module iii - sentence correction 101

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A Sentence must express a complete idea or thought, be clear, correct, concise, parallel, logical, and

effective. entence Correction is about testing your ability to recognize the various elements of a sentence, elements such as the subject, the verb, the independent and subordinate clauses, conjunctions, and the qualifiers, and to make sure that the elements are correctly, clearly, and LOGICALLY put together.

Because there are several rules that pertain to the various elements used to express a complete idea or a thought, it is important that you carefully review the following pages, and internalize the requirements for use of the various elements of a sentence. GMAT SENTENCE CORRECTION section is tested as part of the GMAT VERBAL ASSESSMENT, and includes about 13 questions out of the total of 41 questions tested in Verbal Assessment. In fact, this section should have been titled “correction of sentences, if required” because not all sentences as written and tested are badly written. About 25% of the sentences tested in this section are well-written and need not be corrected. Some part of the sentence or, in one or two cases, the entire sentence is underlined, and the underlined part of the sentence is repeated as the First option in the answer options. If the underlined part of the sentence is well-written relative to the rest of the sentence, then you must choose the option 1. If the underlined part has a problem when viewed in the context of the rest of the sentence, then you must choose one of the other 4 options. Remember that Selection is a process that starts with intelligent elimination. The business schools receive about 7000 applications each for 500 slots to be filled. How do they proceed to SELECT the 500 people to come in each year? They start by ELIMINATING the ones that do not make the cut and then whittle the list down to, say 2000 people and then carefully go through other considerations to pick the final 500. Your approach to any part of GMAT testing using multiple-choice format should be no different. You should eliminate as many options (typically 3 are easy to kill) as you can, using a conceptual and procedural understanding specific to the assessment section, and then critically examine the remaining 2 options to determine which one will make the final cut. For example, if you notice that the underlined part of the sentence has a verb or a pronoun, and all five options use one form or another of the verbs and pronouns, then your approach should be to try to eliminate the 2 or 3 ones that use the wrong form of verb or the pronoun and then examine the remaining two options to determine which one is correct in terms of idioms or grammar rules or logical statements. Consider the following question in Sentence Correction: Studies (of the human “sleep-wake” cycle) has practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines and air-traffic control towers to the staff of shifts in 24-hour factories. (A) has practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines and air-traffic control towers to the staff of (B) has practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines and air-traffic control towers to the staffing of (C) have practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines and air-traffic control towers to the staffing of (D) have practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines and air-traffic control towers and to the staff of (E) have practical relevance for matters ranging from duty assignments in nuclear submarines to air-traffic control towers, in addition to the staffing of

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Notice that the subject of the sentence is STUDIES, which is a PLURAL noun, and the required verb must also have the PLURAL form. Notice that options A and B use the singular form of the verb and must be eliminated out of hand. Then, you will have to determine which of the other three options is the correct answer. A decision in this regard will be made on the basis of a consideration of other requirements such as idiom, logic, parallelism, etc. We notice that there is a verb RANGE and we know that a ranges is FROM a value TO another value. We need to look for RANGING FROM X TO Y form. Choice E uses the form RANGINF RROM X TO Y IN ADDITION TO Z. The extension of range by addition of Z is inappropriate because a range is between two fixed values and not among three values. We can now eliminate option E because it is not idiomatic or logical. Choice D uses the form “RANGING FROM DUTY ASSIGNMENTS IN X AND Y TO THE STAFF OF”. Knowing that our range has to be measured between two values of the same kind (apples to apples), and knowing that DUTY ASSIGNMENTS cannot be measured in terms of STAFF (employees), we can now eliminate option D. Duty assignment is a function whereas Staff is a noun denoting personnel. A duty assignment cannot be logically compared or contrasted with people. A job function must be related to another job function. Choice C provides the logical fit: It measures the range between DUTY ASSIGNMENTS, a job function, and STAFFING OF TOWERS, another job function. An apples to apples comparison that is logical and required in the context of the sentence. We must choose option C. Notice how we eliminated ‘out of hand’ some options and then critically examined the remaining options by applying other standards to come up with the correct answer. Remember that the Business Schools apply the same procedure: They eliminate a certain population of applicants on the basis of a lack of fundamental fit and then APPLY OTHER CONSIDERATATIONS to choose the population of desirable candidates. Remember that the test is about your ability to use grammar rules, idiom considerations, and also use a far amount of LOGIC in arriving at the correct answer. A sentence that tests simple grammar rules is likely to be a low or low end of medium difficulty question whereas one testing grammar or idiom along with LOGIC is definitely a high difficulty level question. Your objective should be to take on the high difficulty level questions so that your Score will be right up there in the 90th percentile or better. DO NOT APPLY THE SOUND TEST WHEN DEALING WITH THIS SECTION Our spoken communication is driven by considerations other than the grammatical and idiomatic ones: For example, the way we speak may be something to do with the fact that the manner of expression simply ‘rolls off our tongues’ a lot better. The test of how it sounds is not a reliable way to determine whether a sentence is well-written. Most test-takers tend to pick answers that agree with the way they would communicate. If you are one of those mortals, be very careful. Consider the following scenario: Try saying: “There is a couple of things we need to do today”, and then “there are a couple of things we need to do today.” Surely, the former ‘rolls off our tongues’ a lot better. But then, the latter is the grammatically and idiomatically correct form. Also, we tend to use simple sentences in normal communication but GMAT will test you on ‘complex’ and ‘compound’ sentences, sentences that use modifiers to describe a noun, and use ‘conjunctions’ and ‘prepositions’ to combine ‘subordinate clauses’ and ‘independent clauses’. GMAT sentences typically tend to SEPARATE the subject and the verb by adding ‘distracting elements’ such as modifiers, prepositional or other forms of qualifiers between the subject and verb. In this process, we tend to lose sight of what the real subject is, and tend to use a verb form that does not agree with the form of the subject. In most instances, the answers will entice you to pick a verb form that agrees with the object of a prepositional phrase, not the subject as intended. Consider the following example:

“New techniques in thermal imaging, which uses the principles of digital photography, is revolutionizing medical diagnostic procedures.” The first part of the sentence uses a ‘noun phrase’ that combines two nouns using a preposition, and then there is a descriptor for ‘thermal imaging’. The verb that describes the action by the subject comes much later and has the singular form. (‘is’ ). We will see momentarily that when two nouns are combined with a preposition and used as the subject phrase, the form of the verb must match the form of the first noun that


precedes the preposition. In the above sentence, the subject form is plural because “new techniques” is plural subject. Notice that the verb ‘IS’, singular in form, matches the form of the OBJECT (thermal imaging) of the prepositional phrase whereas it should agree with the subject (techniques) and be plural in form. We should, therefore, be using a plural form of the verb, and write the sentence as: “New techniques in thermal imaging, which uses the principles of digital photography, are revolutionizing medical diagnostic procedures.” You will be required to make sure that the sentence meets the test of following criteria: ♦ The sentence is CLEARLY written. This requirement means that there is no room for multiple takes

on the same information. ♦ The sentence is CORRECTLY written – Grammatically correct, and idiomatically correct. ♦ The sentence is CONCISELY written. You will be required to avoid redundancy and to know how

some expressions, phrases, and words can be hidden and not openly expressed. ♦ The sentence is EFFECTIVELY written. The sentence must express the intended idea in the most

effective manner. ♦ The sentence is LOGICAL and expresses the intended idea in a LOGICAL way. ♦ The sentence makes LOGICAL COMPARISIONS and LOGICAL EMPHASIS. The sentence

cannot compare apples with oranges. ♦ The sentence is PARALLEL. You are not allowed to mix and match different forms in the same

sentence. In the following pages, we will see how we can test a sentence for all of the above qualities. Your ability to identify the problem, if any, in the sentence before you attempt a fix is a critical ability you need to have. Also, you need to identify in what fashion one part of the sentence is related to the other. Compound sentences typically combine items of information that are related to each other or one another, and it is important for you to know in what fashion one part of the sentence relates to the other. For example, one part of the sentence may express the cause and the other part of the sentence may be expressing the effect associated with the cause. In this situation, you may have to use a “participial form” or use a conjunction such as “so that” to express the ‘cause and effect’ described in the sentence. Therefore, Do not attempt to fix the underlined part of the sentence, without regard to the rest of the sentence. The part of the sentence outside the underlined part will tell you a great deal about the verb tense that needs to be used, the subject or the verb form, or the preposition to repeat for parallelism, the type of conjunction to use, etc. Pay attention to the whole sentence before attempting to fix the underlined part, if necessary. Learn to read the sentence, with a degree of expectation. You should expect to see nouns, independent clauses, subordinate clauses, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, qualifiers, and verbs. You should also be able to recognize the various elements of a sentence, and to make sure that these elements are properly put together.

Your ability to make nuanced interpretations of the expressions will be tested. Consider the following sentence: “Too many lawsuits are filed against the doctors and the hospitals without merit”. Notice that the prepositional qualifier, ‘without merit’, hangs on ‘doctors and hospitals’ and suggests that the ‘doctors and the hospitals are the ones without merit’. The tone of the sentence appears to be one of complaining mood, and logically ‘without merit’ should describe the ‘lawsuits’. You should look for a corrected sentence that reads: “Too many lawsuits without merit are filed against the doctors and hospitals.” Consider another sentence using a prepositional qualifier in the inappropriate place: “Federal law requires that parents restrain children in a safety seat under four years of age.” Notice that the prepositional phrase, ‘under four years of age’, describes the ‘safety seat’ whereas it should describe ‘children’. The corrected expression must read: “Federal laws require that parents restrain children under four years of age in a safety seat.”


ANATOMY OF A SENTENCE Fundamentally, a sentence is made up of a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. A SIMPLE PREDICATE contains only a VERB whereas a normal PREDICATE contains a VERB and a COMPLEMENT that completes the intended train of thought. A COMPLEMENT (completer) usually answers questions such as WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY. Consider the following logical progression from a sentence containing a subject and a simple predicate to one that looks like the monster that you will come across on the GMAT.

• SAM WON. • SAM WON THE MATCH. Notice that the COMPLEMENT ‘the match’ answers the

question, ‘what did Sam win?’. • SAM WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA. Notice that the COMPLEMENT tries

to answer additional questions such as ‘where was the match played?’ • SAM WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM. Notice that

the COMPLEMENT tries to answer more questions such as ‘who did he play against?’ • SAM WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE

REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that the COMPLEMENT provides additional information that DESCRIBES Tom as ‘REIGNING CHAMPION’.

We can now begin to make the sentence more complex by attempting to DESCRIBE the SUBJECT, Sam.

• UNCLE SAM WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that Sam is described by an ADJECTIVE ‘uncle’.

• INCREDIBLE UNCLE SAM WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that UNCLE SAM is now modified by another qualifier, an adverbial ‘incredible’.

• INCREDIBLE UNCLE SAM, WHO LIVES BY THE RIVER, WON THE MATH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that UNCLE SAM is now additionally described as the person WHO LIVES BY THE RIVER.

• INCREDIBLE UNCLE SAM, WHO LIVES BY THE RIVER THAT FLOWS INTO MISSISSIPPI, WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that the RIVER is not described by additional QUALIFIER that answers the question WHERE DOES THE RIVER GO?

• INCREDIBLE UNCLE SAM, WHO LIVES BY THE RIVER THAT FLOWS INTO THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI, WON THE MATCH PLAYED AT AUGUSTA AND AGAINST TOM, THE REIGNING CHAMPION. Notice that the river ‘MISSISSIPPI’ is now QUALIFIED by the adjective MIGHTY.

Notice how the complexity of the SENTENCE can be increased through an attempt to DESCRIBE the nouns and verbs used in the statement. Also notice that the subject, ‘SAM’ is far removed from the verb, ‘won’, in the final version of the sentence. The qualifiers and modifiers used to describe the nouns, the verbs, and the adjectives create NEEDLESS DISTRACTION, and it is your responsibility to stay FOCUSED on the SUBJECT and the VERB and to recognize the other elements for what they are worth. In the next few pages, we will discuss how we can ‘parse’ a sentence in terms of the various elements and logically position the various elements in the sentence in order to make the sentence logically flow and logically express the intended thought.


