Question

Identify the correct sentence from the options given below.

• A. If XAT aspirants had not taken so long checking each question before attempting the next question they might not have run out of time.
• B. If XAT aspirants had taken so long checking each question before attempting the next question they might not have run out of time.
• C. Had XAT aspirants not took so long checking every question before attempting the next question they might not have run out of time.
• D. If XAT aspirants had took so long checking each and every question before attempting the next question they might not have run out of time.

Hint:

Use had taken, never had took, and check that the placement of not keeps the cause and effect logical.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This is a third conditional sentence about an imagined change to a past event. It needs the correct past participle after had and a logic that actually connects cause and effect, since a conditional can be grammatically neat and still make no sense.

Step 2: Key Approach:
First eliminate any option using the wrong verb form, took instead of taken, after had. Then, among the survivors, check whether not is placed so the sentence's meaning makes sense, since a missing or misplaced not can flip the whole logic of a conditional.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Options C and D both use had took, checking every question and each and every question respectively, which is wrong; the correct past participle of take is taken, so both are eliminated purely on grammar, before we even look at their logic.
That leaves options A and B, which both use had, not, taken correctly in form. Option B drops the word not, which makes it read as if taking a long time helped avoid running out of time, an illogical claim, since taking long on each question is naturally what causes time to run out, not what prevents it. Option A keeps not, so it reads, they did not take too long, so they might not have run out of time, meaning the actual cause of running out of time was taking too long on each question in the first place. This matches how the sentence is clearly meant to be read.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Option A is both grammatically correct, had not taken, and logically sound, so it is the right choice, while options B, C, and D each fail on either grammar or logic.