Subjunctive (Requiring) ...

[mclaren7]

Dear Moderators and friends,

Source: PowerScore

The parliament has proposed legislation requiring that employers should retain older workers indefinitely or show just cause for dismissal.

(A) that employers should retain older workers
(B) that older workers be retained by employers
(C) the retaining by employers of older workers
(D) employers' retention of older workers
(E) employers to retain older workers

I chose B, but OA is E.

If my understanding is correct, we usually don't choose an infinitive form in the independent part of a subjunctive sentence?

Thanks
KH

[RonPurewal]

some relevant discussion can be found here:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/i-u ... t2749.html

--

choice b is grammatically correct, yes. however, the rearrangement of 'workers' and 'employers' causes problems:
* at best, the use of the passive voice is pointless
* at worst, the meaning of the sentence is changed, so that it now puts the burden of the legislation on the shoulders of the workers, not the employers. that's not the meaning of the original sentence (not to mention that it doesn't make sense - the legislation can't require the workers to force employers to retain them).

choice e also contains a correct grammatical form. the form you're looking for (which appears in choice b), called the command subjunctive, only appears after the word that.