gmat verbal test strategy

8/12/2019 GMAT Verbal Test Strategy

1/60

GMAT Verbal NotesREADING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY...........................................................................................3

PREPARATIONSTRATEGY.............................................................................................................................3General Strategies for Reading Comprehension....................................................................................3

Six most important types of RC Questions..............................................................................................4

TESTTAKINGSTARTEGY.............................................................................................................................7

SENTENCE CORRECTION STRATEGY.................................................................................................7

PREPARATIONSTRATEGY.............................................................................................................................7

The 8 Major rrors !f GM"T nglish...................................................................................................#

$%&ronoun error......................................................................................................................................#

'%Mispla(ed Modifier )modifiers must stay (lose to home%....................................................................*

3%&arallel Constru(tion..........................................................................................................................*

4%+er, Tense.........................................................................................................................................$-%Su,je(t/+er, agreement errors.........................................................................................................$$

0%&arallelism )"pples 1 !ranges%.......................................................................................................$3#%Quantity 2ords..................................................................................................................................$4

8%dioms................................................................................................................................................$4

!M"TC &R&!ST!5 6S"G..................................................................................................$8

FORMOFTHEPRESENTPERFECT...............................................................................................................42

THEBASICS................................................................................................................................................42

USINGTHEPRESENTPERFECT...................................................................................................................43EXPERIENCES..............................................................................................................................................43

Changing ,et7een the &resent &erfe(t and &ast Simple......................................................................44DURATION..................................................................................................................................................45

Simple or Continuous.........................................................................................................................40

PASTACTIONWITHARESULTINTHEPRESENT........................................................................................46

9ust........................................................................................................................................................4#

:een or Gone......................................................................................................................................4#

CRITICAL REASONING...........................................................................................................................47

APPENDIX A. ABSOLUTE PHRASES: INTRODUCTION..................................................................52

APPENDIX B. SUBJECT/VERB INVERSION........................................................................................53

APPENDIX C. PREPOSITIONS................................................................................................................57

Acknowledgement :This material has been compiled with the inputs from

various documents on the verbal strategies. Special thanks to Dave, Sahil andScoretop.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( ) 6*)+*2,)4- ) -


2/60

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 2 6*)+*2,)4- 2 -


3/60

Reading Comprehension Strategy

Preparation Strategy

General Strategies for Reading Comprehension

). Try to read the whole tet o! the passage once" i! possible#Man people think ou should!ust skim the passage or read the first lines of ever paragraph, and not to read the passage."e believe this is an error# if ou misunderstand the main idea of the passage, ou willcertainl get at least some of the $uestions wrong. Give the passage one good read, takingno more than % minutes to read all of the te&t. Do not read the passage more than once ' thatwastes too much time. (f ou have not understood it completel, tr to answer the $uestionsanwa. )ote# this point of reading the whole passage is important for test*takers whose firstlanguage is not +nglish, provided that the can read the passage in % minutes or less.

2. Make brie! notes on the tet on yo$r scrap paper# s we will see below in greater detail,

ou should write down a couple of words on - the Main (dea or rimar urpose, /-0rgani1ation2Structure of the passage, and C- the Tone or ttitude of the author 3ifapplicable-. 4ou !ust need a few words for each of these areas, and altogether it should nottake longer than %5 seconds to write down.

3. Remember that the tone or attit$de o! the passage is $s$ally respect!$l and moderate"ne%er going to etremes o! praise nor criticism#+TS obtains its Reading Comprehensionpassages from real articles about real academics and professionals. So the tone of thearticles, even when there is criticism in the passage toward an academic or her work, isalwas balanced and moderate. (n the same vein, articles that deal with minorities or ethnicgroups are almost alwas positive and smpathetic.

4. &ook o$t !or str$ct$ral words that tell yo$ the important ideas or transitions in a

passage#

Contin$e the 'dea (ords Concl$sion(ords

Contradiction )*in+*ang, (ords

Similarl Moreover dditionall (n the same wa 6ikewise

Thus Therefore 7ence So (n summar (n conclusion

)everthless )onetheless 7owever /ut lthough Though +ven though )otwithstanding

4et Despite (n spite of 0n the one hand8on the other

hand "hile 9nlike Traditional view 2 Modern :iew /efore 2fter

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 3 6*)+*2,)4- 3 -


4/60

Generall Most people think8

5. Go back to the tet o! the passage !or the answers#Man test*takers fail to return to thete&t of the passage to look for the correct answers. The rel solel on their memories andunderstanding of the passage after having read or skimmed it. "rong. +TS is counting on

that. Go back to the te&t to look for information to answer the $uestions. )ine times out of ten,the answer lies within the passage.

Si& most important tpes of RC ;uestions

There are < most important tpes of $uestions for Reading Comprehension#

Main 'dea-Primary P$rpose .$estionsMan people believe there is no difference between the main or central idea of the passageand the primar purpose of the author of the passage. This is simpl not true. 6et=s take alook at the subtle but important difference between them#

Main 'deaThe $uestion might look something like this#

>"hich of the following best states the central idea of the passage?>>"hich of the following most accuratel states the main idea of the passage?>>"hich of the following is the principal topic of the passage?>>The main topic of the passage is....>

Primary P$rposeThe $uestion might look like this#

>The primar purpose of this passage is to...>>The primar purpose of the passage as a whole is to...>

>The primar focus of this passage is on which of the following?>>The main concern of the passage is to...>>(n the passage, the author is primaril interested in....>>The passage is chiefl concerned with...>

Strategy:Main 'dea# 6ook in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. n concl$sion wordslike therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that ou see are most likel introducing the main idea. Thecorrect answer will sa the same thing as it sas in the te&t, but using different words. TheMain (dea is not alwas stated e&plicitl in the passage ' in fact, more likel than not, it is notstated e&plicitl. Therefore, in order to answer this tpe of $uestion when it is more implicit#

Re*read the first line of ever passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs. Thisshould give ou the general structure or outline of the argument, with which ou can answerthe Main (dea $uestion.

fter determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answer choicesthat are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beond the content of thepassage, or that deal with content onl discussed in one paragraph of the passage.Make brief notes ' a couple of words* regarding the Main (dea on the te&t on our scrappaper while ou read.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 4 6*)+*2,)4- 4 -


5/60

Primary P$rpose# "hat is the author tring to do? "hat is his intention? (f he is evaluating atheor, then the answer could be something like >Discuss an interpretation>. )ote that thecorrect answer would deal with >aninterpretation>, because the author is onl dealing withonetheor. (f the rimar urpose is to critici1e @ new books, then his intention or his primarpurpose might be to >Criti$ue new studies>. gain, as in Main (dea $uestions, re*read the firstlineof ever passage, and the last lineof the firstand lastparagraphs. This should give outhe general structure or outline of the argument, with which ou can answer the rimarurpose $uestion.Note# good main idea or primar purpose does not go beond the scope of the passage,nor does it limit itself to discussing onl one part of the passage.

Title .$estionsTitle $uestions are ver similar to Main (dea $uestions, though are less common. Thepassages in the real GMT will not have titles. The title $uestion might look like this#

>"hich of the following titles best summari1es the passage as a whole?>

Strategy#Treat this as a Main (dea $uestion. good title sums up the central idea of a passage.Therefore, in order to answer this tpe of $uestion#

A. 6ook in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. n conclusion words liketherefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that ou see are most likel introducing the Main(dea2Title. The correct answer will sa the same thing as it sas in the te&t, but usingdifferent words.

@. Re*read the first line of ever passage, and the last line of the first and last paragraphs.This should give ou the general structure or outline of the argument, with which ou cananswer the Title $uestion.

%. Make brief notes ' a couple of words* regarding the Title on the te&t on our scrap paperwhile ou read.

B. fter determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answerchoices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go beond the content

of the passage, or that deal with content onl discussed in one paragraph of the passage.

Speci!ic /etail or Target 0$estions

Specific Detail or Target $uestions are probabl the most common tpes of $uestions, andthe easiest to answer. The $uestion might look like this#

>ccording to the passage,....>>The passage states that ....>

StrategyThe Specific Detail or Target that we are looking for could be a 6ine )umber, or a )ame orDate. Go to the 6ine )umber or )ame or Date, and then read several lines above and below

it. ind the answer choice that basicall sas the same thing as in the passage, thoughusuall with different words or word order.

'n!erence or Ass$mption .$estionsThis is probabl the most difficult tpe of Reading Comprehension problem. The $uestionsmight look like this#>(t can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions?>>"hich is an assumption underling the last sentence of the passage?>

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 5 6*)+*2,)4- 5 -


6/60

>"hich of the following, if true, would most strengthen the hpothesis mentioned in linesA*AE?>

>"ith which of the following statements regarding chaos theor would the author be mostlikel to agree?>

Strategy#

irst, treat this tpe of problem as a Specific Target $uestion. 6ook for a target in the$uestion, find it in the te&t, and then look above and below it. 0ften ou do not have to inferver much, the answer remains within the te&t.(f the answer must be inferred and is not stated e&plicitl within the te&t, then choose theanswer choice that can be inferred or assumed from the information given. gain, ou shouldnot have to infer ver much ' onl one or two logical steps removed from the information inthe passage.Make sure that the answer choice ou decide on does not violate or contradict the Main (deaof the passage * if it does, the answer choice is probabl wrong.

