Question

Affording strategic proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco was also of interest to the French throughout the first half of the twentieth century because they assumed that if they did not hold it, their grip on Algeria was always insecure.

• A. If they did not hold it,their grip on Algeria was always insecure
• B. Without it their grip on Algeria would never be secure
• C. Their grip on Algeria was not ever secure if they did not hold it
• D. Without that, they could never be secure about their grip on Algeria
• E. Never would their grip on Algeria be secure if they did not hold it

Answer 1

The correct option is B Without it their grip on Algeria would never be secure

After reading the sentence, the entire underlined part seems to be incorrect. The sentence involves an assumption- 'because they assumed'- and then the underlined part is the assumption. Here, a subjunctive mood is necessary as the underlined half is a conditional - the correct subjunctive being 'they assumed X would be true'. this eliminates A('was' is incorrect) and C ('was not ever' is incorrect). D is very convoluted with its use of 'that' (reference unclear) and 'never be secure about (indirect). E has a similar issue- it is unclear what 'it' refers to and 'never would their grip' seems very wordy and thus inappropriate. Option B avoids all these errors and is the correct choice.