Gary’s brother told him that he would attend the graduation ceremony i

Question

question taken from the gmatclub ultimate grammar book
from test 2

39. Gary’s brother told him that he  would attend the graduation ceremony if it would be possible. 
a) would attend the graduation ceremony if it would be possible
b) will attend the graduation ceremony if it is possible
c) might be able to attend the graduation ceremony if it could be a possibility
d) should be able to attend the graduation ceremony if it might be a possibility
e) will attend the graduation ceremony if it was possible

I hesitate between A and B.
Can't back up any of these solutions.

Thanks,

vietmoi999 · Answer

I do not think this is good question. all 5 choices are not correct possibly

if the main clause is in the past, the other clause normally in the past. we can not use "will" with "told"

some exceptions are that the subordinate clauses is a fact

yesterday, he told me that water boils at 100 C.

papahiroshi · Answer

Between a and b, b is better.

a should be a conditional sentence, so it should be as follows.

Gary's brother told him that he would attend the graduation ceremony if it were possible.

Hope this helps!

sleepynut · Answer

Hi all,
I couldn't pick any of these choices

a) would ..... if ... would : wrong
b)will...if...is possible : seems good but this is a reported speech in the past,hence wrong
c) could be a possibility : awkward
d) might be a possibility : awkward
e) will ... if...was possible : wrong pair of v-tense

Any help would be great
Thanks

sayantanc2k · Answer

Your observation is correct. For a future event within a statement in past, "would" should be used instead of "will". Moreover the pronoun "it" wrongly refers to verb "will attend". Option B has been modified to take care of both the issues. Thank you for pointing out.

(In the modified option B, the pronoun "it" is a placeholder, used to refer to the infinitive "to attend". Please let me know if you have any further query about the modified option B.)

sayantanc2k · Answer

Thank you, I was expecting this query.

First suppose that the statement is in present tense: Gary’s brother TELLS him that he WILL attend the graduation ceremony if it IS possible to attend...... this is not a case of hypothetical subjunctive - this is a case of a particular case in future with no uncertainty. IF simple present THEN simple future (e.g., If he plays the match, they will win). Now consider that the sentence is taken one step back in the past. The general rule is that all verbs are required to be taken one step back in the past as well (simple present becomes simple past and simple future "will" becomes "would"). Now the sentence becomes: Gary’s brother TOLD him that he WOULD attend the graduation ceremony if it WAS possible to attend. Thus you may see that this is not a case of hypothetical subjunctive, but a case of a future certain event from the perspective of past.

anje29 · Answer

Hi,
'it' is working as a placeholder here to postpone the infinitive subject 'to come' , which is ellipsis ( if it is possible to come) .

sallysea · Answer

Merged topics. Please, search before posting questions!

valardohaeris · Answer

Hi sayantanc2k,
 I am still unable to cross out A. what are the errors in this option ?

Thanks

VyshakhR1995 · Answer

Usage Of If clause

If "Condition",then"outcome"

Here 
IF clause tense Then clause tense
Simple present (a) simple present or (b) simple future

Simple past (c) Simple past or (d)would verb

past perfect (e)would have verb

example for each is given below

(a)If Roy plays with any toy,it is his bat.
(b) If Roy plays with any toy,it will be his bat.
(c)If Roy played with any toy,it was his bat.
(d)If Roy played with any toy,it would be his bat.
(e)If Roy had played with any toy,it would have been his bat.

Accordingly Answer Is B for this question

VerbalBot · Answer

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Gary’s brother told him that he would attend the graduation ceremony i

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Gary’s brother told him that he would attend the graduation ceremony i

Prep Toolkit

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