Hi,
Please verify the correctness of the sentences below for me. thanks.
1. Only by throwing most of the cargo into the sea will we able to prevent the sampan from capsizing during the storm.
2. Only by throwing most of the cargo into the sea are we able to prevent the sampan from capsizing during the storm.
Initially, my coleague and I agreed that will is the answer. But i revised it and found that there should have a "be" as able is an adjective. So i decided
that are is the correct answer. Am i right?
With 'will', you'd have to say 'will we be able to'.
Yes, 'are' is OK. Or you could say 'were'. In most real-life scenarios where you say something like this, you are more likely to be talking about a past rather than a present event.
Best wishes, Clive