as if

[michelle.siel]

Hi,
Please help me choose the correct answer:
a) You were crying as if you had tried to solve the problem and had failed.
b) You are crying as if you would have tried to solve problem and would have failed.
c) You are crying as if you had tried to solve the problem and failed.

I think c) is right and also a) could it be right if instead of "had failed" would be "failed".
Thank you in advance.

[MrPedantic]

Hello Michelle,

To me, both A and C sound fine; though of course they would occur in different contexts.

Is the question from a textbook?

MrP

[michelle.siel]

Hello MrP,

Thank you very much for your answer. The question is from a university admission test which unfortunately doesn’t have the answers. It is a translation of a Romanian sentence and the correct answer must be c) as they use present tense in the first part of the sentence.

Regards,
Michelle

[MrPedantic]

Hello Michelle,

If they use the present tense in the first part of the Romanian sentence, yes, it does sound as if C must be the answer, since A refers to a past event.

Best wishes,

MrP