Since chromosome damage may be caused by viral infections, medical

Since chromosome damage may be caused by viral infections, medical x-rays, and exposure to sunlight, it is important that the chromosomes of a population to be tested for chemically induced damage be compared with those of a control population.

(A) to be tested for chemically induced damage be compared with - Correct

(B) being tested for damage induced chemically are compared with - chemically induced damage is better, also be should be used instead of are

(C) being tested for chemically induced damage should be compared to - should be is wrong, also compared with is better

(D) being tested for chemically induced damage are to be compared to - are to be is wrong, also compared with is better

(E) that is to be tested for chemically induced damage are to be comparable with - are to be is wrong, also compared with is better

Being modify population B,C,D rejected
that modify population E rejected
Left with A

Honestly GMAT never throws question based only on COMPARED WITH AND COMPARED TO. SO we cannot specifically say that COMPARED WITH IS BETTER.

generis GMATNinja Please throw some light on my understanding.

In "modern" GMAT SC questions (OG 11th edition or later), I don't think there are any questions that use the difference between "compared with" and "compared to" as a deciding factor. (Maybe I'm forgetting one somewhere, but if so, it's only one question out of the hundreds and hundreds that have been released.) So I agree with you, warrior1991 -- I don't think that's the main issue here. There are more important things to worry about, but since I'm writing this before the OA has been released, I won't spoil any surprises just yet.

Official Explanation :

Choice A is best because the infinitive to be tested and the subjunctive be compared are correct for describing a hypothetical course of action. Also, compared with rather than compared to is preferred when a comparison is intended, as here with chromosomes, to reveal differences among things of the same order.

Choice B lacks the infinitive and subjunctive forms, and damage induced chemically is more awkward than the comparable phrase in A.

C and D have being instead of to be and to instead of with; also should and are to do not belong in the subjunctive.

E is wordy, are to again intrudes, and comparable changes the meaning of the statement.

Please help me understand why option A is correct...

Hi indbos, only option A uses (what's called as) Subjunctive:

...it is important that the chromosomes...be compared with....

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Subjunctive, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Can anyone explain in detail about subjunctives here please.

Hi arya251294,

Here are a couple of posts on the topic: 1 and 2.

Hi arya251294, our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Subjunctive, its application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.

Hey CrackVerbalGMAT, AndrewN and other members. What is the current take on since being used to provide reasons? It seems like it's allowed.

Hi Brian123,

Since can absolutely be used to introduce a reason for something. Here's an official question that does exactly that.

Thanks AjiteshArun, I swear I read somewhere that since can only be used to express a timeline.
A link that I found - https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/forums/since-vs-because-t3206.html

I'm assuming that was/is a misconception. Thanks again for all your help Ajitesh!

Hello, Brian123. I agree with AjiteshArun above, and the link to the multiply tagged "OG" question is proof enough for me. Moreover, I came across another question somewhat recently that is tagged "GMAT Paper Test" that adopts the same construct, beginning in the following manner:

Since fanatics usually regard themselves as self-less patriots...

(I find the hyphenated "self-less" a little curious, but I do not have access to the source material, so I cannot verify anything.)

Finally, I would suggest looking at this GMAT Prep question that also uses since in this explanatory manner. (You might find the Most Helpful Expert Reply right underneath it to be of interest, too.)

Thank you for thinking to ask. (Stay curious.)

- Andrew

Hi! Multiple doubts in this question.Thanks in advance. Firstly, I knew that A is the best of all but was hesitant to select it because I didn't see the need to use subjunctive form here. Subjunctives are generally used in the cases of demand, request, order etc, but in this it is just highlighting an important thing.
Secondly, here being is used as a modifier and being as a modifier is not right, 99percent time so is this a correct reason to eliminate it?
Lastly, chemically induced damage and damage induced chemically, what's the difference? AndrewN IanStewart GMATNinja

First, the subjunctive mood is generally used to express things that are hypothetical and not actual. So we use it with commands, for example in the phrase "I command that you be present at the seminar" because you aren't actually present at the seminar. The sentence in this question is also expressing something hypothetical, and you could also say "It's important that you be at the seminar". If you instead say "It's important that you are at the seminar", that would suggest you actually are at the seminar, and your attendance is important for some reason. The subjunctive is not used in this question to "highlight an important thing". There is a form of "to be" that is used for emphasis, but it's not the subjunctive. When we use "shall" instead of "will", that is an emphatic form of "to be" -- "we shall test the chromosomes" is a more forceful or committed way of saying "we will test the chromosomes" (though grammar purists will say the opposite is true in the first person -- purists say "I shall" is the normal form, and "I will" is the emphatic form). But I can't imagine the GMAT would ever test the distinction between "shall" and "will", and the distinction isn't really observed anyway in contemporary language.

There's nothing wrong with how "being" is used in some of the wrong answers here, and I don't think test takers should just automatically rule out answers with "being" in them. There are a few official questions where the correct answer uses "being", and there are lots of imaginable sentences where "being" is a perfectly good word to use. In general, -ing modifiers are often better avoided, which is one reason "being" can be a bad word in many cases, but that's certainly not always true.

Lastly about the distinction between "chemically induced damage" and "damage induced chemically", the first form is preferable to the second because it's clear when you put the description first, then the noun, that the description describes the noun. But the second form isn't wrong, and I don't see any difference in meaning. There wouldn't be an SC question where you needed to distinguish between two phrases like these to choose the right answer.

Hello GMATNinja,

I think that you did not explain this question.

If you have time to answer it, that will be extremely helpful as I am completely lost with subjonctive use.

Thanks,
Baptiste