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655-705 Level|   Comparisons|   Subjunctive|   Verb Tense/Form|   Verb Tense/Form|            
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Since chromosome damage may be caused by viral infections, medical 27 Aug 2022, 13:48
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the chromosomes of a population to be tested for chemically induced damage

This part of sentence confused me. Is the bold phase prepositional phrase that modify population?
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Since chromosome damage may be caused by viral infections, medical 28 Aug 2022, 05:30
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pan1pan2
the chromosomes of a population to be tested for chemically induced damage

This part of sentence confused me. Is the bold phase prepositional phrase that modify population?
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Hello pan1pan2,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, here "to be tested" serves as an adjectival phrase; it conveys a meaning along the lines of "meant to be tested".

We hope this helps.
All the best!
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Since chromosome damage may be caused by viral infections, medical 27 Oct 2023, 16:49
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CrackverbalGMAT
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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

(B) being tested for damage induced chemically are compared with

(C) being tested for chemically induced damage should be compared to

(D) being tested for chemically induced damage are to be compared to

(E) that is to be tested for chemically induced damage are to be comparable with


This question is based on Subjunctive Usage and Construction.

Expressions such as ‘it is important’, ‘it is necessary’ etc. are followed by the verb in the present subjunctive mood as they convey something that may or may not happen.

The present subjunctive form of the ‘be’ verb is ‘be’ itself. This form – be compared with - is present only in Option A.

Furthermore, in this sentence the modifier “to be tested for chemically induced damage” applies to the subject “chromosomes of a population”.
The phrase “being tested” implies that the chromosomes are already being tested, whereas the intended meaning is that the testing is yet to be done. On this basis, Options B, C, and D can be eliminated.

There is a subject-verb disagreement in Option E. If the relative pronoun ‘that’ refers to “chromosomes”, the verb that follows the pronoun must be the plural form ‘are’ and not the singular form ‘is’. So, Option E can also be eliminated.

Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.
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How do we know that A is the intended meaning? Based on our answer alone the tense changes.
If we choose A the meaning is the tests are yet to be done
If we choose options with being the meaning is the tests re being done at present

Both those situations can apply to the given scenario
For A before the test is done we can test the check the chromosomes
For choose options with being as the test is being done we can check for the chromosomes since that information may be known to the testers as the testing is being done
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