If the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer was written 500 years ago, hardly

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

If the cyberpunk novel Neuromancer was written 500 years ago, hardly

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