CLAUSES A CLAUSE is a group of words having a SUBJECT and a VERB. If the sentence contains a SUBJECT and only a VERB, it is a DEPENDENT CLAUSE. The PREDICATE used in ‘dependent clause’ is a simple predicate that does NOT answer questions such as WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY. The expression, ‘SAM WON’ is a dependent clause because the sentence DEPENDS on additional COMPLEMENTS or, in most cases, ADDITIONAL CLAUSES to fully explain the intended train of thought. The VERB used in a DEPENDENT CLAUSE will always CREATE questions such as ‘what or ‘why’ or ‘where’, etc. AN INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a group of words that contain a SUBJECT, VERB, AND A COMPLEMENT. An independent clause typically COMPLEMENTS the verb used in the DEPENDENT CLAUSE. Consider the following sentence in which the first part of the DEPENDENT CLAUSE that is followed by an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE that answers the question that is left unanswered by the verb in the dependent clause. “ANALYSTS PREDICT THAT THE RECENT SPIKE IN THE PRICE OF OIL WILL HURT THE AMERICAN ECONOMY IN THE LONG RUN”. Notice that the first the first part of the sentence, ANALYSTS PREDICT, is the DEPENDENT CLAUSE that does not answer the question ‘WHAT DO THEY PREDICT?’. The part of the sentence starting in the CONNECTOR ‘THAT’ answers the question, ‘what do the analysts predict?’. The part of the sentence that follows the connector THAT is the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE that fully expresses the intended idea and can ‘stand alone’ as a complete sentence. Notice that the part of the sentence starting in THAT acts as a COMPLEMENT of the VERB ‘predict’ used in the dependent clause. THE DEPENDENT CLAUSE may also be written in the middle of an independent clause when it is set off by commas as shown below: The recent spike in the price of oil, analysts predict, will hurt the American economy. Notice that each CLAUSE has its own SUBJECT and VERB. You should match up the subject and verb in each clause and make sure that the subject and the verb agree in form.


USE LOGICAL NOUNS AS THE SUBJECT OF EACH CLAUSE While it is true that ANY noun can act as the subject of a clause, a sentence must use the MOST LOGICAL noun as the subject of a clause. Instead of saying, “640 was my GMAT score”, it is more logical to use ‘my GMAT score’ as the logical subject of the clause, not 640. The more logical statement would read, ‘My GMAT score was 640”. Instead of using ‘availability’ as the subject of a clause as in “AVAILABILITY OF WATER IS A PROBLEM IN RURAL AREAS”, it is more logical to use PROBLEM as the logical subject. Usually, a sentence that uses a FAKE NOUN such as an adjective or verb modified to behave as a noun, will have the corrected form in EXPLETIVE construction (discussed in the following pages). The more logical statement would read: “In rural areas, there is a problem of available water”. Notice that the adjective ‘available’ is more logically used as the adjective, not as the subject of a clause. Be sure to USE A LOGICAL NOUN AS THE SUBJECT OF A CLAUSE Consider the following sentence: “2002 was the first year of dramatic sales decline.” The subject of the sentence is ‘2002’ and we also notice that the adjective ‘dramatic’ describes ‘sales’ whereas it should describe the ‘decline’. Also, the sentence is better expressed using ‘sales’ as the subject. The logical and correct expression must read: “Sales dramatically declined for the first year in 2002.” Consider another sentence using an “ILLOGICAL” subject: “Advantages of small windmills over large windmills are ease of installation, ease of maintenance, and portability”. Notice that the subject of the clause is ‘ADVANTAGES (of small windmills)”. We might want to use ‘windmills’ as the subject, not ‘advantages’. Also notice that the qualifier ‘over large windmills’ is qualifying ‘small windmills’ instead of ‘advantages’. Logically, we should say that one has ‘advantages OVER another’. A more logical statement that uses a more logical noun as the subject of the clause and takes care of the idiom problem posed by the misplaced qualifier ‘over large windmills’ will read: “SMALL WINDMILLS HAVE ADVANTAGES OVER LARGE WINDMILLS: Ease of installation, ease of maintenance, and portability.” GMAT frequently uses COLON (:) as a punctuation mark to mean ‘and they are’. In fact, you should apply the same significance to the use of COLON in Reading Comprehension passages. Any information provided after the colon will EXPLAIN the statement before the COLON.

When you make the decision whether the SUBJECT of a clause uses a logical noun, you should also pay attention to the fact that SOME NOUNS CANNOT ENGAGE IN ACTIVE ACTION and must not be used as the subject of a clause expressing active action. For example, “My life has changed” is an active construction in which ‘active actionable qualities’ are attributed to the noun ‘my life’. Because ‘life’ cannot actively change itself, it must be used as an object and in passive voice construction as ‘My life has BEEN changed by the circumstances’. Likewise, it is illogical to attribute active qualities to a noun such as ‘effort’. “The effort that HAS BEGUN two years ago is beginning to show results” is an illogical statement inasmuch as ‘effort’ cannot begin of its own free will; it has to BE BEGUN BY SOMEONE. Therefore, a passive construction is the required, logical form: “The effort that WAS BEGUN (by us) is beginning to show results”. You will also be required to pick an answer that makes a logical statement. Consider the following two options provided to you:

(A) any additional amount borrowed against the home to pay for medical or educational expenses

(B) any additional payment borrowed against the home for medical or educational expenses

Notice that the option A is the logical statement because we do NOT borrow PAYMENT against the home for expenses. We borrow money to pay for expenses. Be sure to check to see whether the statement you are tempted to pick is logically written and is not illogical or clumsy. The test is a test of your ability to engage in LOGICAL REASONING. Sentence Correction is no exception to this expectation.


CLAUSES AND CONNECTORS REDUX A clause is a sentence or a part of the sentence having a noun and a finite verb. A DEPENDENT CLAUSE is an incomplete sentence that has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought. A DEPENDENT clause DEPENDS on an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (a stand-alone sentence) to complete or to express the intended thought. An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE acts as the COMPLEMENT of the verb used in the DEPENDENT CLAUSE. ( A COMPLEMENT is a part of the sentence that completes the information implied or left unsaid; It could also be a qualifier that completes the description of the word. (in the sentence, “HE LEFT HIS WEALTH TO JOHN”, the verb LEFT is ‘COMPLEMENTED’ by ‘to John’. A complement can deal with questions such as WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN. In the above sentence, if we posed a question ‘He LEFT (his wealth) TO WHOM?”, the answer is, “He LEFT (his wealth) TO JOHN”. Therefore, ‘to John’ is the complement of the verb ‘left’). Consider the following sentence: “Analysts PREDICT that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates during its December meeting”. The part of the sentence before ‘THAT’ is the DEPENDENT CLAUSE because it does not explain ‘ANALYSTS PREDICT WHAT??’. Notice that the part of the sentence beginning in the connector THAT ‘complements’ the verb ‘predict’ or completes the intended train of thought. Also notice that the sentence in Red is the ‘independent clause’ which can stand alone as a sentence and does not DEPEND on another complement. You can also understand a DEPENDENT CLAUSE as an INCOMPLETE sentence that is connected to a COMPLETE SENTENCE (independent clause) through a connector such as ‘THAT’. Note that the connector is an IMPORTANT part of the sentence; without the connector, we will have created a RUN-ON sentence in which a dependent clause is RUNNING ON an independent clause. The connector is typically ‘that’ but a ‘comma’ can also serve as a connector between a dependent clause and an independent clause. The sentence, “Analysts predict THAT the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates during its December meeting” may also be written in the form “The Federal Reserve, analysts predict, will raise interest rates during its December meeting”. Notice that the ‘dependent clause’ is ‘set off’ from the independent clause through commas. You will be required to identify the SUBJECT and the VERB in each CLAUSE and to make sure that the subject and the verb agree in form. The subject of the dependent clause is ‘Analysts’ (plural form) and the verb is “predict” (also plural); the subject of the independent clause is ‘The Fed Reserve’ and the verb is ‘will raise’ (the auxiliary verb ‘will’ can create a verb form that could be singular or plural, but the form must be dictated by the form of the subject. “He will raise rates” and “They will raise rates” both use the auxiliary form; in the first clause ‘will raise’ is singular whereas in the second, it is plural.


LESSON 1: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ♦ Learn to recognize the SUBJECT of a sentence. The SUBJECT does the action, and the action is

expressed by the VERB. The subject and the verb must have the same form. Try to put the subject and the verb as close to each other as possible by ‘ignoring’ parts of the sentence starting with any preposition, and parts using descriptions of a noun.

♦ The SUBJECT could be a single NOUN, a pronoun, a gerund, a NOUN PHRASE, or even a COMPLETE SENTENCE called an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE.

USE A LOGICAL NOUN AS THE SUBJECT OF A CLAUSE OR SENTENCE. EXAMPLE: 1. JOHN PLAYS SOCCER. In this sentence, JOHN is the subject, and the action engaged in by the

subject is expressed by the VERB ‘plays’. Soccer is the predicate of the sentence, answering the question: What does John play? Notice that the subject is ‘singular’ in form, and the verb has the corresponding singular form.

2. CAPITAL INVESTMENT yields high returns. In this sentence, the subject is the adjectival phrase “CAPITAL INVESTMENT”. Notice that two nouns are placed side by side, and the rule is pretty simple: The first noun is the adjective modifying the second noun, and the form of the verb has to match the form of the second noun.

3. INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL yields high returns. Notice that the sentence here is the same as the one in example 2, except that “capital investment” has been written as a prepositional phrase: “investment of capital”. The rule about prepositional noun phrases is simple: The noun that precedes the preposition will decide what form the verb will take. Also, the noun that precedes the preposition will be the subject to which the action will be attributed by the verb. Prepositional noun phrases are tricky in GMAT sentences, and need to be checked out carefully. It is quite likely that the wrong subject is sitting in front of the preposition. Consider the following example: “The wavelength of infrared radiation is long, and invisible.” Notice that the “wavelength” is the subject and the sentence implies that the “wavelength is invisible”. The wavelength is not invisible; the radiation is invisible because it has a long wavelength. We can take care of this problem by rewriting this sentence as follows: “Infrared radiation is invisible because it has a long wavelength”, or “the wavelength of infrared radiation is long, and the radiation is invisible.” Prepositional noun phrases are potentially problematic, and must be checked out carefully for wrinkles.

4. JOHN’S HOUSE is on the hill. “House” is the subject. A possessive case noun can never be the subject of a sentence.

5. THAT ‘JOHN RECEIVED ADMISSION OFFER FROM HARVARD’ is more significant than THAT ‘JOHN RECEIVED A LOW GMAT SCORE.’ In this sentence, an independent clause – JOHN RECEIVED ADMISSION OFFER FROM HARVARD – is acting as the subject of the sentence, and notice that another independent clause is used as a comparison. Also, notice that each independent clause is introduced into the sentence by using “that”. The rule is pretty simple: An independent clause (a stand alone sentence) must be introduced into the sentence by using “that”. Another example: “I think THAT it will rain today.” Notice that “it will rain today” is an independent clause because it is a stand alone sentence, and is introduced into the sentence by using ‘THAT’. It is incorrect to say, “I think it will rain today.” An independent clause could also be introduced by using “where” or “in which”. Examples: “I live in London, where the Queen of England lives.” “We are living in an environment in which uncertainty is prevalent.” Notice that an independent clause follows “where” and “in which”. Remember: If “where” or “in which” is to be used in a sentence, then you must be sure to use a complete stand alone sentence following “where” or “in which”. Also, be sure to use a “that” in other cases to introduce an independent noun clause. The following list provides additional examples in which an independent clause is used as the subject. Notice that “that” or “where” is used to introduce a noun clause. ♦ “Where we go from here IS anybody’s guess.” ♦ “That the Taliban regime collapsed like a house of cards was a surprise.”


LESSON 2: Be sure to use the matching ‘SUBJECT’ and ‘VERB’ forms. ♦ A singular SUBJECT takes a singular VERB. ♦ Keep in mind that some Nouns are always singular. For example, “much” is a singular noun and is

always used with another singular noun. “many” is a plural noun, and is always used with another plural noun. Example: “How much time is left?” and “How many minutes are left?”

♦ Some nouns will take the same form as the ‘second noun’ they are associated with. For example, “all of my friends have cars” is a sentence in which “all” is plural because “friends” is plural. In the sentence: “all of my wealth is in the stock market”, “all” is singular because “wealth” is a singular noun. “a number of” is a phrase that stands for “many”, and is considered plural. Example: “A number of measures have been taken”.

