Question

If the President knew that his allies would let him down so suddenly, he would have handled them with the greatest care.

• A. If the President could know beforehand that his allies would let him down
• B. Had the President known that his allies would let him down
• C. Had the President knowledge that his allies would let him down
• D. If the President knew that his allies can let him down

Hint:

To invert a third conditional sentence, simply drop the "if" and swap the subject and "had". For example, "If I had seen you..." becomes "Had I seen you...".

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question tests the ability to rephrase a sentence using a different grammatical structure, specifically converting a third conditional sentence into its inverted form. The original sentence is a hypothetical statement about a past event that did not happen.
Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
A third conditional sentence has the structure: "If + subject + had + past participle, ... subject + would have + past participle." This can be inverted for emphasis or formality by removing "If" and inverting the subject and the auxiliary verb "had": "Had + subject + past participle, ... subject + would have + past participle."
Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The original sentence is: "If the President knew... he would have handled...". There's a tense mismatch here. The "would have handled" part belongs to a third conditional (past unreal), which requires a past perfect "if" clause ("if he had known"). The original sentence is grammatically flawed. We must choose the option that creates a grammatically correct and logically equivalent sentence. Let's assume the intended meaning is a third conditional: "If the President had known that his allies would let him down..., he would have handled them...". We need to find the correct inverted form of this.

Option (1) changes "knew" to "could know," which alters the meaning and doesn't match the third conditional structure.
Option (2) correctly inverts the third conditional structure: "Had the President known..." This is the standard, formal way to express the hypothetical past condition without using "if".
Option (3) is grammatically awkward. "Had... knowledge" is not the correct structure for this inversion.
Option (4) uses "can let him down," which is the wrong tense and mood for a past hypothetical situation.
Option (2) is the best and most grammatically sound alternative that captures the intended hypothetical meaning.
Step 4: Final Answer:
The correct alternative is "Had the President known that his allies would let him down".