Question

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in the brackets.
If I were you I ______ (refuse) to accept this money.
A) Would refuse
B) Will refuse
C) Refusing
D) Would have refused

Answer 1

Hint: In this question we are dealing with the subjunctive mood in English grammar. It is a tool used to talk about imaginary, hypothetical or unreal scenarios. The sentence here starts with ‘If’ which generally refers to a condition. This condition, as we read the sentence, is hypothetical. The tenses of verbs are used differently in the subjunctive mood.

Complete answer:
In the sentence given in the question, we have the verb ‘were’. Here the word ‘were’ does not indicate the past tense. For the sentence to be in past tense the correct verb would be ‘I was’. Therefore, this sentence is an example of the subjunctive mood.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Would refuse – if we use this to fill the blank, the sentence would be “If I were you I would refuse to accept this money.” It means that the action of ‘accepting the money’ is about to happen or happening right now, and this sentence is a suggestion to the listener. This sentence can be used for present and future hypothetical situations. Thus, this option is correct.
Option B) Will refuse – In subjunctive mood the word ‘will’ is never used in this form. We always use the word ‘would’ for indicating any kind of tenses. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option C) Refusing – This option has only one word and hence it is incomplete. The sentence in the question is not in the simple tense, therefore we need an auxiliary verb before the main verb ‘refuse’ in the sentence. That auxiliary verb is absent in this option. Therefore, this option is wrong.
Option D) Would have refused – If we fill the blank with this option the sentence would become, “If I were you I would have refused to accept this money.” It means that the action of ‘accepting the money’ has already happened in the past and the speaker is talking about a hypothetical situation that will never happen. Thus, this option is also correct.

Thus, the correct answers are Option (A) and Option (D)
(A) If I were you I would refuse to accept this money.
(D) If I were you I would have refused to accept this money.

Note: Other than the phrase, ‘If I were’ or ‘If you were’ we also use the word ‘wish’ to indicate the subjunctive. For e.g. I wish I were living in the mountains. It refers to something that is imaginary and might never happen in future. When there is a chance of an imaginary thing to happen in reality, then we use the word ‘hope’. For e.g. I hope he doesn’t pick up any bad habits.