For GMAT Verbal Notes

READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGY...........................................................................................2 PREPARATION STRATEGY.............................................................................................................................2 General Strategies for Reading Comprehension....................................................................................2 Six most important types of RC Questions..............................................................................................3 TEST TAKING STARTEGY.............................................................................................................................6 SENTENCE CORRECTION STRATEGY.................................................................................................6 PREPARATION STRATEGY.............................................................................................................................6 The 8 Major rrors !f GM"T nglish...................................................................................................# $%&ronoun error......................................................................................................................................# 2%Mispla'ed Modifier (modifiers must stay 'lose to home%....................................................................8 3%&arallel Constru'tion..........................................................................................................................8 )%*er+ Tense..........................................................................................................................................., -%Su+je't.*er+ agreement errors..........................................................................................................., #%&arallelism ("pples / !ranges%.......................................................................................................$2 0%Quantity 1ords..................................................................................................................................$2 8%2dioms................................................................................................................................................$3 232!M"T2C &R &!S2T2!4 5S"G ..................................................................................................$#

Acknowledgement : This material has been compiled with the inputs from various documents on the verbal strategies. Special thanks to Dave, Sahil and Scoretop.

Reading Comprehension Strategy

reparation Strategy
General Strategies for Reading Comprehension 1. Try to read the whole te!t 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 will certainl get at least some of the $uestions wrong. Give the passage one good read, taking no more than % minutes to read all of the te&t. Do not read the passage more than once ' that wastes too much time. (f ou have not understood it completel , tr to answer the $uestions an wa . )ote# this point of reading the whole passage is important for test*takers whose first language is not +nglish, provided that the can read the passage in % minutes or less.

2. Make brie" notes on the te!t 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 3if applicable-. 4ou !ust need a few words for each of these areas, and altogether it should not take 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 e!tremes o" praise nor criticism$ +TS obtains its Reading Comprehension passages from real articles about real academics and professionals. So the tone of the articles, even when there is criticism in the passage toward an academic or her work, is alwa s balanced and moderate. (n the same vein, articles that deal with minorities or ethnic groups are almost alwa s positive and s mpathetic.

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 Similarl Moreover ,dditionall (n the same wa 6ikewise Concl%sion )ords Thus Therefore 7ence So (n summar (n conclusion Contradiction *+in,+ang- )ords )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 2,fter

 Generall Most people think8

5. Go back to the te!t o" the passage "or the answers$ Man test*takers fail to return to the
te&t of the passage to look for the correct answers. The rel solel on their memories and understanding 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 t pes of RC ;uestions

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

1. Main (dea. rimary %rpose /%estions

Man people believe there is no difference between the main or central idea of the passage and the primar purpose of the author of the passage. This is simpl not true. 6et=s take a look at the subtle but important difference between them# Main (dea The $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....>

rimary %rpose The $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 words like therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that ou see are most likel introducing the main idea. The correct answer will sa the same thing as it sa s in the te&t, but using different words. The Main (dea is not alwa s stated e&plicitl in the passage ' in fact, more likel than not, it is not stated e&plicitl . Therefore, in order to answer this t pe 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. This should give ou the general structure or outline of the argument, with which ou can answer the Main (dea $uestion. ,fter determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go be ond the content of the passage, 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 scrap paper while ou read.

rimary %rpose# "hat is the author tr ing to do? "hat is his intention? (f he is evaluating a theor , then the answer could be something like >Discuss an interpretation>. )ote that the correct answer would deal with >an interpretation>, because the author is onl dealing with one theor . (f the .rimar .urpose is to critici1e @ new books, then his intention or his primar purpose might be to >Criti$ue new studies>. ,gain, as in Main (dea $uestions, 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 can answer the .rimar .urpose $uestion. Note# , good main idea or primar purpose does not go be ond the scope of the passage, nor does it limit itself to discussing onl one part of the passage.

2. Title /%estions
Title $uestions are ver similar to Main (dea $uestions, though are less common. The passages in the real GM,T 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 t pe of $uestion# A. 6ook in the first and last paragraphs for the main idea. ,n conclusion words like therefore, thus, so, hence, etc. that ou see are most likel introducing the Main (dea2Title. The correct answer will sa the same thing as it sa s in the te&t, but using different 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 can answer the Title $uestion. %. Make brief notes ' a couple of words* regarding the Title on the te&t on our scrap paper while ou read. B. ,fter determining the general structure or content of the argument, eliminate answer choices that are too broad or too specific, i.e. answer choices that go be ond the content of the passage, or that deal with content onl discussed in one paragraph of the passage.

3. Speci"ic 0etail or Target 1%estions

Specific Detail or Target $uestions are probabl the most common t pes of $uestions, and the easiest to answer. The $uestion might look like this# >,ccording to the passage,....> >The passage states that ....> Strategy The Specific Detail or Target that we are looking for could be a 6ine )umber, or a )ame or Date. Go to the 6ine )umber or )ame or Date, and then read several lines above and below it. Cind the answer choice that basicall sa s the same thing as in the passage, though usuall with different words or word order.

