As a result of the ongoing budgetary crisis, city officials have begun to insist that all unnecessary spending is curtailed for the foreseeable future.
(A) insist that all unnecessary spending is curtailed
(B) insist that all unnecessary spending be curtailed
(C) insist that all unnecessary spending would be curtailed
(D) insist of all necessary spending being curtailed
(E) insist on all unnecessary spending to be curtailed
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Answer: B
Subjunctive
The verb insist is a clue that the subjunctive is required – this mode is used with verbs of demanding and requesting. In the present tense, the subjunctive is signaled by the replacement of the conjugated form is with be. The only answer that forms the subjunctive correctly is (B), making it correct. (A) is incorrect because this answer uses the indicative (non-subjunctive) form, is. (C) is incorrect because the conditional (would be) is not an acceptable replacement for the subjunctive. (D) is incorrect because insist of is idiomatically unacceptable: insist can be followed only by that + subject + verb, or by on + gerund. (E) is likewise incorrect because insist on must be paired with a gerund, not the infinitive (to be).