Attit$de or Tone o! the passage .$estions

The $uestion might look like this#>The author=s attitude towards Morgan=s theor could best be described as one of ...>

Strategy#6ook for descriptive words, ad!ectives or adverbs, that could tell ou the author=s attitude. ore&ample, the words unfortunatelyor flawsuggest a negative connotation, while strengthorvaluableemphasi1e the positive. Make brief notes ' a couple of words* regarding the Tone ofthe te&t on our scrap paper while ou read. dditionall, keep in mind that the author=sattitude toward a theor, book, or ethnic group will almost alwas be respectful, even whensomewhat critical.

1rgani2ation o! the passage 0$estions

The $uestion might look like this#>"hich of the following best describes the organi1ation of the passage?>>"hich of the following best describes the organi1ation of the first paragraph of the

passage?>>0ne function of the third paragraph is to....>

Strategy#Re*read the first lineof ever passage, and the last lineof the firstand lastparagraphs. Thisshould give ou the general structure or outline of the argument, with which ou can answerthe $uestion. Remember to make brief notes about the structure of the te&t on our scrappaper. (f ou are looking for the organi1ation of one paragraph, read the first and secondsentence of the paragraph. That will give ou a rough idea of what is the structure ororgani1ation of the paragraph.

Some tips about reading passages#a. Read the whole te&t of the passage once.b. Make brief notes about the te&t on our scrap paper.c. Remember that the tone or attitude of the passage is usuall respectful and moderate,

never going to e&tremes of praise nor criticism.d. 6ook out for structural words that tell ou the important ideas or transitions in a passage.e. Go back to the te&t of the passage for the answers to specific $uestions.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 6 6*)+*2,)4- 6 -


7/60

Test Taking Startegy

A- ggressivel read each paragraph for its main idea. (f ou canFt write down in a few wordswhat the point of each paragraph is, ou werenFt reading activel enough. 4ou should !otdown the following.a. Main idea or primar purposeb. 0rgani1ation2Structurec. Tone or attitude of author 3if applicable-

Note# /e careful to not write facts down. (tFll bog ou down and usuall results in a loss of thebig picture and moves ou to focus too much into the details.

@- )ote an trigger words, same train of thought words, in*ang parallelism.%- "eed out possible disputable answers. :ague, wimp answers are often correct over

stronger statements. +TS doesnFt want to get man complaints that a particular answer thatwas strongl stated, that e&ceptions could arise. +TS would rather pla it safe.

B- Minorit passages are often positive in tone and answers tend to be positive in tone as well.gain, +TS, wouldnFt want to look pre!udiced.

- lwas eliminate bad choices first before answering. 4ouFll almost alwas be able to narrowdown to @*% and that significantl improves our odds of getting the $uestion right.

ccording to the passage2author> $uestion tpe of $uestions. "henever ou see this

$uestion, tell ourself, >Stop and stop thinking. ( need to 3'N/, not think.>A5- or main point or central idea tpe of $uestions, re*read the first and last sentences of each

paragraph before making elimination choices and answering. Getting the overall structure is

reall helpful before answering.AA- (n Summar# Consider weeding out answers thata. re disrespectful to others2professionals. +TS doesnFt like to be disrespectful.b. Too strong an answer. 9se of words like IonlJ, IdefinitelJ, IpositivelJc. Condone2approve pre!udicial attitudes. +TS doesnFt like to be disrespectful.

Sentence Correction Strategy

Preparation Strategy

The 4 Ma5or 6rrors 1! GMAT 6nglish

Spotting bad sentences is the ke to doing well on sentence structure test $uestions.

7, Prono$n error

There are % main tpes of pronoun errors encountered in GMT.a# Pl$ral and Sing$lar

0nce ou start with one, ou need to sta in the same $uantit 3singular or plural-.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 7 6*)+*2,)4- 7 -


8/60

Sing$lar Prono$ns )Memori2e these,7int# Do ou see the categories ( setup? (tFs S)+ to memori1e thisSome***AnKNoK6verK

+verone+verbod+verthing

SomeoneSomebodSomething

+ither)either

0ne+ach

nonenbodnthing

)o one)othing)obod

"hoever"homever

7is

8e aware that gro$p" 5$ry" team" co$ntry" !amily are sing$lar# Society today $sesthem sometimes as pl$ral. This is because these act as a single unit when the dosomething.

Pl$ral Prono$ns )Memori2e these,

/oth Their Man Severalew 0thers

Sing$lar and Pl$ral Prono$ns 9 depends on whether the no$n is sing$lar or pl$ral)Memori2e these,

Some More Most ll

The pl$ral and sing$lar cla$se error"hen two nouns are in the sentence doing an action together but the are linked withi- long withii- Together withiii- "ithiv- s well as

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 6*)+*2,)4- -


9/60

v- (n addition tovi- ccompanied b

8 this does not make the following action the do plural. 1nly and; can take thetwo sing$lars and make their action pl$ral#or e&ampleLanie, with her poodle limping behind her, walks to the dog park.+&planation# Lanie is singular. The poodle is singular. The both do the actiontogether, but the use of IwithJ means that we need to keep the verb singular. I"alksJis singular and I"alkJ is plural.Remember" a %erb that ends with an 9s is sing$lar#

b. Prono$n re!erence error* referring pronoun is not correctl placed.or e&ample#(n the sentence ISamantha and Lane went shopping, but shecouldnFt find anthing sheliked.J, the pronoun IsheJ does not refer to a person unambiguousl. (t is difficult tounderstand that whether IsheJ is referring to Samantha or Lane.The correct form would be ISamantha and Lane went shopping, but SamanathacouldnFtfind anthing sheliked.J

c. Relati%e prono$nsare often used incorrectl toda.A- Referring to things or animals ' that, which@- Referring to peopleKwho, whom%- They' be careful that ou donFt use this unless ouFre positive there is a referring

noun. Toda we often use ItheJ to replace the use of a proper noun which it is not.(tFs a ronoun.


10/60

ind the two things being compared and see if the sentence is structured in balance.DonFt be afraid to consider changing verbs or ad!ectives to get the balance.

The words >like,> >unlike,> >similar to,> >as8so>, IwhenJ and >in contrast to> are the mostcommon indicators of comparisons. (n comparisons, compatibility is determined bys$b5ect matter. or e&ample#

Is domesticated animals, indoor cats tpicall lose their abilit to hunt for their own food,so too do domesticated dogs come to rel e&clusivel on their owners for sustenance.J

7ere, domesticated cats are compared to domesticated dogs, and the comparison worksbecause the are both domesticated animals K the are like terms. "henever ou see acomparison being set up in a sentence, check to see that the terms of the comparisonare compatible.

b# Parallelism is not 5$st abo$t cla$ses" b$t %erb $sage+&ample# *ing and 'ing, to88 to88 , either 8.. or, neither 88. nor.

(n a series of two or more elements, what ou do on O@ determines what ou do on %. (nother words, everthing after O@ must match O@#

( like to swim, to run, and to dance. ( like to swim, run, and dance.are oka.

( like to swim, run, and to dance.

( like to swim, to run, and dance.are )0T oka.

>, Verb Tense

0n the GMT, tense problems are often !ust a matter of parallel construction. (n general, if asentence starts out in one tense, it should probabl remain in the same tense.

Some ma!or categories of tense# DonFt need to memori1e tpes. Lust be familiara. Present tense e&ample# 7e walks three miles a da.b. Simple Past e&ample# "hen he was ounger, he walked three miles a da.c. Present Per!ect e&ample# 7e has walked.d. Past Per!ect e&ample# 7e had walked.e. 3$t$re e&ample# 7e will work.f. Present Per!ect' Describes action that began in the past but continues $ntilthe

present. Pe identifier ' IhasJ IhaveJ. Sidenote:Sometimes used when deadline e&ists.g. Past Per!ect' Describes action that started and stopped in the past. Pe identifier '

had;h. Present Progressi%e' 9sed as emphasis b the speaker that the action is happening

this ver minute. Pe identifier ' verb Qto beF a verb with an 'ing ending.i. Per!ect Progressi%e' 0ccupies more than one moment in the past. (n other words,

ongoing for a period of time. Pe identifier ' Ihad beenJ

0ne e&ception to this rule is a sentence that contains the past perfect 3 in which one action inthe past happened before another action in the past-.+&amples#7e had ridden his motorccle for two hours when it ran out of gas.The dinosaurs are e&tinct now, but the were once present on the earth in large numbers.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( ), 6*)+*2,)4- ), -


11/60

Two events that have taken place, are taking place or will take place at the same time musthave the same tense in the sentence.

assive verbs begin with the form of Ito beJ 3+&ample# to be, were, was- and end with adifferent verb in the past tense.

