The budget for education reflects the administration's

Question

The budget for education reflects the administration's demand that  the money is controlled by local school districts, but it can only be spent  on teachers, not on books, computers, or other materials or activities.

A. the money is controlled by local school districts, but it can only be spent 
B. the money be controlled by local school districts, but it allows them to spend the money only 
C. the money is to be controlled by local school districts, but allowing it only to be spent 
D. local school districts are in control of the money, but it allows them to spend the money only 
E. local school districts are to be in control of the money, but it can only spend it

parker · Accepted Answer

I agree with all the above posters. As soon as you see "demand that" (or any other of the words in a similar category..."require," "propose," "request," etc.), sirens should be wailing up the street telling you to make sure that the demand is expressed correctly in the subjunctive mood. To do so, take the infinitive form of the verb...here "to be" and nix the "to."

I  demand  that he  to   be  arrested.
He obeyed the queen's order that he  to   remove  himself from her presence.
She  proposed  that you  to   call  after 9 a.m.

Ideally, you read the question, the appropriate alarm bells set off, and you go right to the answer-- here, only 1 choice uses the subjunctive correctly..

BUT...what if you don't see that error, or don't see it right away? What can you eliminate via other methods?

In this sentence there is also a split *after* the comma--the usages of pronoun "it."

Choice E uses "it" twice, to refer to both money and budget, so E is definitely out. Choices A and C intend for "it" to refer to "the money." Choices B and D use "it" to refer back to "the budget." There are several singular nouns in the sentence preceding "it"--"budget," "demand," and "education." Some students think that a pronoun must ALWAYS refer back to the closest noun, and would therefore lose B and D, but if we look at the structure of the sentence, we can see that the first part is in a fairly straightforward SUBJECT-VERB form.

The  budget   reflects  ( Subject   Verb ) ......, BUT .....      allows    to spend the money...

The power of the subject position in the structure of this sentence is so strong that B and D are OK on that front.

What else could we look at to eliminate answers? Choice C uses a different form of "allow" after the comma than the other answers do-- "allowing." This is, in fact, a modifier rather than a verb, and is not parallel to either of the previous clauses ("The budget demands" or "the money is"). C is also out.

That leaves us with A, B, and D. There are few nuances that might nudge us toward the correct answer....you could make an argument that in choice B the pronoun "them," which is in the object case, is structurally in the same position as its antecedent ("local school districts"), which is an object because it follows a preposition (the money is controlled BY the districts). In choice D, "local school districts" is the subject of the subordinate clause, so all things being equal I'd probably prefer B to D, even in a world where I knew nothing about the subjunctive. That would leave us with A and B-- a 50/50 shot knowing NOTHING about the subjunctive.

I'm certainly  not  suggesting that you do all this unnecessary work while taking your CAT-- hopefully you see the subjunctive trigger right away and answer this question in 6 seconds flat. BUT if you don't see it, keep breaking down the sentence piece by piece according to what you DO know. This can be a good exercise when reviewing a question too-- even one that you've gotten  right -- to see if you can identify other issues with the incorrect choices. The more tools you have in your bag, and the more flexible you are using them, the better shot you'll have at a killer score.

Economist · Answer

for verbs like request, command, demand, ask etc subjunctive mood has to be used...which is..
ask that X BE done
demand that Y BE done etc
You can search in google for more info:), just type in subjunctive and you shall get loads of resources

hafgola · Answer

The budget for education reflects the administration's demand that  the money is controlled by local school districts, but it can only be spent  on teachers, not on books, computers, or other materials or activities.

A. the money is controlled by local school districts, but it can only be spent 
B. the money be controlled by local school districts, but it allows them to spend the money only 
C. the money is to be controlled by local school districts, but allowing it only to be spent 
D. local school districts are in control of the money, but it allows them to spend the money only 
E. local school districts are to be in control of the money, but it can only spend it

I have a problem with this one...

see below

I am perfectly aware of the command subjective...but in this case I chose A because it seemd to me that "demand" is a noun here not a verb (as common subjective) Can anyone explain this to me please

thanks

daagh · Answer

Why should we think that only a verb and not a noun could carry the mandatoriness or command factor? It is the necessity to comply with the said factor that decides use of the command word.

