TOEIC Link Part 5: The Subjunctive After Verbs of Demand and Suggestion

One of the cleaner traps in TOEIC Link Part 5 is the mandative subjunctive — the rule that certain verbs of demand, request, and recommendation force the verb in the following that-clause into its bare base form, no matter what the subject is. The sentence The board requires that he submit the report looks like an agreement error (he submit, not he submits), and that is exactly the trap: the "correct-looking" conjugated form is wrong. This guide gives you the trigger words and the override rule that makes these questions automatic.

The core rule: trigger + that + base verb

After a triggering verb (or its related noun or adjective), the verb inside the that-clause is the base form — the dictionary form with no -s, no past tense, no to:

The manager insists that every invoice be approved by Friday. We recommend that she reconsider the offer. It is essential that the form remain confidential.

Notice what does not happen: no third-person -s (be, not is; reconsider, not reconsiders), and no agreement with the subject. The base form is fixed. This single rule overrides the normal subject-verb agreement that governs the rest of Part 5.

The trigger list

The subjunctive is forced by a closed set of meanings — demand, request, suggestion, necessity. Memorize the common triggers:

Verbs: suggest, recommend, request, demand, require, insist, propose, ask, advise, urge, mandate, stipulate.

Adjectives (in _it is __ that frames): essential, important, necessary, vital, crucial, imperative, mandatory, advisable.

Nouns (built from the verbs): recommendation, requirement, request, suggestion, demand, insistence — the recommendation that the policy be revised.

If the blank sits in a that-clause governed by any of these, the answer is the base verb.

The negative and passive forms

Two variations trip up test-takers:

• Negative — place not before the base verb, with no auxiliary: We ask that employees not share their passwords (not do not share).
• Passive — use be + past participle: It is required that the document be signed (not is signed).

Both keep the base form intact; only the surrounding words change.

The two-step test

For any that-clause verb question:

1. Find the word before that. Is it a demand/suggestion/necessity trigger (verb, adjective, or noun) from the list above?
2. If yes, choose the bare base form — ignore the subject entirely. If no trigger is present, fall back to normal agreement and tense.

The discipline is step 1: the conjugated option is placed there precisely to catch anyone who applies agreement by reflex.

A note on "suggest" and "insist" with two meanings

Suggest and insist can also report a fact rather than issue a directive, and then they take a normal conjugated verb:

The data suggests that the campaign is working. (reporting a fact — normal verb) The committee suggests that the campaign be extended. (a recommendation — subjunctive)

When the meaning is "this implies/indicates," use the ordinary form; when it is "this recommends/demands," use the base form. TOEIC contexts usually make the directive meaning clear.

Worked examples

The regulations require that each container ___ clearly labeled. (A) is (B) be (C) being (D) was — (B) be: require triggers the subjunctive (passive be labeled).

The director recommended that the team ___ the deadline. (A) extends (B) extended (C) extend (D) extending — (C) extend: base form after recommend.

It is imperative that every visitor ___ a badge at all times. (A) wears (B) wear (C) wore (D) to wear — (B) wear: imperative adjective triggers the base form.

We ask that staff ___ leave food in the server room. (A) do not (B) not (C) does not (D) not to — (B) not: negative subjunctive places not before the base verb.

Common pitfalls

• Adding third-person -s — recommend that he submits is the textbook wrong answer; it must be submit.
• Using to + verb — the subjunctive takes the bare base form, not the infinitive; suggest to extend is wrong.
• Adding do/does in the negative — ask that he not share, never does not share.
• Missing the noun trigger — the requirement that the report be filed works the same as the verb require; the noun form is easy to overlook.

For the broader question of matching a verb form to its trigger across Part 5, see gerund versus infinitive after verbs.

Bottom line

A short, closed list of demand-and-suggestion words flips the following that-clause into the bare base verb and switches off subject-verb agreement. Spot the trigger before that, choose the base form, and remember that the conjugated option is the bait — not the answer.