The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals

Question

The government's strict insider-trading laws require  that principals involved in a merger not only cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also are not allowed to  buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge.

(A) that principals involved in a merger not only cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also are not allowed to

(B) not only that principals involved in a merger not share information about that merger with outside investors, but also that they not

(C) not only that principals involved in a merger not share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also cannot
 
(D) that principals involved in a merger not only not share information about that merger with outside investors, but also that they are not allowed to
 
(E) not only that principals cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but they also cannot

Skyline393 · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The original sentence contains the incomplete idiom "not only...but." The complete idiom is "not only...but also" (where "also" is not separated from "but"). Moreover, the combination of "require that" and "cannot" is incorrect. The construction "require that" necessitates the subjunctive mood for any verbs in the following clause. 
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence. 
 (B) CORRECT . The phrase "not only that principals . . . not share . . . but also that they not buy or sell" is an idiomatic and parallel structure ("not only that x not y but also that x not z"). Additionally, the verb phrase "not share" is correctly in the subjunctive mood. 
(C) The verb phrase "cannot buy or sell" is in the indicative mood, not in the subjunctive mood (which is necessary for verbs following the construction "require that"). Additionally, the words "but" and "also" are separated by the words "that they", unnecessarily breaking the idiom "not only . . . but also." 
(D) The verb phrase "are not allowed" is in the indicative mood, not in the subjunctive mood (which is necessary for verbs following the construction "require that"). 
(E) The verb phrases "cannot share" and "cannot buy or sell" are in the indicative mood, not in the subjunctive mood (which is necessary for verbs following the construction "require that"). Additionally, the words "but" and "also" are separated by the word "they", unnecessarily breaking the idiom "not only . . . but also."

vineetgupta · Answer

Straight B...'not only X but also Y' is the correct idiom and this choice uses the subjunctive mood correctly :require that  not share ...and  not buy .

FN · Answer

I am going with D the idiom is require that X be Y

I think in D the placement of "but also that" makes it ||...A got this piece wrong..

ashkrs · Answer

Its a tough choice between B and D . 
Going with B just for the sake of not share ..not buy

fatal1ty · Answer

I like B better than D.
B for me.
Uses the subjunctive mood and the idiom "not only..but also" correctly.

N750 · Answer

I will pick B becasue subjuntive mood require base form of the verb so any choice using "Can/Are" is wrong.
That leaves only B and second confirmation that this choice is indeed ......is correct used of idiom not only that......but also that...........

rgajare14 · Answer

The verb forms in D (share , allowed) do not match and they have to be parallel in "not only..but also.. B it is for me..

bkk145 · Answer

This one is clearly B for parallelism.
D is not parallel...not only X, but also Y
B maintains "that" for both X and Y, but D doesn't.

just.doit · Answer

B fr me too
its more parallel

@originator -> plz let us know the OA too....otherwise thers no point discussing and learning. May be most of r wrong and some of us r rt!!

I have seen this in ggeneral....the originator vanishes from the scene after publishing the Q!

beckee529 · Answer

sorry about that guys! I have been so busy and lost track of the threads I created! :oops:

The OA is B and the source is from the MGMAT question bank. I posted this question because I was uncertain of the difference between B and D. Obviously I know the idiom "not only.. but also" oh too well but was unsure of the word placement and how it changes the meaning of the sentence. Thanks guys! :thanks

akashbolster · Answer

Hi,

Just after "require" "that" should come instead of "not only"??????

PinakiRDas · Answer

Can someone please enlighten - why "that" is not required here?

philipssonicare · Answer

PinakiRDas This example appears on wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_s ... ubjunctive It seems that the sentence can used different structures, but the word that must included. Not the best explanation, sorry! Elaboration by experts would be appreciated

KarishmaB · Answer

It depends on the options. Usually they come together but sometimes, 'but' and 'also' are split. 
Here the bigger problem is that option (A) doesn't use subjunctive.

Danraf · Answer

Here is my trick for these

The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals involved in a merger not only cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also are not allowed to buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge. (A) The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals involved in a merger not only cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also are not allowed to buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge . (B) The government's strict insider-trading laws require not only that principals involved in a merger not share information about that merger with outside investors, but also that they not buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge. (C) The government's strict insider-trading laws require not only that principals involved in a merger not share information about that merger with outside investors, but that they also cannot buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge (D) The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals involved in a merger not only not share information about that merger with outside investors, but also that they are not allowed to buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge (E) The government's strict insider-trading laws require not only that principals cannot share information about that merger with outside investors, but they also cannot buy or sell stocks themselves based on their inside knowledge Now, only read the bold and tell me which one makes sense! Only A and B make sense, however A is incorrect because "Not only___that they also" is wrong When dealing with Not only____But also___ idiom, ignore everything in between "Not only____But also" and read the sentence

VerbalBot · Answer

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The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals

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The government's strict insider-trading laws require that principals

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