OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONProject SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)
THE PROMPTQuote:
If a law had been passed demanding that hunters will be punished, the quagga would not have become an extinct species.
◘ ISSUES• command subjunctiveCertain "bossy" verbs such as
demand require that we use command subjunctive:
→ bossy verb + THAT + noun (subject) + BARE INFINITIVE
→ the "bare infinitive" is simply the infinitive without the word "to"
___ING words derived from those verbs, such as
demanding, also require the command subjunctive structure.
Correct: The judge, demanding that the lawyer be sanctioned for bringing yet another frivolous lawsuit, looked as if she were ready to throw her gavel at the attorney's head.• conditional sentences and correct verb tensesThe non-underlined portion of the prompt uses the word "if" and talks about something that did not happen in the past.
→ IF +
counterfactual in the past = Type 3 conditional.
→ Type 3 conditionals use (IF past perfect, THEN perfect conditional)
past perfect, active voice: HAD + past participle (verbED)
past perfect, passive voice: HAD + BEEN + past participle (verbED)
perfect conditional: WOULD + HAVE + past participle (verbED)
→ In Type 3 conditionals, the sentence describes the opposite of what happened.
Neither the conditional nor its probable result (in the past) happened.
Correct: If I had understood the joke, I would have laughed. (But I did not understand the joke and I did not laugh.)
→ The core of this sentence can be phrased this way:
If X had been passed, then Y would [not] have become(Remember, we are dealing with counterfactuals. The law did not get passed. The quagga did become extinct.)
We need both a command subjunctive construction and a "would have verbED" construction.
THE OPTIONSQuote:
A) will be punished, the quagga would not have
• command subjunctive is missing
→ the future tense
will be punished is not command subjunctive, which is required by the phrase
demanding that→ correction: . . . demanding that hunters
be punished
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
B) be punished, the quagga would not
• wrong verb tense in the second part of the sentence
→
would not become extinct is illogical: the quagga
would not become extinct in the past?
No. The quagga would not
have become extinct in the past.
→
would not become is used with a Type 2 conditional, not a Type 3
Type 2:
If I were you, I would not become a member of that cult.Type 3:
If I had been you, I would not have become a member of that cult.This option's second verb phrase is incorrect. We need
would [not] have become.ELIMINATE B
Quote:
C) be punished, the quagga will not
• wrong verb tense in the second part of the sentence
→
will not become is nonsensical
We cannot say that in the past, the quagga
will not become extinct.
→
will = future = Type 1 conditional, not Type 3
We need
would not have become.
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
D) be punished, the quagga would not have
• Bingo: the first verb tense is in command subjunctive, and the second verb tense is in perfect conditional
KEEP
Quote:
E) are being punished, the quagga would not have
• command subjunctive construction is missing
→ we need ". . . demanding that hunters be punished"
• wrong time period
→
are being punished is
present tense, whereas the prompt locks us into past tense
ELIMINATE E
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