Vocabulary & Grammar Flashcards

If the organization _____ more resources into staff training, employee retention would improve.

Answer: invested

The second conditional uses 'if + past simple' to describe a hypothetical present or future situation.

All written submissions _____ by email before midnight on the closing date.

Answer: must be sent

The passive 'must be sent' is required because the subject (submissions) receives the action rather than performing it.

The professor announced that the final examination _____ postponed by one week.

Answer: would be

In reported speech, 'will be' backshifts to 'would be' when the reporting verb 'announced' is in the past.

If the engineers _____ the design flaw earlier, the product recall could have been avoided.

Answer: had recognized

The third conditional requires 'if + past perfect' to discuss a condition that was not met in the past.

The revised guidelines _____ at the next board meeting scheduled for October.

Answer: will be discussed

The future passive 'will be discussed' is needed because the guidelines are the subject receiving the action.

The supervisor asked why the quarterly report _____ submitted on time.

Answer: hadn't been

'Hadn't been submitted' is the past perfect passive required by backshifting in reported speech with a past reporting verb.

If she _____ the application one week earlier, she might have secured the scholarship.

Answer: had submitted

The third conditional requires the past perfect ('had submitted') in the 'if' clause to express an unreal past action.