Correct variant of construction
The manager would rather the team ___ the contract last week, but it is too late to change anything now.
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Верный ответ
- Ahad not signed
Разбор
The construction 'would rather + subject + verb' expresses a preference about someone else's action. Its tense depends on the time reference: the Past Simple refers to the present or future, and the Past Perfect refers to the past. The time marker 'last week' and the clause 'it is too late to change anything now' show that the manager regrets a finished past action. So the Past Perfect is needed: 'had not signed'. 'did not sign' would refer to the present or future and does not fit 'last week'. 'would not sign' is not used after 'would rather' with a different subject. 'not to sign' is an infinitive, which cannot follow 'would rather' with a separate subject.