?, S$b5ect+Verb agreement errors

verb is supposed to agree with the sub!ect.a. Sing$lar @ Pl$ral agreement# Do the two agree in pluralit? Can be made ver

comple& when prepositional phrases separate verb from noun2sub!ect b or morewords. +as to overlook cross referenced sub!ect*verb relationship.

b. To tell i! a %erb paradigm is pl$ral or sing$lar.Mentall put ITheJ in front of the verb pluralMentall put I7eJ in front of the verb singular

c# Verb pl$rality: )This comes $p A &1T on the GMAT,dding an IsJ to the end of an ad!ective makes it singular.or e&ample, dislike plural dislikessingular

$uote#( chose , but the correct answer is /.The ma!orit of the talk was devoted to an account of the e&perimental methods used binvestigators in the field.a. ...b. The greater part of the talk wasc. The bulk of the talk has beend. large amount of the talk has beene. predominance of the talk wasGood one

>ma5ority> sho$ld be $sed with co$nt no$ns only#

The ma!orit of the water is dirt.(s >unidiomatic,> because >water> is a non*count noun.Lust in case, count nouns can be counted 3bottle, idea, person, brush, etc.-)oncount nouns cannot be counted 3water, furniture, information, soap, luggage, etc.-.

There is, however, a lot of overlap between the two**beer, coke, coffee, material, love, etc.can all be either count or non*count, depending on our meaning, conte&t, or level of formalit.

0ne of the most common $uestions is something like this#Do ( sa#>Most of the people is2are...?>>Most of the water is2are...?>

7ere=s the rule#$uantifier of N1N verb

The N1N determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

or e&ample#Most of the people is/are...because the quantifier "most" refers to "people," (a plural noun) so "most" is plural in thissentence.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( )) 6*)+*2,)4- )) -


12/60

Most of the water is2are...because the $uantifier >most> refers to >water,> 3a non*count noun- so >most> is plural3singular-in this sentence.

So, from these e&amples, ou should notice that we are looking mainl at whether the ob!ectof the preposition is count or non*count because the $uantifier will take on this propert fromthe ob!ect of the preposition.

(n other words, in these sentences#Most of the people are...>Most> becomes a count noun because >people> is a count noun.Most of the water is...>Most> becomes a non*count noun because >water> is a non*count noun.So, this rule tells us only whether the $uantifier is count or non*count.

To figure out whether the $uantifier is singular or plural, we need to check one more thing...Sometimes, a $uantifier refers onl to one thing, not man things. or e&ample,each, e%ery, and one alwas refer to one thing, but 7B, hal!, all, and most would refer tomore than one thing if the ob!ect of the preposition is count 3with one possible e&ception that (will show ou in a second-.

0f course, if the $uantifier is alwas singular, then the verb must alwas be singular, too.36et=s not forget our common sense in grammar, oka??- or e&ample, we sa# 1ne of the people is... 6ach of the students is...

0f course, when ( first wrote out these rules, ( imagined a situation like this# AU of the A55 people is2are...because, of course, AU of A55 is one, and that=s singular, right? nd there=s invariabl somestudent in m class who will tr to find an e&ception 3that=s what ( do in class, too Mteachers hated it -

nwa, ( think most people would sa that this is simpl a bad sentence and should berewritten. This sentence (=ve shown ou is more of a grammar p$22le than a real sentence.

/ut ( know that somebod out there will want to know the >answer.> "ell, ou can=t go wrongif ou write it in the singular, can ou?

The teacher together with the student 'S 3or R+- going to...? The teacher and the st$dent AR6 3or (S-going to?

Generall speaking, we need a con!unction to create a plural sub!ect from more than onesingular noun. >together with> is )0T a con!unction, and therefore cannot create a pluralsub!ect. >and> on the other hand, (S a con!unction and C) create a plural sub!ect.(=m concluding#>a number of ...> alwas takes plural verbs.>the number of ...> alwas takes singular verbs.

+g# the number of people has increased number of people have gone

The important thing here is that the number in the first e&ample 3the number of womenemploed outside the home- is an actual number**%,555, for e&ample. +ven if ou add morewomen to the original number, there will still be one number, right?The second usage of >numbers> is also correct, and means that there are man people in thatgroup. or e&ample, it is correct to sa#People are lea%ing Cali!ornia in greater n$mbers#People are spending more money on the 'nternet in greater n$mbers#

Second, >curfew> is a singular count noun and therefore re$uires a determiner 3the-.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( )2 6*)+*2,)4- )2 -


13/60

( agree with ou that skill can be both a count noun as well as a non*count noun. (t alldepends upon the conte&t.

7ave a look at the e&ample below#A. 7arr knows $uite a few driving skills.Conversel, if were to ask 7arr about his driving skills, ( would ask.

@. 7ow much skill do ou have in driving a car, 7arr?So ou see, the word >skill> remains the same but depending on the conte&t, skill can be anon*count or a count noun?

"ith fractions, percentages and indefinite $uantifiers, the verb agrees with the preceding noun orclause. (ith sing$lar or non+co$nt no$ns or cla$ses" $se a sing$lar %erb #

0ne third of this article is taken up with statistical analsis. ll of the book seems relevant to this stud. 7alf of what he writes is undocumented. bout fift percent of the !ob is routine. ll the information is current.

"ith plural nouns, use plural verbs#

0ne third of the students have graduate degrees. ift percent of the computers have CD*R0M drives. Man researchers depend on grants from industr.

"ith collective nouns, use either sing$lar or pl$ral, depending on whether ou want toemphasi1e the single gro$p or its indi%id$al members#

7alf of m famil lives2live in Canada. ll of the class is2are here. Ten percent of the population is2are bilingual.

This is another reason, and this one=s a bit harder to e&plain. (n a nutshell, though, we can=tuse a that noun clause with the word irective, !ust as we cannot with orer, as hellogmathas pointed out.

D, Parallelism )Apples @ 1ranges,

This error is not a fre$uentl encountered error, but it is worth knowing and practicing sucherrors. (n such sentences, generall two things or items are compared.

a. "hen the sentence compares two items. sk ourself, can the be reall compared?b. "hen the sentence compares two actions as well.

9suall, the problem is with hidden comparison where two things or actions are compared,but another two items or actions are intertwined and ou lose the comparison relationship.

+&ample# ISnthetic oils burn less efficientl than natural oils.J

The sentence is wrong because we are tring to compare how well each oil burns and not theoils themselves. /ut do ou see how the actual thing being compared is easil missed?

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( )3 6*)+*2,)4- )3 -


14/60

E, .$antity (ords

i. The words measuring $uantit ma be used incorrectl. or e&ample, when comparingtwo items, it would be inappropriate to use IamongJ to compare them. 7ereFs a chart#

< items i! more than

R(u!&(; : ----- T!(1 0u1 &$ $"(&!$10 !0 &(u!&(; : "#( 8$. =8$

% $&&$" #$!.>

(ord Pairs

as8as The movie was aslong asit was boring.

more8thanless8thangreater8.than

The workshop was morethrilling thananthing (=d ever done.

not onl8but3also-

She was not onlye&hausted b$t )also,famished as well.

so8thatThe apartment was soe&pensive thatno self*supporting student

could afford it.

3!ust- as8so)F$st, asit is the dut of emploees to contribute to the well*being of the compan, soit is the dut of the compan tocontribute to the well*being of its emploees.

neither8noreither8or

Neithera borrower nora lender be.

'/'1MAT'C PR6P1S'T'1N SAG6

Man idiomatic e&pressions tested on the e&am involve prepositions. There=s nooverarching grammatical rule that tells ou which prepositions go with which verbs.

gain, the rules are determined b usage, so ou=ll have to >listen> to the e&pression and

determine if the verb is followed b the correct preposition./e on the lookout for commonl tested prepositions like >of,> >at,> >b,> >in,> >from,> >to,>and >for>. (f ou have difficult determining whether a usage is correct, tr testing out theidiom in a simpler version of the sentence.

+&ample#Altho$gh he was considered as a leading proponent !or the contro%ersial newinitiati%e" the pro!essor ne%ertheless so$ght re!$ge !rom the media $proar.

The sentence above becomes#The professor was considered as a proponent.Does anthing sound unusual? Could this sentence be worded differentl? (n fact, to be,not as, is the correct idiom#The professor was consiere to bea proponent.

