Brutal SC #17

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Stacey Koprince
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PostThu Oct 22, 2009 9:11 am Reply with quote
Received a PM asking me to respond. The PM also specified that this is a GMATPrep problem; thanks for citing the source!


Quote:
One of Ronald Reagan's first acts as President was to rescind President Carter's directive that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries.

(A) that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries
(B) that any chemical be prohibited from sale to other countries that was banned on medical grounds in the United States
(C) prohibiting the sale to other countries of any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States
(D) prohibiting that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States is sold to other countries
(E) that any chemical banned in the United States on medical grounds is prohibited from being sold to other countries
Yes, it's a twisted sentence - that's what makes these hard!

"directive" is a noun. That might be hidden because of the "President Carter's" bit, but try stripping that out and see how you'd have to write it:

"was to rescind [the] directive..."

So, it's a noun, right?

Generally, command subjunctive is constructed:
<demand signal> + that + <agent> + <base form of verb>

There are a couple of ways to give that "demand signal." The most basic way is a "bossy" verb:

I propose that uptowngirl92 be made class president.

That's not what we've got in this sentence, because "directive" is a noun.

We could also use "It is X," where X is an adjective conveying urgency (important, essential, crucial, imperative...)

That's not what's going on in this problem either.

Finally, certain conjunctions could also be the signal. I agree to vote for uptowngirl92 on condition that she pay me $5. Smile

Still not what's going on in this problem.

So: we don't have a proper subjunctive set-up for this problem. Therefore, we're not required to use subjunctive. Therefore, we shouldn't use subjunctive.
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navdeepbajwa
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PostThu Oct 22, 2009 2:54 pm Reply with quote
still could not get it what difference "Directive" being a noun makes it is an order so why cant be it in subjunctive mood
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enniguy
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PostFri Oct 23, 2009 5:47 am Reply with quote
Found Ron's reply here:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/one-of-ronald-reagan-s-first-acts-as-president-was-to-t2126.html

Hope it helps!
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navdeepbajwa
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PostFri Oct 23, 2009 6:58 am Reply with quote
Can anyone please explain why E is wrong
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heshamelaziry
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PostThu Nov 05, 2009 4:20 pm Reply with quote
This answer C does change the meaning of the sntence to suggest that Reagan is prohibiting the sale when reagan is rescinding Carter directive, which prohibits the sale.

I read all available material, but i can't make sense of C.

This one will be discussed or commented on for as long as this site is alive.
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palvarez
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PostSat Nov 07, 2009 3:51 pm Reply with quote
heshamelaziry wrote:
This answer C does change the meaning of the sntence to suggest that Reagan is prohibiting the sale when reagan is rescinding Carter directive, which prohibits the sale.

I read all available material, but i can't make sense of C.

This one will be discussed or commented on for as long as this site is alive.
I am with you on this.

I see both A and C are equivalent. The first one is a nominal post-modification (like the chance that, the rumour that, the hypothesis that, etc). C is a restrictive modifier. And the sequences of prepositional phrases are same in both sentences.

Once OA is known, ad hoc answers abound Smile

Actually, one can contest this question. My friend contested some question in OG 10th edition SC; that was in 04. ETS acknowledged it and promised to remove that question from OG.
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itsmylife
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PostSun Nov 15, 2009 9:54 am Reply with quote
(A) that any chemical (banned on medical grounds in the United States) be prohibited from sale to other countries


A is wrong because Chemical is not prohibited.
The people are prohibited from selling the banned chemical.

Thats the difference between A and C
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brick2009
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PostMon Nov 16, 2009 12:09 am Reply with quote
first acts was to revoke the directive....


What was the directive about.. "prohibiting the sale of ..."

In A: directive refers to 'any chemical banned'... illogical
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