4. (n"erence or Ass%mption /%estions

This is probabl the most difficult t pe of Reading Comprehension problem. The $uestions might look like this# >(t can be inferred that the author makes which of the following assumptions?> >"hich is an assumption underl ing the last sentence of the passage?>

>"hich of the following, if true, would most strengthen the h pothesis mentioned in lines AD*AE?> >"ith which of the following statements regarding chaos theor would the author be most likel to agree?>

Strategy# Cirst, treat this t pe 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 infer ver 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 the answer choice that can be inferred or assumed from the information given. ,gain, ou should not have to infer ver much ' onl one or two logical steps removed from the information in the passage. Make sure that the answer choice ou decide on does not violate or contradict the Main (dea of the passage * if it does, the answer choice is probabl wrong.

2. 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. Cor e&ample, the words unfortunately or flaw suggest a negative connotation, while strength or valuable emphasi1e the positive. Make brief notes ' a couple of words* regarding the Tone of the te&t on our scrap paper while ou read. ,dditionall , keep in mind that the author=s attitude toward a theor , book, or ethnic group will almost alwa s be respectful, even when somewhat critical.

2$ 3rgani4ation o" the passage 1%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 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 can answer the $uestion. Remember to make brief notes about the structure of the te&t on our scrap paper. (f ou are looking for the organi1ation of one paragraph, read the first and second sentence of the paragraph. That will give ou a rough idea of what is the structure or organi1ation 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.

Test Taking Startegy

A- ,ggressivel read each paragraph for its main idea. (f ou canFt write down in a few words what the point of each paragraph is, ou werenFt reading activel enough. 4ou should !ot down the following. a. Main idea or primar purpose b. 0rgani1ation2Structure c. Tone or attitude of author 3if applicableNote# /e careful to not write facts down. (tFll bog ou down and usuall results in a loss of the big 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 that was 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. G- ,lwa s eliminate bad choices first before answering. 4ouFll almost alwa s be able to narrow down to @*% and that significantl improves our odds of getting the $uestion right. <- Read the entire passage before answering the $uestions. 0ther books sa skim, but itFs not alwa s successful with more difficult passages where minute details change meanings of the passage and could get ou going down the wrong path on inference or main point $uestions. Give ourself % minutes or less. D- Cor (nference $uestions, 3)ote# these are usuall the hardest of all RC $uestions- go find the general area being referenced. Read a bit above or below it and then make our choices. DonFt go b memor . This is going to cause more problems than are helpful with saving time in the long run. 4our answer should never contradict the main point of the passage. H- Most people get main point and inference $uestions wrong so focus more carefull on these. E- >,ccording to the passage2author> $uestion t pe of $uestions. "henever ou see this $uestion, tell ourself, >Stop and stop thinking. ( need to F(N0, not think.> A5- Cor main point or central idea t pe 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 that a. ,re disrespectful to others2professionals. +TS doesnFt like to be disrespectful. b. Too strong an answer. 9se of words like Ionl J, Idefinitel J, Ipositivel J c. Condone2approve pre!udicial attitudes. +TS doesnFt like to be disrespectful.

Sentence Correction Strategy

reparation Strategy
The 5 Ma6or 7rrors 3" GMAT 7nglish Spotting bad sentences is the ke to doing well on sentence structure test $uestions. 8rono%n error There are % main t pes of pronoun errors encountered in GM,T. a$ l%ral and Sing%lar

0nce ou start with one, ou need to sta in the same $uantit 3singular or plural-. Sing%lar rono%ns *Memori4e these7int# Do ou see the categories ( setup? (tFs S,)+ to memori1e this Some*** An K NoK 7ver K +ver one +ver bod +ver thing ,n one ,n bod ,n thing Someone Somebod Something )o one )othing )obod +ither )either "hoever "homever 0ne +ach 7is

9e aware that gro%p# 6%ry# team# co%ntry# "amily are sing%lar$ Society today %ses them sometimes as pl%ral. This is because these act as a single unit when the do something. l%ral rono%ns *Memori4e these/oth Their Cew 0thers Man Several

Sing%lar and l%ral rono%ns : depends on whether the no%n is sing%lar or pl%ral *Memori4e theseSome 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 with i- ,long with ii- Together with iii- "ith iv- ,s well as v- (n addition to vi- ,ccompanied b 8 this does not make the following action the do plural. 3nly ;and< can take the two sing%lars and make their action pl%ral$ Cor e&ample Lanie, with her poodle limping behind her, walks to the dog park. +&planation# Lanie is singular. The poodle is singular. The both do the action together, but the use of IwithJ means that we need to keep the verb singular. I"alksJ is singular and I"alkJ is plural. Remember# a &erb that ends with an :s is sing%lar$

b.

rono%n re"erence error* referring pronoun is not correctl placed. Cor e&ample# (n the sentence ISamantha and Lane went shopping, but she couldnFt find an thing she liked.J, the pronoun IsheJ does not refer to a person unambiguousl . (t is difficult to understand that whether IsheJ is referring to Samantha or Lane. The correct form would be ISamantha and Lane went shopping, but Samanatha couldnFt find an thing she liked.J

c.

