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Difficulty: MediumVerbs, Tenses, and Aspect

The board of directors insisted that the chief executive officer ________ a full financial audit before the end of the fiscal quarter. Which of the following verb forms correctly completes the sentence?

  1. undertakeAnswer
  2. B
    undertakes
  3. C
    undertook
  4. D
    would undertake

Answer

The correct verb form is 'undertake'. In formal English, verbs expressing commands, demands, resolutions, or insistence (such as 'insist', 'recommend', 'demand', 'propose') are followed by a subordinate clause in the mandative subjunctive mood, which requires the base/uninflected form of the verb regardless of the subject.
The choice 'undertake' is correct because the verb 'insisted' triggers the mandative subjunctive mood in the following 'that'-clause. The mandative subjunctive takes the uninflected base form of the verb ('undertake') regardless of whether the subject is singular or plural, or whether the main verb is in the past tense.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the governing main verb and clause structure
The main verb is 'insisted', followed by a 'that'-clause expressing an order or demand.
Verbs of demand or insistence govern the mandative subjunctive mood in subordinate clauses.
2
Determine the required subjunctive verb form
The mandative subjunctive requires the bare infinitive (base form) of the verb without any tense inflections (-s, -ed) or auxiliary verbs.
Even with a third-person singular subject like 'the chief executive officer', the subjunctive mood uses the uninflected base verb ('undertake').

Key Concept

Mandative Subjunctive Mood
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Topics

Verbs, Tenses, and Aspect

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