The students looked as though they ... out.

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

The next question I am going to ask is the tense problem.

The students looked as though they … out.

  1. were going

  2. went

  3. would go

  4. had been going

    My versions are (2) and (4), but I’m not sure.

    Which answer is correct?

    Thanks.

2

…‘as though they were going out’ is correct.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: Why can’t I access the Internet?[YSaerTTEW443543]

3

Why not ‘as though they would go out’? A situation like “Come what may, we will go out”!

4

You’re probably right.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, question-response: Good game, wasn’t it?[YSaerTTEW443543]

5

To me the question is somewhat unclear because the phrases verb “go out” means to date, like in the song “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”

6

Hi Luschen,

Interesting. I would not immediately assume that ‘go out’ on its own suggests ‘date’. I would want ‘go out with’ to indicate that. For me the first meaning would simply mean - leave the house. Example - I’m going out later. Is there anything I can get for you at the shops?

Alan

7

The test question looked dubious to me from the very beginning and I’m still not sure about its correctness. What would you make of it without a context? Why should one look as though one would go out?
If it was meant to say the students were bored to death\loath to be present there, I’d expect “…looked like they’d rather go out” in the original.
If, as Luschen suggested, it was about dating, it does sound strange as a standalone.
In any case, if I were a person deciding on its validity, I’d cross it out (two different readings from two native speakers doesn’t add clarity to the question for me.)

8

I agree with Eugene. If the questions were:

The students looked as though they … out into the hall.

or

The students looked as though they … out for months.

then the answers would be obvious.