Relati&e prono%ns are 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 Ithe J to replace the use of a proper noun which it is not. (tFs a .ronoun.

=- Misplaced Modi"ier *modi"iers m%st stay close to homeSentences that begin with a verb, ad!ectiveMverb, and ad!ective phrases need to be followed b the noun or pronoun the are modif ing. 9suall end with 'ing. +&ample# IComing out of the department store, LohnFs wallet was stolen.J IComingJ is the modifier. "as !ohnFs wallet coming out of the store? (ncorrect .ossible solution to look for# i- Correct the reference ii- .ut a noun or pronoun into the Ast part of the sentence turning the Ast part into an adverbial clause. Thus can stand apart without needing to watch the modifier. 2arallel Constr%ction There are two kinds of +RS sentences that test the parallel construction. The first is a sentence that contains a list, or has a series of actions set off from one another b commas. The second kind is a sentence thatFs divided into two parts. /oth t pes must have parallel t pes of verbiage# 8..to NNNN, to NNNN ate NNNNN, slept NNNN, drank NNNN. /ad construction might look like# 8to NNNN, NNNNN 8ate NNNNN, sleep NNNNN, drank NNNN. There are a few more things to be observed in a parallel construction sentence. a$ Comparisons m%st be logical and compatible Cind 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 most common indicators of comparisons. (n comparisons, compatibility is determined by s%b6ect matter. Cor e&ample# I,s domesticated animals, indoor cats t picall 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 works because the are both domesticated animals K the are like terms. "henever ou see a comparison being set up in a sentence, check to see that the terms of the comparison are compatible. b$ arallelism is not 6%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 %M. (n other words, ever thing 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 GM,T, tense problems are often !ust a matter of parallel construction. (n general, if a sentence starts out in one tense, it should probabl remain in the same tense. Some ma!or categories of tense# DonFt need to memori1e t pes. Lust be familiar a. resent tense e&ample# 7e walks three miles a da . b. Simple ast e&ample# "hen he was ounger, he walked three miles a da . c. resent er"ect e&ample# 7e has walked. d. ast er"ect e&ample# 7e had walked. e. F%t%re e&ample# 7e will work. f. resent er"ect ' Describes action that began in the past but continues until the present. Pe identifier ' IhasJ IhaveJ. Sidenote: Sometimes used when deadline e&ists. g. ast er"ect ' Describes action that started and stopped in the past. Pe identifier ' ;had< h. resent rogressi&e ' 9sed as emphasis b the speaker that the action is happening this ver minute. Pe identifier ' verb Qto beF M a verb with an 'ing ending. i. er"ect rogressi&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 3in which one action in the past happened before another action in the past-. +&amples# 7e had ridden his motorc cle 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. Two events that have taken place, are taking place or will take place at the same time must have the same tense in the sentence. .assive verbs begin with the form of Ito beJ 3+&ample# to be, were, was- and end with a different verb in the past tense. ?- S%b6ect,Verb agreement errors , verb is supposed to agree with the sub!ect. a. Sing%lar @ l%ral agreement$ Do the two agree in pluralit ? Can be made ver comple& when prepositional phrases separate verb from noun2sub!ect b G or more words. +as to overlook cross referenced sub!ect*verb relationship. b. To tell i" a &erb paradigm is pl%ral or sing%lar. Mentall put IThe J in front of the verb plural Mentall put I7eJ in front of the verb singular c$ Verb pl%rality: *This comes %p A '3T on the GMAT,dding an IsJ to the end of an ad!ective makes it singular. Cor e&ample, dislike plural dislikes singular $uote#

