Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardVerb Tense, Aspect, and Mood

Prior to the landmark discovery of the fossilized cranium of *Sahelanthropus tchadensis* in Chad in 2001, researchers lacked physical evidence of hominids older than six million years. If a team of paleontologists had not recovered this crucial specimen, evolutionary biologists ________ the precise timeline of early hominid divergence from the chimpanzee lineage, as it provided the earliest known anatomical indicators of bipedalism.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A
    still debated
  2. would still be debatingAnswer
  3. C
    would have still debated
  4. D
    will still debate

Answer

The correct answer is the phrase 'would still be debating'.
The sentence describes a counterfactual scenario where a past event (the recovery of the fossil in 2001) did not occur, resulting in an ongoing hypothetical state in the present (biologists still debating the timeline). This requires a mixed conditional construction. The phrase 'would still be debating' correctly pairs the past counterfactual condition ('had not recovered') with a present continuous counterfactual result.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the temporal and conditional structure of the sentence.
The sentence begins with a past counterfactual condition ('If a team of paleontologists had not recovered... in 2001'), which sets up a hypothetical scenario contrary to historical facts.
This establishes that the sentence requires a conditional mood to express a hypothetical outcome.
2
Determine the timeframe of the hypothetical result.
The result clause refers to an ongoing state of debate among evolutionary biologists in the present day.
Because the debate regarding the human evolutionary timeline continues to this day, a present continuous counterfactual result is required.
3
Select the correct mixed conditional verb form.
The mixed conditional structure combining a past condition with a present result requires 'would' followed by the present continuous infinitive 'still be debating'.
Using 'would still be debating' correctly conveys the present-day hypothetical consequence of the past event.

Key Concept

Mixed Conditional Mood and Tense Consistency
Rate this question

Topics

Verb Tense, Aspect, and Mood

More questions from this topic