If they had told him he would have surely helped them solved the
A. they had told
B. he would have
C. surely helped
D. solved the problem
Please scroll down to see the correct answer and solution guide.
Right Answer is: D
SOLUTION
Option B is grammatically wrong. It is because the verb 'help' is not following the correct pattern here. "Help" is never followed by past participle. So, it should be "solve".
Explanation
Sometimes in a sentence, one verb follows another. For example, I want to buy an electric car. The first verb is 'want', the second verb is 'buy'.
In sentences like this, there are different possible patterns. For example:
(a) I want to buy an electric car.
(b) I hate driving.
(c) He helped me prepare for the exam.
In sentence A, the first verb is followed by an infinitive.
In sentence B, the first verb is followed by a gerund (-ing) form.
In sentence C, the first verb is followed by an infinitive without to.
The verb patterns are dependent upon the first verb. There are several different types of pattern. When you learn a new verb, you need to learn the verb pattern. Unfortunately, some verbs have more than one possible pattern! Sometimes, if a verb has two patterns, each pattern can have a different meaning or use.