( chose ,, but the correct answer is /. The ma!orit of the talk was devoted to an account of the e&perimental methods used b investigators in the field. a. ... b. The greater part of the talk was c. The bulk of the talk has been d. , large amount of the talk has been e. , predominance of the talk was Good oneRR >ma6ority> 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.-S )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 M of M N3AN M verb The N3AN determines whether the verb is singular or plural. Cor e&ample# Most of the people is2are... because the $uantifier >most> refers to >people,> 3a plural noun- so >most> is plural in this sentence. Most of the water is2are... because the $uantifier >most> refers to >water,> 3a non*count noun- so >most> is plural in this sentence. So, from these e&amples, ou should notice that we are looking mainl at whether the ob!ect of the preposition is count or non*count because the $uantifier will take on this propert from the 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. Cor e&ample, each, e&ery, and one alwa s refer to one thing, but 8BC, hal", all, and most would refer to more 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 $uantifier is alwa s singular, then the verb must alwa s be singular, too. 36et=s not forget our common sense in grammar, oka ??- Cor e&ample, we sa # T 3ne of the people is... T 7ach of the students is... 0f course, when ( first wrote out these rules, ( imagined a situation like this# T AU of the A55 people is2are... because, of course, AU of A55 is one, and that=s singular, right? ,nd there=s invariabl some student in m class who will tr to find an e&ception 3that=s what ( do in class, tooRR M teachers hated itRR ,n wa , ( think most people would sa that this is simpl a bad sentence and should be rewritten. This sentence (=ve shown ou is more of a grammar p%44le than a real sentence. /ut ( know that somebod out there will want to know the >answer.> "ell, ou can=t go wrong if ou write it in the singular, can ou? The teacher together with the student (S 3or ,R+- going to...? The teacher and the st%dent AR7 3or (S-going to? Generall speaking, we need a con!unction to create a plural sub!ect from more than one singular noun. >together with> is )0T a con!unction, and therefore cannot create a plural sub!ect. >and> on the other hand, (S a con!unction and C,) create a plural sub!ect. (=m concluding# >a number of ...> alwa s takes plural verbs. >the number of ...> alwa s takes singular verbs. +g# the number of people has increased , number of people have gone The important thing here is that the number in the first e&ample 3the number of women emplo ed outside the home- is an actual number**%G,555, for e&ample. +ven if ou add more women to the original number, there will still be one number, right? The second usage of >numbers> is also correct, and means that there are man people in that group. Cor e&ample, it is correct to sa # eople are lea&ing Cali"ornia in greater n%mbers$ eople 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-. ( agree with ou that skill can be both a count noun as well as a non*count noun. (t all depends 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 a non*count or a count noun? "ith fractions, percentages and indefinite $uantifiers, the verb agrees with the preceding noun or clause. "ith singular or non*count nouns or clauses, use a singular verb# 0ne third of this article is taken up with statistical anal sis. ,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. Cift percent of the computers have CD*R0M drives. Man researchers depend on grants from industr .

"ith collective nouns, use either singular or plural, depending on whether ou want to emphasi1e the single group or its individual 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=t use a that noun clause with the word directive, !ust as we cannot with order, as hellogmat has pointed out. Darallelism *Apples @ 3rangesThis error is not a fre$uentl encountered error, but it is worth knowing and practicing such errors. (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# IS nthetic oils burn less efficientl than natural oils.J The sentence is wrong because we are tr ing to compare how well each oil burns and not the oils themselves. /ut do ou see how the actual thing being compared is easil missed? E- /%antity )ords i. The words measuring $uantit ma be used incorrectl . Cor e&ample, when comparing two items, it would be inappropriate to use IamongJ to compare them. 7ereFs a chart# = items /etween More /etter 6ess ii. i" more than = among most best least

(tems that canFt be counted should not use $uantit words. Cor e&ample, ou canFt sa Ifewer soupJ. 7ereFs a chart# Non,co%ntable words 6ess ,mount, $uantit Much Co%ntable words fewer number man

iii. "hen two distinct words or phrases are !oined b the correlatives either, or, neither, nor, not onl , but also, the number 3singular or plural- of the word or phrase nearest to the verb determines the number of the verb.

+&ample# +ither his parents or he is bringing it 3notice IisJ is singular- This can be a confusing sentence because parents is plural, but we pa attention to he which is the noun IheJ tells us that we need to keep IisJ singular. +&ample# +ither he or his parents are bringing it. )otice IparentsJ is plural and is the closest to the verb so we use IareJ which is plural.

5- (dioms Such sentences incorporate incorrect usage of idiomatic e&pressions. There are no rules. Reall need good +nglish familiarit . 0verall rule# (f itFs not one of the previous D, then itFs ver likel an idiom e&pression test $uestion. "atch for the prepositions 3to, the, of, at, for, on, in, about, etc.,- changing among the answer choices. This usuall implies an (diomatic problem, if not a .arallel Construction problem Ma!or (dioms ou should be prett familiar with# A- a debate over @- a lot %- a responsibilit to B- a result of G- a se$uence of <- acclaimed as is the correct idiom 3,cclaimed to be is wrongD- accompanied b .... H- adapted for E- ,dverb twice cannot be an ob!ect of proposition Qb F. Q(ncrease b twiceF is incorrectS QdoubledF is correct A5- affect to.. AA- agree with A@- ,id in 3,id for is incorrectA%- ,llerg to 3,llerg of, allerg for are incorrectAB- ,llocated to is the correct idiom AG- alternative to.... A<- as a result of... AD- as an instance of AH- as good as...or better than AE- as great as @5- as much as @A- ,ssociate V with 4 @@- assume ...to be of... @%- ,t least as strong as3,t least as great as@B- ,ttempt to Qdo somethingF 3,ttempt at doing is incorrect-. @G- attend to 3someone@<- attribute V to 42V is attributed to 4 @D- based on @H- believe V to be 4 @E- /elieved to have %5- benefit from... %A- better served b V than 4 .. %@- between V and 4 %%- /oth V and 4 3/oth V as well as 4 is incorrect- /oth at V and at 4 is correct. /oth on V or on 4 is correct. %B- /usiness ethics * (s a singular word %G- call...to consider... %<- centers on %D- Combined V with 4 0R Combined V and 4 3/oth are correct-

