Question

Complete the following sentence:
If you take the road next to the bank, you _____.
A) Reach faster
B) Will reach faster
C) Will be reaching faster
D) None of the above

Answer 1

Hint: The given sentence can be divided into two clauses, where the clauses are not meaningless when used separately as sentences. These types of clauses are called ‘independent clauses’. Though these clauses are independent, they are very much dependent on each other when they are used in the same sentence.

Complete answer:
The blank given in the sentence is in the second clause of the sentence. We must choose the option that generates a grammatically correct sentence in the future tense, because the first clause is suggesting that the second clause would occur only after the first clause happens.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Reach faster – On using this option to fill the blank, the second clause of the sentence would become, “You reach faster”. This is a grammatically incorrect sentence as it does not have a helping verb ‘will’ before the main verb (since the sentence has to be in the future tense). Thus, this option is wrong.
Option B) Will reach faster – This option has the helping verb ‘will’ before the main verb ‘reach’ and this indicates that the sentence is in the simple future tense. Therefore, this option is correct.
Option C) Will be reaching faster – In this option also has the helping verb ‘will’, therefore, it is in the future tense. This option also has another helping verb ‘be’. The main verb used in this option is the –ing form of the verb. All these different forms of verbs together generate a sentence in the future continuous tense. Since it is a type of future tense, this option is also correct.
Option D) None of the above – This option is incorrect, as we already know that options (B) and (C) are correct.

Thus, the correct answer is
Option (B) If you take the road next to the bank, you will reach faster; and
Option (C) If you take the road next to the bank, you will be reaching faster.

Note: Clauses are grammatical organization of words, which is next below a sentence in rank. Like a proper sentence, a clause also contains subject and a predicate. When a collection of words does not have both or either of the subject or the predicate, then it is no longer a clause. It is just a phrase. Phrases are just collections of words, which cannot act as a stand alone sentence.