"ould ratherpresent tense if referring to mself and past tense if someone other thanthe sub!ect is doing the action

+&ample# "ould rather ( speak present tense+&ample# "ould rather ou spoke past tense

General Grammar definitionsSo [ thereforeSo that [ in order to2in order that

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( ) 6*)+*2,)4- ) -


19/60

That [ the fact that

Con!unctions that can !oin two independent clauses are# and, but, et, for, or, nor/ont start sentences with 8eca$se;

"ords re$uiring IhowJ 3e&ample# know how-PnowTeach6earnShow

Always choose acti%e o%er passi%e %oicective e&ample# +laine purchased new software for the companassive e&ample# )ew software was purchased for the compan b +laine

nother fre$uentl tested grammatical error is unnecessar use of the passive voice. (t=sa good idea to become familiar with this tpe of error it appears $uite often in the answerchoices of sentence correction $uestions.

s a reminder, the passive voice is in use when the action of the sentence is performed

on the sub!ect. The active voice is in use when the sub!ect itself performs the action.+&ample#Acti%e# llison 3sub!ect- went 3action- to the store to bu a cake 3ob!ect-.Passi%e# The cake 3sub!ect- was bought 3action- b llison 3ob!ect-.

reposition useIToJ or I0fJ needs sub!ect verb )0T ob!ect verb+&amples of sub!ect# she, he, whoever, who, (+&amples of ob!ect# her, him, whomever, its, it

+ither side of a form Ito beJ 3were, was- must have sub!ects not ob!ects on either side toagree.

verb that ends in 'ing is a gerund which is a verb acting like a noun. Tr not to usegerunds if ou can help it.

dverbs, not ad!ectives modif verbsPe identifier# dverbs end in 'lCorrect e&ample# ( sure wish ( were rich(ncorrect e&ample# ( surel wish ( were rich

(ord sageSome pairs of words, like !ewerand less, are often used incorrectl because the=retreated as snonms. (n fact, there is a solid rule that determines which one ou shoulduse, and the e&am will test our abilit to decide which is the correct option. The e&amtests four such word pairs with particular fre$uenc, so memori1e the rules pertaining to

them if ou don=t know them alread.3ewer-&ess"hich of the two following sentences is correct? The compan fired no less than fift emploees. The compan fired no fewer than fift emploees.The second sentence is correct. "h? /ecause ou use lesswhen ou=re talkingabout things ou can=t count 3less pollution, less violence- but !ewerwhen ou=retalking about things ou can count 3fewer pollutants, fewer violent acts-.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( )+ 6*)+*2,)4- )+ -


20/60

N$mber-Amo$ntThese words follow the same rule as less and fewer. N$mberis correct when oucan count the thing being described 3a number of cars, a number of people- andamo$ntis correct when ou cannot 3amount of love, amount of pain-.

Among-8etween9se betweenwhen onl two options are available 3between the red car and the bluecar- and amongwhen more than two options are available 3among the five answerchoices, among the man books-.

'!-(hether(hetheris correct when ou=re discussing two options 3whether to get chocolate orstrawberr ice cream- and i!is correct for more than two options 3if she should get icecream, fro1en ogurt, or a cookie-.1n the GMAT" whether will )almost, always beat i!(ncorrect# 7er client didnFt tell her if he had sent his pament et.Correct# 7er client didnFt tell her whether he had sent his pament et.

Compared to %-s# Compared with: To show comparison between unlike things,

Qcompare toF is used. To show comparison between like things, Qcompare withF isused.e#g. 7e compared her to a summer da. Scientists compare the human brain to a computer. 39nlike thing- The police compared the forged signature with the original. 36ike things-There are two rules which ou should consider. irst read the usage notes fromdictionar.com#Compare usuall takes the preposition to when it refers to the activit of describingthe resemblances between $nlike things#

7e compared her to a summer da. Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer.

Compare takes with when it refers to the act of e&amining two like things in order todiscern their similarities or differences#

The police compared the forged signature with the original. The committee will have to compare the Senate=s version of the bill with theversion that was passed b the 7ouse.

"hen compare is used to mean to liken; 3one- with another, with is traditionallheld to be the correct preposition#That little bauble is not to be compared with 3not to- this enormous !ewel. 8$t to;is !re0$ently $sed in this contet and is not incorrect#

R$le 7# Compare to compares $nlike things, whereas compare with compareslike things.

R$le


21/60

+achThis $uestion tests one use of >each> which most of us ignore. The traditional rule stillholds true i.e. >the s$b5ect o! a sentence beginning with each is grammaticallysing$lar>./ut there is another rule which sas that#(hen each !ollows a pl$ral s$b5ect" the %erb and s$bse0$ent prono$ns remainin the pl$ral#e.g. the apartments eachhave their own private entrances 3not has its own privateentrance-

Three cats each eat ...Three cats, each of which eats ...,

(n A, eachis postpositive d!, whereas in @, it is distributive determiner.

e.g.Television can be s$per!icial, as when three ma!or networks each broadcast e&actl

the same.

dverb clause of manner with temporal adverb clause#

Television can be s$per!icial, as XT: is superficialY when three networks each broadcast the same.

************************************************************************************************************$uote#

lthough it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such aswhen each of the three ma!or networks broadcast e&actl the same statement from apolitical candidate.

3- superficial such as when each of the three ma!or networks3/- superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three ma!or networks3C- superficial if the three ma!or networks all

3D- superficial whenever each of the three ma!or networks3+- superficial, as when the three ma!or networks each

irst of all, each, if it=s a pronoun 3as it is in -, is singular. (n fact, each is almostalwas singular, but there=s at least one e&ception, which we will see in !ust a minute.So, can be faulted for using a plural verb, broacast, with a singular sub!ect, each."hat ( reall like about is that it uses such as, which we use to give e&amples. llthe other incorrect answer choices use words that mean something different from fore!ample.

The best answer, +, maintains the same meaning as , and corrects the sub!ect2verbagreement problem. lease note that one of the accepted meanings of as is forinstance, and with this meaning, as is an adverb and can therefore be followed b

parts of speech other than simpl nouns.

/ is not onl awkward, it also incorrectl uses if in the subordinate clause connectedwith can in the main clause. ( think this is the part that is confusing people 3it certainlis what has confused TestMagic students in the past-, so let=s flip the sentencearound to see a bit more clearl that it=s not correct to use if with can# f all of thethree ma#or networks broacast the same statement, television can be superficial.

This sentence should read#

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 2) 6*)+*2,)4- 2) -


22/60

f all of the three ma#or networks broacast the same statement, television will besuperficial.(n other words, it=s not correct to use can after if 3in the conte&t of what we=ve beentalking about-. 6et=s look at a simpler e&ample#f the temperature rops below $ egrees celsius, istille water can or will free%e.lease post back with $uestions if ou need clarification on this. inall, it=s better touse each than it is to use all, since each network is operating independentl**allimplies that the networks were working together.

That Vs (hichMost often than not, in GMT, which would be preceded b a comma in thesentence.e.g. Get me the book, which is mine. "hich is used to $ualif the book i.e. which ismine. There ma be man books in the room, but ( want m book.Q"hichF should alwas refer to a noun. +.g. Get me the book, which is mine. So,QwhichF here refers to the noun QbookF.

"hich should appl to things

The other thing**which must replace a noun, not a sentence or idea.

e.g. Sales of 9nited States manufactured goods to non*industriali1ed countries roseto \A


23/60

V lease go into the room and get me the big book which is mine. V

V lease go into the room and get me the big book, that is mine. V)otice the commas**that=s what makes all the difference.

The +&planation0ka, we have in +nglish this weird idea that we need to use different grammar in an

ad!ective clause 3a.k.a. relative clause- depending on whether the information in thead!ective clause is necessar to specificall identif which noun we are referring to.or e&ample, imagine ou have one sister, and ou are telling a friend that our sisteris coming to visit ou. Since this person is our friend, we can presume that he knowsthat ou have onl one sister.

4ou utter a sentence like this to our friend in GMTland# >M sister, who !ust graduated from college, is coming to see me.>

(n GMTland, since our friend 3we presume- knows ou well and knows thatou have onl one sister, this e&tra bit of information is considered unnecessarto identif which sister it is ou are talking about. (t is a sort of >b the wa>information**>M sister is coming to see me, and oh, b the wa, she !ustgraduated from college.>

)ow imagine ou have two, three, or even more sisters. 6et=s imagine that one isa college professor, another is a webmaster, and this one who is coming to visitou !ust graduated from college. (f ou=re talking to our friend, and ou sa onl>m sister,> and ou do not mention her name, our friend might not know whichsister ou are talking about. So ou add that e&tra bit of information**m sisterwho !ust graduated from college**to identif which sister it is ou are referring to.(n this situation, we have !ust correctl emploed a ver important grammar rule.Read on.So, if the person ou=re talking to, or the person who=s reading what ou=vewritten, needs that e&tra bit of information to know which noun ou=re referring to,we sa that that e&tra information is non+restricti%e. This word doesn=t realldescribe the function clearl, so man teachers sa that this information is>e&tra.>0n the other hand, if ou need that information to know which noun ou aretalking about, we sa that the information is restricti%e. gain, this word is notreall a good choice for clarit, and man teachers use the term >necessarinformation> instead.inall, !ust to make +nglish a bit more difficult, we have a rule that sas weshould $se a comma be!ore or a!ter Ietra in!ormation cla$ses andphrases"I b$t not with Inecessary in!ormation cla$ses or phrases#ITheidea here is that the comma represents the slight pause in speech or change inintonation that a native speaker might use when making such an utterance.( should point out that both thatand whichare relative pronouns, i.e., the aregrammaticall the same, but their meanings are slightl different.

)ow, let=s return to our original e&ample sentences# lease go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine.