Look at this following sentence ‘Spoke’ by itself is not command word; It is the condition, a noun that implies the command and thereby justifies the subjunctive.

Several financial officers of the company spoke on condition  that they not be named  in the press reports.

A. that they not be named 
B. that their names will not be used 
C. that their names are not used 
D. of not having their names 
E. of not naming them

The answer is A

Here is another example from Urch.com’s Erin

While many politicians have been able to abuse recent changes in the law, the original spirit of the bill was  that it was equally applied to all residents, no matter their socio-economic status.

O that it was equally applied to all residents, no matter their socio-economic status
O that it was equally applied to all residents, and their socio-economic status did not matter
O that it was to be applied equally to all residents, no matter their socio-economic status
O that it be applied equally to every resident, no matter their socio-economic status
O that it be equally applied to all residents, no matter their socio-economic status

Here the command factor is derived from the word ‘spirit’ of the bill, which citizens are supposed to obey.

The answer is E.

Here are some tips for you from 800Bob

HTH

maybeam · Answer

Although i choosed the right option. I am still not very sure whats the POE in the question.
It seems like it is infinitive and subjunctive way of reporting, but how does the right option corrects this //sm error?
Some help on this.

daagh · Answer

The POE involves only one factor that the subjunctive has to come into play since there is a bossy word –demand-; the second part is an IC that need not be subjunctive since the verb– allows- is simply an indicative verb. There is no formality that two consecutive clauses should both be subjunctive.

As per this scheme, you can instantly kick all but B, which is the only subjunctive form using the base form – be controlled-.

As per this scheme, you can instantly kick all but B, which is the only subjunctive form using the base form – be controlled-.

Shiv2016 · Answer

Hello experts

Little confused here with two things:
1) Can 'be controlled' be a verb for money?
2) In the last clause, what is the verb for 'it'?

Thanks

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

Shiv2016 , 1) Choice B uses the passive voice (ie "...demand that the money be controlled by local school districts ...") instead of the active voice (which would be written, for example, as "...demand that local school districts control the money .." In either case, the local school districts are controlling the money, and the money is not the agent of the action. 2) "it allows them to spend the money only on teachers, not on books, computers, or other materials or activities." The subject is "it" (ie "the budget"), and the verb is "allows", where an applicable definition of "allow" (from https://www.merriam-webster.com/) is "to assign as a share or suitable amount (as of time or money), ie 'allow an hour for lunch'"

GMATNinjaTwo · Answer

Here we have the passive voice again, and the verb is "can be spent" (modal + auxiliary verb + past participle). The subject (it) is being acted upon, and the agent of the action is implied rather than explicitly stated (spent by whom? by local school districts).

I hope that helps!

ashikaverma13 · Answer

I understand that due to subjunctive rule, we ought to select B but the 'it' in the second part of the sentence is bothering me.
 'but it allows them to spend..'

I get that the 'it' is referring to the budget but aren't we being made to assume that here? Generally such a sentence with both 'it' and 'them' in the same line and far away from their antecedents would have been eliminated for being confusing and not clear.

Explanation needed!

SI777 · Answer

Apart from considering subjunctive mode, Can D be the possible answer if not B ? 
Also as mentioned D is in active voice which is preferred in GMAT. 
Can someone suggest the difference btw D and B not in terms of subjunctive ?

GMATNinja · Answer

The pronoun "them" is definitely okay because there is only one possible antecedent ("districts" is the only plural noun before the pronoun).

At first glance, the use of the pronoun "it" seems ambiguous because there are multiple singular nouns before the pronoun. However, in this case, we have two subject-verb pairs in two clauses linked by the conjunction "but". In such cases, the subject pronoun ("it") always refers unambiguously to the subject of the first independent clause. Check out  this GMAT Club YouTube video  for more on this particular pronoun issue.

But don't worry too much if that rule isn't clear for now; just make sure you understand why the other four choices are wrong!

