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Question

Difficulty: MediumVerbs, Tenses, and Aspect

Complete the following sentence by entering the grammatically correct verb phrase in the blank provided.

Answer:Had the diplomatic envoy verified the credentials earlier, the conflict 【would have been】 prevented.

Answer

would have been
The initial clause 'Had the diplomatic envoy verified...' sets up an inverted third conditional (hypothetical past condition). To complete the sequence of tenses in passive voice, the main clause requires 'would have been' (or 'could have been').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the conditional structure of the sentence.
The clause 'Had the diplomatic envoy verified...' is an inverted third conditional representing an unfulfilled past condition.
Inverting the subject and auxiliary verb 'had' replaces the conditional conjunction 'if'.
2
Determine the required verb tense and aspect for the main clause.
The main clause requires a perfect conditional passive verb structure ('would have been' or 'could have been').
Third conditional structures require a modal auxiliary + have + past participle in the main clause to express hypothetical past outcomes.

Key Concept

Inverted Third Conditional Tense and Aspect
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Topics

Verbs, Tenses, and Aspect

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