Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health

This is a classic case of the use of the command subjunctive and of //ism.

(A) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be -------1. you are missing the connector – that - in the first part while it is there in the second arm ; 2. First part is in infinitive and the second part is in subjunctive; unparallel.

(B) that seawater at popular beaches should be measured for their levels of bacteria, with the results being …. Should be measured is not part of a command subjunctive clause. This is neither fully subjunctive nor infinitive.

(C) the measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be -----ordered the measure and ordered the results - can these inanimate things be ordered?

(D) seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria, with their results ….1 Missing th all important connector –that-2. there is ambiguous. Does it stand for officials, or beaches or levels or bacteria?

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results --- correct choice. It fulfills the three essential requirements of a command subjunctive namely 1. the mandatory or the bossy word namely -ordered -. 2. the connector word – that- and 3. the base form of the verb – be measured and ( be ) published -.
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Your post title says it all!

The subjunctive mood must be used whenever you have an order or recommendation verb. Some examples of such verbs are order, mandate, recommend, ask and demand.

To properly use the subjunctive, the sentence structure is:

[subject] [verb] that [next subject] [infinitive form of next verb, without "to"]

For example:

Fred's boss demands that Fred be on time for work.
Financial experts recommend that investors do research.
Our professor asks that we be prepared for class.

On to the question!

When you have long complex sentences, you should start by stripping away the extraneous material. So, paraphrasing the original:



If we've trained ourselves well, we see the verb "ordered" and immediately think "subjunctive time!" There has to be a "that" after ordered - eliminate A, C and D.

Now we scan B and E and note that B has "should be measured". You never use "should" with an order or recommendation verb (you're already making an order or recommendation, so "should" is redundant) - eliminate B.

Only E fixes our subjunctive issues - choose E!

If we wanted to double check the structure of E:



There should actually be a "be" before published (which means that either the question has been mistyped or the original question isn't perfect), but otherwise all good.

I had this problem before too. But it is better to use POE. (E) is the answer because it stands out best.
This question simply tests subjunctive mood.

(A) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be
Missing 'that', unparallel.

(B) that seawater at popular beaches should be measured for their levels of bacteria, with the results being
'should' will not be in a subjunctive mood sentence. The use of 'with + noun + gerund' is almost always wrong.

(C) the measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be
Wrong use of subjunctive mood

(D) seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria, with their results
Wrong use of subjunctive mood

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results
You may ask why there is no 'that' before 'the results' and why there is no 'be' after 'the results'. I believe this ellipsis is appropriate. Just look

Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and [that] the results [be] published.

for the subjunctive mood, we need that. So eliminate A, C and D
In B should is wrong. And with the results being is also wrong.

E rectifies the problem. and it maintains ||ism
be measured .. be published

Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health officials have ordered the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be published.

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results
Command subjunctive and parallelism
he ordered that X and Y; the command subjunctive effect should be in both the parts so we have to avoid the use of anything such as,to be, be etc..before Y.

Hi all,

Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results published.

This is the sentence with the correct answer choice E. We all agree that this sentence uses the subjunctive verb and hence we need the construction “have ordered + that + Subjunctive verb”.

Choice E completely complies with that. The only thing here is that “be” is understood before “publishes”. It’s not that it is missing all together. It has just been kept understood and has not been repeated before “publishes” because it has already been used once before the first entity in the parallel list – “be measured”.

This is not an uncommon thing on GMAT SC. There are many sentences where we have seen that helping verbs are kept understood before the other entities in the list if that helping verb has been used before the first entity. This is the case with this one too.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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dont we need that before results

Hi Abhi, you might want to a refer to another post of mine in this regard: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmatprep-challengeq-the-bones-of-majungatholus-atopus-176167.html#p1394601.

In this specific case, if that was repeated after and, I believe there would have been a slight change in meaning. Let's take the following two sentences:

i) Jack's parents ordered that Jack go to the temple and donate to the priests.

ii) Jack's parents ordered that Jack go to the temple and that Jack donate to the priests.

Statement ii) seems to suggest that the two activities are independent, and hence are not revealing that the second activity is a subset/consequence of the first one.

In any case, none of the options has a that...and that.. structure, so it's bit of a moot point.

Nevertheless, for exam purposes, what is more handy to remember is the other way round: Whenever there is a structure such as and that, and which, and whose etc., there must be a corresponding similar structure (that, which,whose etc.) on the LHS of and.
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In option 'E' "be" is missing before published. Can you please tell me what is the rule for that?

GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo MikeScarn generis hazelnut daagh Bunuel VeritasKarishma

Hi himanshurajawat , welcome to GMAT Club.

