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Andrewcoleman

Those examples still apply to the verb phrase "was passed." Why was the law passed? To discourage shootings. In any case, we can do the same thing with some nouns. For instance, we can say "The purpose is to discourage shootings."
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Concept tested: SV agreement, Meaning.
Difficulty level: High
Illustration:
This question tests a very important aspect of meaning. First, we know
that the main verb in the underlined portion “protect” is wrong as the main
subject “compliance is singular. (Note that protect is not being used as a command
subjunctive in A. “be” is used as the command subjunctive).
According to this logic, A and C are wrong.
Now among B, D and E, “to require” indicates purpose of the law which is not the intended meaning
(please refer to the tip below). So, D and E are incorrect.
B is the correct answer.

Tip: “Laws to require” indicates purpose of the law, but “laws requiring indicates
contents of the law. While this might sound very obvious to natives, but non natives
might have to struggle to get this clearly. Consider the following examples.
1.Arms act is passed to discourage random public shootings. Correct
2.Arms act is passed to levy heavy fines on people who carry unlicensed
firearm. Wrong.

2 is wrong because the arms act is not issued to levy fines. It is issued to prevent
something by levying fines. So the correct option is B.
Show more


souvik101990 - thanks for the explanation. please explain what is "command subjunctive"? I have never heard something like this all my life.
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souvik101990
Concept tested: SV agreement, Meaning.
Difficulty level: High
Illustration:
This question tests a very important aspect of meaning. First, we know
that the main verb in the underlined portion “protect” is wrong as the main
subject “compliance is singular. (Note that protect is not being used as a command
subjunctive in A. “be” is used as the command subjunctive).
According to this logic, A and C are wrong.
Now among B, D and E, “to require” indicates purpose of the law which is not the intended meaning
(please refer to the tip below). So, D and E are incorrect.
B is the correct answer.

Tip: “Laws to require” indicates purpose of the law, but “laws requiring indicates
contents of the law. While this might sound very obvious to natives, but non natives
might have to struggle to get this clearly. Consider the following examples.
1.Arms act is passed to discourage random public shootings. Correct
2.Arms act is passed to levy heavy fines on people who carry unlicensed
firearm. Wrong.

2 is wrong because the arms act is not issued to levy fines. It is issued to prevent
something by levying fines. So the correct option is B.


souvik101990 - thanks for the explanation. please explain what is "command subjunctive"? I have never heard something like this all my life.
Show more

Hello fatsam0786,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your question, the subjunctive mood is one of the three "moods" in the English language and is used to refer to possibilities. The command subjunctive refers to uses of the subjunctive mood to express commands, requests, etc.

To understand the concept of "Subjunctive Mood" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~20 minutes):



All the best!
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shahjenil93

Also, it's worth noting that if we do use the command subjunctive, we can't demand anything of the nets or the devices themselves. We can demand that devices be included, or that some kind of net be used, but we can't require the devices to be on the nets or require the nets to protect turtles, since the devices and nets aren't people that can follow our commands.
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Hi DmitryFarber,

May I ask a follow-up question?
If we cannot demand objects with the common subjunctive, is it correct to say that "laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets"? (as in option (A)) If it is incorrect, is this the main reason that we have an "requiring + noun" structure in the correct answer (B)?

I know the word "require" takes either the command subjunctive or the infinitive, but I am not sure whether we can only demand people with the command subjunctive. (In the real world, there are lots of examples that objects are the things being demanded with the command subjunctive...) Thanks in advance for your response. :)
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DmitryFarber
shahjenil93

Also, it's worth noting that if we do use the command subjunctive, we can't demand anything of the nets or the devices themselves. We can demand that devices be included, or that some kind of net be used, but we can't require the devices to be on the nets or require the nets to protect turtles, since the devices and nets aren't people that can follow our commands.

Hi DmitryFarber,

May I ask a follow-up question?
If we cannot demand objects with the common subjunctive, is it correct to say that "laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets"? (as in option (A)) If it is incorrect, is this the main reason that we have an "requiring + noun" structure in the correct answer (B)?

