This is one of those expressions used wrongly. The correct expression is: ‘Insist that he go to school.’
The verb ‘go’ remains in its base form (not goes) even though it refers to a third person (he).
Suffice it to say that in the context of the grammar at issue, "insist" is usually followed by an optional "should," “must,” “will,” etc.
Some speakers choose to include these options in their sentences while some others may choose not to add them. That is why these words are regarded as optional items.
Let's apply this principle and see how it reads:
Example 1.
1.“The man insists that his son go to school.” (Correct).
Another way of saying this is:
2.“The man insists that his son (should) go to school.” (Correct)
Take note of the word ‘should’ in bracket. ‘Should’ may not be used in the sentence just like in sentence 1, and that makes ‘should’ an optional item.
Some speakers choose to include "should" in such a sentence while some others may choose not to add it.
In other words, sentence 2 could be rewritten as sentence 1:
3.“The man insists that his son go to school.” (Correct)
Here, ‘should’ which was in bracket in sentence 2, has been deleted because ‘should’ is optional.
Example 2.
“The man insists that his son goes to school.” (Wrong)
Another way of saying this is:
“The man insists that his son should goes to school.” (Wrong)
This is a great disservice to language.
Whether or not we add "should," the word (verb) ‘go’ which comes after ‘should’ in the sentence, remains "go" and not "goes."
Example 1 sounds bitter in the ear but it is the correct thing to say because "insist" in this context is usually followed by an optional “should,” “will,” “must,” etc
In a nutshell, let us examine these sentences from another perspective:
“The man insists that his son (should, must, will) go to school.” (Correct).
“The man insists that his son (should, must, will) goes to school.” (Wrong).
When you think of these sentences with the verbs in bracket, the message may become clearer.
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