A CLAUSE is a group of words containing a subject and a PREDICATE or Verb. A PHRASE is a group of words not containing a verb or a predicate. DEPENDENT CLAUSES and INDEPENDENT CLAUSES both use a subject and verb. A DEPENDENT CLAUSE contains a subject and a verb but cannot exist as a stand alone sentence expressing a complete thought. Usually, the incomplete thought that is contained in a dependent clause will be explained in the complex sentence using an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a stand-alone sentence, and is connected to the Dependent Clause by means of a connector such as THAT. Take a look at the following sentence using a dependent clause and an independent clause: “Analysts predict THAT the stock markets will crash when the Feds increase interest rates.” Notice that the dependent clause ‘Analysts predict’ is an incomplete thought, and the answer to ‘what do the analysts predict?’ is provided by the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE that follows the connector ‘THAT’. The connector serves a very important role in the above sentence because, without the connector, the two clauses will be put together in a RUN ON format. “Analysts predict the stock markets will crash” is a classic run on sentence. Also, the problem with the above sentence is that the sentence suggests that the ‘analysts predict the stock markets’. Do you see the problem with the above run on sentence? The test will require that you recognize the dependent clauses and the independent clauses in a sentence and make sure that they are appropriately connected. The CONNECTORS are typically THAT, WHERE, WHEN, and any conjunction such as ‘but’, ‘because’, ‘and’, or ‘or’. The conjunctions typically connect clauses in a sentence. Take a look at the following sentence: “The crash of stock markets in 1979 showed that the world markets are closely integrated and that the events in one part of the world can be instantaneously transmitted to another part of the world.” Notice that the sentence starts off in a dependent clause, ‘the crash of stock markets in 1979 showed’, and the answer to ‘what did the crash reveal?’ is provided by the two independent clauses connected by the connectors ‘THAT’. Also notice the use of conjunction ‘and’ between the two independent clauses explaining the incomplete thought contained in the opening dependent clause. You should be able to parse the GMAT sentences and understand the different elements constituting the sentence. You should then make sure that the elements are properly put together. Do not apply the test of whether the sentence ‘sounds’ good and pick a choice on that basis alone. You should engage in some analysis of the sentence as described above, and ensure that the elements are properly used and connected.

GMAT sentences must be checked carefully for use of words and phrases in the correct places so that the sentence is logically valid. For example, “the thousands of languages spoken by the world’s five billion people can be traced back to a common root language” is not the same as saying, “the world’s five billion people, who speak thousands of languages, can be traced back to a common root language.” In the latter expression, “people are traced back to a common root language”. In the former sentence, “the languages are traced back to a common root language”. Obviously, first statement is the LOGICAL one. Similarly, “The law requires that children under four years of age be restrained in a car seat” is not the same as saying, “the law requires that children be restrained under four years of age in a car seat.” “Children under four years of age be restrained” is the clear expression; “Children be restrained under four years of age” is not. “Under four years of age” should sit right next to “children” in order to convey the proper meaning of the sentence.


MULTIPLE POP-UP SUBJECTS IN A SENTENCE A sentence can have one or more independent clauses, each independent clause having its own subject and verb. You should recognize independent clauses and make sure that each ‘new subject’ is modified by a ‘new verb’ that corresponds in form and gender to the ‘subject’ form and gender. Bear in mind that connectors such as “that” , “when”, “where”, “in which”, and “during which” will introduce an independent clause, which has its own subject. Consider the following sentence: “A recent study shows that true capitalism obtains only when the ownership of property and the means of production is regarded as an individual’s inalienable right, not as a temporary license granted by the State.” Notice that the sentence starts off with a dependent clause having the subject “recent study” and using the singular verb form in “shows” to describe action by a singular subject – ‘recent study’. The first part of the sentence is a dependent clause because it cannot syntactically as a complete sentence. A dependent clause must be connected to the independent clause by a connector such as ‘that’. Notice the use of ‘that’ after the verb ‘shows’, and a new independent clause springs up having a ‘new subject’. The ‘new subject’ after “that” is TRUE CAPITALISM, which is a singular subject. We notice that the verb ‘obtains’ (which means, in this context, ‘to be in force or effect’) is appropriately singular. So far, so good. Notice the use of the word “when” as we move along, and we should expect another subject to ‘pop up’, and pop up a new subject does. The ‘ new subject’ is OWNERSHIP, which is also singular, and the corresponding verb form must be singular too. The verb appropriately used is ‘is’, which is singular. Make sure that you understand the subject form as you work your way through the maze of sentence construction, and that the sentence uses the appropriate verb form. Consider another example: “Eye-lid surgery is the cosmetic surgery of choice for most recent Chinese immigrants, who hold the view that appearance of bigger eyes that the surgery creates is consistent with the Western ideals of beauty.” Notice that the sentence starts off with the subject “eye-lid surgery” and uses the verb “is” to appropriately agree with the singular noun form. Notice the first dependent clause: “who hold the view”. Also notice that the dependent clause expresses an incomplete thought because it does not explain ‘hold what view”. The explanation of the view and completion of the thought will be done through the use of an independent clause introduced by ‘that’. The answer to ‘what’ is usually answered by an independent clause introduced by ‘that’. The new independent clause starts with the subject, ‘appearance of bigger eyes that the surgery creates’. The subject ‘appearance (of X)’ is a singular subject and notice that this subject is modified by the singular verb ‘IS” which is double underlined. Notice that the noun phase, ‘appearance of bigger eyes that the surgery creates’, uses ‘that’ as a relative pronoun that explains how the ‘bigger eyes’ come about. The above is an example of an extremely ‘complex’ sentence in which there are multiple ‘pop up’ subjects, but you should have the ability to sort through them as you continue down the path of analyzing the structure of the sentence. GMAT will expect you to do this. You will be required to engage in this type of analysis when you work on sentence correction. Your ability to recognize the various elements of a sentence is a critical skill that must be honed in order to ace this section.


You will also be required to ensure that a logical noun is used as the subject of the sentence, not any noun. Consider the following sentence; “My sickness was the reason why I could not take the test as scheduled.” Notice that the subject of the sentence is ‘sickness’, and the sentence attempts to ‘explain’ why ‘I’ could not take the test as scheduled. We should, therefore, logically use ‘reason’ as the subject of the sentence. The logical form is: “The reason why I could not take the test as scheduled is that I was sick.” Note that it is incorrect to say, “The reason why I could not take the test as scheduled is my sickness”. “Sickness” means ‘the condition of being sick or diseased’, and the ‘reason cannot be one’s condition of being sick’. The logical series of statements is; ‘I was sick and, therefore, I could not take the test as scheduled’. Your sentence must correctly express this thought. “The reason why I could not take the test as scheduled is that I was sick” does. You will also be required to make sure that the logical subject of a sentence is not used in any other capacity, and that any other element such as an adjective is not used as the subject. Consider the following sentence: “Water availability is scarce in rain starved desert states.” Notice that the sentence uses ‘availability’ as the subject, and ‘water’ as the adjective. We should use ‘water’ as the subject, and ‘available’ as the adjective describing ‘water’. The logical statement will read: “Available Water is scarce in rain starved desert states.” Take a look at the following sentence in which adjectives are turned into noun phrases: “Remarkability and uniqueness are the characteristics of Mary’s ideas.” Notice that the subject is; “Remarkability and uniqueness”. Logically, “remarkable” and “unique” must be used as adjectives describing ‘Mary’s ideas’. The logical statement ought to read: “Mary’s ideas are unique and remarkable”. Take a look at another example: “The antibodies neutralize the effects of the irritant chemical”. The phrase ‘irritant chemical’ uses ‘chemical’ as the noun described by the adjective ‘irritant’. Because ‘chemical’ is the nature of the irritant, it is best used as the adjective describing the noun ‘irritant’. The logical statement ought to read: “The antibodies neutralize the effects of the chemical irritant.” The test is about your ability to reason with a given piece of information, and apply logic in the process of determining whether a particular word is best used as an adjective or as a noun. NOUNS THAT CANNOT ENGAGE IN ACTIVE ACTION MUST BE USED IN OBJECTIVE CASE, NOT IN SUBJECTIVE CASE REMEMBER that not all nouns can engage in active action. If a noun cannot engage in an active action, it cannot be used in subjective case. “Your letter reached me yesterday’ is an example of a sentence in which ‘active’ qualities are attributed to the noun ‘your letter’. Because ‘the letter’ cannot travel and reach ‘me’, the noun ‘letter’ cannot be used in subjective case. A more logical expression must read: “Your letter was received by me yesterday”. Similarly, in the sentence, “The term ‘red shift’ denotes the extent to which LIGHT from a distant source HAS SHIFTED by the rapid motion of galaxy away from the earth”, the noun ‘LIGHT’ is used in subjective case. Because ‘light’ cannot actively SHIFT ITSELF and needs to BE SHIFTED by the motion of galaxy, we must write a sentence in which ‘LIGHT’ is used in objective case as follows: “The term, Red shift, denotes the extent to which LIGHT from a distant source HAS BEEN SHIFTED by the rapid motion of galaxy away from the earth”.

MAKE SURE THAT AN ADJECTIVE IS NOT ‘CONVERTED’ TO A NOUN FORM IN A SENTENCE. Be suspicious of any GMAT answer choice that uses an ADJECTIVE as a noun by adding an ‘ity’ to the adjective. Notice that the adjective ‘remarkable’ is used as a noun by adding ‘ity’ to it in an example used alongside. Any such use is clumsy, and the adjective must be used to describe a noun, not as a noun itself. If the sentence reads: ‘tangibility of benefits is the desired goal of an organization’, you are better off correcting it to read: “An organization has the desired goal of tangible benefits’. Notice that ‘tangible’ is appropriately used as an adjective and not used as a noun through some crazy adaptation.


IDENTIFICATION OF THE SUBJECT DISTRACTING ELEMENTS IN GMAT SENTENCES

Identification of the subject is a skill tested in Sentence Correction. If you do not or cannot identify the subject of a clause, you will not do a good job of eliminating answer options that use an incorrect form of the corresponding verb.

The problem is that GMAT creates ‘distraction’ by adding complements and

qualifiers to the nouns used in subjective and objective cases in the ‘subject’ of a clause. Your job is to recognize the subject of a clause and its form – singular or plural – and ensure that the verb has the corresponding singular or plural form as required.

Consider the following sentence in which a lot of distracting elements are thrown

into the sentence in order to tempt you to lose focus. Notice that the part that comes after the hyphen is intended to distract you and make you lose focus. The part that comes after the hyphen is a ‘modifier’ that describes the ‘choices of subject’. You must recognize the ‘distracting elements’ such as qualifiers and modifiers, and stay focused on the subject of a clause. You will learn more about all of these ‘distracting elements’ as you work through this module.

Thomas Eakins’ powerful style and his choices of subject—the advances in modern surgery, the discipline of sport, the strains of individuals in tension with society or even with themselves—was as disturbing to his own time as it is compelling for ours.

(A) was as disturbing to his own time as it is (B) were as disturbing to his own time as they are (C) has been as disturbing in his own time as they are (D) had been as disturbing in his own time as it was (E) have been as disturbing in his own time as

Notice that the subject of the clause – Thomas Eakin’s powerful style AND his

choices of subject – has a plural form combining two different nouns ‘style and choice of subject’ and the verb must be in plural form as well. We notice that the verb ‘was’ as used in the original sentence is incorrect form and we can now eliminate options A and C right off the bat.

Remember that your initial goal is to try to get rid of as many of the five options as you can and identification of the form of the required verb or pronoun is critical to that elimination (especially if you notice that the answer options all contain verbs or pronouns).

Now that we have eliminated the obvious ones for reasons of incorrect form of the

required verb, we must now try to decide what is wrong with the two of the three remaining options. We can eliminate option D because ‘our time’ is in the present moment and choice D uses the wrong verb tense ‘was’. Choice E also


uses an incorrect ‘perfect’ verb – you will learn that a present perfect is used to refer to a completed action as of the moment of speaking – and because Thomas Eakin is clearly dead as implied by the comparison involving phrases ‘his time’ and ‘our time’. We are stuck with option B, which is the correct answer.

Notice that our processing of ‘weeding out the incorrect answer’ started in this

example with identification of the form of the subject and with the observation that at least two of the five options used an incorrect singular form of the verb.

RULE: If there are two nouns making up the subject (as evidenced by the

conjunction ‘and’), then you must treat the subject as having a plural form. RULE: Any noun in possessive case (such as ‘EAKIN’S X and Y’) is not the

subject. Any possessive case noun (using an apostrophe as in ‘Eakin’s’) is an ‘adjective’ and not the subject. In the phrase ‘John’s car’, ‘John’s’ is not the subject but the adjective qualifying the noun ‘car’. “John’s car” is the subject of the clause.

RULE: If a phrase involves TWO NOUNS combined with a PREPOSITION, then the form of the subject is the form of the FIRST NOUN PRECEDING THE PREPOSITION. Do NOT match up the form of the noun AFTER the preposition with the form of the verb. Example: Schools OF business – the subject is ‘schools’ and is plural in form. The noun that follows the preposition is the OBJECT of the prepositional phrase and must not be matched in form to that of the verb

Let us take a look at another example and see how we can identify the form of the

subject of a sentence using a prepositional phrase in subjective case.