(n this sentence, the clause which is mineis >e&tra> because the information >the bigbook> is enough to identif which book it is that ou want. "e can assume that thereis onl one big book in the room. lease go into the room and get me the big book that is mine.(n this sentence, the clause that is mineis >necessar> because the information >thebig book> is )0T enough to identif which book it is that ou want**it is probabl thecase that there are several big books in the room, so ( need to add the information>that is mine> to identif which book it is that ( want.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 23 6*)+*2,)4- 23 -


24/60

More +&amples few more e&amples ma help# ( met with /ill Clinton, who is a lawer.The name &ill 'lintonis enough to identif which person (=m talking about**who is alawyeris therefore e&tra information. ( met with the man who is a lawer.

(n this case, >the man> is not enough information to identif which person (=m talkingabout**who is a lawyeris therefore necessar information. The Sun, which is the onl star in our solar sstem, is the source of heat for

+arth.gain, the name >the Sun> alread clearl identifies the noun therefore, theinformation in the ad!ective clause >which is the onl star in our solar sstem> is e&tra. The star that is at the center of our solar sstem is called what?(n this case, since we don=t have a name here, we don=t know which star it is that weare referring to. Therefore, the information in the ad!ective clause >that is at thecenter our solar sstem> is necessar.

A good r$le to learn is that which re0$ires a comma be!ore it#(f ou=re not sure aboutwh the comma is necessar, please see this post.

7owever, GMT is ver trick at times, and can of course create a $uestion in which this ruledoes )0T appl. (n fact, (=ve seen a $uestion that used which without a comma, but 66 theanswer choices violated the rule. (.e., none of the answer choices used that the all usedwhich without a comma.

7ere=s an e&ample of what ( mean#

6ucise in San rancisco is a place which anbod can visit.

3- which anbod can visit3/- which an person could visit3C- which no person could not visit3D- which, if the wanted to, an person could visit

3+- which an person could visit if the so desired

( know some of ou will think that this sentence is terrible, but the whole point of GMTsentence correction is that we must choose the bestanswer, )0T the perfect answer.

The $se o! beingeople who stud for GMT for a while $uickl learn that being is usuall wrong.

So (=m guessing ou alread know that being in an answer choice is wrong moreoften than it is right.

This is a good strateg to get ou started, but to get over 55 on the GMT, oureall need to know some of the finer points of GMT Sentence Correction that relate

to the use of the word being.

There are at least two different situations in which being is often the right answer.

7ere is the first e&ample of when being is correct#a. (hen the grammar re0$ires it#

4es, (=m tring to simplif things here, but the idea is this**man ideas can be e&pressed inmore than one wa. or e&ample, ( can sa#

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 24 6*)+*2,)4- 24 -
http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=150http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=150


25/60

(=m afraid of being late#(=m afraid that 'Jll be late#

+ach has its own emphasis, but the point is that these two structures e&ist. 3(f ( know mmembers here, ( know that the will have $uestions about the difference, but please, let=sstart a separate thread for this.-

"hether we can e&press ideas in one or more structures is reall related to the wordused in other words, it is idiomatic.

/ut some idioms allow onl one structure. or e&ample#

(n addition to beingone of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and mericantastes, Che1 anisse in /erkele is also one of the /a rea=s most establishedrestaurants.

The idiomatic structure in aition to does not have a counterpart that uses a sub!ect anda verb, so our onl option here is to use being, which is grammaticall a noun, but isderived from a verb.

b. with @ N1N @ being @ N1N C1MP&6M6NTThe second e&ample of when being is correct is shown in this e&ample#

There are man reasons to get an M/, with increase career prospects beingthe most important for man M/ applicants.

Technicall this part here#

with increase career prospects being the most important for man M/applicants

is an absolute phrase, but ( think it=s also helpful !ust to memori1e the pattern#

ramed b traitorous colleagues, lfred Drefus was imprisoned for twelve earsbefore there was e&oneration and his freedom.3- there was e&oneration and his freedom3/- he was to be e&onerated with freedom3C- being e&onerated and freed

3D- e&oneration and his freedom3+- being freed, having been e&onerated

C is correct. The main thing here is that we do nothave the best option availableto us#

before he was e&onerated and freed

The second best option would be#

before being e&onerated and freed

8eca$se %-s# 'n That: "hen +TS puts QbecauseF and Qin thatF in a sentence, more oftenthan not, Qin thatF would be correct. Q(n that $ualifiesF the previous sentence, whileQbecauseF is !ust used to show a simple causal relationship.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 25 6*)+*2,)4- 25 -
http://www.testmagic.com/grammar/explanations/phrases/absolute-phrases-introduction.asphttp://www.testmagic.com/grammar/explanations/phrases/absolute-phrases-introduction.asp


26/60

Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because the are composed of tissues suchas tooth and bone not normall found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

because the are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone

because the are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are

because the are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues

in that their composition , tissues such as tooth and bone, is in that the are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues

6 is the correct answer#

s$al %-s# 's s$al: 7e is faster than is usual for an human being ' (s correct.7e is faster than usual toda ' is correct

Mercedes is more e&pensive than usual for a car ' (ncorrect

Mercedes is more e&pensive than is usual for a car ' Correct

"hen something is compared to a subgroup to which it belongs, is usual should beused. "hen something is compared to itself, usual is fine.

e.g. 7e is nicer than usual.

Can %-s# Co$ld: (f ou are !ust assuming something, QcouldF should be used.

e.g. rtificial intelligence emerged during the late AE5=s as an academic disciplinebased on the assumption that computers are able to be programmed to think likepeople.

3- are able to be programmed to think like people3/- were able to be programmed to think as people3C- can be programmed to think as people can3D- could be programmed to think like people3+- are capable of being programmed to think like people do

Could is used for# possibilit 3Lohn could be the one who stole the mone-, condition3(f ( had more time, ( could travel around the world-, suggestion 34ou could spendour vacation here-, polite re$uest 3Could ( have something to drink?-

6ike vs sirst of all, ( should sa that !ust about an GMT grammar rule will have somee&ception. or this reason, ( prefer not to refer to >+nglish grammar rules> but to>GMT patterns.> s (=m sure ou=re aware, it=s ver difficult to give a pattern thatapplies in e%ery case. ( would sa that generall speaking, our summar is good,but !ust to be sure, ( want to restate#

9se like when ou want to focus on two nouns9se as when ou want to focus on two nouns doing two actions.

nother little trick is that >!ust as> can replace >in the same wa that...>

6et=s compare two ver similar sentences that could cause confusion#M Siamese cat moved across the floor5$st like a lion stalking its pre.

To me, this sentence stresses how two different cats are similar. ( know this isconfusing because we have a noun, >lion> and a participle >stalking,> which would

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 26 6*)+*2,)4- 26 -


27/60

seem to indicate that we should use >as,> but it=s !ust not so. (n this sentence, do outhink we=re ting to sa

M Siamese cat moved across the floor in the way that a lion stalks its pre.

( don=t think so...

M Siamese cat moved across the floor5$st as a lion stalks its pre.This one sounds bad to me, ( think because we are not e&plaining how the cat ismoving. urthermore, at some point, we are going to run into some ambiguit**>as>does also mean >at the same time,> and ( also think that the sentence above doessound a bit like two things are happening at the same time.

6et=s look at a better sentence#M Siamese cat moved across the floor5$st as a lion stalking its pre moves.This one sounds ver good to me it e&plains how a m cat moved.urthermore, it has the same meaning as#M Siamese cat moved across the floor in the way that a lion stalking its premoves.

&ike %s# S$ch As.$estion# "hat=s the difference between like and such as?6ample o! the ImistakeI that we make in e%eryday speech# Can ou bu mesome fruit like oranges or grapefruit?Kow the GMAT 1!!icial G$ide wo$ld eplain this mistake # 9sing like in thisanswer choice mistakenl suggests that the utterer of the re$uest does in fact notwant oranges or grapefruit, but rather some other kind of fruit that is similar tooranges or grapefruit.

'n normal 6nglish# (n GMT6and, likemeans similar to, and such asmeansfore!ample. Take a look at these e&amples# Can ou bu me some fruit likeoranges or grapefruit?

(n GMT6and, this sentence would mean that ou do )0T want oranges or

grapefruit instead, ou=d prefer some fruit similar to oranges and grapefruit. ore&ample, ou ma want pomelo, lemons, or limes. 4es, ( know this sounds a littlecra1, but our goal is to understand what GMT is looking for, not what is>correct> +nglish.

Can ou bu me some fruit s$ch asoranges or grapefruit?4es, this is what we=re supposed to sa in GMT6and ** oranges and grapefruitare e&amples of the tpe of fruit we want.

( would like ou to bu s$chfruit asoranges and grapefruit for me, if ou don=tmind.

This is simpl a variation ** notice how such and as are separated. Separating thetwo elements tends to make this pattern a bit harder to see.

Not-8$t %s# Rather than

The ke here is to reali1e that not... but... is con5$nction. "e use con!unctions whenwe want to !oin things that are >linguisticall e$uivalent.> 7elp much? )o, probablnot.

7ow about some e&amples?ucci is not a dog but a cat.ot Todd but Taka will be stuying with us toay. not was sad but happy to learn that Megumi was moving to aris for a better #ob.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 27 6*)+*2,)4- 27 -


28/60

4ou should notice that the words in bold are >linguisticall e$uivalent,> or, as we sain class, >parallel.> )ow compare one of these sentences if ( tr to use rather than#

ucciis a cat rather than a og.

