Responding to the dramatic affair, the minister of finance has prepare

Question

Responding to the dramatic affair,  the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences would soon befall  them.

A. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences would soon befall

B. a speech has been prepared by the minister of finance warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences will soon befall

C. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences will soon befall

D. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences had soon befallen

E. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences soon fell upon

ImChasmish · Answer

IMO A 
Was confused between A and C but chose A because A is conditional whereas C is certain.

Posted from my mobile device

Deadpool3 · Answer

IMHO - Correct Ans- C

Responding to the dramatic affair, the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences would soon befall them.

A. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences  would soon befall . ->Incorrect. with Unless conditional is mentioned in the sentence and "are" in unless clause, simple future (for the uncertain event) or simple present (for the certain event) should follow.

B. a speech has been prepared by the minister of finance warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences will soon befall -> Incorrect. "Responding ......" modifier modifies speech making it incorrect

C. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways  are changed , dire consequences  will soon befall  -> Correct

D. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences  had soon befallen  ->Incorrect. Explained in First option

E. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences soon  fell  upon -> Incorrect. Explained in First option

Thelegend2631 · Answer

Answer A is grammatically incorrect as it incorrectly uses the Future-Past (would befall) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence. We identify the sentence as a Conditional 1 sentence by the use of unless + the Present in the condition part (unless... are). Accordingly, the result part of the conditional sentence should be in the Future or Present tense.

Answer B corrects the original Conditionals error by using the Future tense in the result of a Conditional 1 sentence, but it creates a Dangling Modifier. The sentence begins with a modifier: Responding to the dramatic affair. A modifier should be placed right next to the noun it describes. The only noun that this modifier can logically modify is minister. The noun minister, however, is quite far from the modifier that describes it. Therefore, it seems like the speech is responding to the dramatic affair.

Let's have a look at answer C.   This answer choice corrects the original Conditionals error by using the Future tense in the result of a Conditional 1 sentence. This might be the right answer but we need to check all the remaining choices anyway.
Answer D is grammatically incorrect as it incorrectly uses the Past Perfect (had befallen) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence.

Answer E, on the other hand, incorrectly uses the Past Simple (fell) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence.
  Thus the correct answer is C.

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Responding to the dramatic affair,  the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences would soon befall  them.

A. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences would soon befall

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect as it incorrectly uses the Past (fell) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence. We identify the sentence as a Conditional 1 sentence by the use of unless + the Present in the condition part (unless... are). Accordingly, the result part of the conditional sentence should be in the Future or Present tense.

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

B. a speech has been prepared by the minister of finance warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences will soon befall

Although this answer choice corrects the original Conditionals error by using the Future tense in the result of a Conditional 1 sentence, it creates a Dangling Modifier. The sentence begins with a modifier: Responding to the dramatic affair. A modifier should be placed right next to the noun it describes. The only noun that this modifier can logically modify is minister. The noun minister, however, is quite far from the modifier that describes it. Therefore, it seems like the speech is responding to the dramatic affair.

What helps us identify this question as a Dangling Modifier question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign:

A modifier, characterized by all of the following:
1. Verb+ing or Verb in 3rd form
2. Separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma
3. Appears at the very beginning of the sentence

Whenever you see this Stop Sign, focus on the modifier: check whether the noun right after the modifier is indeed the noun that the modifier describes. If it isn't - you've found your mistake.

C. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences will soon befall

This answer choice corrects the original Conditionals error by using the Future tense in the result of a Conditional 1 sentence.

D. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences had soon befallen

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect as it incorrectly uses the Past (fell) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence. We identify the sentence as a Conditional 1 sentence by the use of unless + the Present in the condition part (unless... are). Accordingly, the result part of the conditional sentence should be in the Future or Present tense.

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

E. the minister of finance has prepared a speech warning the public that unless their ways are changed, dire consequences soon fell upon

This answer choice is grammatically incorrect as it incorrectly uses the Past (fell) in the result part of a Conditional 1 sentence. We identify the sentence as a Conditional 1 sentence by the use of unless + the Present in the condition part (unless... are). Accordingly, the result part of the conditional sentence should be in the Future or Present tense.

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

What helps identify this question as a Conditionals question as well as identify the mistake is the following Stop Sign: If / Unless

Responding to the dramatic affair, the minister of finance has prepare

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Responding to the dramatic affair, the minister of finance has prepare

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