XDF-S19-T2,rising inventories的数 can/possibly?
XDF-S19-T2,“rising inventories”单复数?can”v.s.“possibly”?
2.Rising inventories, * when unaccompanied correspondingly by increases in sales, can lead * to production cutbacks that would hamper economic growth.
(A)when unaccompanied correspondingly by increases in sales, can lead
(B)when not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, possibly leads
(C)when they were unaccompanied by corresponding sales increases, can lead
(D)if not accompanied by correspondingly increased sales, possibly leads
(E)if not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, can lead
The answer is (E).
The subject of the sentence is “rising inventories”,
Someone said it is复数, then the predicate "leads" is not correct, then kill choice (B)(D).
But
Anotherone said it is单数,considering "rising inventories"as a whole,then "leads" is no problem.
The problem of (B)(D) is "possibly", since the meaning of "can "and "possibly "are different,
("can" means“能力”“能够做某事” ,while "possibly" means " 概率上做某事的可能性",“可能地”)
then "possibly" can't replace "can", then kill choice(B)(D).
Thus comes my question,
Is“rising inventories”in the sentence 单数or 复数?
How to understand such a phrase as " v-ing + pls" when there seems to be a conflict between its logical meaning and its form?
Is the the above expalaination of the difference between "can" and "possibly" right?
can anyone help answer the questions? thanks in advance. |