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himanshu0123
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In August 2013, India was the first nation on record to declare 18 Aug 2022, 02:27
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is the usage of 'to be' correct in option A] Please guide why not?
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In August 2013, India was the first nation on record to declare 18 Aug 2022, 04:25
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himanshu0123
is the usage of 'to be' correct in option A] Please guide why not?
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Hello himanshu0123,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the use of "to be" in Option A is unidiomatic; Option A incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "declare X to be Y"; "declared/declared X,Y" and "declare/declared + that + clause" are the correct, idiomatic constructions.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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In August 2013, India was the first nation on record to declare 18 Aug 2022, 07:57
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himanshu0123
is the usage of 'to be' correct in option A] Please guide why not?
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Hi there. "To be" is unidiomatic, and arguably redundant.

Also note--some of the explanations already posted include this piece of information! Be sure to check other posts to see if your question has been asked or answered already--you might save yourself some time that way.
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In August 2013, India was the first nation on record to declare 04 Dec 2023, 07:01
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In August 2013, India was the first nation on record to declare dolphins to be non-human persons with their own rights and ban the capture and import of them for the purpose of commercial entertainment.

Option Elimination

(A) to be non-human persons with their own rights and ban the capture and import of them - declare X, Y (The court declared John the rightful heir to the estate) or declare that (The company declared that it would invest in new technologies). Moreover, "banning" is an aftereffect of declaring dolphins non-humans, so a comma + ING construction is better, as shared in option E.

(B) should be non-human persons with their own rights and ban the capture and import of them - "should" as a modal verb is wrong. There is no obligation. They just did it, and we are just sharing what they did. The same issue of "and." Moreover, on one side of "and," we have a clause with the subject dolphins, and the verb should be, while on the other side, we have a phrase, a structure that is not parallel.

(C) as being non-human persons with their own rights and banning the capture and import of them - The phrase "as being" is typically used to imply a state of existence or identity. The sentence discusses a declaration made by India regarding dolphins, declaring them as non-human persons with their rights. This declaration does not portray dolphins in a particular state of existence or identity; instead, it states a fact or decision. Moreover, the same issue of "and."

(D) as if non-human persons with their own rights and ban the capture and import of them - the usage of "as if" implies a hypothetical comparison rather than a declaration of dolphins as non-humans. Moreover, the same "and" issue.

(E) non-human persons with their own rights, banning dolphin capture and importation - ok
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