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505-555 (Easy)|   Parallelism|   Subjunctive|               
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Tanchat
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 20 Jul 2022, 09:30
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generis
himanshurajawat
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.
Show more


generis

For me, I think it is literally weird to omit "be" in the second part.

I already did your provided examples. Those are common, but for this question, I think it is ok and quite common to have no "that" before the results. However, it is weird to omit "be". It is not clear. Readers may be confused whether "publish" is a part or verb (passive) or past participle.
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 20 Jul 2022, 09:33
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In (C), can "be" in the second part (after the results) be omitted ?

WT... Is it not weird and acceptable? I have never seen something like this before.
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 20 Jul 2022, 12:12
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Tanchat
I think it is literally weird to omit "be" in the second part.
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It is very common for the GMAT to omit forms of to be.

Other official examples:

So dogged were Francis Perkins’ investigations, so persistent her lobbying, that Roosevelt recruited Perkins to work within the government.
Here, the blue portion omits was.
Implied meaning:
So dogged were Francis Perkins’ investigations, so persistent was her lobbying, that Roosevelt recruited Perkins to work within the government.

Its numbers are now five times greater than when the use of DDT was sharply restricted.
Here, the blue portion omits they were.
Implied meaning:
Its numbers are now five times greater than they were when the use of DDT was sharply restricted.

My advice:
Do not eliminate an answer choice if your only concern is that it omits a form of to be.
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 17 Aug 2022, 23:38
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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.
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Can you please elaborate more in detail.
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 27 Nov 2022, 18:14
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Hey experts, KarishmaB

I have one doubt in Option E i.e. isn't that required after and to maintain that-that parallelism. The modified sentence as below -

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.

Since we have a new subject results, doesn't it demand THAT to be placed after and. Please do explain. Thanks in advance!
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 27 Nov 2022, 21:55
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waytowharton
Hey experts, KarishmaB

I have one doubt in Option E i.e. isn't that required after and to maintain that-that parallelism. The modified sentence as below -

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.

Since we have a new subject results, doesn't it demand THAT to be placed after and. Please do explain. Thanks in advance!
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We repeat 'that' if it is required for clarity. We could repeat 'that' when connecting two non-related items. Here, we are talking about the results obtained by measuring the levels of bacteria.

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

...state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and that the results be published
(makes one wonder which results are we talking about)

Notice that we could repeat 'that' if we wanted to give two independent directives:
...state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be measured and the results be published and that the amount of pollutants in the air be measured and the results be shared with the commissioner.


Also, 'results' is not the subject of the second clause.

Who is publishing? Someone.
What is he publishing? the results

'Results' is the object. Same is the case with 'levels of bacteria' and 'amount of pollutants.'
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Despite protests from some waste-disposal companies, state health 30 Nov 2023, 05:06
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