The dissension - singular - needs singular verb
Hence, eliminate A,B,C.


D corrects the verb issue but likelihood for significant action - probability for significant action - seems incorrect

E wins

Many political insiders now believe that the dissension in Congress over health issues decrease the likelihood for significant action being taken this year to combat the rising costs of healthcare.

Question type: Subject Verb agreement

A. decrease the likelihood for significant action being
Wrong “decrease” should agree in number with “dissension”.

B. decrease the likelihood that significant action will be
Wrong Same as above.

C. decrease the likelihood of significant action to be
Wrong Same as above.

D. decreases the likelihood for significant action being
Wrong Honestly, I’m gonna wait for the official answer as to why this is wrong (if at all). I did not choose this as I was expecting was “of” or “that” instead of “for”. But I don’t know if “for” is indeed wrong.

E. decreases the likelihood that significant action will be
Correct Choose this as it clearly shows that the action will take place in the future, and “that” is used. It does mean that we have 2 ”thats” in the sentence though.


Thank you.

Explanation:

IMO-E
Usage of decrease is wrong as subject "dissension" is Plural so need verb(singular) to make parallelism with Many political insiders(Subject - Plural) now believe (verb-Singular). So Option A,b,c are out
A. decrease the likelihood for significant action being. Incorrect

B. decrease the likelihood that significant action will be. Incorrect

C. decrease the likelihood of significant action to be. Incorrect

D. decreases the likelihood for significant action being. Incorrect as idiom error

E. decreases the likelihood that significant action will be. Correct

First check: split decrease vs decreases

What is the subject for decrease? dissension. So dissension decreases. A B C are out.


Second check : likelihood for something or likelihood that something ?

It can't be 'likelihood FOR some action BEING taken'. It's 'likelihood THAT some action WILL be taken'.

Answer : E

Dissension is singular. So can't take a plural verb, Thus A,B,C are out.
In D the use of being is unnecessary as we don't use it as a noun/gerund.
E is correct.
But I have a question for the wizard Bunuel.
In C if the option remains : "decreases the likelihood of significant action to be" then is this option preferable to option E?

I said it was B.

It seems that I have the unpopular opinion. I notice that the phrase "Many political insiders now believe that .." I immediately thought of the use of subjunctive (Hence I took out D and E)

Can someone shed light on this dilemma?

A,B and C are out due to S-V agreement error. ---dissension (singular) is not matching with decrease (plural) verb
Choice D and E corrects the S-V error.

In D: "Likelihood for" and use of 'being' is clear put off.

I was quite hesitant to choose E first because even though E was looking much better than D (idiom wise), the likelihood vs usage of will was creating a little confusion. Nevertheless, I Chose E as it's giving clear and concise meaning.

E says:
Leaders believe that the disagreement in congress over health issues decreases the chance that something will happen in future.
What's something? Significant actions will be taken this year to combat the rising costs of healthcare.
Cool!

BTW,What is the likelihood that President Trump will win the upcoming election?

Many political insiders now believe that the dissension in Congress over health issues decrease the likelihood for significant action being taken this year to combat the rising costs of healthcare.

#1 - 'the disession' - singular so requires a singular verb

A. decrease the likelihood for significant action being

B. decrease the likelihood that significant action will be

C. decrease the likelihood of significant action to be

#2 - verb correct, eliminate based on GMAT Ninja's article on "being" - the fact that it doesn't work in most cases that seems to be this case too as it's neither a verb in progressive tense nor a gerund, or a modifier

D. decreases the likelihood for significant action being

E. decreases the likelihood that significant action will be

The winner: E
_________________

Many political insiders now believe that the dissension in Congress over health issues decrease the likelihood for significant action being taken this year to combat the rising costs of healthcare.


A. decrease the likelihood for significant action being
1.decrease= Plural sub : the dissension
B. decrease the likelihood that significant action will be
1.decrease= Plural sub : the dissension
C. decrease the likelihood of significant action to be
1.decrease= Plural sub : the dissension
D. decreases the likelihood for significant action being
Being taken is wrong
E. decreases the likelihood that significant action will be
Will be is correct - says likelihood : Assuming it will happen in the future

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

As you read the sentence for the first time, run through your mental checklist. Is there a pronoun, a modifying phrase, a list of several things, a series of parallel actions, or a change in tense? Not this time. Let’s check for subject-verb agreement. The subject of the independent clause is “insiders” and the correct verb, “believe,” follows almost immediately, so there’s no problem in the main clause.

However, let’s look at the dependent clause that follows: “that the dissension in Congress over health issues decrease the likelihood.…”

In this clause, the subject is “dissension,” not “health issues.” Remember to imagine that there are parentheses around any prepositional phrases, as if the clause looked like this:

…the dissension (in Congress over health issues) decrease…

Is this correct? No, the singular “dissension” needs the singular verb “decreases.” Looking at the answers, we can immediately eliminate choices A, B, and C. Now let’s examine choices D and E. Both fix the subject-verb error, but choice D uses the unidiomatic expression “likelihood for,” and it also uses “being” instead of “will be.” The correct answer is choice E
_________________

IMO E

Many political insiders now believe that the dissension in Congress over health issues decrease the likelihood for significant action being taken this year to combat the rising costs of healthcare.


A. decrease the likelihood for significant action being

B. decrease the likelihood that significant action will be

C. decrease the likelihood of significant action to be

D. decreases the likelihood for significant action being

E. decreases the likelihood that significant action will be