Had he not sent money on time, the poor farmer _________ his son ?

Select the correct alternative to complete the sentence meaningfully.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

MPSC Group C (Mains) Combined Exam 2023 Official Paper I (Held On 17th Dec 2023)

Answer 1

The correct answer is 'would have lost'.

Key Points

The verb phrase "would have lost" is the correct past conditional form.
In conditional sentences that describe a hypothetical situation in the past, the structure "would have + past participle" is used.
Options 1, 3, and 4 are grammatically incorrect in this context:
- Option 1: "would lost" is incorrect because "lost" cannot directly follow "would" without "have."
- Option 3: "would have been lost" is incorrect because it changes the meaning of the sentence to passive voice, which is not contextually appropriate here.
- Option 4: "will have lost" is incorrect because it describes a future conditional, not a past hypothetical.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

Complete Sentence: "Had he not sent money on time, the poor farmer would have lost his son."

Additional Information

Option 1: "would lost" is incorrect because "would" requires the auxiliary verb "have" when forming the past conditional tense.
Option 3: "would have been lost" is incorrect because it unnecessarily changes the sentence to the passive voice, which alters the intended meaning.
Option 4: "will have lost" is incorrect because it represents a future perfect tense, which is not applicable in this context.