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Difficulty: MediumConjunctions and Clause Structure

In formal English, conditional clauses can be expressed by inverting the subject and verb without using the subordinator 'if'. Consider the sentence: '_____ the regional director decide to approve the revised budget, the project coordinator will immediately initiate the procurement process.' Which word correctly completes this inverted conditional clause?

  1. ShouldAnswer
  2. B
    Were
  3. C
    Had
  4. D
    Would

Answer

Should
The correct choice is 'Should'. In formal written English, an inverted conditional clause expressing an open or possible condition is introduced by 'Should' followed by a subject and a bare infinitive ('decide'). This structure is syntactically equivalent to 'If the regional director decides...'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the subordinate clause
The clause lacks the conjunction 'if' and contains a subject ('the regional director') followed by a bare infinitive verb ('decide').
This structural pattern indicates an inverted conditional clause functioning in place of 'If the regional director decides'.
2
Evaluate the grammatical requirements for inverted future/open conditions
An inverted open conditional clause with a bare infinitive requires the auxiliary verb 'Should' at the clause head.
'Should' + subject + base verb forms a grammatically correct conditional protasis.
3
Eliminate incorrect auxiliary verbs
'Were' requires 'to decide', 'Had' requires 'decided', and 'Would' cannot introduce a conditional protasis.
Only 'Should' satisfies both the syntactic requirement of the bare infinitive and the semantic role of a conditional conjunction.

Key Concept

Inverted Conditional Clauses
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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