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Which of the following is grammatically correct?

It is important that the bandwidth, which controls the function, be allowed to vary...

or

It is important that the bandwidth, which controls the function, is allowed to vary...

Should the word "is" or the word "be" be used in this sentence? Why?

(I originally had it written one way, and I was advised by peer-review to change it to the other. The meanings seem the same to me, and in fact both grammatically correct. But given the change was suggested, I assume I was in error.)

tchrist
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Earlien
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  • They mean two different things. What are you trying to say? What did your research show? – tchrist Jan 23 '20 at 03:49
  • Can you elaborate what the two different meanings are? The meaning seems the same to me. (It would have been more helpful if you had explained Meaning A is this... and Meaning B is this as an answer rather than just closing it.) – Earlien Jan 23 '20 at 03:50
  • In the is case, you're saying that this *is* currently happening and this fact of its present operation is important. In the be case, you're saying that it is *not* currently happening but that it needs to be. Perhaps your reviewer was from the United States or Canada and you not, as North American speakers, particularly technical ones, can sometimes be more sensitive to this distinction than some native speakers from other hemispheres. – tchrist Jan 23 '20 at 05:06
  • I'm still not sure which one is (more) correct. Is the bandwidth "currently" varying? I don't know - it's theoretical, an idea of what should be (currently) happening. There doesn't seem to be a definitive start. – Earlien Jan 23 '20 at 05:33
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    If you're using this in a deontic modality by specifying something that must be done, then you need be. If Joe's at the party you’d say it's important that he *is* here. If Joe is not at the party yet but you want him to show up, then it's important that he *be* here. You use the present tense is form for something that's already going on presently, and you use the bare infinitive form be for something that has not yet come to pass. The second case is sometimes called the mandative subjunctive. The correct one is the one that means what you're trying to say—which is be. – tchrist Jan 23 '20 at 05:37
  • Thank you. I don't understand some of those terms you are using, but I think I understand your explanation. "Be" is the way I originally wrote it. I will look up what mandative subjunctive means. – Earlien Jan 23 '20 at 05:55

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