• The verb be does not appear before "published" in option E because that second be is implied.

• The writer has used "splitting the verb" and "ellipsis" to omit words later in the sentence.

The officials have ordered two things.

For the first action, the author writes the entire verb phrase: have ordered that ABC be measured

For the second action, the author does not write the entire verb phrase again.
For the second action, the author "splits" the verb have ordered that ABC be [past participle/verbED]
-- the author repeats only the past participle for the section action (the verbED word published)
-- published is "split" from the rest of the verb phrase. Two parts of that verb phrase are implied.
-- the author does not repeat have ordered that and does not repeat be.

• Why Option E makes sense
Splitting the verb and ellipsis allow us to avoid having to repeat the whole verb phrase a second time.
After the verb is split* and parts of the verb are omitted, the sentence makes sense because we understand what seems to be missing.

Step 1: No ellipsis, option E (verbs are in blue):

State health officials (1) have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and (2) have ordered that the results be published.

Step 2: Split the verb and omit words. The whole first part carries over to the second event, which is indicated only by the word "published."

The author split the command subjunctive construction, which is written this way:
have ordered + that + subject + BE + past participle (verbED)

The verb verb involves no splitting and no ellipsis: have ordered that levels be [measured]
The second verb involves both splitting and ellipsis: and [results] published.
The words have ordered that and be are mentioned only once but carry over to both actions.

The text with strikethrough indicates what the author omitted:

State health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and have ordered that the results be published.

Step 3: View the sentence as it changes.
Remove the text that was stricken. Verbs in boldface type are actually stated and also [imply what has been removed].

State health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and [have ordered that] the results [be] published.
↓↓↓↓↓
State health officials have ordered that the level of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results published.

***
The use of split verbs and ellipsis is fairly common on the GMAT.
Below are three official sentences in which verbs have been split.

Spoiler alert: answers to questions are revealed if you click on the links.
This official question in command subjunctive splits and elides the verb: HERE
This official question, whose structure is sophisticated, splits and elides the verb: HERE
Finally, this official question splits and elides a verb around an idiomatic construction: this official question, here

In other words, the second "be" verb "be" is not missing. Both have ordered that and be are implied for the second task.
I hope that analysis helps.


*Splitting the verb?When we "split" a verb, the first part usually is mentioned only once and is implied before all of the other verbs.

• When a verb consists of more than one word (to study, had walked, be measured, be published), we can "split the verb" by breaking the words apart.
• The first part of the verb is usually mentioned only once, but that first part "distributes" to (applies to, carries over to) the other second parts of that verb.
• Correct: At trial, judges should project fairness, maintain court order, and deliver fair rulings.
The word SHOULD is mentioned one time before project and is implied before maintain and deliver.
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Hi himanshurajawat,

In option E, there are two elements joined by a coordinating conjunction, and. Let's take a look at E with a second be:

... state health officials have ordered that
(a) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured
and
(b) the results be published.

In such cases, the verb (or part of the verb) may be dropped from the second element if it (the verb or part of the verb) is repeated, as long as the meaning of the sentence is not affected. In this question, both (a) be measured and (b) be published start with be, and we may drop the be from the second clause (this is what option E does):

... state health officials have ordered that
(a) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured
and
(b) the results published.

It is not just the be that is "understood". The ellipsis extends to state officials have ordered that as well. Without ellipsis, we'd get:

... state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and state health officials have ordered that the results be published.

More examples:
If the truth were to emerge that the case began with an illegal police search, the evidence would quite likely be thrown out and the case dismissed. [1]

"the evidence would quite likely be thrown out and the case (would be or would likely be) dismissed"

Had Ney followed the standard military tactics of the Napoleonic Wars, and brought up infantry and artillery to pound the trapped squares, Wellington's centre might have been broken and the battle won. [2]

"Wellington's centre might have been broken and the battle (might have been) won"
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The subjunctive mood has strict rules that tell us how to go about it.

Well, in this case, we know that this is one such question when we see ‘have ordered’ in the sentence.
We also know that the subjunctive must be followed by ‘that’ categorically.

As discussed, let’s look for an option that begins with ‘that’:

(A) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be

(B) that seawater at popular beaches should be measured for their levels of bacteria, with the results being

(C) the measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be

(D) seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria, with their results

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results

We have only two options that observe the rule.

Eliminate Options A, C and D.

Now, between Options B and E, we see that the use of ‘being’ is awkward. This construction is incorrect.

This leaves us with Option E, the best choice.

