Interesting Writting Question

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1

<p>Okay So this is directly from the 2004 PSAT:</p>

<p>People today, would be healthier if they have eaten, the lean meat, grains, nuts, and fruits that formed the diet of Stone Age hunters and gatherers.
I put commas in the sentence cuz i dont know how to underline. </p>

<p>A. Would be healthier if they have eaten
B. Would have been healthier if they ate
C. Would have been healthier if they were to eat
D. Would be healthier if they would have eaten
E. Would be healthier if they ate</p>

<p>Can someone explain why you can't say would have been...
Can someone give me an example of a sentence where you could use "would have been" similar to this sentence.</p>

2

<p>the problem is have eaten, although it's hard to tell with all the commas.</p>

<p>I believe the answer is E?</p>

3

<p>E~</p>

<p>If i had eaten.. i would have been~ i think
if i ate.. i would be..</p>

4

<p>E is correct, methinks.</p>

<p>For "would have been" to be right, it should be:
[ul]People today would have been healthier if they had eaten the lean meat, grains, nuts, and fruits that formed the diet of Stone Age hunters and gatherers.[/ul]</p>

5

<p>^i think there might be a problem with B, im not good at conditionals ,so i cant differentiate when to use 'had' and 'have', there might be...</p>

6

<p>Thank you Uttaresh...E's right...Thanks for the explanation and example</p>

7

<p>I would be between D and E cause I'd be looking fo they had eaten. Why is it E though and not D?</p>

8

<p>D is repetitive and wordy over E. Always choose the less wordy and repetitive answer.</p>

9

<p>also, D is wrong because of the main reason "would" in the "if clause". u cannot have would on both sides.</p>

10

<p>E. </p>

<p>This statement is in the conditional tense. </p>

<p>Since you used the clause “would be healthier”, there had to be a follow-up clause containing “if” and a verb in the imperfect form, which is “ate”. It’s like saying, “If I WERE a millionaire, I WOULD buy many cars.” or “I WOULD buy many cars if I WERE a millionaire.”</p>