“Tiny quantities of more than thirty rare gases, most of them industrial by-products, threaten to warm the Earth’s atmosphere even more rapidly than carbon dioxide during the next fifty years.

(A) to warm the Earth’s atmosphere even more rapidly than carbon dioxide during the next fifty years

(B) to warm the Earth’s atmosphere even more rapidly over the next fifty years than carbon dioxide will

(C) during the next fifty years to warm the Earth’s atmosphere even more rapidly than carbon dioxide

(D) a warming of the Earth’s atmosphere during the next fifty years even more rapid than carbon dioxide’s.

(E) a warming of the Earth’s atmosphere even more rapid than carbon dioxide’s will be over the next fifty years


Notice that the subject of the clause is ‘TINY QUANTITIES (of more than thirty rare gases)” and has plural form. The verb that is used outside the underlined part is ‘threaten’ and is plural in form as required. In this example, the phrase ‘more than thirty rare gases’ that comes after the preposition ‘of’ is also plural and the verb is used clearly outside the underlined part for obvious reasons: even if you incorrectly considered the ‘object’ of the prepositional phrase as the subject, you would have still come up with a plural form of the verb.

Elimination of answer options must be done now on a consideration other than the

match up of the subject and the verb. We notice the verb ‘threaten’ and the idiom requirement forces us to use the form ‘threaten TO warm, etc.’ Notice that we can eliminate options C through E because they do not use the required preposition TO after the verb ‘threaten’. Of the two options A and B, B is the better answer using the auxiliary verb ‘will’ as required to indicate a potential ‘future’ scenario ‘fifty years from now’.

Consider another example of a sentence using a prepositional form: “New techniques in thermal imaging in which distribution of heat along the surface of a

landscape is measured is revolutionizing our understanding of the remote and inaccessible parts of the globe”.

Notice that the phrase ‘New Techniques (in thermal imaging)’ is plural in form and the verb of the sentence is required to be plural in form as well. Notice the distraction created by the ‘qualifier’ for ‘thermal imaging’ starting in ‘in which’ and ending in ‘measured’. You will read the above compound sentence as follows:

-- Distribution of heat along the surface of a landscape is measured in THERMAL IMAGING.

--Therefore, New Techniques (in thermal imaging) ARE revolutionizing our understanding of the remote and inaccessible parts of the globe.

The verb ‘is’ identified in underlined case is the one that modifies the subject ‘new techniques’ but has the incorrect singular form. We need to look for an answer using a plural form of the verb. Notice that the qualifier for ‘thermal imaging’ is a complete clause as well: ‘(in which) distribution of heat is measured’ but you must make the distinction that the first verb ‘is’ is part of the qualifier describing ‘thermal imaging’ which appears as the ‘object’ of the phrase ‘new techniques in thermal imaging’ but the verb for the clause using ‘new techniques (in thermal imaging)’ does not appear until after the qualifier for ‘thermal imaging’. This is an example of a sentence in which distraction is more pronounced and somewhat ‘confusing’ because qualifier for an ‘objective case noun’ – thermal imaging – itself uses a clause involving a separate verb. Sentence Correction will require that you clearly identify which is which in a sentence and do the ‘match ups’ correctly.


RULE: Hide the part of the phrase starting with the preposition in order to bring the subject and the verb closer to each other. In the above sentence, you will do the following: “New techniques (in thermal imaging (in which something is done)) is revolutionizing our understanding”. You can now easily tell that the verb ‘is’ is inappropriate in its form because it does not match the plural form of ‘new techniques’. RULE: Any noun that ends in ‘s’ is plural in form whereas any verb that ends in ‘s’ is singular in form. “techniques” is plural in form whereas ‘threatens’ is singular form. MUCH is a singular noun and MANY is plural noun. (“Much (of the discussion) WAS about Iraq” and “Many (of my friends) ARE graduates of business schools”). “I” is a plural noun (I GO to business school) whereas “HE”, “SHE”, “IT” are singular. (This is probably why, in some cultures, the use of “I” in statements is considered rude because “I” is used in plural case suggestive of ‘arrogance’). Also, remember that “Fish” is singular whereas as ‘SPECIES (OF FISH)” is plural. However, ‘fish’ may take on a plural connotation if we are referring to ‘fish in a tank’. There could be several ‘fish’ in the tank. (We may not say ‘fishes’ in the tank because it then implies many different species of fish). GMAT always wants you to consider ‘fifties’ as plural noun even though it might refer to a ‘specific decade’, which is singular. (“Fifties, for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been a period of considerable achievement in the arts.”). In hyphenated word pairs, the plural case may be indicated by the plural form of the second word as in ‘nation-states’ or ‘African-Americans’ or, if the hyphenated words involve the use of a preposition between two nouns, then the first noun is in plural form (as in “Secretaries of Defense” or “Sons-in-law”).

POSSESSIVE CASE NOUN PHRASES REDUX In some instances, if the noun phrase in subjective case involves the use of a possessive case noun as an adjective, then the ‘noun modified by the adjectival possessive case noun’ may be implied. Consider the following sentence: “Japan’s is a culture of accommodation and constraints, a system (of forms and etiquettes) that makes the ever-present congestion tolerable”. The sentence as written starts off in a possessive case noun but the subject modified is implied and is legally so. What the sentence is attempting to say is the following: “Japan’s CULTURE is a culture of accommodation and constraints, (and) a system of forms and etiquettes”). In real life, we imply in certain instances the subject modified by the possessive case noun, if the subject is clearly identified in a later part of the same sentence. Consider the following statement that you would make: “My car is Blue whereas John’s is red”. “Do not take my car; take dad’s.” Dad’s what? Dad’s car – that is what is legally implied. The implication is done for reasons of concisely expressing the idea and when the implied subject is obvious.


VERBS AND VERB TENSES Verbs describe active action, passive action, or a secondary action in a sentence. Different verb forms are used to express different types of actions. Action Verbs describe active action. “Play” is an active verb. “Go” is an active verb. Linking verbs such as ‘is’ or ‘be’ describe a passive action or “LINK” a subject to its

attributes. “John IS smart” is an example of a sentence in which the ‘linking verb’ – ‘is’ – acts as a ‘link’ between ‘John’ and his ‘attribute’ – smart. Linking verbs can also be used to express passive action, describing the ‘object’ of a sentence. “Seat-belt use is required by law” is an example of a sentence in which the object – ‘seat-belt use’ – is described by the linking verb, ‘is’.

Perfect verbs describe completed action as of a definite point in time in the past or ‘as we speak’. Perfect verbs can also be used to express passive action, describing an object.

“My life has been changed by the events of September 11th” is an example of a sentence in which the perfect verb – has been – describes the object ‘my life’. Notice that ‘my life’ cannot be used as the subject of a sentence because ‘life’ cannot actively change itself.

“Many surgeons have given up the calling within the past few years” is an example of a sentence in which the perfect verb is used to express a completed action ‘as we speak’. Notice that the perfect verb form is ‘present’ because no identifiable time in the past exists for when the ‘surgeons’ gave up the calling.

Infinitives (to ‘verb’ form) are used to COMPLEMENT the primary verb, and to describe a ‘secondary’ action driven by a primary action. “I used my GMAT score TO APPLY to a Business School” is an example of a sentence in which the secondary action – ‘to apply’ – is driven by the primary verb ‘use’. Take a look at another sentence:

“The law requires you to pay taxes.” In this sentence, the primary action, ‘require’, drives the secondary action ‘to pay’. Do you see any logical problem with this sentence? The sentence suggests that the ‘law requires you’. The ‘law requires some action’, not ‘you’. In fact, ‘require’ is a ‘subjunctive verb’, and the sentence must be logically written in a subjunctive form as: “The law requires (what??) THAT you pay taxes.”


DO NOT USE AN INFINTIVE AS THE SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE, OR WITHOUT AN ACCOMPANYING PRIMARY VERB. (see the exception below) Example of improper use of an infinitive AS THE SUBJECT of a clause: “I did not go to the party because to go there would have been a waste of my time.” Notice that the conjunction, ‘because’, introduces an independent clause having the subject ‘to go’. An infinitive cannot be used as the subject. We can either replace the infinitive with a GERUND and write the sentence as: “…. Because going there would have been a waste of my time”, or rewrite the sentence using an ‘impersonal pronoun’ – ‘it’ – as: “I did not go to the party because it would have been a waste of my time to go there.” EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE: An infinitive may be used as the subject of a clause in the idiomatic form “TO DO X IS TO DO Y”. GMAT does not test this form often but it is a good idea to keep this form in mind when you work on Sentence Correction. Consider the following examples:

“To read of Abigail Adams’ lengthy separation from her family, her difficult travels, and her constant battles with illness is to feel intensely how harsh life was even for the so-called aristocracy of Revolutionary times.”

“To speak habitually of the “truly needy” is gradually to instill the notion that many of those who are just called “needy” actually have adequate resources; such a conclusion is unwarranted.” INFINITIVES CAN ALSO BE USED TO COMPLEMENT NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES. “I am ABLE TO DO IT” is an example of a sentence in which ‘to do it’ complements the adjective ‘able’. “His UNWILLINGNESS TO ACT on my advice is inexplicable” is an example of a sentence in which ‘to act’ complements the noun ‘unwillingness’. In the sentence, “Alcohol interferes with the ABILITY of the brain TO FORM clear images”, the infinitive ‘to form’ complements the noun ‘ability’. The use of infinitives as complements of nouns, adjectives, and, of course, verbs will be tested on the GMAT and in the New SAT. TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE CASES OF VERBS If a verb is followed by a noun in objective case, then the verb is used in transitive case. If a preposition follows a verb, then the verb is in intransitive case. Some verbs can be used in either form. Consider the following examples: “Distinguish Republicans from Democrats” is an example of transitive case use of the verb ‘distinguish’. ‘Distinguish BETWEEN Republicans and Democrats’ is an example of intransitive case use of the verb. Both forms may be considered idiomatic in Sentence Correction. “I cannot tell one from the other” is another example of transitive case use of the verb ‘tell’.


SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS are verbs having a connotation of authority, suggestion,

pleading, wishing, and recommendation. TYPICAL SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS: Require, order, propose, suggest, ask,

tell, insist, recommend, Present subjunctive verb is BE. Past subjunctive verb is WERE

SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS ARE TYPICALLY USED IN THE DEPENDENT CLAUSE of the subjunctive statement. Examples of subjunctive sentences:

• I suggest that he TAKE the test next week. (Notice that the verb sued in the independent clause is plural in form even though the subject ‘he’ is singular. This is the required construction in subjunctive sentences)

“The law requires that you pay taxes.” “I recommend that you apply to B Schools now.” “I asked Mary that she be at the station.” “If he be correct, the prices will fall.” “If he were correct, the prices would have fallen.”

Do not use the linking verb form ‘is’ in a subjunctive sentence. Always use the present subjunctive ‘be’ or the past subjunctive ‘were’ as appropriate. Do not use ‘should’ or ‘must’ in the independent clause of subjunctive sentences. In fact, the use of ‘should’ or ‘must’ in any GMAT sentence could spell trouble. (SHOULD implies an obligation, and unless the sentence implies an obligation, we are better off not using should. Example of a sentence in which ‘should’ is correctly used: “the party officials are debating over whether tax increases SHOULD be a first resort or the last one”.) You will revisit the infinitives and the subjunctives in a later chapter of this module. PARTICIPIAL VERBS describe continuing action, cause and effect, or describe a legal

noun used as an object of a sentence. More about participles and participial modifiers later on in this module. “Could” is the same as ‘can’ but suggesting a shade of uncertainty or doubt. “The stock prices could rise” is an expression in which a shade of doubt or uncertainty exists about whether or not the stock prices can go up. “Only the Town Hall in Amsterdam COULD rival the Escorial in Spain, and the Palazza Ducale in Venice” is an example of a sentence in which a shade of doubt or a smaller degree of possibility or certainty is expressed through ‘could’. “would” is used to express futurity in indirect discourse (as in “he said that he would bring it”) or to express routine or habitual action (as in “He would go to the Church on Sundays”) or to soften the force of a statement or a request (as in “would you leave me alone?”). Here is an example of a GMAT sentence in which ‘would’ is appropriately used to express a routine action: “As the baby emerges from the darkness of the womb, it has a rudimentary sense of vision rated about 50/500; an adult having such vision WOULD be deemed legally blind”. The use of the ‘would’ suggests that an adult having a vision of 50/500 will routinely be considered legally blind. Would is also used to express a contingency or a possibility as discussed in the next page. SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS expressing a HYPOTHETICAL mood or a MOOD OF WISHING.

