Standard police procedure requires that an officer interview

Question

Standard police procedure requires that an officer interview witnesses separately rather than together.  
(a) Standard police procedure requires that an officer interview witnesses separately rather than together 
(b)A requirement, according to standard police procedure, is that an officer interview witness separately rather than interviewing them together 
(C)Standard police procedure requires an officer to interview witnesses separately rather than to interview them together 
(d)It is required in standard police procedure that an officer interviews witnesses separately, not together 
(e)Standard police procedure requires that an officer interviews witnesses separately rather than together

bhatia_ash2002 · Answer

Choice B and C can be eliminated.
That leaves us with A, C or E. A and E end with rather than together, , which is incorrect usage and in choice B officer  interviews  is incorrect. That leaves us with choice C, which i think is the answer.

srp · Answer

why not A (subjunctive)?

requires that - officer - INTERVIEW

GHIBI · Answer

I think "A" because "A" sounds more concise than "C".

If "rather than together" is incorrect, could you please explain in detail?

Thank you.

pmenon · Answer

nothing wrong with A. You need to have "requires that", and therefore, "interview", not "interviews"

buffdaddy · Answer

I don't think anything is wrong with C grammatically, but the GMAT like brevity and conciseness. So A says the same thing with fewer words.

I dunno, I could be completely wrong.

Alex · Answer

I don't understand why 'interviews' is incorrect! There is only one officer ? Can somebody explain it ?

hanumayamma · Answer

Subjunctive issue

(a) Standard police procedure requires that an officer interview witnesses separately rather than together (Hold it)
(b)A requirement, according to standard police procedure, is that an officer interview witness separately rather than interviewing them together (Changing the subject of the sentence – Eliminate it)
(C)Standard police procedure requires an officer to interview witnesses separately rather than to interview them together (Require subjunctive – to interview not required – eliminate it)
(d)It is required in standard police procedure that an officer interviews witnesses separately, not together (Changing the subject of the sentence – Eliminate it)
(e)Standard police procedure requires that an officer interviews witnesses separately rather than together (Require subjunctive – an officer interviews not required – eliminate it)

Answer: A

eyunni · Answer

I think (C) is subjunctive too. 'requires that X be Y' AND 'requires X to do Y' are both subjunctive. Anyone?

LM · Answer

Correct!

"E". What is the OA?

And please explain if my explanation is wrong somewhere.

eyunni · Answer

I know for sure that E is wrong because of subjunctive mood.
Standard police procedure requires that an officer  interviews  witnesses separately rather than together

It has to be 'interview'. But I am confused between A and C. Just wanted to know if there is something wrong with C.

farend · Answer

C) is not subjunctive, It doesn't have that. Also 'to' shdn't be there in subjunctive.

ashkrs · Answer

It is subjunctive. You don’t need "that" always for subjunctive.
C is perfectly fine here and idiomatic.

X requires Y to  
X requires that Y   
both are fine and subjunctive.

So A and C both fine
The problem in C is twofold .
1 - not concise 
2 - has "them" which does not have clear antencent.

So A is correct.

eyunni · Answer

'them' clearly refers 'witnesses'. I am not too sure about the rather than structure in option C but sounds ok to me. Is it only because of conciseness that you chose A?

rafiaiqbal · Answer

if "requires that" is the correct usage then A is the best option...

eyunni · Answer

I still don't get it. What's wrong with C? OA is A.

hanumayamma · Answer

eyunni,

The subordinate conjunction “rather than” plays a pivotal role in deciding between A and C.

In A: The subordinate conjunction modifies “an officer interview…” clause and provides an end effect - an officer interview witnesses separately rather than an officer interview witnesses together

In C: The subordinate conjunction modifies “Standard police procedure requires …” clause 
Provides an end effect - Standard police procedure requires an officer to interview witnesses separately rather than Standard police procedure requires to interview them together. As you can see, focus is changed from an officer interviewing to procedure interviewing

I hope this helps!

vinayn · Answer

my take: answer A

b,d are wordy
e ''interviews'' is singular

maverick101 · Answer

I couldn't see any thing wrong with A and thus didn't bother going to other options.

Is this strategy ok?

Standard police procedure requires that an officer interview

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards