Help me choose the correct answer please.

[Vietanhpham_Winter]

Yes C is the correct answer. In fact, this is quite an easy question if we pay attention to the phrase He COULD HAVE PASSED with merit which means he didn't pass with merit.
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Nothing's impossible! Never say never! They're what I've been following. Hope you to follow them too!

[Expatcat]

[Mkostya]

[Vietanhpham_Winter]

Complication? Don't keep on saying complication when I have posted the requirement of the question. Let's look over the sentence again: Tony did the exam so well that he could have passed with merit. So...that...implies that he's good enough to pass with merit but could have passed-a deduction implies that he didn't pass with merit. If he did, then we must use could pass with merit.
_________________
Nothing's impossible! Never say never! They're what I've been following. Hope you to follow them too!

[English Teacher]

Hi everyone,
I think ( a ) means = Tony had the strong ability to pass with merit, but...
( b ) means = Tony is an ordinary student who study hard and eventually he passed with merit.
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