Astronomers

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Astronomers

by ektamatta » Sat May 24, 2008 8:58 am
Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory have discovered a distant supernova explosion, one that they believe is a type previously unknown to science.
(A) that they believe is
(B) that they believe it to be
(C) they believe that it is of
(D) they believe that is
(E) they believe to be of

please explain

OA is E

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by netigen » Sat May 24, 2008 11:32 am
It's more than an idiom issue, the two contenders in this case are A and E

A is incorrect because it's subjunctive form and hence that has to be used with a form of "to be" without "to". Since "is" is a form of "to be", the sentence is incorrect.

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by chidcguy » Sat May 24, 2008 3:06 pm
netigen wrote:It's more than an idiom issue, the two contenders in this case are A and E

A is incorrect because it's subjunctive form and hence that has to be used with a form of "to be" without "to". Since "is" is a form of "to be", the sentence is incorrect.
very good point made. How ever the idiom stands out big time