Sentence Correction

2. Constance Horner, chief of the United States government’s personnel agency, has recommended that the use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds for not hiring an applicant.
(A) the use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds for not hiring an applicant
(B) any dangerous or illegal drug, if used in the five years prior to applying for a job, should be grounds not to hire the applicant
(C) an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds not to hire them
(D) an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to applying for a job are grounds that they not be hired
(E) for five years prior to applying for a job, an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug be grounds for not hiring them

Cybermusings wrote:2. Constance Horner, chief of the United States government’s personnel agency, has recommended that the use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds for not hiring an applicant.
(A) the use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds for not hiring an applicant
(B) any dangerous or illegal drug, if used in the five years prior to applying for a job, should be grounds not to hire the applicant
(C) an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to application for a job be grounds not to hire them
(D) an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug in the five years prior to applying for a job are grounds that they not be hired
(E) for five years prior to applying for a job, an applicant’s use of any dangerous or illegal drug be grounds for not hiring them

"that ... be" is the correct form. I'm going with A

B, C and D use "grounds" without "for"

E is just awkward

A it is.

IMO A

jayhawk2001 wrote:
"that ... be" is the correct form. I'm going with A

B, C and D use "grounds" without "for"

E is just awkward

Yup. "recommend" is one of the verbs for which we must use subjunctive when we have a dependent clause:

recommend that *subjunctive verb*