Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
Yes, I know you’re tired this morning, but ____ to the party, you wouldn’t have come home late.
a- if you would have gone
b- if you hadn’t gone
c- if you have gone
d- if you wouldn’t have gone

Answer 1

Hint: Conditional phrases are those sentences that indicate one action or event depending on another action. Conditional phrases usually contain a main clause and an ‘if conditional’.

Complete answer:
Let us look at the usage of conditional phrases-
For example- I will visit the store if you’ll come with me. Here, ‘I will visit the store’ is the main clause that is conditional to the if conditional, ‘if you’ll come with me’.
In the given question- We can understand that if X hadn’t gone to the party, he wouldn’t have come home late and stay tired this morning.
Here, the main clause, ‘you wouldn’t have come home late’ is conditional to the if conditional, ‘if you hadn’t gone’.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘if you would have gone’ is an incorrect option because the given sentence requires a negative ‘if conditional’ to produce a logical meaning.
Option b- ‘if you hadn’t gone’ is the correct option because it is conditional for the main clause.
Option c- ‘if you have gone’ is an incorrect option because we require a negative ‘if conditional’ to complete the sentence.
Option d- ‘if you wouldn’t have gone’ is an incorrect option because we cannot use ‘wouldn’t’ twice in the sentence. The correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note:
 Conditional phrases are used to express the action of the main clause, which can only take place if the ‘if conditional’ permits it to.