Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
If Bruce had been careful, he ____ had an accident.

• A. will have
• B. have
• C. wouldn't
• D. wouldn't have

Answer 1

The correct option is D wouldn't have

The given statement is a conditional statement. The word 'had an accident' indicates that the tense of the sentence is past tense. Also, 'had' is an incomplete verb and requires an auxiliary to complete it. Thus, the answer must be an auxiliary in the past tense.

Option A is incorrect. 'will have' is an auxiliary in the future perfect tense and not past tense. Thus, using it will make the tense of the sentence inconsistent.

Option B is incorrect. 'have' is an auxiliary in the present tense and not the past tense. Also, it cannot be used with third person pronouns and thus, will make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

Option C is incorrect. 'wouldn't' is an auxiliary in the simple past tense but, according to the rules of usage, if an auxiliary is in the simple past tense then the main verb cannot be in its past participle form. Thus, using 'wouldn't' will make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

Option D is correct. 'wouldn't have' is an auxiliary in the past perfect tense. According to the rules of usage, in perfect tenses the main verb has to be in the past participle form. Thus, 'have' in 'wouldn't have' justifies the presence of 'had'. Thus, it is the correct answer.