%H%EB5BAB@B%BBBGB<BDBHBEG5GAG@G%GBGGG<GDGHGE<5<A<@<%<B<G<<<D<H<ED5DAD@D%DBDGD<DDDHDEH5HAH@H%HBHGH<HDHHHEE5EAE@-

Compensate for Concerned for * worriedS concerned with * related2affiliated conform to Consider V to be 4 3a little controversialcontrar to... created with Credit V Rupees to 4Fs account 3"hen mone is involvedCredit V with discovering 4 3Credit with doing somethingdecline in.... defined as depends on whether depicted as Descendent of 3Descendent for is incorrectDifferent from one another 3Different one from the other is wrongDistinguish between V and 4 3@ ver different items, distinguished, sa red and green colorsDistinguish between V and 4 3Distinguish V from 4 is incorrectDistinguish V from 4 3Two prett similar items, sa original paintings from fake onesdoubt that either...or enable to entrusted with... +stimated to be 3+stimated at is incorrecte&pected that V would be 4 ... e&pected V to be 4 ... e&tent to ... fascinated b for !obs.. for over...VVV ears... forbid V to do 4 identical with forcing ...to... Crom V to 4 3Grow from @ million to % billion- 3Crom V up to 4 is wrongGiven credit for being ones * who had better3do(n an attempt to 3gain controlin contrast to independent from indifferent towards (ntent on interaction of ... Lust as * So too Ma be 3This is a word- is idiomatic, ma be 3This means perhaps- is not idiomatic Mistake V for 4 modeled after more than ever more V than 4 ... more...than 2 less...than more...than ever... must have 3done)ative of 3)ative to is also used in some cases)either * )or should have parallel forms associated to it. no less....than )o sooner than )ot in a flash but in a not onl ...but also )ot so much to V as to 4

E%- not V ...but rather 4 .. EB- noted that .. EG- one attributes V 3an effect- to 4 3a causeE<- 0ne V for ever WW3 some numeric number- 4=s ... ED- .ersuaded V to do 4 EH- .lead guilt for failing EE- .otential for causing A55potential to A5Aprohibits V from doing 4 A5@range from V to 4 A5%range of ... A5Breason8.. that incorrectl seen as reason8.. because A5GIRegard asJ is the correct idiom ** Regarded as having, Regarded as ones who have A5<regardless A5Dregards V as 4 ... A5Hreplacing with... A5ERe$uire that V be 4 3)ot re$uire that V is 4AA5research to AAAresponsible for AA@restitution...for ... AA%resulting in AABretroactive to AAGSame as V..as to 4 AA<same to V as to 4 AADseem...to...3seem is pluralAAHso 3ad!ective- that AAESo V as to be 4 3So unreal as to be trueA@5So V that 4 3So poor that the stealA@Asubscribe to A@@such...as A@%targeted at A@Bthat V ...that 4 ... A@GThat V is called for is indicated both b 4 and b W. A@<the same to V as to 4 A@Dto .. used to 3e&ample to get used to or to become used toA@Hto contrast V with 4 A@ETo e&change V for 4 3e&change V with 4 or an other form is incorrectA%5to mistake V for 4 A%Ato monitor ... A%@to orbit... A%%To ratif 3,t ratif ing is incorrect- ,n attempt to ratif is the correct use A%Bto result in A%Gto sacrifice V for 4 A%<to survive A%DTo tr to fi& is the right idiom 3to tr and fi& is incorrectA%HTo worr about someoneFs condition 3To keep worr ing over an actionA%Eused in the construction... AB5used to 3doABAviewed marriage as AB@wa to provide 3"a for providing is incorrectAB%"hen QratesF means Qprices chargedF it should be followed with QforF ABBwidel anticipated that.... ABG"orried about 3"hen talking about someoneFs conditionAB<V XisY e&pected to 4 ABDV as 4 .. ABHV forbids 4 to do W ...

ABEAG5AGAAG@AG%AGBAGGAG<-

V is attributed to 4 V is different from 4 3different than 4 is incorrectV is to what 4 is to V is unknown, nor it is known * is a correct idiom 3)either is not re$uiredV ordered that 4 be W=ed... V ordered 4 to be W=ed.. V ordered 4 to do W V prohobits 4 from doing W ...