A subjunctive mood is also one in which a hypothetical situation is being expressed or in which a wishful fancy is indulged. We all know the song in Fiddler on the Roof that goes “If I WERE a rich man….”. It is incorrect to use the linking verb ‘am’ or ‘is’ to express a hypothetical or subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive form is a special form using an EXCEPTIONAL subject-verb agreement waiver in the independent clause. The verb to be used in the independent clause of a subjunctive sentence is always PLURAL form even if the subject is singular The subjunctive form typically uses a DEPENDENT CLAUSE containing the subjunctive verb followed by a CONNECTOR followed by an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. The independent clause of a subjunctive sentence MUST use a PLURAL FORM OF THE VERB regardless of the form of the subject of the independent clause, or use the ‘be’ form of a linking verb, if a linking verb use is desired.


“If I AM a rich a man, I will drive a Ferrari” is not a logical statement. The correct statement should be phrased, “If I were a rich man, I WOULD drive a Ferrari”. We require the use of ‘would’ as the auxiliary verb to express a mood of ‘contingency or possibility’. “Will” implies a certainty, and is inconsistent with the hypothetical or the conditional mood of the sentence. The hypothetical statement can also be used in an INVERTED FORM as “Were I a rich man, I would drive a Ferrari”. Another example of a hypothetical statement in regular and in inverted forms goes as follows: “IF THE ICE OF ANTARTICA WERE TO MELT, THEN THE SEA LEVEL WOULD RISE at least 100 feet” INVERTED FORM (WHICH IS EQUALLY GOOD): “WERE THE ICE OF ANTARTICA TO MELT, the sea level WOULD rise at least 100 feet.” Be sure to recognize the INVERTED form of the hypothetical statement starting in the conditional IF. A MOOD OF PREFERENCE The auxiliary ‘would’ is also required to be used in sentences expressing a mood of ‘preference’. “I would RATHER play golf than take the test” is a sentence in which ‘would’ is used to express a contingency or a possibility. RATHER used alone can mean ‘prefer’ or ‘preferably’, depending on the context. “I would rather that you drove Mandy to the library” is an example of a sentence in which ‘rather’ means ‘prefer’. We are, in effect, saying that “I would prefer that you drove Mandy to the library”. Also, notice the use of PAST TENSE VERB form ‘DROVE’. It is incorrect to say, “I would rather that you DRIVE Mandy to the library”. Consider another sentence in which a ‘preference’ is expressed. “I WOULD RATHER NOT GO to the party”. (“I WOULD PREFERABLY NOT GO”) I would have been incorrect to say, “I will prefer (rather) not to go”. Here is another example of a statement expressing a mood of preference: “I WOULD RATHER that you left me alone” “I would rather that you STAYED quiet”. Notice that use of verb in past tense in the complement for ‘rather’ and starting in ‘that’. The complement of a preference verb must use a plural verb if it happens to be a clause. LEARN HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE MOOD OF A SENTENCE and to use the appropriate form. Sentences expressing Subjunctive mood (a mood of authority, wishing, preferring, suggestion, recommendation, etc.) will be frequently tested because they use a special form, and some ‘exceptions’ to the subject-verb agreement rule or to the ‘rules about tense’.


VERB TENSES: PRESENT TENSE is used to express

Action as now taking place (as in “he leaves”); State as now existing (as in “the flowers are blooming”) Habitual action (as in “I go to Business School” or “I

play baseball”.)

PAST TENSE is used to express TIME or condition gone by, and to express action completed or in progress at a time in the past. Past tense is also used to express HABITUAL ACTION in the past. (Examples: “He was taking French lessons”; “I used to live in Chicago before I moved to New York.”; “He lived as he preached.”)

PRESENT PERFECT verb is formed with “have” or “has” and is used to express action or state as completed at the time of speaking (‘as we speak’) but not at any definite moment in the past. Verbs in PRESENT PERFECT tense can be viewed as ENABLER Verbs. The action expressed using present perfect verb suggests a completed action as of the moment of speaking or writing so that another action can be enabled. “I have eaten” is a statement using present perfect and meaning that the act of ‘eating’ has been completed as of the moment of speaking and it enables my ‘having quality time with the remote control and the television’. “I have taken the GMAT” is a statement using present perfect verb ‘have taken’, and stating that the action of taking the test has been completed as of the moment of speaking so that “I can apply to Business Schools”. . Notice that the present perfect is used to express COMPLETED action as of ‘the time of speaking’ but as to when the action was completed is not definite. “I have taken the GMAT” is an example of a sentence in which the completed action – namely ‘taking the test’ – is expressed by the use the present perfect ‘have taken’. The present perfect is appropriate because when specifically in the past the test was taken is not clearly expressed. Another example of the proper use of the present perfect in which a completed action is expressed but the specific moment in the past time when the action was completed is unclear: “A recent study has found that within the past few years, many surgeons have elected to retire early rather than face the prospect of malpractice lawsuits.” Notice that the sentence uses two present perfects – ‘has found’ to express the completed conclusion of a study but doubt or uncertainty exists as to when the study was completed, and another, ‘have elected’ to express completed action in the recent past but no specific moment in the past time can be identified in the sentence. PAST PERFECT, formed with ‘had’, is used to express a completed action BEFORE a stipulated or implied time in the past. Example: “I had taken the GMAT before the application deadline date of September 10th.” “Curtsy by women had been the normal greeting until the modern era”. Note that the past perfect verb cannot be used unless the sentence expresses a definite time before which the action was completed. If no such definitive time indication is meant to be expressed, use of past perfect is illegal. For example, “I had been working hard” is an example of illegal use of the past perfect because there is no definitive indication of time in the past by when the action was completed. “I had been working hard until I took the test” is a legal use of the past perfect because a definitive time before which action was completed is identified.

Verbs in FUTURE PERFECT form, formed with ‘will have’, are used to express an action to be completed by a definite time in the future. “I will have taken the GMAT by the first deadline date of October 5th for applications.” All PERFECT VERBS express completed action or action to be completed (future perfect), and unlike the PRESENT PERFECT, the past perfect and the future perfect must identify a definite time in the past or in the future, as the case may be, when the action was or will be completed.

GMAT sentences typically abuse the past perfect and will require that you clearly know the rule about the use of past perfect. As a rule, any answer choice using a past perfect form is ‘suspect’.


LESSON 3: Hide prepositions and ‘modifiers’, and put the SUBJECT AND THE VERB as close to each other as possible in order to determine that the verb has the same form as the subject it describes.

Modifiers describe the subject, and so does the ‘object’ of a prepositional phrase. Modifiers are adjectives and the ‘objects’ of prepositional phrases also perform the same function. Consider the adjectival phrase: Capital Investment. Notice that “capital” is used as the adjective describing the subject ‘investment’. We can write the same sentence as “INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL”. This is the prepositional noun phrase, and the noun that follows the preposition ‘OF’ is called the OBJECT of the prepositional phrase. The object of the prepositional noun phrases describe the SUBJECT of the prepositional noun phrase. In this example, the object of the prepositional phrase – capital – describes the subject ‘investment’. Sometimes, prepositional form is the best way to describe the subject, not the adjectival form. Consider the following example: PREPOSITIONAL FORM: ‘NEW TECHNIQUES IN THERMAL IMAGING’. ‘Thermal imaging’ describes to what specific area the ‘new techniques’ are about. If we wanted to write this prepositional phrase as an adjectival form, it may turn out to be clumsy. For example, ‘thermal imaging new techniques’ does not sound as elegant as ‘new techniques in thermal imaging’. Consider another example: “Going to the graduate school of Business is a sound investment of time.” It will be elegant to write ‘schools of business’ as ‘business schools’, but inelegant to write ‘investment of time’ as ‘time investment’. The bottom line is, some prepositional phrases can be elegantly written as adjectival phrases but some others are best left written as prepositional phrases. When you review a sentence, you must bear in mind that the adjectives are at best ‘needless distractions’ because they serve no purpose other than to describe the subject in some extra detail. You should have the ability to ‘ignore’ such ‘distractions’ and simplify the sentence for what it is worth so that you can clearly identify the subject form and the corresponding verb form. ♦ GMAT sentences usually try to separate the subject from the verb by throwing in some prepositional

phrases and modifiers between the subject and the verb. As a rule, hide the part of the sentence starting with a preposition, including any descriptor, all the way up to the verb, and then make sense of whether the subject and the verb have the matching forms. Consider the following example:

♦ “Inuits of Northwestern territory in Canada, which is the second largest land mass after Russia, are believed to be the first settlers of North America.”

Notice that the subject “Inuits” are separated from the verb “are” by an intriguing array of words and prepositional phrases. In order to make sense of what form the verb needs to take, you must try to simplify the sentence by hiding the part starting with the preposition (including the modifier that describes Canada) all the way up to “are”. Notice that a simplified sentence is a lot easier to make sense of.


Also, bear in mind that modifiers can take the form: “subject, modifier, verb”. If you come across a noun followed by a comma followed by a description of the subject followed by another comma, you can safely ignore the stuff within the ‘two commas’ (if such description is clearly outside the underlined part of the sentence). Take a look at the following sentence in which the subject is followed by a comma, which is followed by a description of the subject. “Quasars, at billions of light years from earth the most distant observable objects in the sky, are believed to be the cores of galaxies in an early stage of development.” Notice the subject QUASARS and a description of what Quasars are about in the highlighted part of the sentence. Also notice that the subject and the verb – ‘Quasars’ and ‘are’ – are separated from juxtaposed structure by the ‘modifier phrase’ that intervenes. You can see that the modifier is a ‘needless distractor’ and we can safely ‘ignore’ it for the purpose of understanding the structure of the sentence and of deciding the appropriate verb form. Consider another example of a sentence that uses ‘distractors’. Paleontologists believe that fragments of a primate jawbone unearthed in Mayanmar and estimated to be 40 to 44 million years old provide evidence of a crucial step along the evolutionary path that led to human beings. Notice that the first part of the sentence uses ‘Paleontologists’ as the subject, and there is a new ‘pop-up’ subject – FRAGMENTS – after ‘that’. Also notice that ‘fragments of a primate jawbone’ is a prepositional phrase in which ‘fragments’ are the subject. Take a look at the part of the sentence in red print. This part of the sentence is the ‘modifier’ describing the ‘primate jawbone’. We have a sentence in which there are multiple distractors: a prepositional form and a modifier describing the subject of the prepositional form. If we ‘cut out’ the ‘needless distractors’, we will have a simplified sentence that reads: Paleontologists believe that fragments of a primate jawbone unearthed in Mayanmar and estimated to be 40 to 44 million years old provide evidence of a crucial step along the evolutionary path that led to human beings. Notice that we have succeeded in placing the subject right next to the verb, and that the subject and the verb agree in form. GMAT will test your ability to identify needless ‘distractors’ and to ‘ignore’ them, as it were; and to simplify the sentence so that the ‘subject’ and the ‘verb’ are juxtaposed so that

you can verify the forms of each one of them. Also, in some cases, you can simplify the sentence by expressing information in terms of X, Y, and Z. Consider the following example: “The initial test results indicate that the side impact airbags will prevent head injuries and that cars equipped with the new airbags will provide better protection.” The sentence describes the conclusions based on “initial test results”. We can simplify the sentence and make better sense of it as follows: “The initial test results indicate that X is true and that Y is true.” In grade school, you must have learned that long-winded sentences are more difficult to comprehend. GMAT sentences are, by design, long-winded, and you should try to simplify them in the manner indicated in the above examples. Let us turn our attention to PRONOUNS.


LESSON 4: PRONOUNS ♦ Pronouns replace clearly identifiable nouns. Pronoun use is not desirable when

the noun it is supposed to replace is not UNIQUELY identified. ♦ Commonly used pronouns are: IT, THEY, HE, SHE, THAT, THOSE, WHICH, WHO, WHOM, ONE. Rule 1: The pronoun and the noun it clearly identifies must have the same form. Example: “Religion is better served by make-shift spaces than by the building designed for it.” Notice that the pronoun “it” takes the place of the clearly identified noun “Religion”. Replace the pronoun with the noun it is supposed to replace and see whether it makes sense. If it does not, then you have problem. In this sentence, the pronoun is correctly used to replace the clearly identified noun. Let us apply this “replace the pronoun with the original noun” rule and test the following sentences: EXAMPLE 1: “I met John, who is my friend.” Let us replace ‘who’ with ‘John’. When you deal with the ‘pronouns’ who and which, replace these pronouns with the noun that immediately precedes them. “I met John; John is my friend.” Notice that the sentence reads good. Also notice that the pronoun “who” allows you to use a comma instead of a semi colon while keeping the sentence from becoming a run-on sentence. EXAMPLE 2: “Protein in rice is higher quality than THAT in wheat.” Let us replace “that” with “protein”. “Protein in rice is of higher quality than PROTEIN in wheat.” EXAMPLE 3: “I came late to dinner, which annoyed my friend.” Let us replace “which” with the noun that immediately precedes it and write the sentence using a semi-colon instead of a comma. “I came late to dinner; dinner annoyed my friend.” Notice that the above re-written sentence does not make a whole lot of sense. “My coming late to dinner” is the annoying factor, not the dinner. We will learn later on that if the sentence expresses a cause and effect relationship between its two parts, we are better off using a participial form. The “pronoun test” tells us that the sentence is not well written. We are better off writing the sentence as follows: “I came late to dinner, annoying my friend.” There you have it – a well-written sentence.