I know the word "require" takes either the command subjunctive or the infinitive, but I am not sure whether we can only demand people with the command subjunctive. (In the real world, there are lots of examples that objects are the things being demanded with the command subjunctive...) Thanks in advance for your response. :)
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Hello GraceSCKao,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, yes - your reasoning is correct here.

The construction "laws requiring that + something be done" does not correctly deploy the subjunctive mood.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Hi DmitryFarber, ExpertsGlobal5, AjiteshArun or any other expert

I have a basic doubt with respect to SV in this SC. I have gone through all the comments but didn't get the explanation for the same.

How "their compliance" is plural? :(

their is plural hence it should take plural verb.

All below are Plural:
we, us, you, they, them, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, both, and few

Please correct if my list is wrong

Please Help
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a123bansal
Hi DmitryFarber, ExpertsGlobal5, AjiteshArun or any other expert

I have a basic doubt with respect to SV in this SC. I have gone through all the comments but didn't get the explanation for the same.

How "their compliance" is plural? :(

their is plural hence it should take plural verb.

All below are Plural:
we, us, you, they, them, our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs, ourselves, yourselves, themselves, both, and few

Please correct if my list is wrong

Please Help
Show more

Hello a123bansal,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, "their" is a possessive pronoun, not a subject pronoun; possessive pronouns convey a sense of possession or belonging, whereas subject pronouns refer to the subject of the clause.

What this means is that in the clause "their compliance...is protecting", the subject (the noun that takes the action) is the singular "compliance", and "their" conveys that this "compliance" belongs to the plural noun "shrimpers".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Hi,

MartyTargetTestPrep RonTargetTestPrep AndrewN GMATNinja AjiteshArun

I eliminated Option (C) because of SV error totally forgetting about subjunctive mood.

Isn't the plural use "protect" correct since "that require" uses Subjunctive Mood?

Thanks.
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test9032
Hi,

MartyTargetTestPrep RonTargetTestPrep AndrewN GMATNinja AjiteshArun

I eliminated Option (C) because of SV error totally forgetting about subjunctive mood.

Isn't the plural use "protect" correct since "that require" uses Subjunctive Mood?

Thanks.
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Hi test9032,

Generally, a dependent that-clause with the mandative subjunctive can be triggered by any one of these: verb, noun, adjective. Some examples:

A. Verb: demand, ensure, insist, order, request, require, urge...
B. Noun: demand, order, request, requirement...
C. Adjective: critical, crucial, essential, important...

However, in option C, we see only a noun after require ("require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets"). Require is not followed by a that-clause in option C.

1. [their compliance with {laws that require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets}] [protect]...

In other words, protect is outside the whole laws that require phrase, and that phrase does not affect protect in any way. Instead, protect must agree with compliance. Since compliance is a singular noun, and protect is a plural verb, there's a subject-verb agreement error in option C.
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Hi,

MartyTargetTestPrep RonTargetTestPrep AndrewN GMATNinja AjiteshArun

I eliminated Option (C) because of SV error totally forgetting about subjunctive mood.

Isn't the plural use "protect" correct since "that require" uses Subjunctive Mood?

Thanks.
Show more

Hello test9032,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, this sentence conveys that the shrimpers' compliance with the laws protects adult sea turtles; thus, the action of "protecting" is not part of the subjunctive phrase that the bossy verb "requiring" is part of.

In other words, the action of "protecting" is not something that the laws "require"; it is an action taken by the noun "compliance", so subjunctive mood will not apply to this verb.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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If in C, protect was plural (protects). Would it have been correct? The OG answer says that "that require" is wordy and unnecessary, but that part sounds better to me. Again, assuming it didn't have the protect issue.


Hello brandon7,

I will be glad to resolve your doubt. :-)

Choice C of this official sentence has only the subject verb number agreement error. While their compliance is a singular subject, protect is a plural verb.

Please note that protects is a singular verb that will agree in number with the singular subject their compliance.

Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
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egmat
hello team,
I think, subject-verb issue is not the serious issue in this case; the tense issue is a severe issue. Why do you think that 'present indefinite' tense is ok in this case? Can you clarify, please?
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If in C, protect was plural (protects). Would it have been correct? The OG answer says that "that require" is wordy and unnecessary, but that part sounds better to me. Again, assuming it didn't have the protect issue.


Hello brandon7,

I will be glad to resolve your doubt. :-)

Choice C of this official sentence has only the subject verb number agreement error. While their compliance is a singular subject, protect is a plural verb.

Please note that protects is a singular verb that will agree in number with the singular subject their compliance.

Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
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hello team,
I think, subject-verb issue is not the serious issue in this case; the tense issue is a severe issue. Why do you think that 'present indefinite' tense is ok in this case? Can you clarify, please?
Show more

Hey TheUltimateWinner

Sure.

It's pretty straight-forward actually. Just perform a simple meaning analysis to identify the aspects of the sentence:
    1. The local shrimpers do something. They comply with certain laws.
    2. Their compliance with certain laws has a certain effect. It protects Kemp's Ridley turtles.
    3. So, the local shrimpers held a news conference to take credit for the resurgence of this rare species.


I hope you see now, the ideas above are perfectly logical and use the right tenses. The point of this question is that this question provides a case wherein the simple present tense and the present continuous tense essentially say the same thing. The original sentence uses the simple present, so that's the intended idea. However, none of the choices with the simple present are error free. For this reason, we have to settle for the sentence with conveys a close enough meaning in a grammatically correct way.

Hope this helps.

Best,
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Hello brandon7,

I will be glad to resolve your doubt. :-)

Choice C of this official sentence has only the subject verb number agreement error. While their compliance is a singular subject, protect is a plural verb.

Please note that protects is a singular verb that will agree in number with the singular subject their compliance.

Hope this helps. :-)
Thanks.
Shraddha
egmat
hello team,
I think, subject-verb issue is not the serious issue in this case; the tense issue is a severe issue. Why do you think that 'present indefinite' tense is ok in this case? Can you clarify, please?

Hey TheUltimateWinner

Sure.

It's pretty straight-forward actually. Just perform a simple meaning analysis to identify the aspects of the sentence:
    1. The local shrimpers do something. They comply with certain laws.
    2. Their compliance with certain laws has a certain effect. It protects Kemp's Ridley turtles.
    3. So, the local shrimpers held a news conference to take credit for the resurgence of this rare species.


I hope you see now, the ideas above are perfectly logical and use the right tenses. The point of this question is that this question provides a case wherein the simple present tense and the present continuous tense essentially say the same thing. The original sentence uses the simple present, so that's the intended idea. However, none of the choices with the simple present are error free. For this reason, we have to settle for the sentence with conveys a close enough meaning in a grammatically correct way.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Abhishek
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Quote:
Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit for the resurgence of the rare Kemp's ridley turtle, saying that their compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect adult sea turtles.

(A) requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect
(B) requiring turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting
(C) that require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets protect
(D) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets are protecting
(E) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting
Show more

We did so many programs and made so many arguments, and finally we made a conclusion that man is mortal (suppose). Man is mortal is a general facts/truth. Why do the shrimpers held a news (present indefinite tense-protects) and blah blah? Is it just to announce a general truth (present indefinite tense---protects?
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We did so many programs and made so many arguments, and finally we made a conclusion that man is mortal (suppose). Man is mortal is a general facts/truth. Why do the shrimpers held a news (present indefinite tense-protects) and blah blah? Is it just to announce a general truth (present indefinite tense---protects?
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Hey TheUltimateWinner

No, this has got nothing to do with a Universal Truth as implied by your example. Please read my previous explanation carefully and see how I derived the meaning aspects. This is a mere fact, that's all. Whether we use the simple present or the present continuous, it'll remain a fact and the explanation provided by the shrimpers.

Hope this helps

Best,

Abhishek
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A. compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect

In option A, why cant we apply subjunctive form of verb ? With "require+ that", subjunctive verb is always plural. Please explain
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A. compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect

In option A, why cant we apply subjunctive form of verb ? With "require+ that", subjunctive verb is always plural. Please explain
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Hey aayush7749

Happy to help you with this.