There are three t pes of idioms that ou=ll see on the GM,T# A. word pairs that go together @. prepositions and the verbs that use them %. standard e&pressions. )ord airs as8as The movie was as long as it was boring. more8than less8than The workshop was more thrilling than an thing (=d ever done. greater8.than not onl 8but 3alsoso8that 3!ust- as8so neither8nor either8or She was not only e&hausted b%t *also- famished as well. The apartment was so e&pensive that no self*supporting student could afford it. *F%st- as it is the dut of emplo ees to contribute to the well* being of the compan , so it is the dut of the compan to contribute to the well*being of its emplo ees. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

(0(3MAT(C R7 3S(T(3N ASAG7 Man idiomatic e&pressions tested on the e&am involve prepositions. There=s no overarching 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 the idiom in a simpler version of the sentence. +&ample# Altho%gh he was considered as a leading proponent "or the contro&ersial new initiati&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 an thing sound unusual? Could this sentence be worded differentl ? (n fact, to be, not as, is the correct idiom# The professor was considered to be a proponent. "ould rather present tense if referring to m self and past tense if someone other than the sub!ect is doing the action +&ample# "ould rather ( speak present tense

+&ample# "ould rather ou spoke past tense General Grammar definitions So Z therefore So that Z in order to2in order that That Z the fact that Con!unctions that can !oin two independent clauses are# and, but, et, for, or, nor 0onGt start sentences with ;9eca%se< "ords re$uiring IhowJ 3e&ample# know howPnow Teach 6earn Show Always choose acti&e o&er passi&e &oice ,ctive e&ample# +laine purchased new software for the compan .assive e&ample# )ew software was purchased for the compan b +laine ,nother fre$uentl tested grammatical error is unnecessar use of the passive voice. (t=s a good idea to become familiar with this t pe of errorS it appears $uite often in the answer choices of sentence correction $uestions. ,s a reminder, the passive voice is in use when the action of the sentence is performed on the sub!ect. The active voice is in use when the sub!ect itself performs the action. +&ample# Acti&e# ,llison 3sub!ect- went 3action- to the store to bu a cake 3ob!ect-. assi&e# The cake 3sub!ect- was bought 3action- b ,llison 3ob!ect-. .reposition use IToJ or I0fJ needs sub!ect M verb )0T ob!ect M verb +&amples of sub!ect# she, he, whoever, who, ( +&amples of ob!ect# her, him, whomever, its, it +ither side of a form Ito beJ 3were, was- must have sub!ects not ob!ects on either side to agree. , verb that ends in 'ing is a gerund which is a verb acting like a noun. Tr not to use gerunds if ou can help it. ,dverbs, not ad!ectives modif verbs Pe identifier# ,dverbs end in 'l Correct e&ample# ( sure wish ( were rich (ncorrect e&ample# ( surel wish ( were rich )ord Asage Some pairs of words, like "ewer and less, are often used incorrectl because the =re treated as s non ms. (n fact, there is a solid rule that determines which one ou should use, and the e&am will test our abilit to decide which is the correct option. The e&am tests four such word pairs with particular fre$uenc , so memori1e the rules pertaining to them if ou don=t know them alread . A. Fewer.'ess "hich of the two following sentences is correct? The compan fired no less than fift emplo ees. The compan fired no fewer than fift emplo ees.

The second sentence is correct. "h ? /ecause ou use less when ou=re talking about things ou can=t count 3less pollution, less violence- but "ewer when ou=re talking about things ou can count 3fewer pollutants, fewer violent acts-. @. N%mber.Amo%nt These words follow the same rule as less and fewer. N%mber is correct when ou can count the thing being described 3a number of cars, a number of people- and amo%nt is correct when ou cannot 3amount of love, amount of pain-. %. Among.9etween 9se between when onl two options are available 3between the red car and the blue car- and among when more than two options are available 3among the five answer choices, among the man books-. B. (".)hether )hether is correct when ou=re discussing two options 3whether to get chocolate or strawberr ice cream- and i" is correct for more than two options 3if she should get ice cream, fro1en ogurt, or a cookie-. 3n the GMAT# whether will *almost- always beat i" (ncorrect# 7er client didnFt tell her if he had sent his pa ment et. Correct# 7er client didnFt tell her whether he had sent his pa ment et. G. Compared to &.s$ Compared with: To show comparison between unlike things, Qcompare toF is used. To show comparison between like things, Qcompare withF is used. e$g. 7e compared her to a summer da . Scientists compare the human brain to a computer. 39nlike thing The police compared the forged signature with the original. 36ike thingsThere are two rules which ou should consider. Cirst read the usage notes from dictionar .com# Compare usuall takes the preposition to when it refers to the activit of describing the resemblances between %nlike things# 7e compared her to a summer da . T Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer. Compare takes with when it refers to the act of e&amining two like things in order to discern their similarities or differences# T The police compared the forged signature with the original. T The committee will have to compare the Senate=s version of the bill with the version that was passed b the 7ouse. "hen compare is used to mean ;to liken< 3one- with another, with is traditionall held to be the correct preposition# That little bauble is not to be compared with 3not to- this enormous !ewel. 9%t ;to< is "re1%ently %sed in this conte!t and is not incorrect$ R%le 8# Compare to compares %nlike things, whereas compare with compares like things. R%le =# Compare to is used to stress the resemblance. Compare with can be used to show either similarity or di""erence b%t is %s%ally %sed to stress the di""erence.