RULE 2: Be suspicious of “pronouns” that are used after a conjunction. Such pronouns may lack a clear referent. Translation: Such pronouns may not have a clearly identified noun associated with them. Consider the following example: “Financial concepts of asset turnover and liquidity do not apply to new small businesses in the same manner as they do to established large businesses because they are growing and seldom in equilibrium.” Notice that the above sentence uses the pronoun “they” in two places. Once before the conjunction “because” and once again after the conjunction. The pronoun used before the conjunction must, by default, refer to the “subject” of the sentence – Financial concepts. But the pronoun used after the conjunction enjoys no such privilege because a conjunction starts a new sentence by default. The second pronoun “they” used after “because” does not have a clearly identified noun. “They” can just as easily take the place of “financial concepts” as it could of “new small businesses” or “established large businesses”. Can you see why the pronoun used after the conjunction is not used properly? We are not allowed to use a pronoun unless there is a clearly identified noun associated with it. In our sentence, there are three nouns the pronoun used after the conjunction can take the place of. We have a problem right there. We are better off not using a pronoun and restating the implied noun once again. “Financial concepts of asset turnover and liquidity do not apply to new small businesses in the same manner as they do to established large businesses because new small businesses are growing and seldom in equilibrium.” Notice that we have replaced the “identifier lacking pronoun” with the noun it is supposed to take the place of in order to express the intended meaning of the sentence clearly. Consider another example: “Debris from a disintegrated comet fell to earth and that sent up a global pall of dust.” Notice that a pronoun “that” is used after the conjunction “and”. Does the pronoun have a clearly identified noun associated with it? We don’t think so. “That” can just as easily take the place of “debris” as it could of “earth”. Also, we notice that the first part of the sentence expresses a cause and the second part of the sentence expresses the effect. We are better off using a participial form to express cause and effect. The clear and correct sentence will read: “Debris from a disintegrated comet fell to earth, sending up a global pall of dust.” Pay attention to the pronoun usage in a sentence, and be suspicious of any pronoun that follows a conjunction. You have a potential problem on your hands. Also, you will ignore pronouns used after a conjunction only at your own peril.


EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTIONS EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTION uses SENTENCE INVERSION and is often used to mitigate the awkwardness caused by the use of FAKE NOUNS such as GERUNDS (verbs modified to act as nouns) and the ‘ITY’ nouns (adjectives and adverbs modified to act as nouns). EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTION typically uses ‘IT’ and ‘THERE’ with PRONOMINAL force (behaving as a PRONOUN without a clearly associated actor or agent). These ‘pronouns’ are referred to as DUMMY subjects. Consider the following sentence: “Taking the GMAT is a pain in the neck”. Notice that the sentence uses a gerund phrase as the subject. A gerund or any other FAKE NOUN such as ‘ITY’ noun may be used in objective case, not as the subject of a clause. In order to deal with the ‘awkwardness’ created by the use of the ‘gerund phrase’, we have to use the EXPLETIVE form, and write the sentence as “IT IS A PAIN IN THE NECK to take the GMAT.” The sentence may also be used in the form “PAIN IN THE NECK IT IS to take the GMAT”. Similarly, the sentence ‘GOING TO THE MOVIES is a waste of time” may be made less awkward by using an EXPLETIVE FORM: “It is a waste of time TO GO TO THE MOVIES”. The expletive sentence may also be written in the form “Waste of time it is to go to the movies”. If the SUBJECT of a sentence is an ‘ITY’ noun such as ‘availability’ or ‘tangibility’, we need to rewrite the sentence in a form in which the adjectives and adverbs are used as modifiers and intensifiers, not as nouns. Consider the following awkward sentence: “Tangibility of benefits is the reason why we pursued this course of action”. Notice that the subject, “TANGIBILITY (OF BENEFITS)” is a FAKE ‘ITY’ noun, and we will be required to use the adjective ‘TANGIBLE’ as an adjective, not in its modified noun form. The corrected and less awkward sentence will read: “The reason why we pursued this course of action is that there are TANGIBLE benefits”. Consider another awkward sentence using a fake ‘ITY’ noun: “Availability of potable water is a major problem in rural areas”. Again, notice that the subject of the sentence is an awkward ‘ITY’ noun. We need to redeem the sentence by rewriting it in a form in which the adjective ‘AVAILABLE’ is used as an adjective, not as mutant noun. The redeemed sentence will read: “In rural areas, there is a problem of available potable water.” EXPLETIVE form should also be used to redeem other forms of awkward sentences. Take a look at the following sentence: “There are many American expatriates living in Singapore.” The subject of the sentence is ‘many American Expatriates’, which is a plural noun phrase, and the preceding verb having the plural form describes the plural noun. In fact, this impersonal construction is the desired or the recommended form to replace some ‘awkward’ constructions. Consider the following sentence: “Many American expatriates EXIST in Singapore”. You should be suspicious of the use of the verb ‘exist’, which means ‘to have life’ Can you see the ‘awkwardness’ of this construction? Many American expatriates do not ‘have a life’ in Singapore. They are simply there. Therefore, the redeemed form must read: “There are many American expatriates in Singapore”. Consider another awkward sentence:


“Minnesota has a sizable population of wolves.” Notice the use of the possessive verb ‘has’ indicating that the State of Minnesota ‘owns’ a good sized population of wolves. A better and less awkward construction would read: “There is a sizable population of wolves in Minnesota’. Remember: “There” is used at the head of an independent clause in a special sentence construction in which the real subject of the independent clause follows the verb used after ‘there’.

SENTENCE INVERSION

Expletive form is one of several forms that use sentence inversion (verb precedes the subject). “IF I WERE THE KING OF ENGLAND, I WOULD PLAY POLO ALL DAY” can be written in an inverted form as “WERE I THE KING OF ENGLAND, I WOULD PLAY POLO ALL DAY”. (NOTICE THE USE OF THE AUXILIARY ‘WOULD’ as required to express a mood of contingency or possibility.) Sentence inversion may also involve inverting the COMPLEMENT of the subject. The famous Napoleonic ‘ABLE WAS I ERE I SAW ELBA’ is the classic PALINDROME (a sentence that reads the same backwards) is an inverted form in which the complement ‘ABLE’ is at the head of the sentence followed by the verb and then the subject ‘I’. Consider another example of a sentence in which the adverbial verb complement is used at the head of the sentence ahead of the verb, which precedes the subject: “LITTLE DID I KNOW that I was being led up the garden path”. (“I did not know that I was being led up the garden path”). “Difficult though it may seem, GMAT is easy to crack” is the inverted form of “Although it may seem difficult, GMAT is easy to crack”. “He took the GMAT and SO DID I” is another example of an inverted form in which ‘I DID SO’ is inverted to “SO DID I”. ‘Neither’ and ‘nor’, when used alone and not together in the form “Neither X, nor Y”, can also be used in a form in which the subject follows the verb (sentence inversion – read more about it in the ‘nutshell’ file). Consider the following examples: John did not take the GMAT, and neither did I. I did not go to the party, nor was there a special reason for me to do so.

“Neither… Nor” can be used with adjectives or with INVERTED CLAUSES. “It was NEITHER PRACTICAL NOR DESIRABLE” is an example of a sentence in which ‘neither’ and ‘nor’ are followed by adjectives. “Neither was it practical nor was it desirable” is an example of the same statement using an inverted clause form after NEITHER and NOR. Sentence Inversion is also used in constructions involving ‘not only… but also’. Typically, the part that follows ‘not only’ is inverted but not the part that follows ‘but also’. Take a look at this example: “Not only DID THE NEW TECHNOLOGY improve the speed of processing but it also enabled the company be more productive.’ Notice that the clause after ‘not only’ is inverted but the part after ‘but also’ is not. Take a look at another example: “Cigarette smoking seems to have two damaging effects: not only does it hasten the wrinkling of the skin but it also apparently interferes with the healing process after a face lift”. Again, notice that the clause after ‘not only’ is inverted but the part after ‘but also’ is not. Also notice that ‘but also’ is split with the subject of the clause. It is legal to do so.


THE DUMMY PRONOUNS ‘IT’ AND ‘THERE’ CAN ALSO BE USED TO REPLACE CLAUSES “IT” can also take the place of a phrase, a clause, or a subordinate clause in a sentence. Consider the following awkward sentence using an infinitive as the subject: “To take the GMAT is a pain in the back.” Notice that ‘to take’, an infinitive, is acting as the subject of the sentence. A verb cannot be the subject of a sentence. The corrected form will read: “It is a pain to take the test”. Notice that the pronoun ‘it’ takes the place of the clause ‘take the test’, and acts as the noun of the sentence. Consider another example of the use of ‘it’ to replace a clause in a sentence: “It is believed that the stock markets all over the world will lose values this year.” In this sentence “IT” replaces the entire clause “that the stock markets all over the world will lose values this year.” The same sentence can be written as: “That the stock markets will lose values this year is believed.” Consider another example: “New techniques have made IT possible to study the calefaction of a river in greater detail.” In this sentence, “IT” represents “study of the calefaction of the river in greater detail.” ♦ “IT” can also be used as the subject of an impersonal verb without reference to an agent. Consider the

following example: “It is raining heavily.” “IT” does not refer to any agent in the sentence and is not used as a pronoun.

We can use ‘THERE’ in a similar fashion. “There is a town in North Ontario” is an example of this form using a dummy subject ‘there’. “There is a rumor floating around that Donald Rumsfeld will resign before the November elections” could have been written, “That Donald Rumsfeld will resign before the November elections being rumored’.


♦ LESSSON 5: RELATIVE PRONOUNS. Relative pronouns are words such as WHO, WHERE, WHICH, THAT, WHEN and that ‘relate’ directly to the preceding noun and introduce a CLAUSE that uses as SUBJECT the noun that typically acts as an OBJECT of the preceding clause, and immediately precedes the relative pronoun. (A relative pronoun may also represent the subject of the preceding clause when the relative clause is used as a MODIFIER of the subject of the other clause. See the discussion that follows.) In the sentence, “I took the GMAT, which is required for Business school admission”, ‘which’ acts as the PRONOUN for the preceding noun GMAT, which is the OBJECT of the preceding clause. If you replace ‘which’ with GMAT and read the following clause, it makes sense: GMAT IS REQUIRED FOR BUSINESS SCHOOL ADMISSION. The chief difference between a regular pronoun and a relative pronoun is that, whereas a regular pronoun can refer to ANY clearly identified noun by name or context and used anywhere in the sentence, a relative pronoun ‘relates directly back’ to the preceding noun or noun phrase that is used as the OBJECT of the preceding clause.. RELATIVE PRONOUNS are ‘devices’ used to combine two clauses one of which describes action by the object of the preceding clause. Consider the following independent clauses:

• Astrologers saw the comet as a portent of the DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. • DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM happened as expected.

Notice that the second clause has as its subject the object of the preceding clause. Therefore, the second ‘clause’ is a RELATIVE of the first independent clause and is an ideal candidate for use as a RELATIVE CLAUSE of a compound sentence. The COMBINED sentence having a main clause and a relative clause will read as follows:

• Astrologers saw the comet as a portent of the DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, which happened as expected.

Notice that ‘which’ is taking the place of the phrase ‘DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM’ that is used as as OBJECT of the preceding main clause. Notice that ‘which’ takes the place of the phrase ‘destruction of Jerusalem’, not ‘Jerusalem’ that is used as the object of the prepositional phrase ‘destruction of Jerusalem’ which is used as the complement of the noun ‘portent’. Consider another example of how ‘which’ can be used to COMBINE two clauses, one in which the subject is the object of the preceding clause.

• Cheney went on a quail-hunting trip with Harry Whittington. • Harry Whittington is an attorney from Austin.

We can combine the two clauses into one compound sentence in which a relative clause introduced by WHO will be juxtaposed with the main clause. “Cheney went on a quail-hunting trip with Harry Whittington, WHO is an attorney from Austin.” Notice that the relative pronoun ‘WHO’ represents the object of the preceding clause, and that the object, Whittington, is acting as the subject of the relative clause.


RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN ALSO BE USED TO REPRESENT THE SUBJECT OF PRECEDING CLAUSE.

A RELATIVE PRONOUN may also be used to introduce a RELATIVE CLAUSE that uses as its subject the SUBJECT of the preceding clause. In this scenario, the RELATIVE CLAUSE will typically act as a MODIIFER of the subject of one of the clauses. (Modifiers are discussed in greater detail later on in this file). Consider the following clauses:

• The NEW AIRFARE allows two adults to fly for the price of one ticket. • The NEW AIRFARE reduces the advance purchase requirement for tickets to 7 days from 14

days. Notice that both of the above clauses use ‘the NEW AIRFARE’ as the subject. Because one of the two sentences is RELATIVE of the other, we can combine the two sentences using a relative pronoun in which the relative pronoun will introduce a relative clause that will act as the MODIFIER of the subject, New Airfare.

• The NEW AIRFARE, which reduces the advances purchase requirement for tickets to 7 days from 14 days, ALSO allows two adults to fly for the price of one ticket.

Notice that the relative clause uses ‘new airfare’ as its subject and, of course, ‘which’ substitutes for the ‘new airfare’. Notice the use of the adverb ‘also’ in the combined sentence. It is required to identify an Additional FEATURE of the subject, ‘the new airfare’. Consider another example in which a relative pronoun is used to introduce a relative clause, which acts as the modifier of the subject of one of the clauses.

• William Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas before he ran for the office of the President of the United States.

• William Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. • William Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe.

Notice that three clauses all use ‘William Clinton’ as the subject. We can use any two of the three clauses as RELATIVE clause acting as the modifier of the subject, William Clinton. William Clinton, who was born William Jefferson Blythe and (who) became the 42nd President of the United States, was the governor of Arkansas before he ran for the office of the President of the United States. Notice the use of the conjunction AND in the relative clause acting as the modifier of ‘William Clinton’ and introduced by the relative pronoun WHO. Because we are combining two relative clauses to act collectively as the modifier of the subject of the third clause, we need to use the conjunction lest we create a ‘run on’. A ‘run on’ construction is created by ‘running’ anything – clauses, nouns, qualifiers such as adjectives and adverbs – on one another without proper connector(s). Another example of a relative clause introduced by a relative pronoun acting as the MODIFIER of the subject of the main clause is as follows;

• The bird, which had a wingspan of 60 feet and (which) predated the dinosaurs, is believed to have been the longest flying creature ever known to humankind.


RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN ALSO BE USED IN OBJECTIVE CASE AS PART OF A RELATIVE CLAUSE AND TYPICALLY FOLLOWING A PREPOSITION. Consider the following clauses:

• We live IN (AN UNCERTAIN) WORLD. • Crime is rampant IN THIS WORLD. • Children are recalcitrant IN THIS WORLD.

Notice that the first clause introduces the idea that we are living in an uncertain world whereas the second the third clauses introduce REASONS why the world is uncertain. Obviously, the ideas expressed in all three clauses are related, and it makes more sense to COMBINE all three clauses into a compound or complex sentence. The noun phrase “this world’ that is appearing as the OBJECT of the qualifier ‘IN THIS WORLD’ can be replaced with a relative pronoun ‘WHICH’ when the second and third clauses.

• We live in an uncertain world IN WHICH crime is rampant and IN WHICH children are recalcitrant.

Notice that the relative PRONOUN ‘which’ is used in objective case and following a preposition ‘in’. Consider another set of clauses in which a NOUN or noun phrase appears in objective case and as part of a qualifier.

• The graduate students at the Math department founded the Math Club. • John became a member OF THE MATH CLUB.

Notice that ‘the math club’ appears in objective case and as part of the prepositional noun phrase ‘member OF the math club’. The first clause also makes a reference to the Math club, and the two clauses are RELATED. We can, therefore, combine the two clauses into a complex sentence in which ‘the math club’ appearing as the object of the qualifier ‘of the math club’ can be replaced with the relative pronoun ‘which’. The combined sentence will read as follows:

• The graduate students at the Math department founded the Math club OF WHICH John became a member.

Notice that ‘which’ is representing and referring to the ‘math club’. Consider the following additional examples of sentences in which the relative pronoun is used in objective case and following a preposition in order to refer to the object of the main clause.

• She was fond of John TO WHOM she bequeathed all her wealth. (She was fond of John and she bequeathed all her wealth TO HIM)

• We believe in God IN WHOM we trust. (We believe in God and we trust IN HIM) • He concocted a scheme TO WHICH I was not privy. (He concocted a scheme and I was not

privy TO THE SCHEME) • He indulged in character-assassination TO WHICH I strongly objected. (He indulged in

character-assassination and I strongly objected TO THE CHARACTER-ASSASSINATION). • The class staged a play IN WHICH I was the lead actor. (The class staged a play and I was

the lead actor IN THE PLAY) The objective-case use of the RELATIVE PRONOUNS after a PREPOSITION such as of, in, with, to, and by will be frequently tested on the GMAT. Learn to recognize the objective-case noun that is replaced and represented by the relative pronoun by dissecting the sentence into the separate clauses as explained in the parentheses above.


NOTE: Nouns such as DEGREE and EXTENT are typically followed by the pronominal preposition ‘TO WHICH’. EXAMPLES:

1. “The term ‘Red Shift’ denotes the DEGREE TO WHICH light from a distant galaxy has been shifted away from the galaxy by the rapid motion of the earth”.

2. “The ‘Standard Candle’ s a light source whose intrinsic luminosity has been so well known that the EXTENT TO WHICH its brightness has been dimmed by distance can be used as an astronomical yardstick..

CAVEAT: DO NOT USE RELATIVE PRONOUNS IN INDEPENDENT CLAUSES that are not linked to another clause as a relative clause. An example of incorrect use of relative pronoun in a stand-alone clause is as follows: “Which brings me to the next point.’ DO NOT USE A RELATIVE PRONOUN TO REFER TO THE NOUN FORM OF A VERB USED IN A PRIOR CLAUSE. Examples of incorrect use of relative pronouns TO REFER TO THE NOUN FORM OF THE VERB USED IN THE PRECEDING CLAUSE are as follows.

• He suggested that we take a break. To which I said, ‘let us do it’. Notice that the second clause is not linked to the first clause as a relative clause and the relative pronoun ‘which’ lacks a referent in objective case. Apparently, ‘which’ appears to be referring to the ‘suggestion’ (that we take a break) but ‘suggestion’ is not used as a noun in the preceding sentence. The preceding clause uses the verb form ‘suggest’, not the noun form ‘suggestion’. A pronoun cannot refer to a verb and cannot refer to a noun form of a verb that was used in the preceding clause. The correct compound statement is as follows: “He suggested that we take a break AND I said, ‘let us do it’.

• He impugned my motives. To which I strongly objected. Again, the second clause is not linked to the first clause as a relative clause and the pronoun ‘which’ lacks a clear noun referent. Obviously, the pronoun ‘which’ is referring to the noun form of the verb ‘impugned’. The second clause appears to want to say, ‘I strongly objected to the impugning’ but the noun ‘impugning’ is not used in the preceding clause. Therefore, there are two problems with this set of clauses. The corrected sentence must read as follows: “He impugned my motives and I objected to the impugning”.

GRAMMARIANS do not like the use of relative pronoun to refer to or represent a group of words that is not a noun or noun phrase. “He resigned his job, after which he set up his own business’ is an example of a sentence in which ‘which’ used after the preposition ‘after’ appears to be referring to the act of resigning one’s job. However, the sentence does not use the noun form of resignation and a pronoun cannot refer to the noun form of a verb used previously. Check out these nuances when you correct a sentence on the GMAT. You can see why the ‘sound test’ is not a reliable way to determine whether a statement is well-written according to the grammar and idiom rules. Some of the examples discussed in this chapter ‘sound good’ and we are all guilty of having used them in our communications. Grammar and idiom requirements do not always dictate how we communicate in our day-to-day situations. We frequently apply the test of whether something rolls off our tongues easily or whether something sounds ‘cool to say’. GMAT sentences are not tongue-twisters but get pretty close to them. Learn to CONSCIOUOSLY apply the grammar and idiom checks in order to come up with a winner, not a cropper. To summarize our discussion thus far, relative pronouns replace the preceding objective-case nouns or the preceding subjective-case nouns when acting as modifiers. A regular pronoun can uniquely identify any noun that is used ANYWHERE in the same sentence or in a related sentence, and not necessarily right before it. “It is inside the orbit of Jupiter, and the astronomers can see the COMET by using a good telescope” is an example of a sentence in which the pronoun ‘it’ is uniquely referring to the comet. But all pronouns must UNIQUELY identify a noun. WE have seen examples of how a relative pronoun may not refer to the noun form of a verb used in a preceding clause or represent words that do not constitute nouns or noun phrases. Remember: any pronoun must UNIQUELY identify a single noun or noun phrase, and must agree in form.


RELATIVE PRONOUNS THAT REFER TO PERSONS WHO is used to refer to persons and WHICH may be used to refer to a specific ROLE of a person, not the person himself or herself. “I met John, who lives by the river” is an example of a sentence in which ‘who’ is referring the preceding noun, John. Notice that WHO is used in SUBJECTIVE CASE to a noun that engages in an action as described in the sentence. In the above sentence, John LIVES by the river and engages in an ACTIVE action. If we want to refer to a ROLE of a person, we may use WHICH and not WHO. “I was looking for a servant, which I found” is an acceptable use of ‘which’ to refer to the function or role of a person and not a specific person of identifiable name. Another example of use of ‘which’ to refer to the ROLE or FUNCTION of a person is as follows: “Chiefly, they wanted husbands, which they got easily” Who may be used in its variant forms WHOM and WHOSE. PERSON, WHO if “person” is used in subjective case. PERSON, WHOM if “person” is used in objective case. Translation: An objective case noun does not have a verb associated with it. PERSON, WHOSE (noun) Connotes that the noun that follows WHOSE belongs to or is attributed to the PERSON. Example: “I met John, who is my friend.” Notice that we can replace “who” with John, and there is a verb “is” associated with John. John is used in subjective case and “who” is the appropriate pronoun to use. “I met John, whom I have known for years.” Let us replace “whom” with John and read the sentence as: “I met John; I have known John for years”. Notice that there is no verb associated with John, and John is used in objective case. “Whom” is the appropriate use of the objective-case relative pronoun in this case. “It was John, whose car I drove.” “whose car” suggests that the car belonged to John. CAVEAT: Make sure that the WHO is acting as the pronoun for the LOGICAL NOUN that precedes it. Consider the following INAPPROPRIATE use of WHO to refer to a person’s MONTH OF BIRTH, not to a person. “Black History month is observed in February, the month of Lincoln’s birth and generally accepted month of Frederick Douglas’ birth, who were both primary figures in the abolition of slavery”. Notice that WHO is acting as a pronoun for MONTH OF BIRTH of two persons. Who cannot replace MONTH of birth of a person; it can only act as a pronoun for a person. We need to look for a different way to phrase the statement. A better way to state the information is as follows: “Black history month is observed in February, the month of Lincoln’s birth and generally accepted month of Frederick Douglas’ birth because both men were primary figures in the abolition of slavery”.. The sentence is now logical, providing a reason (through use of conjunction BECAUSE) why Black history month is observed in February.

RULE: IF A RELATIVE PRONOUN IS USED NEXT TO A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE IN WHICH TWO NOUNS ARE COMBINED WITH A PREPOSITION and in the form “prepositional phrase, who/which’, THEN, BY DEFAULT, THE RELATIVE PRONOUN WILL REPLACE THE SUBJECT (NOUN THAT PRECEDES THE PREPOSITION) OF THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE, NOT THE OBJECT (THE NOUN USED AFTER THE PREPOSITION). In the above example, WHO replaces the MONTH (of BIRTH), not ‘birth’, which is the object of the prepositional phrase. Notice the


use of comma after the prepositional phrase. If the comma is omitted, then the relative pronoun will attach to the preceding noun, which could be the object.(see example below). You will be tested on prepositional phrases even in the context of subject-verb agreement: you should make the verb agree in form with the subject (the first noun before the preposition) of the prepositional phrase, not the object (the noun used AFTER the preposition) of such phrase.