Let's take a closer look at choice A:

Sentence Structure:

Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit for the resurgence of the rare Kemp's ridley turtle, saying that their compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect adult sea turtles.

      o Last week
    o local shrimpers held a news conference
      o to take some credit for the resurgence of the rare Kemp's ridley turtle,
        o saying that
          o their compliance
              o with laws requiring
                o that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets
            o protect adult sea turtles.

Where did you falter in analyzing choice A?
Your faltering point becomes apparent from the Sentence Structure above. Although you're right that "With "require+ that", subjunctive verb is always plural", you have identified the subjunctive verb incorrectly. Let's take a closer look at the subjunctive clause:
    "that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets"
      Subject: turtle-excluder devices
      Subjunctive Verb: be (present subjunctive form of is/am/are/was/etc.)

As you can see, the plural verb "protect" is actually the verb of the singular subject "compliance", as highlighted in the Sentence Structure above, and is not in the Subjunctive Mood. The subjunctive verb is "be" and it agrees with its subject "devices". So, clearly, there's a Subject-Verb (Number) Disagreement in choice A.

I hope this response helps demonstrate the importance of deriving the Sentence Structure correctly.


Happy Learning!

Abhishek
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Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit for the resurgence of the rare Kemp's ridley turtle, saying that their compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect adult sea turtles.


(A) requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect

(B) requiring turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting

(C) that require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets protect

(D) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets are protecting

(E) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting@@

@gmatninja could you please provide your explanation
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Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit for the resurgence of the rare Kemp's ridley turtle, saying that their compliance with laws requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect adult sea turtles.

(A) requiring that turtle-excluder devices be on shrimp nets protect

(B) requiring turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting

(C) that require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets protect

(D) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets are protecting

(E) to require turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets is protecting@@

@‌gmatninja could you please provide your explanation
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The first thing I notice: we have a choice between a plural verb and a singular one. The subject here is "compliance," so we want the singular verb phrase, "is protecting." That eliminates (A), (C), and (D).

Now we have to decide between "laws to require" and "laws requiring." This is all about meaning. If a government passes a law to do something, we're talking about the desired outcome of the law. A law to make driving safer, for instance, doesn't tell you what the law actually does. It tells you the goal behind creating the law.

But a law requiring something would tell us what the law actually does. A law requiring lower speed limits, for instance, gives us the actual mechanics of the law.

So that's the question. And here, we're definitely getting the mechanics of the law -- turtle-excluder devices are required. So we want "laws requiring," which leaves us with (B).

The takeaway: don't try to memorize that discussion about the difference between "a law to do" and "a law requiring." Take this is an example of a question that comes down to thinking hard about meaning and trying to determine which option is more logical, when there's no more grammar to evaluate.

I hope that helps!
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HrithuOlickel
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Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit 03 Aug 2023, 00:44
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Isn't Require a subjunctive? If yes, then wouldn't the subjunctive verb "protect" be rightfully plural? Hence making C a correct answer?.

I m a little lost with this point. Can someone please help me?

Thanks in advance.
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AjiteshArun
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GMAT Focus 1: 715 Q83 V90 DI83
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Last week local shrimpers held a news conference to take some credit 03 Aug 2023, 20:54
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HrithuOlickel
Isn't Require a subjunctive? If yes, then wouldn't the subjunctive verb "protect" be rightfully plural? Hence making C a correct answer?.

I m a little lost with this point. Can someone please help me?

Thanks in advance.
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Hi HrithuOlickel,

Require isn't always followed by a that-clause, and in option B, requiring isn't even connected to the verb is protecting. The subject of the verb is protecting is their compliance with laws requiring turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets, which is singular (because compliance is singular).

1. ... {their compliance with laws requiring turtle-excluder devices on shrimp nets} {is protecting}...

Learn more about the mandative subjunctive here.
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