Because of differences in the humans body's internal pressure and the

Question

Because of  differences in the humans body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they  will suffer a painful condition known as the "bends."

A. differences in the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they

B. the difference between the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they

C. the difference in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or he

D. differences in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they

E. the difference between the internal pressure of the human body and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or he

beckee529 · Accepted Answer

since this is talking about a hypothetical situation, (the diver isn't really performing the action), this is subjunctive mood so we cannot use the regular infinitive. therefore, ascends is incorrect.

the tip off for me was "essential that" in the beginning

dwivedys · Answer

It is ESSENTIAL THAT (Indicates a subjunctive mood is about to come) a diver (returning blah blah) ascend (VERB IN SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD ) ..rest of the sentence.

advice, advisable, ask, arrange,....essential, fitting, imperative, important, insist, necessary,etc....." These words signal the use of subjunctive moood.

Where is the infinitve you talk about though? I couldn't understand. This sentence is clear case of the subjunctive mood.

beckee529 · Answer

answer E - subjunctive mood
in addition, "difference between" (E) is idiomatic over "difference in" (C)

Amit05 · Answer

Could you please explain why 'ascends' can't be used in infinitives as in E??

Minheequang · Answer

Because of  differences in the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they  will suffer a painful condition known as the "bends."

A) differences in the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they -->  it means: 1) differences in the human body's internal pressure  and 2) the ocean's  are two separated causes. Besides,  a diver  and  they  are wrongly compared  
B) the difference between the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they --> same 2nd error of A 
C) the difference in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or he --> same 1st error of A 
D) differences in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they --> same errors of A 
E) the difference between the internal pressure of the human body and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or he --> fix all the faults of A: 1)idiom  between ... and ...  correctly connects  internal pressure of human body  and  that - internal pressure, of ocean  to the same modifier:  the difference . 2)  a diver  and  he  -->the best

veenu08 · Answer

Can some please explain the subjunctive verb usage over here -

Q  Because of differences in the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they  will suffer a painful condition known as the "bends."

E) the difference between the internal pressure of the human body and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or he

pqhai · Answer

Hi veenu08:

The command subjunctive is possible with "It is X", in which X is an adjective, such as essential.

The syntax is: It is X that Y do  without TO ]....... 
Example: 
Right: It is important  THAT  Mary  SEND  a letter to her professor.
Wrong: It is important  THAT  Mary  SENDS  a letter to her professor.
Wrong: It is important  THAT  Mary  TO SEND  a letter to her professor.

But you can use infinitive  if you change "THAT" to "FOR" 
Example:
Right: It is important  FOR  Mary  TO SEND  a letter to her professor.

Back to the question, because this is command subjunctive, so the syntax is: "It is essential  THAT  a diver returning to the surface  ASCEND  slowly......

Hope that helps.

AbdurRakib · Answer

Correct Answer E

OreoShake · Answer

Sayantan, is it+be+adjective a proper subjunctive format (as used in E)? i thought command subjunctives only uses verbs, that too in active form, not passive. Please let me know what I am missing. Thank you.

sayantanc2k · Answer

The verb "is" is not in subjunctive mood. Hence "it be essential" would be incorrect. The verb "ascend" is in subjunctive mood.

She demands that he go there.... correct
Here "demands" is the bossy verb, and it is  not  in subjunctive. The action that is demanded ("go") is in subjunctive.

Similarly in option E the bossy noun is "essential" - the verb that is essential ("ascend") is in subjunctive mood.

Note: The verb in subjunctive mood may not necessarily go with a bossy verb - it may also go with a bossy noun, as in this case.