Doesn=t this sentence sound cra1? (t should the meaning is all wrong. )ow, let=slook at a similar sentence, one in which rather than is oka#

want a cat rather than a og.

This sentence is oka because we are e&pressing a pre!erence for one thing overanother thing.

( need V, not 4 [ ( need V but not 4 [ ( need not 4 but V>( need V rather than 4> does not connote >( need not 4>, it !ust tells our preference.

se o! Consider# "hen QconsiderF means Qregard asF, QasF should not be present withQconsiderF in the sentence. Consider must directl be followed b the sentencewithout an infinitive like Qto beF etc.+&ample# Some students of literar criticism consider the theories of /laine to be a

huge advance in modern critical thinking and $uestion the need to stud thediscounted theories of Rauthe and "ilson.

to be a huge advance in modern critical thinking and $uestionas a huge advance in modern critical thinking and $uestionas being a huge advance in modern critical thinking and $uestioneda h$ge ad%ance in critical thinking and 0$estion )(hen consider means regard

as" no need o! as,are a huge advance in modern critical thinking and $uestioned+&ample @#Critics consider correction facilities to be an integral part o! communal sstem. *

(ncorrect

Critics consider correction facilities an integral part of communal sstem. ' Correct

86CAS6 %-s# 1N ACC1NT 13: 0n GMT, Q/ecauseF is preferred over Qon accountofF. This is because QbecauseF can introduce an entire subordinate clause in thesentence 3Golden crab is not fished, on account of living8 * is not correct-. Goldencrab is not fished, because it lives8 * is correct

CK'63 o! (K'CK %-s#C7(+ among which#

Lamieson=s proposal was re!ectedfor several reasons, the chief among which was cost.

3- the chief among which was cost3/- among which the chief was its cost3C- the main one was cost

3D- the chief reason of which was its cost3+- the chief of which was cost

chiefmeans main orprincipal, and all three words mean the top one. nd when werefer to a member of a group, we use of. or e&ample, if we want to name our bestfriend, we=d sa *e is the best of my friens, but not *e is the best among myfriens.

)ow, run these through our head to see how the sound#

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 2 6*)+*2,)4- 2 -


29/60

The main reason of all the reasons. The main reason among all the reasons.

( think the first sounds better and is more precise.

PRACT'C6 %-s# PRACT'S6:ractise is a verb and practice is a noun. ( practise piano is correct. lso, ( had m

piano practice for the da is correct.The doctor practised for @5 ears his brother a lawer had a @ ear practice.

6ACK %-s# 6V6R*:+ach refers to Q< times, ever refers to QMore than < times

The dog has bitten m ounger son twice, and each time, he has had to be sent to hiskennel.

each time, he has had to be sent to his

ever time, it has had to be sent to his

each time" it has had to be sent to its

ever time, it has had to be sent to its

each time, he has had to be sent to its

Q+ach timeF because it has bitten onl twice. The use of the pronoun >he> is unclearhere * does it refer to the dog or to the son? (n fact, tracing our wa back along thesentence, we find that we come across the word >son> before we come across theword >dog>, which rather implies that it is the son who owns, and is sent to, thekennel.The wa to get round this ambiguit is to use >it> followed b >its> 3no apostrophe-.This limits the choices to 3C- and 3D-. The onl difference between these options isthe fact that one uses the word >ever> and the other uses the word >each>. Sincethese refer to the two times that the dog bit the son, we shouldn=t $se Ie%eryI )thatre!ers to three or more times,. The correct option is therefore 3C-.

6conomic %-s# 6conomical:

6conomicmeans >having to do with the econom or the stud of economics.>6conomicalmeans >careful or prudent in managing finances, mone* saving.>

The suppl of oil being finite has become an economical and political consideration ofthe first magnitude for all modern industrial nations.3- The suppl of oil being finite has become an economical3/- The finite suppl of oil has become an economical3C- That the suppl of oil is finite has become an economical3D- The suppl of oil being finite has become an economic3+- That the s$pply o! oil is !inite has become an economic + 1A

Due ToI/$e toJ means >ca$sed by> (t should onl be used if it can be substituted with>ca$sed by>. 't does not mean the same thing as Ibeca$se o!#I'ncorrect:The game was postponed due to rain.Correct:The game was postponed because of rain.Correct:The game=s postponement was due to rain.

)either 8 )orNeither the prosecutorFs elo$uent closing argument nor the mo$ntains ofincriminating evidence were able to convince the !ur to find the defendant guilt.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 2+ 6*)+*2,)4- 2+ -


30/60

(n neither L nor sentences, the verb has to agree with the sub!ect following nor * inthis case mo$ntains, which is plural.6ikewise in either ## or sentences, the verb must agree with the sub!ect following or."hen ou see .. neither ## or ## nor in a sentence, see if it fits this se$uenceNeither )A or 8," nor C also, not )A or 8," nor C is fine too.

So Xad!ectiveY as to XverbYCorrect# 7er debts are so e&treme as to threaten the future of the companISo asJ is never correct on the GMT

(ncorrect# 7e e&ercises everda so as to build his staminaCorrect# 7e e&ercises everda in an e!!ort to build his stamina

Not To se:

A- n Sentence construction with Qpreposition @ no$n @ participleFe.g. "ith child*care facilities included 3with ' preposition, child*care ' noun, included '

participle-

(nfinitives like Qto includeF, Qto implementF etc. are wrong on GMT. (nstead use,QimplementingF, QincludingF 3"hich are known as Gerunds- etc.

Gerund is a noun formed from a verb i.e. 1%ercomingthe GMT is a greatachievement. infinitives are usuall formed to retain the integrit of the idiom which isused or to keep a sentence in parallel

@- 7opefull, is almost alwas wrong.

Charlotte erkins Gilman, a late nineteenth*centur feminist, called for urbanapartment houses including child*care facilities and clustered suburban houses

including communal eating and social facilities.- including child*care facilities and clustered suburban houses including communaleating and social facilities/- that included child*care facilities, and for clustered suburban houses to includecommunal eating and social facilitiesC- with child*care facilities included and for clustered suburban houses to includecommunal eating and social facilitiesD- that included child*care facilities and for clustered suburban houses withcommunal eating and social facilities+- to include child*care facilities and for clustered suburban houses with communaleating and social facilities included

irst, we can eliminate all the answer choices that use with communal eating andsocial facilities included or an other structure that follows this pattern#

preposition noun participle

This pattern is almost alwas wrong on the GMT, and is certainl wrong in this$uestion. This eliminates C- and +-.

- is ambiguous**is clustered suburban houses parallel with child*care facilities orwith urban apartment houses? "e need to repeat for to be sure that clustered

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 3, 6*)+*2,)4- 3, -


31/60

suburban houses is parallel with urban apartment houses.

)ow we=re left with /- and D-.

)ow, the onl difference between / and D is the infinitive to include, which GMTconsiders unidiomatic.

That leaves us with D-.

A. "atch for the prepositions 3to, the, of, at, for, on, in, about, etc.,- changing among theanswer choices. This usuall implies an (diomatic problem, if not a arallelConstruction problem.

@. )ote that (diomatic problems are often shorter than man of the other tpes of$uestions. )ot in all cases, but as a general rule, if the problem seems much shorterthan other problems, it is probabl (diomatic.

%. Check out the verb immediatel before the changing preposition. "hich verb*

preposition combination sounds worst? +liminate answer choices that sound !ustawful, e&. *e forbis me of going. The correct answer would be *e forbis me to go.

B. "hich verb*preposition combination sounds best? Choose that as our answer.

3ew 'mportant Points to remember:

A- 3less preferred- being ] since ] because


32/60

$uote#7i, can someone e&plain the following $uestions to me? Thanks.A- "h the answer is +? ( chose Schliemann determined at the age of seven to find the site of ancient Tro and devoted hissubse$uent career to do it.a-...b- has devoted his subse$uent career to do thatc- devoted his subse$uent career to such an endd- has devoted his subse$uent career for thate- devoted his subse$uent career to that end

0ption + here is wrong since it uses the pronoun QitF replaces Qfind the site of ancientF

irst off, and ou=ll get used to this prett $uickl, e%ery single time yo$ see a prono$n"especially the word Iit"I yo$ MST CK6C TK6 ANT6C6/6NT#This $uestion is a favorite one**using >it> to replace a sentence. (n GMTland, >it> mustalwas replace a noun.or e&ample, this sentence would be wrong in GMTland#M little brother said ( took his cookies, but ( didn=t do it.>it> doesn=t replace an noun it >tries> to replace a sentence# >( took his cookies.>

The correct phrase is Ihelpful in demonstrating; and not help to demonstrate;#

- >$ntil> is used to e&press a point of time in the future. So, 3- would mean that the sale willcontinue until a certain point in time, and that point in time is when the sale >lasts.> Thatdoesn=t make sense if we wanted to use >$ntil> in that sentence, we should sa somethinglike >the sale will continue until customers stop coming in.>

as long as> implies that one thing will occ$r while another thing is still tr$eH for e&ample, >we will sta outside as long as it=s light out.>

- Semicolon:n sentence after a semicolon 3-, should be an independent clause.

