Choose the most suitable option to replace the highlighted part of the sentence:
Had I known about the traffic, I will leave earlier.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. I would have left earlier.
Error is related to / concept
Incorrect conditional structure (Third conditional).
What is wrong: The highlighted part uses will leave, which is not used in unreal past conditional sentences.
Grammatical concept:
- In a third conditional, we use:
- If + past perfect, would have + past participle.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: “Had I known…” is already a past perfect clause, so the result clause must use “would have + V3”, not “will leave”.
How to correct: Replace will leave with would have left to form the correct third conditional.
Correct phrase / correction: I would have left earlier
Final sentence: Had I known about the traffic, I would have left earlier.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.