The Gorton-Dodd bill requires that a bank disclose to their customers

The Gorton-Dodd bill requires that a bank disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from deposited checks.

(A) that a bank disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from deposited checks
(B) a bank to disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from a deposited check
(C) that a bank disclose to its customers how long it will delay access to funds from deposited checks
(D) a bank that it should disclose to its customers how long it will delay access to funds from a deposited check
(E) that banks disclose to customers how long access to funds from their deposited check is to be delayed

It's discussed in other places and I am not convinced w/ the explanation.

I would like to understand if "a bank disclose" is correct? A bank is singular and should follow discloses IMV..... Thoughts??

The Gorton-Dodd bill requires that => signals Subjunctive usage.

The verb rule for subjunctive is :
The present tense of the subjunctive uses only the base form of the verb.

Thats why we need disclose(base form) instead of discloses.

Check out bb's reply in the following post:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/subjunctive-and-use-of-that-with-simple-verb-form-79606.html

Crick

Bank (singular) + Disclose (Plural) .. isn't there a problem with this usage ?

I was solving this question yesterday and my approach was to see at - disclose (a verb) after a bank. As a bank is singular, should not disclose be discloses to make it singualar.

But I end up picking choice E using this approach which is wrong.

Can somebody please explain why disclose (verb) in plural form is correct here?

Also, do all verbs follow this rule - Singular (ends with 's) & Plural (as it is)?

Thanks.

Hi Nishant, this sentence uses (what's called) subjunctive construct. Hence, this sentence uses the verb disclose after a singular subject bank.

Perhaps you would have come across sentences such as:

Teacher suggested that James better study hard.

Again study is used after singular subject James.

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

VeritasKarishma GMATNinjaTwo GMATNinja

Why E is incorrect?
I understand that C conveys a clear meaning, but I did not find meaning conveyed by E illogical.
Can you please help?

Thanks!

When the customers deposit a check, the bank transfers the check amount in the customer's account in a few days.
As per the bill, the bank needs to disclose to its customers how long this time period will be i.e. the bank needs to tell the customers whether the access will happen after 1 day or 2 days or 3 days etc.

(E) that banks disclose to customers how long access to funds from their deposited check is to be delayed

First of all, customers will deposit individual checks (check should be plural).
Secondly, this seems to convey that 'the bank needs to disclose how long access is to be delayed' as if somehow the customers need to delay the access.
Instead, the bank needs to disclose how long it will delay the access - how long the bank will delay the access. Hence (C) is correct and (E) is not.

The Gorton-Dodd bill requires that a bank disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from deposited checks.

(A) that a bank disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from deposited checks
(B) a bank to disclose to their customers how long they will delay access to funds from a deposited check
(C) that a bank disclose to its customers how long it will delay access to funds from deposited checks
(D) a bank that it should disclose to its customers how long it will delay access to funds from a deposited check
(E) that banks disclose to customers how long access to funds from their deposited check is to be delayed

A quick scan of the options shows us the use of singular and plural pronouns- “it” and “they”.
As we are talking about the bank’s customers, we must use the singular pronoun “it” to refer to the bank.
Eliminate A and B.

“Requires that” should follow the rule for command subjunctive. Hence we cannot use “should disclose”. Eliminate D.

Option E distorts the meaning- how long access to funds from their deposited check is to be delayed
As we are talking about the checks deposited by customers, we should use the plural- "checks" and not the singular- "check"
Eliminate E

Option C corrects the grammatical and meaning errors present in other options.

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the Gorton-Dodd bill requires that a bank disclose to its customers how long it will delay access to funds from deposited checks.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Pronouns + Subjunctive Mood + Awkwardness/Redundancy

• “bossy verb ("requires") + that + something be done” is a correct, subjunctive usage.

A: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "bank" with the plural pronouns "they" and "their".

B: This answer choice incorrectly refers to the singular noun "bank" with the plural pronouns "they" and "their".

C: Correct. This answer choice correctly refers to the singular noun "bank" with the singular pronouns "its" and "it". Further, Option C uses the phrase "from deposited checks", conveying the intended meaning - that banks must disclose to individual customers how long access to funds from each of their individual checks is to be delayed. Additionally, Option C correctly maintains a correct subjective mood construction - “bossy verb ("requires") + that + something be done ("a bank disclose to its customers")”. Besides, Option C is free of any awkwardness or redundancy.

D: This answer choice fails to maintain a correct subjunctive mood usage, as it utilizes the construction “bossy verb ("requires") + noun ("a bank") + that + something be done ("it should disclose to its customers")"; remember, “bossy verb ("requires") + that + something be done” is a correct, subjunctive usage. Further, Option D redundantly uses the word "should" alongside the bossy verb "requires"; this usage is redundant because both terms convey a sense of necessity.

E: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "their deposited check"; the construction of this phrase illogically implies that banks must disclose to customers how long access to funds from a singular check shared by all customers is to be delayed; the intended meaning is that banks must disclose to individual customers how long access to funds from each of their individual checks is to be delayed.

Hence, C is the best answer choice.

To understand the "3 Key Subjunctive Structures" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team

Can a newly introduced bill be only for a bank (one bank)? should not it be banks?

Hey, could you please explain why in 'E' 'their' has clear antecedent? I rejected this choice because I thought that it is incorrect. I got the correct choice (C) but rejected E for the wrong reason

Hey Piotrek, I think it's logically clear that customers will deposit the checks. Therefore, 'their' in E has a clear antecedent, referring to customers.

Another reason why E is wrong: It says 'their deposited check' (This illogically conveys that customers collectively deposited one check) instead of individual checks.

Hey JaydeepPatadiya, I think that doesn't matter much because it's stating a rule.

A vague example would be (Still mastering the art of creating sentences for illustration purposes :p, so, sorry for the vague example):
Employers require an employee to be smart, intelligent and honest. (Notice that we didn't use employees here)

I hope it is right and clarifies your doubt.

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