H- 1ne o! the: The pattern to remember isOone of the )09) 3this noun will alwas be plural- that2who 69R6 :+R/6ample : 7e is one of the personswho makemone.

This is one of the carsthat r$non hdrogen.

A n$mberof people arewaiting for the bus. The n$mber of cars in the cit isdecreasing. n of the stockholders who disapprove ' is the right use Three cats, each eat Three cats, each of which eats

, Res$mpti%e modi!iers

Since the AE%5Fs aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings,shaped so smoothl and perfectl that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

wings, shaped so smoothl and perfectl

wings" wings so smooth and so per!ectly shaped

wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect

wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner

wings, wings having been shaped smoothl and perfectl so

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 32 6*)+*2,)4- 32 -


33/60

/ is the correct answer.

"ings is re$uired to unambiguousl conve the meaning of the sentence. res$mpti%e modi!ierpicks up a word or phrase from a sentence that seems to befinished and then adds information and takes the reader into new territor of thought.

(n a crowded, ac$uisitive world, the disapperance of lifestles such as those oncefollowed b southern frica=s /ushmen and ustralia=s aborigines, re$uiring vast wildspaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seem inevitabl doomed.

re$uiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seeminevitabl doomed

re$uiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seems to beinevitabl doomed

which re$uire vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seems to beinevitabl doomed

life*stles that re$uire vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seeminevitable

life*stles re$uiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods,

seems inevitable

+ is the correct answer.

The Swiss watchmakers= failure to capitali1e on the invention of the digital timepiece wasboth astonishingand alarmingK astonishingin that the Swiss had, since thebeginnings of the industrial revolution in +urope, been among the first to capitali1e ontechnical innovations, alarmingin that a tremendous industrial potential had been lost totheir chief competitors, the watchmakers of Lapan.

The defensive coaches taught risk*taking, ball*hawking, and perpetual movement K threestrategiesthat bewildered the opposition and resulted in man bad passes, steals, andeas fastbreak baskets.

nother e&ample in the same league8

roponents of artificial intelligence sa the will be able to make computers that can understand+nglish and other human languages, recogni1e ob!ects, and reason as an e&pert doesKcomputers that will be used to diagnose e$uipment breakdowns, deciding whether toauthori1e a loan, or other purposes such as these.

3- as an e&pert doesKcomputers that will be used to diagnose e$uipment breakdowns,deciding whether to authori1e a loan, or other purposes such as these

3/- as an e&pert does, which ma be used for purposes such as diagnosing e$uipmentbreakdowns or deciding whether to authori1e a loan

)C, like an epertQcomp$ters that will be $sed !or s$ch p$rposes as diagnosing

e0$ipment breakdowns or deciding whether to a$thori2e a loan

3D- like an e&pert, the use of which would be for purposes like the diagnosis of e$uipment

breakdowns or the decision whether or not a loan should be authori1ed

3+- like an e&pert, to be used to diagnose e$uipment breakdowns, deciding whether toauthori1e a loan or not, or the like

C is the answer.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 33 6*)+*2,)4- 33 -


34/60

e#g# 7, 7is father demanded that he return home b E M.

Ret$rn 9Simple present tense

/emanded+precedes QthatF in the sentence.

i. The manager demanded that the staff sta late to finish the work.ii. Lack suggested that Slvia sho$ldbu a new watch ' (ncorrect 3Should

must be removed-Lack suggested that Slvia bu a new watch.

&ist o! %erbs normally !ollowed by 'n!initi%es

afford ^ agree ^ appear ^ arrange ^ ask ^ attempt ^ care ^ choose ^ claim ^ come ^ consentdare ^ decide ^ demand ^ deserve ^ determine ^ elect ^ endeavour ^ e&pect ^ fail ^ get ^ guarentee

hate ^ help ^ hesitate ^ hope ^ hurr ^ incline ^ intend ^ learn ^ long ^ manage ^ mean ^ needoffer ^ plan ^ prepare ^ pretend ^ promise ^ refuse ^ resolve ^ sa ^ seem ^ tend ^ threaten ^ want ^wish

&ist o! %erbs that can only ha%e ger$nds a!ter them

acknowledge ^ admit ^ adore ^ anticipate ^ appreciate ^ avoid ^ celebrate ^ confess ^ contemplatedela ^ den ^ describe ^ detest ^ discuss ^ dislike ^ dread ^ endure ^ en!ofanc ^ finish ^ imagine ^ involve ^ keep ^ !ustif ^ mention ^ mind ^ miss ^ omit ^ postpone ^ practise

$uit ^ recall ^ recommend ^ regret ^ report ^ resent ^ resume ^ risk ^ suggest ^ tolerate ^ understand

e.g. anticipate implementing is correct 3nticipate to implement is wrong-.

+ven though she didn=t anticipate ]to implement it, the advertising manager agreed with thepersonal_ manager=s proposal to strengthen her department.

- to implement it, the advertising manager agreed with the personal

/- implementing it, the advertising manager agreed with the personal

C- implementing it, the advertising manager agreed with the personnel

D- to implement it, the advertising manager agreed with the personnel

+- implementing it, the advertising manager agreed to the personnel

3+- )0T+# all answer choices are indeed different here. =ersonal= deals with a person=s ownspecial things =ersonnel= deals with a lot of people. :erbs like =anticipate= must be followed b agerund, the verb form in =*ing=. The correct idiom usage should read# a person =agrees with=

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 34 6*)+*2,)4- 34 -


35/60

another person, not with an inanimate thing such as a proposal. Therefore, she agrees =to theproposal.= 3+- is correct.

7B, TK6 6P&6T'V6 O'T and < 0$estions" testing the same !$ndamentals:

A- or man travelers, charter vacations often turn out to cost considerabl more than theoriginall seemed.

a. the originall seemedb. the originall seem toc. the seemingl would cost originalld. it seemed originalle. it originally seemed they wo$ld.

@- Researchers are finding out that plastics are taking more time to deteriorate than theoriginall seemed.

- The originall seemed./- the seemed originallC- it seemed that the would originallD- it originall seemed+- it originall seemed the would

rom Paplan# The Paplan thing sas about this. 3bout plastics-

=The trick part is to choose between it and the. =The= would impl that the plasticsthemselves first seemed to do one thing and then ended up doing another. The epleti%e JitJ,the pronoun with no clear antedecent * makes more sense, it simpl suggests that initial

indications were misleading. 9sing =it=, it is necessar to include the phrase =the would= tomake it clear what seemed to be the case. So + is the best answer.

+rin sas# 3bout charter vacations-

/ would need to be in past tense, seeme. (n fact, ( often teach GMT and T0+6 studentsthat the words original 3and its derivations- and first usuall re$uire past tense.

urthermore, the >past future> of woul in + is more precise than the simple past in 3or that/ is lacking, in case ou=re going to ask if / would be correct if we changed seem toseeme-. Since we=re talking about something we=d learn after a certain point in the past,woul is better.

or e&ample# This cura is a lot better than ( thought it would be.

is better than

This cura is a lot better than ( thought it was.

(n the first e&ample, we are saing that something turned out to be true. (n the seconde&ample, we are saing that we were not aware of a fact that was true at that time.

nd in the charter vacations $uestion, there is no fact that the travelers were unaware of

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 35 6*)+*2,)4- 35 -


36/60

when the purchased the charter vacation**after the original purchase of the charter vacation3and probabl toward the end of the vacation-, the charter vacation turned out to be morecostl than the had at first believed it would be.

(t is as difficult to prevent crimes against propert as those that are against a person.

3- those that are against a

3/- those against a

3C- it is against a

3D- preventing those against a

3+- it is to prevent those against a

nswer is +, for the e&pletive it.

77, /$ring>during> time period is "R0)G.or e&ample#During two hours, ( felt sleep.butDuring the last two hours, ( have felt sleep.

To make our sentence correct with >during,> we=d need to add some information thatwould identif which two decade*period we are talking about.or e&ample#ven though its per capita foo supply harly increase uring the two ecaes between-$an -0$...

Think o! as y +++++ correct idiom )not Oto be,

JSoJ is used to replace a :erb in a Sentence whereasJ'tJ is used to replace a )oun.

irst, memori1e the pattern#no sooner @ in%ersion @ than @ sentence

;uote#This was a $uestion that was posted a little while ago. The answer was said to be D, but it seemsthat it should be +.

The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth centur /.C., was the keto the development of the spice trade in the ancient world.

a. The domesticated camel, which some scholars dateb. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occurc. Domesticating the camel, dated b some scholars atd. The domestication of the camel, thought b some scholars to have occurrede. The camel=s domestication, dated b some scholars to have been

(n D, it seems that >thought b some scholars...> modifies camel, rather than domestication

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 36 6*)+*2,)4- 36 -


37/60

0ka, ( checked out the other topic, and there was no e&planation of the answer. 0ka, to behonest, ( didn=t catch the mistake in + the ver first time ( read the $uestion, either. ( picked D,because somehow it sounded better, but ( wasn=t sure wh.

