Last visit was: 17 May 2026, 15:32 It is currently 17 May 2026, 15:32
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
pk6969
Joined: 25 May 2020
Last visit: 02 Jan 2022
Posts: 133
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 70
Location: India
Concentration: Finance, General Management
GPA: 3.2
Posts: 133
Kudos: 14
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
egmat
User avatar
e-GMAT Representative
Joined: 02 Nov 2011
Last visit: 11 May 2026
Posts: 5,631
Own Kudos:
33,457
 [1]
Given Kudos: 707
GMAT Date: 08-19-2020
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 5,631
Kudos: 33,457
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
Madison22
Joined: 03 Jul 2020
Last visit: 20 May 2022
Posts: 2
Given Kudos: 15
Location: Taiwan
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V30
GPA: 2.44
GMAT 1: 660 Q49 V30
Posts: 2
Kudos: 0
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
thangvietnam
Joined: 29 Jun 2017
Last visit: 04 Apr 2026
Posts: 743
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 2,198
Posts: 743
Kudos: 419
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
okdongdong
In an attempt to guarantee the security of its innovative water purification method, the company required each employee to sign a confidentiality agreement prohibiting that its water purification methods be disclosed to companies using an analogous purification process.


(A) prohibiting that its water purification methods be disclosed to companies

(B) prohibiting them from the disclosing of its water purification methods to any company

(C) prohibiting disclosure of its water purification methods to any company

(D) that would prohibit them from disclosure of its water purification methods to companies

(E) that would prohibit its water purification methods to be disclosed to a company

the idiom is
prohibit somebody from DOING.
we need "doing". not noun for this idiom. doing refer to the noun after "prohibit".

"the disclosing" is not right. in dictionary, there is no word "disclosing", but there is the noun "learning". why
"learning" , though looking like a participle/gerund, is a pure noun such as disclosure or action.

a pure noun can go with "the". "the learning" is correct.

"disclosing' appear in a sentence because it is a participle or gerund. participle is a form of doing which has some but not all features of adjective and gerund is a form of doing which has some but not all some feature of noun. gerund ,not having all feature of a noun , can not go after article "the".

frankly, I wish you to review this point in grammar books. find a good books because most grammar book dont explain enough about this point while gmat test this point frequently because this point is basic.

"the disclosing" is wrong because "disclosing" is not a pure noun and, so, can not go with "the"

in " prohibit somebody from doing ", "doing" is participle refering to somebody .
User avatar
lakshya14
Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Last visit: 27 Jul 2022
Posts: 348
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 529
Posts: 348
Kudos: 45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
CrackVerbalGMAT
DonnieDrastic
I thought that prohibit was followed up with "from" whereas forbid was followed up with "to"

When you say "prohibit from", the correct form of the idiom is -

"prohibit someone/something from something"

For example -
The court ordered the Bureau of Immigration to prohibit the accused from leaving the country.

Another way in which "prohibit" can be used is "prohibit something"

For example -
Kuwait was the only nation to prohibit the entry of Syrian nationals prior to Trump's executive action
Reddit's rules strictly prohibit revealing anybody's private personal information (Note here that "revealing ..." is a noun).

Let us look at the answer options -

Option A - Incorrect.
"prohibiting that its water purification methods be disclosed to companies" - Note that "prohibit" does not take the command subjunctive.

Option B - Incorrect.
"them" is incorrect. "each employee" is singular.

Option C - Correct.
This uses the second form of the idiom - "prohibit X"
X = the noun phrase "disclosure of its water purification methods to any company"

Option D - Incorrect.
"that would prohibit them from disclosure of its water purification methods to companies"

"them" is incorrect as "each employee" requires a singular pronoun.
"prohibit X from doing Y" is the correct idiom. "disclosing" should be used instead of "disclosure".
"would prohibit" - uses future in the past form "would". Implies that prohibition occurs some time after "signing". Illogical. Employees are prohibited from disclosing information as soon as they sign the agreement.

Option E - Incorrect.
Note that "prohibit + infinitive (to + Verb)" is not idiomatic.
"that would prohibit" is incorrect.

Hope this helps

But we have "required" in (A) that would take "subjunctive"?
User avatar
MH321
Joined: 07 Dec 2021
Last visit: 06 Dec 2023
Posts: 11
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 9
Posts: 11
Kudos: 1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
We need an adjective phrase that modifies the word 'agreement'.
The present participle phrase 'prohobiting...' modifies its precedence 'agreement' .
Besides, C is not redundant.
Therefore, Option C is the correct answer.
User avatar
KittyDoodles
Joined: 21 Jan 2020
Last visit: 26 Mar 2025
Posts: 93
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 346
Schools: ISB '27 (A)
Schools: ISB '27 (A)
Posts: 93
Kudos: 6
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hi Experts, KarishmaB

are options D & E incorrect because, as per the meaning of the sentence, the agreements were prohibiting at that time and thus we don't require the conditional tense "would".

Thanks
Kitty
User avatar
DmitryFarberMPrep
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 03 Mar 2026
Posts: 3,004
Own Kudos:
8,632
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,004
Kudos: 8,632
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
KittyDoodles

You have a point. Normally, you'd only use this kind of construction if the prohibition happened later. For instance, we say things like "She wrote a book that would serve as an influence on several generations of journalists." However, we can also use "would" if we are emphasizing the (known) future effects: "In order to keep his job, he had to sign an agreement that would prevent him from receiving overtime pay." That doesn't seem like what we want in the original sentence, but I'd say the idiom problems with the use of "prohibit" are the most compelling reasons to cut D/E. (See the Most Helpful Reply by CrackverbalGMAT.)
User avatar
VerbalBot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 01 Oct 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 19,427
Own Kudos:
Posts: 19,427
Kudos: 1,012
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
   1   2 
Moderators:
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7393 posts
575 posts
368 posts