The GMAT might prefer the active voice to the  passive  voice, but in this sentence there is no way around the subjunctive. Choice (D) has to be eliminated because it does not use the subjunctive. If choice (D) were changed to "local school districts   be   in control of the money, but it allows them to spend the money only" (replace "are" with the subjunctive form "be"), then it would be acceptable.

smmunna · Answer

The budget for education reflects the administration's demand that .......................................on teachers, not on books, computers, or other materials or activities.

B. the money be controlled by local school districts, but it allows them to spend the money only

In 2nd main clause starting with but - subject pronoun "it" refers to subject "budget" in previous clause. "Them" object pronoun refers to "school district" object of relative clause starting with the "that the ....."

pronoun and the antecedent agree in case and number.

Also note that possessive pronoun may refer to non-possesive nouns.
The budget for education reflects the administrationÂ´s demand for the money which is controlled by local school distrits and that can only be spent on.......

I chose D because it is not clear what the pronoun "It" in the second part of the sentence is referring to. So the options were B and D. I didn't understand the first part of the sentence, so I guess that my mistakes were there. I chose D and the correct answer was B.

Kanika3agg · Answer

In B option, can it refers to administration?
Can a non-possessive pronoun refer to possessive noun?

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi  Kanika3agg ,

The "rule" that a possessive noun and a subject/object pronoun cannot be used together is not followed universally, and there is no reason to believe that the GMAT follows it.

In  this official question ,  Elizabeth Barrett Browning's  and  she  are used together in the correct option.

pg03 · Answer

Hello experts,

How can we identify the subject the word "it" is referring to in the original sentence? Per my understanding "it" refers to money however in the OA its stated that "it" must not refer to "money" .

Could you please advise on an easy way to identify the subject and pronoun in such cases?

Thanks in advance

GMATNinja · Answer

When you see a pronoun, first look for nouns that  could  be the antecedent for that pronoun. Because the pronoun "it" is singular, we're looking for a singular noun. Once you've identified the options, see whether one of them makes sense in the context of the sentence.

In this sentence, we have a few options:

"budget" : this would make sense. Replacing "it" with "budget," we have "but     can only be spent on teachers, not on books..."  
 "the administration's demand" : Nope. It makes no sense to say that "    can only be spent on teachers... 
 "the money" : this one also makes sense. "but     can only be spent on teachers, not on books..."

Here, we have two nouns that actually work with the meaning of the sentence -- a somewhat rare occurrence on the GMAT. But is it actually a problem?

Not really, for a couple of reasons. First, pronoun ambiguity is not a definite error on the test. If there were NO singular nouns that make sense, then we'd have a big problem -- but it's not necessarily a dealbreaker to have a  multiple  singular nouns, so long as at least one works with the meaning of the sentence.

Second, the construction of this sentence tells us pretty clearly that "it" refers back to "budget," not to "money." In this sentence, we have two subject-verb pairs in two clauses linked by the conjunction "but". In such cases, the subject pronoun ("it") can generally refer unambiguously to the subject of the first independent clause. Check out  this video  for more on this particular pronoun issue.

I hope that helps!

Ahmed9955 · Answer

Hi  AjiteshArun   GMATNinjaTwo   egmat

The budget  for education  reflects  the administration's demand that  the money is controlled by local school districts, but it can only be spent  on teachers, not on books, computers, or other materials or activities

As per my understanding of the above sentence 
The subject is Budget and Verb is reflects and the Object is administration's demand

However, As per my understanding of subjunctive verb which expresses - demands, wants, desire ,wishes etc. The trigger words such as demand, recommend , want etc. act as a verb.
Ex - He  demanded  that Alex be made the president of the council.

Demanded acts as a verb

However, the question seems to be a different case to me.

My doubt is that - The word 'demand' here doesn't act as a verb but an object , then can we still refer it still as a bossy verb and follow the rule of Subjunctive construction?

Regards, 
Ahmed

ExpertsGlobal5 · Answer

Hello  Ahmed9955 ,

We hope this finds you well.

To answer your query, the subjunctive mood is perfectly applicable here, even though technically there is no bossy verb at play; the use of the noun "demand" still conveys a sense of necessity, which is what makes the subjunctive mood preferable in this context.

We hope this helps.
All the best!
Experts' Global Team

The budget for education reflects the administration's

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The budget for education reflects the administration's

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