There is a di""erence between compare to and compare withH the "irst is to liken one thing to anotherH the second is to note the resemblances and di""erences between two things$ <. +ach This $uestion tests one use of >each> which most of us ignore. The traditional rule still holds true i.e. >the s%b6ect o" a sentence beginning with each is grammatically sing%lar>. /ut there is another rule which sa s that# )hen each "ollows a pl%ral s%b6ect# the &erb and s%bse1%ent prono%ns remain in the pl%ral# e.g. the apartments each have their own private entrances 3not has its own private entrance Three cats each eat ... Three cats, each of which eats ...,

(n A, each is 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 broad cast the same. ************************************************************************************************************ $uote# ,lthough it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three ma!or networks broadcast e&actl the same statement from a political candidate. 3,- superficial such as when each of the three ma!or networks 3/- superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three ma!or networks 3C- superficial if the three ma!or networks all 3D- superficial whenever each of the three ma!or networks 3+- superficial, as when the three ma!or networks each Cirst of all, each, if it=s a pronoun 3as it is in ,-, is singular. (n fact, each is almost alwa s 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, broadcast, with a singular sub!ect, each. "hat ( reall like about , is that it uses such as, which we use to give e&amples. ,ll the other incorrect answer choices use words that mean something different from for example. The best answer, +, maintains the same meaning as ,, and corrects the sub!ect2verb agreement problem. .lease note that one of the accepted meanings of as is for instance, 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 connected with can in the main clause. ( think this is the part that is confusing people 3it certainl is what has confused TestMagic students in the past-, so let=s flip the sentence

around to see a bit more clearl that it=s not correct to use if with can# If all of the three major networks broadcast the same statement, television can be superficial. This sentence should read# If all of the three major networks broadcast the same statement, television will be superficial. (n other words, it=s not correct to use can after if 3in the conte&t of what we=ve been talking about-. 6et=s look at a simpler e&ample# If the temperature drops below 0 degrees celsius, distilled water can or will freeze. .lease post back with $uestions if ou need clarification on this. Cinall , it=s better to use each than it is to use all, since each network is operating independentl **all implies that the networks were working together. E$ That Vs )hich Most often than not, in GM,T, which would be preceded b a comma in the sentence. e.g. Get me the book, which is mine. "hich is used to $ualif the book i.e. which is mine. There ma be man books in the room, but ( want m book. Q"hichF should alwa s 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 rose to [A<D billion in AEE@, which is AB percent more than the previous ear and largel offsets weak demand from +urope and Lapan. which is AB percent more than the previous ear which is AB percent higher than it was the previous ear AB percent higher than the previous ear=s figure an amount that is AB percent more than the previous ear was an amount that is AB percent higher than the previous ear=s figure

/ is incorrect, because which should refer to a specific noun in the preceding clause. That noun does not e&ist 3 Rise of sales-. So, it is replaced b an amount that is AB percent higher 8 So, + is the correct answer 3Similar to the 9C0 e&ample in princetonThat is a restrictive clause while which is a non restrictive clause. ,fter people stud GM,T sentence correction for a while, the ma ask about the difference between that and which. /ut first, a testmagic tip# GM,T almost alwa s 3( sa almost alwa s because (=ve seen two $uestions that did not follow this rule, but the rule was violated in all five answer choices- wants ou to put a comma be"ore which. (n other words, if ou see which without a comma before it, it=s probabl wrong. ,fter this e&planation, ou should understand wh , but for those of ou who want onl the most important information, this is what ou need to know. ,n +&ample /oth of these sentences are correct in GM,T land# .lease go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine.

