consider and comprehension

[jiang]

Dear teachers,
In some countries, unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems as if the task ________ were insignificant.

a. being considered b. to be considered c. considered

I have four questions to ask:

No.1

The key is 'a'. 'a' means ' the task which is being considered'. Is that right? Could you please explain why it should suggest continuous tense?

No.2
'b' means 'the task that will be considered'. That means it suggests future tense as well as passive voice. Is that right?

No.3
I can't choose 'c' because it needs a past participle phrase when it is put after the noun it modifies. For example, I can say 'the task considered by us...'. Is that right?

If my explanations are right, could you please explain if the difference between 'a' and 'b' is that 'a' is a general case while be suggests future tense?

No.4
The part 'unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse' means 'if a job doesn't take much time to fulfil...', which implies even if actually it doesn't need as long time as it is supposed to be. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,
In some countries, unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems as if the task ________ were insignificant.

a. being considered b. to be considered c. considered

I have four questions to ask:

No.1

The key is 'a'. 'a' means ' the task which is being considered'. Is that right? Could you please explain why it should suggest continuous tense?

No.2
'b' means 'the task that will be considered'. That means it suggests future tense as well as passive voice. Is that right?

No.3
I can't choose 'c' because it needs a past participle phrase when it is put after the noun it modifies. For example, I can say 'the task considered by us...'. Is that right?

If my explanations are right, could you please explain if the difference between 'a' and 'b' is that 'a' is a general case while be suggests future tense?

No.4
The part 'unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse' means 'if a job doesn't take much time to fulfil...', which implies even if actually it doesn't need as long time as it is supposed to be. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

I'm going to skip the four options for the moment, because the sentence itself appears to be terminally flawed.

Let's eliminate the opening prepositional phrase because it has nothing to do with the structure:

Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems as if the task ________ were insignificant.

The opening clause sets up a condition: unless X, then Y. The problem is that the Y has to be about the task, not a dummy "it".

Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, a task being considered would appear to be insignificant.

That is far better. Now we can add the opening back.

In some countries, unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, a task being considered would/might/could appear to be insignificant.

The progressive form is used because the consderation is a process.

The original sentence had too many conditionals/hypotheticals in it: unless, seems, as if.

[jiang]

&
Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand part of it. And I know I can't use 'considered' because 'the consderation is a process' Could you please kindly explain how I can realize or what indicates 'the consderation is a process'?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

I'm going to skip the four options for the moment, because the sentence itself appears to be terminally flawed.

Let's eliminate the opening prepositional phrase because it has nothing to do with the structure:

Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems as if the task ________ were insignificant.

The opening clause sets up a condition: unless X, then Y. The problem is that the Y has to be about the task, not a dummy "it".

Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, a task being considered would appear to be insignificant.

That is far better. Now we can add the opening back.

In some countries, unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, a task being considered would/might/could appear to be insignificant.

The progressive form is used because the consderation is a process.

The original sentence had too many conditionals/hypotheticals in it: unless, seems, as if.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

&
Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand part of it. And I know I can't use 'considered' because 'the consderation is a process' Could you please kindly explain how I can realize or what indicates 'the consderation is a process'?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

The key is the "unless" clause. The writer believes that the consideration should take time. If it happens quickly, others will think that the proposal was not significant enough to receive the proper attention. It is this "period" of time" that calls for a process.

[jiang]

Dear Mike,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

The key is the "unless" clause. The writer believes that the consideration should take time. If it happens quickly, others will think that the proposal was not significant enough to receive the proper attention. It is this "period" of time" that calls for a process.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear Mike,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

You're welcome.