Choose the expression or word which best complete each sentence:
If he had left home earlier, he .... late
If he had left home earlier, he .... late
Take Free Practice Test On 2026 JAMB UTME, Post UTME, WAEC SSCE, GCE, NECO SSCE
Correct Answer: Option E
Explanation:
Explanation:
This sentence is a third conditional structure, which is used to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past — something that didn't happen, but you're imagining what would have occurred if it had.
"If he had left home earlier" → past perfect (the condition)
"he would not have been late" → the result (using would have + past participle)
Why the other options are incorrect:
A. would not be – present/future conditional; doesn’t match the past condition.
B. would have not be – grammatically incorrect; "be" should be in past participle form: "been."
C. would not been – missing the auxiliary verb "have."
D. would have been not – incorrect word order; “not” should come before “been.”
Explanation:
This sentence is a third conditional structure, which is used to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past — something that didn't happen, but you're imagining what would have occurred if it had.
"If he had left home earlier" → past perfect (the condition)
"he would not have been late" → the result (using would have + past participle)
Why the other options are incorrect:
A. would not be – present/future conditional; doesn’t match the past condition.
B. would have not be – grammatically incorrect; "be" should be in past participle form: "been."
C. would not been – missing the auxiliary verb "have."
D. would have been not – incorrect word order; “not” should come before “been.”