1

Problem

William knew that if it weren’t pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat.

2

Clue

Pronouns refer to specific persons, places, or things.

3

Hint

In the given sentence, it refers to the water.

4

Sumup

Please summarize steps

Choices

6

Choice-A

"William knew that if it weren’t pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat." This sentence is correct. The sentence is a hypothetical condition, expressing what would happen if something didn’t happen soon. In such cases, we use the subjunctive mood, which requires "weren’t", even with singular subjects like "it". The subjunctive mood is used to express hypothetical, imaginary, or unreal situations, often after words like "if," "wish," or "suggest." So, "if it weren’t pumped out" is the grammatically correct form.

Correct No change

7

Choice-B

"William knew that if some were pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat. " The sentence is incorrect due to the incorrect subject 'some, ' which is vague and doesn’t refer to anything in the sentence. It is confusing. It changes the subject from “it” (the water) to “some,” making the sentence unclear.

Wrong some were

8

Choice-C

"William knew that if it wasn’t pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat." The sentence is incorrect as it uses the indicative mood, which is used for real, factual situations. The sentence is hypothetical, so we need the subjunctive form → “weren’t”, not “wasn’t”.

Wrong the water wasn’t

9

Choice-D

"William knew that if somebody was pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat." The sentence is incorrect because an irrelevant subject, “somebody,” is used, which introduces a person, but the sentence is about water, not a person. This changes the meaning entirely and breaks the sentence’s logic.

Wrong somebody was

10

Step

Complete sentence - William knew that if it weren’t pumped out soon, the water would sink the boat.

11

Answer

Option

A

12

Sumup

Please summarize choices