Question

Complete the given sentence using an appropriate subordinator:
You want to sell your car. Jim is interested in buying it but he hasn't decided yet.
You ask: Can you let me know _________ you decide?

• A. if
• B. while
• C. as soon as
  
• D. after
  

Answer 1

Answer: (C), (D)

after
as soon as

The speaker that wishes to sell the car can only do so once Jim has decided, the given statement "Jim is interested in buying it but he hasn't decided yet" is a subordinate sentence as it depends on the principal sentence "You want to sell your car" for its full meaning. Hence when these sentences are contracted as a question, we use a subordinate conjunction to combine the two. The sentences are time related, as Jim can let the person, who wants to sell, know his decision, only after he's made it. Hence option D is correct. Option C is also correct, "as soon as" does not mean the same as "after", it denotes urgency compared to D, but it's correct because it relates to time wherein one event "let me know" occurs right after the other "you decide". Option A is incorrect because "if" is used when the subordinate sentence is conditional, but here it's time related. Option B is incorrect because even though 'while' is a conjunction used to relate to time, it is used when both the events "let me know" and "you decide" occur at the same time, whereas the events mentioned here don't take place simultaneously.