Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. She was foolish enough to think that she be completely safe now.
- (a)is completely safe
- (b)have been completely safe
- (c)has being completely safe
- (d)were completely safe
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The underlined segment reads she be completely safe — a bare subjunctive, the plain form be with no auxiliary in front of it.
English licenses that form only after verbs and adjectives of demand or proposal: insist that she be, essential that she be. think is not one of them, so it takes an ordinary indicative clause.
The adverb now fixes the time as present, so the indicative needed is is: she is completely safe. That is option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)have been completely safe — have been does not agree with she, which takes has been, and a perfect also sits badly with the present-time adverb now.
- (c)has being completely safe — has being is not a verb form in English. After has the participle must be been, never being.
- (d)were completely safe — were completely safe is the past subjunctive, which needs a counterfactual frame such as if she were. Nothing in the sentence sets one up.
Concept
Two different things are called the subjunctive, and this item turns on knowing which triggers each.
The mandative subjunctive — that she be, that he go — follows verbs of demand, request, suggestion and insistence, and adjectives such as essential and necessary. Verbs of thinking and believing do not take it.
The past subjunctive were appears in counterfactuals: if she were, I wish she were. Without an if or a wish it has no licence.
Strip either away and what is left is the plain indicative.
The main verb was is past, so a candidate may expect backshift to was completely safe. The adverb now signals that the belief is about the present moment, and the present indicative is is what the key takes.
Key facts
- The bare subjunctive follows verbs of demand, request, suggestion and insistence, and adjectives such as essential and necessary.
- Think, believe and know take an ordinary indicative clause.
- The past subjunctive were needs a counterfactual frame such as if or wish.
Study next
Common traps
- Leaving that she be alone because a bare subjunctive looks formal rather than wrong.
- Picking were on the memory that subjunctives use were, with no conditional to license it.
- Reading has being as a valid perfect continuous.
Sentence-improvement items hang on one wrong form inside a short segment — 9 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.20 replaces for two o'clock with since two o'clock, and 12 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.16 replaces no good than with no better.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.