Hero8888 wrote:
GMATNinja wrote:
But if we don't have the word "that," there's no need for the subjunctive. It's perfectly acceptable to have "proposed" + "noun," as we do in the OA here. These, for example, are totally fine:
- Tim proposed an equitable solution to the problem.
- Governor Hickenlooper proposed groundbreaking legislation that would offer free carne asada burritos to GMAT tutors in Colorado.
I hope that helps!
Hi
GMATNinja,
Thanks for your response. It became clearer now. Yet I have 2 questions:
1. Does "bossy verb" + "noun" formula work with any verb from the list: demand, suggest, request, recommend, stipulate, mandate, insist, and dictate?
2. In some cases, such as "report suggests that the Earth was..." or " we don't use subjunctive. How to recognize the pattern in which "that" exists, but subjunctive is not required? Any other verbs from the list above can follow the pattern?
Regards
1. For the most part, yes: you can use most of those verbs with just a noun. Here, have some more examples:
"The teacher demanded silence."
"I recommend the avocado tuna roll with just a hint of wasabi." (Mmm... avocado tuna rolls.)
I suppose there are also some situations in which you'd need a preposition before the noun:
"Tim insisted on the purple drapes."
The broader point is that English is incredibly flexible and complicated - all of the verbs in that list can be used in ways
other than to introduce the subjunctive mood.
2. "Suggest" has multiple meanings. It could be used to mean "recommend," or "propose", and in those situations, "suggest" may introduce the subjunctive the same way another "bossy verb" might. But it could also be used to mean "express" or "implies," in which case, it wouldn't be so bossy anymore, and the subjunctive wouldn't be called for.
But there's no reason to devote much brain space to absorbing this idea. Consider a similar example to the one you offered: "The report suggests that the Earth was unusually hot last year." Surely it doesn't make any sense to write, "The report suggests that the Earth
be unusually hot..." The report isn't telling the Earth what to do!
Put another way, we can't just go on autopilot, scan the sentence, and look for words that necessitate the use of the subjunctive. We have to understand the meaning of the sentence and use context clues to determine what construction is best. That may not be a terribly satisfying answer, but it's true.
Here's the bigger takeaway: I insist that you be careful about relying too much on rote memorization! (See what I did there?) The subjunctive shows up occasionally on the GMAT, but it's relatively rare. If you were to try to memorize a list of bossy verbs, then attempt to internalize all the exceptions for when the subjunctive shouldn't be used, and repeat this process for every issue you could possibly encounter on an SC question, your head is going to explode. (At least mine would.) The better approach is to
use logic and context, coupled with a limited collection of truly essential grammar concepts, to determine what construction works best.
I hope this helps!