 .lease go into the room and get me the big book that is mine. 4es, in GM,Tland, these two sentences have two different meanings. /oth of the following sentences would be incorrect in GM,T land# 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 +&planation 0ka , 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 the ad!ective clause is necessar to specificall identif which noun we are referring to. Cor e&ample, imagine ou have one sister, and ou are telling a friend that our sister is coming to visit ou. Since this person is our friend, we can presume that he knows that ou have onl one sister. 4ou utter a sentence like this to our friend in GM,Tland# >M sister, who !ust graduated from college, is coming to see me.> (n GM,Tland, since our friend 3we presume- knows ou well and knows that ou have onl one sister, this e&tra bit of information is considered unnecessar to 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 !ust graduated from college.> )ow imagine ou have two, three, or even more sisters. 6et=s imagine that one is a college professor, another is a webmaster, and this one who is coming to visit ou !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 which sister ou are talking about. So ou add that e&tra bit of information**m sister who !ust graduated from college**to identif which sister it is ou are referring to. (n this situation, we have !ust correctl emplo ed a ver important grammar rule. Read on. So, if the person ou=re talking to, or the person who=s reading what ou=ve written, 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 reall describe 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 are talking about, we sa that the information is restricti&e. ,gain, this word is not reall a good choice for clarit , and man teachers use the term >necessar information> instead. Cinall , !ust to make +nglish a bit more difficult, we have a rule that sa s we should %se a comma be"ore or a"ter Ie!tra in"ormation cla%ses and phrases#I b%t not with Inecessary in"ormation cla%ses or phrases$I The idea here is that the comma represents the slight pause in speech or change in intonation that a native speaker might use when making such an utterance. ( should point out that both that and which are relative pronouns, i.e., the are grammaticall 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 mine is >e&tra> because the information >the big book> is enough to identif which book it is that ou want. "e can assume that there is 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 mine is >necessar > because the information >the big book> is )0T enough to identif which book it is that ou want**it is probabl the case 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. More +&amples , few more e&amples ma help# ( met with /ill Clinton, who is a law er. The name ill !linton is enough to identif which person (=m talking about** who is a lawyer is therefore e&tra information. ( met with the man who is a law er. (n this case, >the man> is not enough information to identif which person (=m talking about**who is a lawyer is therefore necessar information. The Sun, which is the onl star in our solar s stem, is the source of heat for +arth. ,gain, the name >the Sun> alread clearl identifies the nounS therefore, the information in the ad!ective clause >which is the onl star in our solar s stem> is e&tra. The star that is at the center of our solar s stem is called what? (n this case, since we don=t have a name here, we don=t know which star it is that we are referring to. Therefore, the information in the ad!ective clause >that is at the center our solar s stem> is necessar . A good r%le to learn is that which re1%ires a comma be"ore it$ (f ou=re not sure about wh the comma is necessar , please see this post.
7owever, GM,T is ver trick at times, and can of course create a $uestion in which this rule does )0T appl . (n fact, (=ve seen a $uestion that used which without a comma, but ,66 the answer choices violated the rule. (.e., none of the answer choices used thatS the all used which without a comma. 7ere=s an e&ample of what ( mean# 6ucise in San Crancisco is a place which an bod can visit. 3,- which an bod can visit 3/- which an person could visit 3C- which no person could not visit 3D- 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 GM,T sentence correction is that we must choose the best answer, )0T the perfect answer.

H. The %se o" being

.eople who stud for GM,T for a while $uickl learn that being is usuall wrong. So (=m guessing ou alread know that being in an answer choice is wrong more often than it is right. This is a good strateg to get ou started, but to get over D55 on the GM,T, ou reall need to know some of the finer points of GM,T 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 re1%ires it$
4es, (=m tr ing to simplif things here, but the idea is this**man ideas can be e&pressed in more than one wa . Cor e&ample, ( can sa # (=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 m members here, ( know that the will have $uestions about the difference, but please, let=s start a separate thread for this."hether we can e&press ideas in one or more structures is reall related to the word usedS in other words, it is idiomatic. /ut some idioms allow onl one structure. Cor e&ample# (n addition to being one of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and ,merican tastes, Che1 .anisse in /erkele is also one of the /a ,rea=s most established restaurants. The idiomatic structure in addition to does not have a counterpart that uses a sub!ect and a verb, so our onl option here is to use being, which is grammaticall a noun, but is derived from a verb.

b.

with @ N3AN @ being @ N3AN C3M '7M7NT The second e&ample of when being is correct is shown in this e&ample# There are man reasons to get an M/,, with increased career prospects being the most important for man M/, applicants. Technicall this part here# with increased 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# Cramed b traitorous colleagues, ,lfred Dre fus was imprisoned for twelve ears before there was e&oneration and his freedom. 3,- there was e&oneration and his freedom 3/- he was to be e&onerated with freedom 3C- being e&onerated and freed 3D- e&oneration and his freedom 3+- being freed, having been e&onerated C is correct. The main thing here is that we do not have the best option available to us#

before he was e&onerated and freed The second best option would be#

before being e&onerated and freed

E. 9eca%se &.s$ (n That: "hen +TS puts QbecauseF and Qin thatF in a sentence, more often than not, Qin thatF would be correct. Q(n that $ualifiesF the previous sentence, while QbecauseF is !ust used to show a simple causal relationship. Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because the are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normall found in the organ in which the tumor appears.