Hope this helps!
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health officials have ordered the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be published.
1.Have ordered is command subjunctive.
So it should be followed by “that + subject + verb in bare form”

(A) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be
Incorrect – Reason 1
First part before and is using infinitive – “to be measured” whereas second part after and is Subjunctive using “that the results be…”

(B) that seawater at popular beaches should be measured for their levels of bacteria, with the results being
Should be is not used in Subjunctive.
What is their referring to ? popular beaches? waste-disposal companies? state health officials?
We clearly have a better choice.
Being published denotes the publication is in progress.

(C) the measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be
Incorrect – Reason 1

(D) seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria, with their results
Incorrect – Reason 1
What is their referring to ? popular beaches? waste-disposal companies? state health officials?

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results

Only one doubt I have is

that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results

Can this "be" applies to other verb "published"?

Hi gagansh1840,

Yes, that be is "understood" to be there. This post also addresses the same question.
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Hello Experts egmat, GMATNinja, VeritasKarishma, AjiteshArun

Can someone help me with my doubt here.

In the correct option E, why did we not use "that" in second half of the parallel structure?
Does the meaning of the sentence change if we use "that" in the second half? The option E would read:
"that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and that the results"

Thanks in Advance

Hi sidharthbanda1,

If the that were repeated, we'd need the full verb in the second half. But to answer your question (assuming that both X and Y in X and Y are introduced by that):

1. If we see a that in the first half, a second that is not necessary. Including a second that may help the reader understand the structure of the sentence (especially if it is a long sentence), but it is not required.
1a. ... that {abc and xyz} ← This is not a problem, especially in short sentences.
1b. ... {that abc} and {that xyz} ← This is generally recommended in longer sentences, but it isn't necessary.

2. If we see a that in the second half, we should not remove the first that.
2a. ... {abc} and {that xyz} ← If the second element includes a that (because it is in the non-underlined portion), it would not be a good idea to skip the first that.
2b. ... {that abc} and {that xyz}
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This is an example of using what's called a command subjunctive. "ordered that" is a bossy verb that must be accompanied by a non-conjugated form of the verb 'to be', dropping the 'to' and retaining the base 'be'. The only contenders here, therefore, are B and E.

Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health officials have ordered the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be published.

(A) the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured and that the results be X

(B) that seawater at popular beaches should be measured for their levels of bacteria, with the results being X

We cannot use the indicative 'should' in a sentence involving the command subjunctive.

(C) the measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be X

(D) seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria, with their results X

(E) that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results CORRECT

"order that...BE measured" is correct.
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Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and that the results of these measurements be published.

Concepts tested here: Subjunctive Mood + Meaning + Parallelism + Redundancy/Awkwardness

• The use of the verb “ordered” indicates that the subjunctive mood is preferable in this context, and “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” is a correct subjunctive mood usage.
• “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense; the use of passive continuous must be justified in the context.

A: Trap. This answer choice fails to maintain a correct subjunctive mood structure, as it omits the word “that” after the verb “ordered” and uses the construction “levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches to be measured” rather than the “something be done” (“levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured”) construction; remember, “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” is a correct subjunctive mood usage.

B: This answer choice fails to maintain a correct subjunctive mood structure, as it uses the construction “should be measured” rather than the “something be done” (“levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured”) construction; remember, “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” is a correct subjunctive mood usage. Further, Option B redundantly uses the word "should" alongside the bossy verb "ordered". Additionally, Option B is needlessly wordy due to the use of “being”; please remember, “being” is only to be used when it is part of a noun phrase or represents the passive continuous verb tense.

C: Trap. This answer choice fails to maintain a correct subjunctive mood structure, as it omits the word “that” after the verb “ordered" and uses the construction “measure of levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches and the results to be published” rather than the “something be done” (“levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured”) construction; remember, “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” is a correct subjunctive mood usage.

D: Correct. This answer choice maintains a correct subjunctive mood construction, “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” (“the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results be published”). Further, Option D uses the phrase “levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured”, conveying the intended meaning- that health officials have ordered the levels of bacteria in the seawater found at popular beaches to be measured. Additionally, Option D is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

E: This answer choice fails to maintain a correct subjunctive mood structure, as it omits the word “that” after the verb “ordered" and uses the construction “seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria” rather than the “something be done” (“levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured”) construction; remember, “bossy verb (“ordered”) + that + something be done” is a correct subjunctive mood usage. Further, Option E alters the meaning of this sentence through the phrase “ordered seawater measured at popular beaches for levels of bacteria”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that health officials have ordered seawater whose levels of bacteria have been measured at popular beaches; the intended meaning is that health officials have ordered the levels of bacteria in the seawater found at popular beaches to be measured.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Subjunctive Mood" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~3 minutes):



To understand the use of "Being" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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