would attempt/manage to

[joham]

He would ______ (attempt, manage) to add something, but she stopped him.
The given answer is 'attempt'. But I think 'manage' is fine too. And I also think we should change the main clause into 'He would have attempted/managed to add something (with the subbordinate clause 'if she hadn't stopped him' left out). Am I right?

Thank you in advance.

 

[emsr2d2]

He would ______ (attempt, manage) to add something, but she stopped him.
The given answer is 'attempt'. But I think 'manage' is fine too. And I also think we should change the main clause into 'He would have attempted/managed to add something (with the subbordinate clause 'if she hadn't stopped him' left out). Am I right?

Thank you in advance.

The fact that she "stopped him" means that he didn't "manage to add something". If you manage to do something, then you succeed in doing it, even if it is a struggle.

There is a tense problem here though. If he attempted to add something on a regular basis, then you could say:

He would attempt to add something, but she would always stop him;
OR
He would attempt to add something, but she always stopped him.

If it only happened once, then it should be:

He attempted to add something, but she stopped him.

 

[joham]

Thanks a lot, emsr2d2. Could we say "If she hadn't stopped him, he would have managed to add something"?

Hoping you can help me again. Thank you in advance.