Skyline393 · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The original sentence contains several errors. First, "differences in" is not properly used to compare two explicit things. For example, "The difference in color is more important than the difference in size" is correct, but "The difference in the color of the apple and the color of the pear..." is not correct. Instead, it should be "The difference between the color of the apple and the color of the pear..." Second, after the construction "it is essential that", one must use the subjunctive mood. In this case, "ascends" (which is indicative, not subjunctive) should be "ascend". Third, the plural pronoun "they" is used to refer to "a diver", which is singular. 
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence. 
(B) This choice incorrectly uses the plural pronoun "they" to refer to the singular noun "a diver." 
(C) This choice incorrectly uses "differences in" where "difference between" is required. Additionally, it uses the indicative mood "ascends" where the subjunctive mood ("ascend") is required. Finally, the construction "the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean" is not parallel. 
(D) This choice incorrectly uses "differences in" where "difference between" is required. Additionally, the plural pronoun "they" incorrectly refers to the singular noun "a diver." Finally, the construction "the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean" is not parallel. 
 (E) CORRECT . The phrase "difference between" correctly replaces "differences in." Additionally, the verb "ascend" is in the subjunctive mood. Finally, the singular pronoun "he" correctly refers to the singular "a diver."

Skywalker18 · Answer

In option C, as per the OE -"the construction "the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean" is not parallel." -- do the entities compared need to be completely parallel as follows?

1. the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's internal pressure 
2. the internal pressure of the human body and that of the ocean - that refers to internal pressure

AjiteshArun  ,  GMATNinja  ,  MagooshExpert  ,  GMATGuruNY  ,  VeritasPrepBrian  ,  MartyTargetTestPrep  ,  DmitryFarber  ,  VeritasKarishma  ,  generis  , other experts - please enlighten

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

The OE is flawed.

Two elements of a list do not have to be structured in exactly the same way in order to be parallel, and "the human body's internal pressure" and "that of the ocean" are sufficiently similar for the two item list to be fine.

On another note, I am pretty sure that the pressure of ocean water would not be logical termed "internal pressure," and an internet search using the term "the internal pressure of the ocean" generates no matches on the first two pages.

KarishmaB · Answer

I would look for the best available option after eliminating all grammatical errors. One can't study GMAT SC by learning Grammar rules in isolation except some basic ones such as subject-verb agreement. Hence, often, "Is this correct or not on GMAT SC?" is a question hard to answer. Look at all the options and decide which one is the best.

dcummins · Answer

MartyTargetTestPrep  do you mind clarifying my understanding of this question as it's not too explicitly clear how the subjunctive mood is triggered.

From my understanding, the subjunctive mood is used either to indicate a hypothetical situation, a wish, or a circumstance contrary-to-fact or to make a suggestion, demand, recommendation, etc.

I don't completely understand how it's triggered by "it is essential that". Am I getting too focused on the specific choice of word "essential" and completely ignoring the fact that the author is more or less recommending that the diver ascend slowly?

haha I may have answered it already.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

I guess you have for the most part answered your question.

There are certain expressions that, since sentences that use them essentially convey demands, suggestions, or recommendations, are often, though not always, followed by subjunctive mood constructions. Here are some of those expressions:

It is best (that)
It is crucial (that)
It is desirable (that)
It is essential (that)
It is imperative (that)
It is important (that)
It is recommended (that)
It is urgent (that)

vishumangal · Answer

Can anyone give me the example of any Ques in OG in which, "It is essential that " is considered as command subjective.
If not considered then this is a very poor quality question from Manhattan. As this question is testing the candidate whether the candidate know "it is essential that" as command subjective. If GMAT wants to test a candidate on usage of command subjective that i will test on commonly used ones such as suggested,propose,mandate, demand,request,stipulate,recommend, insist and require.

h31337u · Answer

Because of differences in the humans body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they will suffer a painful condition known as the "bends."

A. differences in the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or they

B. the difference between the human body's internal pressure and the ocean's, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they

C. the difference in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascends slowly or he

D. differences in the human body's internal pressure and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or they

E. the difference between the internal pressure of the human body and that of the ocean, it is essential that a diver returning to the surface ascend slowly or he

in this, the issue is "idioms".

"difference" accompany with "between" and "between" goes along with "and". 
considering this, B & E left. 
Between B and E, B has a subject should be singular instead of "they".

Hence, the answer is E.

vishumangal · Answer

Could you please tell me the source where you have read that "Difference" should accompany "Between"

Because of differences in the humans body's internal pressure and the

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Because of differences in the humans body's internal pressure and the

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