Choose the part of the sentence which has an error.
Our team could have won the quiz / if our captain would have pressed / the buzzer a second earlier / in the final round.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → if our captain would have pressed
The sentence says “if our captain would have pressed”. This is wrong. The “if” part does not take “would have”. When the “if” part talks about something that did not happen in the past, it takes “had” + past participle (V3). So it must be if our captain had pressed.
Option 1: Our team could have won the quiz — No error. “Could have won” is right in the main part, for a result that did not happen.
Option 2: if our captain would have pressed — Error. “would have pressed” should be “had pressed”.
Option 3: the buzzer a second earlier — No error.
Option 4: in the final round — No error.
Corrected: Our team could have won the quiz if our captain had pressed the buzzer a second earlier in the final round.