6ater, when a student asked me specificall what was wrong with +, ( looked at the $uestion alittle more carefull. + has a classic mistake, albeit a well disguised one

( teach this mistake fre$uentl in m ST (( classes for high school students. 6et meshow ou an e&ample of what m high school students might write#The greatest change in my li!e was when ' immigrated to the S#Can ou see the mistake in this sentence?6et me tr again, with a little hint#The greatest change in my li!e was when ' immigrated to the S#Can ou see it now?0ka, !ust in case, let me give ou one more sentence 3(=m prett much doing now what ( do inclass to e&plain this grammar point.-

This pen is a bargain beca$se itJs only ten cents#7int again#This pen is a bargain beca$se it is only ten cents#

0ka, got it et?

6et=s work backward. The last sentence is incorrect because it is incorrectl saing that the penand the ten cents are the same thing a pen cannot be ten cents it can be a writing instrument, itcan be a bargain, it can even be a weapon in some cases, but it cannot be ten cents. 0ne*tenthof a dollar is ten cents, a dime is ten cents, but a pen is not.

re ou getting it? robabl, but since (=ve alread started, please let me finish...0ka, now let=s look at the immigration sentence#The greatest change in m life was when ( immigrated to the 9S.

This sentence means that >change> and >when ( immigrated...> are the same thing the in factare not.

6ike ( said, this is a classic mistake, and the classic correction is#The greatest change in my li!e occ$rred-happened when ' immigrated to the S#

3Do ou see where (=m heading now???-. So, in our original $uestion, + sas#

The camelJs domestication was aro$nd the twel!th cent$ry 8#C####GMT cleverl hides this mistake b using >to have been> instead of a simple be verb, but >tohave been> is one of the man variants of was, were, is, are, am, etc.The funn thing is that GMT uses the classic correction as well#domestication... occurred... when...

inall, ( !ust have to comment# ( imagine that if GMT had to e&plain this grammar point, the

would sa in their tpical, crptic fashion something like this#+ incorrectl uses an adverb clause as the noun complement of the sub!ect >domestication.>0ka, what have we learned???This#N1N @ 86+V6R8 @ N1N-A/F6CT'V6or e&ample#The change was good for me.The change was a good one for me.The change was an important step for me in m life.

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 37 6*)+*2,)4- 37 -


38/60

/9T )+:+R

The change was when ' came to the S#(n other words, noun complements 3the words that come after a be*verb and modif nouns-should onl be nouns or ad!ectives 3although we often use adverbs when we want to describelocation, but more on that later, if ou like this e&planation is getting prett long-.

;uote#helping me> is a process. (n this sentence, ( am wondering how long ou would sta withme while ou are helping me, how man different things ou would do to help me. or e&ample,would ou break the law while ou are helping me if ou thought ( would benefit? "ould ouignore our friends and famil while ou are helping me? gain# During the process, how muchwould ou do?3- has a similar meaning in this sentence. 6et=s now look at the meaning of +.

' want to know how !ar yo$ will go to help me#(n this sentence, we are using the infinitive of purpose, which we use to e&press a goal. (f ( usethis structure, ( am wondering how much effort ou would e&pend to help me. (n other words,would ou come to me at midnight? "ould ou travel 5 miles, A55 miles, A,555 miles to helpme? "ould ou spend all our time and mone to come to help me? "ould ou give up our !ob,health, and famil to help me? gain# 7ow much would ou do to be able to be in a situation to

help me?? ( know that these two are ver, ver close in meaning, but read what (=ve written vercarefull, and be sure to post back with an further $uestions

$uote#%. "h is correct? ( chose C

lthough about EE percent of the more than 5 million Turks are Muslims, the republic founded bMustafa Pemal taturk in AE@% is resolutel secular.a...b. lthough about EE percent of over 5 million of the

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 3 6*)+*2,)4- 3 -


39/60

c. lthough about EE percent of more than 5 milliond. Despite the fact that about EE percent of more than 5 millione. Despite the fact that about EE percent of over 5 million

"hew This is one of the most commonl asked $uestions... ( think it=s going to take a while toe&plain, and ( don=t think ( can do it tonight since (=ve got class in the morning.

7ere=s the short answer# if we use >the,> we are saing that there are onl 5 millionTurks in the whole world if we don=t use >the,> we are saing that there are possibl more than 5million Turks in the world.This one=s similar to the one in the 0fficial Guide, the one about the >Thomas Lefferson... settingfree the more than 55 slaves...>

ll things being e$ual, (=d have to sa that >invest in> is slightl preferable to >invest into.>( think there=s also a ver slight difference in meaning**>invest in> would be the better choice forsuch traditional investments as stocks and bonds, while >invest into> coul be used in moremetaphorical investments, such as the time, energ, and love ou might shower upon ourchildren.

************************************************************************************************************$uote#

The visiting doctors concluded that the present amalgram is probabl as good as or better than,an other sstem that might be devised for the patients.

This is correct. 0ne of the answer choices used =might= instead of =ma=... what=s the differencebetween may and might?

"hew, hard $uestion. (n general, may has more of a concrete meaning, so should therefore beused more in statements of fact, whereas might is a bit less tangible, and tends to be used morein e&pressions of things that don=t et e&ist 3hpothetical situations-. lso, a bit more simpl, since

might is the past tense form of may, we use might more in the past tense.ll that said, we often use them interchangeabl in man constructions**there is a lot of overlapbetween may and might.

credit S8 with STK 3verb-# give responsibilit for. Thomas ison is creite with inventing thelight bulb. credit to * 3verb-# give mone or credit to. The bank creite 1- million to trebla+s account. credit !or 3noun-# mone received for or in e&change for something. The customer receive a12$ creit for the interruption in service.

So there are a few things ou need to know here for GMT Sentence Correction.irst is this**ou should know that GMT likes to test ou on >thinking words.> These are wordsthat indicate some sort of mental process, such as believe, belief, iea, theory, notion, concept,

etc. lease note that both verbs and nouns can be considered >thinking words.>

GMT tpicall likes to follow these words with that and a sentence. or e&ample, on theGMT it=s better to sa# 6ucise=s belief that the +arth is flat was easil accepted.than to sa# 6ucise=s belief of the +arth being flat was easil accepted.

(t is oka to use Qof3 if we want to indicate onl a noun. That=s wh, for e&ample, we sa theory ofrelativity. (n this case, if we choose answer choices that use of instead of that, we seem to be

Su!" T#$%u& P$'( 3+ 6*)+*2,)4- 3+ -


40/60

talking more about theories of land mammals we are not identifing the action of those landmammals. (n other words, with the Qthat3, we are leaving out what it is that the theor purports themammalsdid.

Crises is the pl$ral o! crisis/ata is pl$ral o! dat$m

(n S+, we generall use o to replace >regular> verbs, i.e., verbs that are not linking verbs, verbsthat use modals, etc.

or e&ample#Megumi speaks Japanese better than I do./ut ou alread knew that, (=m sure.6ook at the following e&amples for something 3perhaps- new#Megumi has visited more countries than I have."e can use have again because have is an au&iliar verb here.Megumi has more skirts than I do.7ere, has is )0T an au&iliar verb, and in S+, we cannot use the verb have in the second bit.

7ere=s what ou need to know#

ha%ing @ past participleis used to e&press actions that are !inished and to show that one thing comes a!ter another.urthermore, there is usuall a >because relationship between the two.or e&ample#7aving eaten alread, ( turned down Megumi=s invitation to dinner.This sentence is oka./ut this ne&t sentence is )0T oka, because the two things should be happening at the sametime 3basicall the same grammar point found in this $uestion-#

7aving been sick and having felt tired, lan did not want to go to work.

ll the things in this sentence are happening at the same time, so we should )0T use the >having past participle> construction here.

nd this sentence is incorrect because there=s no >because relationship> between the two parts ofthe sentence#7aving set, the Sun rose some hours later.The Sun will set and rise no matter what setting doesn=t cause rising, so we shouldn=t use the>having past participle> construction here.

IModeled fterJ is the correct idiom

Hopefully is almost always wrong on GMAT

sage !ote" "riters who use hopefully as a sentence adverb, as in *opefully the measures willbe aopte, should be aware that the usage is unacceptable to man critics, including a largema!orit of the 9sage anel. (t is not eas to e&plain wh critics dislike this use of hopefully. The

use is !ustified b analog to similar uses of man other adverbs, as in Mercifully, the play wasbrief or 4rankly, have no use for your frien.nd though this use of hopefully ma have been avogue word when it first gained currenc back in the earl AE


41/60

(nstead, critics appear to have become more adamant in their opposition. (n the AE


42/60

(n +nglish, instead of saing something like >that that> we sa >that which.>or e&ample#The number we recorded this week is greater than that which we recorded last week.is pre!erable toThe number we recorded this week is greater than that that we recorded last week.

(n this sentenceThe number we recorded this week is greater than that which we recorded last week.

that [ numberandwhich [ number

)otice that this sentence e$ualsThe number we recorded this week is greater than the number that we recorded last week.

So in our sentence here, we want to sa#

The inhabitants of S

gmat verbal test strategy

Documents