CAVEAT : DO NOT USE “WHO” AFTER A POSSESSIVE FORM SUCH AS “JOHN’S” Example: “It was John’s, who is my friend.” “who” can only be used as a pronoun for a person. “John’s” implies “John’s possession”, and “possession” ought to be a thing. “Who” cannot modify a thing.. “Which” or ‘That” should be used to relate back to a noun having the connotation of a THING or INANIMATE OBJECT. Another example of incorrect use of ‘who’ next to possessive case noun is as follows: “I borrowed John’s car, who is my neighbor”. The correct statement will read: “I borrowed the car of John who is my neighbor”. Notice that we dropped the comma after ‘John’ so that who can refer to John. You should remember that if there is a comma after John, then ‘who’ will replace ‘car’, the subject of the prepositional phrase ‘car of John’.


RELATIVE PRONOUNS THAT REFER TO PLACE

“Where” is the relative pronoun of choice for nouns that identify a specific geographic location. PLACE, WHERE “I live in New York, where the Empire State building is located.” Notice that “where” is used correctly right next to a geographical location. Also, notice that the part of the sentence that follows “where” is an independent clause having its own ‘new pop up subject’ and a new verb. Remember: An independent clause or a stand-alone sentence must follow “where”. Another example: “I visited London, where I had a great time.” Notice again that “I had a great time” is a complete stand-alone sentence and follows “where”. Also notice that “where” is used correctly next to a city, London. Be sure to have a complete and LOGICAL sentence after ‘where’. ‘Where’ must be followed by a complete clause. The use of WHERE is typically followed by the expletive construction using THERE. Take a look at the following Sentence: “I visited Frankfurt, where several Americans live.” Notice that the verb ‘live’ means ‘to be alive or to have life’. Americans are not alive and do not have a life in Frankfurt. It is more logical to say, “I visited Frankfurt, where there are several Americans.” Notice the EXPLETIVE FORM ‘there are several Americans Consider another sentence using an illogical expression in its independent clause following ‘where’. “Downsizing, zoning that typically results in the reduction of housing density, allows for more open space in areas where little water or services exist.” Notice the so-called independent clause uses ‘little water or services’ as the subject, and uses the plural verb, ‘exist’, to describe both singular ‘water’ and plural ‘services’. Also, ‘exist’ means ‘occur or be present’. “Water does not occur” and ‘services cannot be present’. The use of ‘little’ as an adjective to describe the mass noun ‘water’ is not idiomatic either. The correct expression of the independent clause must read: “Downsizing, zoning that typically results in the reduction of housing density, allows for more open space in areas where there are few services and little available water”. Notice that in the corrected sentence, the qualifier LITTLE is used as an adverb to modify the adjective AVAILABLE, which, in turn, qualifies the noun WATER. The sentence is not awkward and is well put together.


USE “IN WHICH” to refer to a noun that does NOT necessarily connote a specific geographic location. In some sentences, nouns such as ‘world’ or ‘community’ do not necessarily define a specific geographic location. They may, instead, refer to an environment or a general ambience surrounding a physical space. Consider the following sentence: “Until now, American Presidents lived in a WORLD, IN WHICH their personal and business realms were largely separate and IN WHICH the press cooperated in maintaining that distinction.” Notice that the relative pronoun ‘IN WHICH’ is relating back to WORLD, which is used not to refer to a specific geographic location but to an environment, or a set of prevailing conditions. In this case, it may be inappropriate to use WHERE next to WORLD.

RELATIVE PRONOUN THAT REFERS TO TIME WHEN is the relative pronoun that will be used next to a noun connoting a specific time TIME, WHEN Use “when” to modify a time information. Do not use “during which” when referring to a specific time.. Example: “Summer is the time when we travel the most.” Notice that “when” is appropriately used next to “time”. It will be incorrect to use ‘during which’ in lieu of ‘when’ to refer to a time-specific action. “Summer is the time during which we travel the most.” DURING means ‘throughout the duration of’. If we wrote, ‘summer is the time during which we travel the most’, we are implying that travel takes place THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF SUMMER. (‘During’ can also mean ‘at a point in course of’. “I met my friend during my trip to Paris” is a statement that means that I met my friend ‘at a point in the course of my trip to Paris’. Another Example of a sentence in which ‘during’ is used to express an action that takes place throughout the duration of the specific period: “Depression era is a period during which Americans experienced starvation and famine.”

USE OF WHILE IN PLACE OF WHEN is not appropriate. WHILE is typically used as a conjunction to mean ‘during the time that’ or ‘as long as’. Because ‘during’ is used to suggest an action that occurs throughout the specified period, it is incorrect to use while as synonymous with when which indicates action AT a point in time. WHILE IS FOLLOWED BY a clause. Some examples of the correct use of WHILE are as follows:

• WHILE I WAS IN BUSINESS SCHOOL, MY WIFE LIVED IN TENNESSEE. • SLEEP WHILE I AM OUT. • WHILE THERE IS LIFE, THERE IS HOPE. ‘WHILE’ is used to mean ‘as long as’.

WHILE can also be used to mean ‘WHEREAS’. • WHILE IT IS EASY FOR YOU, IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME. • IT IS EASY FOR AN EXPERT WHILE IT IS DANGEROUS FOR A NOVICE.


WHILE can also be used to mean ‘similarly and at the same time that’. Take a look at the following statement:

• While the book will be welcomed by scholars, it will make an appeal to the general reader. WHILE CAN ALSO BE USED TO MEAN ‘ALTHOUGH’ OR ‘IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT’.

• While he is respected, he is not well liked. Generally, GMAT sentences using WHILE are problematic. Check critically the use of WHILE and make sure that the sentence makes sense. Consider the following sentence: “PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS IN PEOPLE WERE CAUSED BY ABUSE THAT OCCURRED WHILE THEY WERE CHILDREN”. Notice that the sentence uses ‘WHILE’ to suggest that ‘abuse occurred THROUGHOUT THE TIME THAT THEY WERE CHILDREN. It is possible for disorders to develop as a result of abuse that occurred AT A MOMENT IN TIME when they were children. Therefore, it might be more logical to use WHEN and not WHILE in the above statement (unless we want to suggest that abuse occurred through the period that people were children).

Answer choices using WHILE are usually messed up. Do not pick any answer using WHILE, without carefully checking to see whether there are obvious wrinkles.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS THAT REFER TO THINGS WHICH or THAT is the relative pronoun of choice to refer to an antecedent that is a THING. It is incorrect and inappropriate to use WHICH to refer to a person or place. (The use of WHICH to refer to persons was prevalent until 17th century. (our Father which art in heaven -- Matthew 6:9 (Authorized Version). THING, WHICH THING THAT “Thing, which” OR “Thing that” are both acceptable uses of the pronoun “which” or “that”, and are often interchangeably used. Notice that “which” is used after a comma, and “that” without a comma. “That” is used after a ‘thing’ to suggest that the ‘thing’ described is an exception. “The States that have death penalty” is an example of an expression in which we understand that there are ‘some states that have death penalties’ and ‘some others that do not’. “I live in a house that is painted green” is an expression that tells us that some houses are not painted green. “The recession that devastated America” is an expression that tells us that not all recessions ‘devastate America’. On the other hand, ‘which’ is used to simply describe the non-exceptional ‘thing’. Example: “I live in a house, which is painted green.” “Painted green” is an attribute of the house in which I live. In the sentence, “The bird, which had a wingspan of 40 feet, is extinct”, the ‘wingspan of 40 feet’ is an attribute of the bird.

“Thing, which” or “Thing that” are double red flag expressions. Be sure to check “thing, which” or “thing that” for two things: ♦ That “which” or “that” is used next to a thing, not next to a person or a place.


♦ That “which” or “that” when replaced with the noun that precedes it does not pose a problem with the intended meaning of the sentence.

Consider the following examples. (We have already seen a couple of examples of sentences in which “which” was a potential trouble maker. See lesson 4 on pronouns). “Houseflies that emerge in the summer months live for about 5 months, which is different from those that emerge in the cooler days of winter, where they live for over a year.” Notice that the above sentence has multiple problems. We notice that “where” modifies “winter”, a season and not a place. We also notice that “which” is sitting next to “5 months”. If you replace “which” with “5 months”, and read the sentence as follows: “5 months is different from those that emerge in cooler days of winter……”, you notice that the sentence has the makings of a bad sentence. For one thing, “which” is used inappropriately. Secondly, “where” cannot be next to “winter”. Also, the whole sentence expresses a contrast that is best expressed with the conjunction “but”. The corrected sentence will read: “Houseflies that emerge in the summer months live for about 5 months but those that emerge in the cooler days of winter liver for over a year.” Notice that the corrected sentence takes care not only of the problems posed by inappropriate usage of the

W words in the sentence but also of the lack of contrast in the initial expression. When you do the “noun, W” test, and notice a problem, you will take care of the problem by doing any one of the following: ♦ Use a different form such as a different conjunction (Use a contrast conjunction to express contrast;

participial form to express a cause and effect) ♦ Rewrite the sentence and make the intended meaning clear. (Look at the houseflies example.) ♦ Restate the implied subject. (see the example that follows.) Example of the last strategy: “I would like to gain experience in international finance, which is lacking in my current job.” If we replace the pronoun “which” with the noun that precedes it – ‘international finance’ – the sentence reads as follows: “International finance is lacking in my present job.” Clearly, that is not the intent of the original sentence. The original sentence implies that “experience” is lacking in the current job. The above sentence can be broken up as: “I would like to gain experience in international finance, and opportunity for such experience is lacking in my current job.” We can write the above sentence using the conjunction ‘and’ in another form by simply restating the implied subject preceded by a ‘comma’ after the first independent clause. Also, in the rewritten form, the verb is not used after the restatement of the implied subject. If the verb were repeated, we will have the makings of a run on sentence. The following is an example of how we can write the sentence by restating the subject. “I would like to gain experience in international finance, opportunity for experience (which is) lacking in my present job.” Notice that “which is” is written in brackets, suggesting that it is acceptable to hide the expression “which is” for conciseness and idiom reasons.


Consider another example of ‘this strategy’ of rewriting the sentence by restating the implied subject. BAD SENTENCE: “Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, which are not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.” Notice that the above sentence suggests that ‘tooth and bone’ are not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears. We should instead state that the tissues referred to are not usually found in the organ in which the tumor appears. We can write the above bad sentence in any one of the following two forms: CORRECTED SENTENCE FORM 1: “Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, and such tissues are not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.” FORM 2: “Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues (which are) not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears. Notice that in the alternative form indicated above, we cut out the conjunction ‘and’ and omit the ‘verb’ after the restated implied subject, but use a comma at the end of the first sentence.. Also, notice that in the Form 2, we did not write ‘which are’ after the restated implied subject. It is perfectly ‘legal’ and ‘idiomatic’ to do so. Another example of a sentence in which the implied subject is restated: “Scientists discovered mineral deposits in Baltic Sea sediments, (and these) deposits (are) consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the area.” Let us take a look at another sentence in which we need to repeat the implied subject in order to make the sentence clear. “Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the center for media and Public affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C. and which are underwritten by a number of educational institutions.” Notice that the underlined part of the sentence suggests that the 500 television programs were done by the center for media and Public affairs and the programs (which) were underwritten by a number of educational institutions whereas it is the STUDY that was underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the center for media and Public affairs. Notice that the subject of the prepositional phrase ‘study of 500 television programs’ is ‘study’, and we need to REPEAT the implied subject in order to make the sentence CLEAR and correct. The corrected expression will read as follows: “Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new STUDY of 500 television programs, A STUDY underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the center for media and public affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C.” NOTE: “Which” can also be used as an adjective to mean ‘being one of several options’. “It is blue or green, I do not know which (color)”. “Which one (of the survivors) lost the immunity challenge?


RUN ON SENTENCES A run-on sentence ‘happens’ when clauses are combined in a sentence, without the use of proper connectors. In fact, a run-on is created when items of the same kind are ‘run on’ each other and without the use of a proper connector. Take a look at the following sentence: “I know it will rain today.” Notice that the dependent or subordinate clause, “I know”, is combined with an independent clause, ‘it will rain today’, without the use of proper connectors. The fix for the run-on is the use of the connector ‘that’. What do ‘I know’? “I know THAT it will rain today.” Consider another sentence that has the makings of a run-on. “The animal’s carcass was used for food, its antlers were used for tools, and its sinews and gut were used for binding.” Notice that there are THREE independent clauses put together without the proper use of conjunctions or connectors. WE can fix the problem by using the conjunction ‘and’ after the first independent clause and take care of the run-on problem. But the multiple use of conjunction ‘and’ to combine several independent clauses may be a clumsy fix. Also notice that ‘were used’ is repeated several times. We can suppress the use of this verb after the first use and make the sentence more concise. The corrected sentence that takes care of the run-on problem will read as follows; “The animal’s carcass was used for food, its antlers for tools, and its sinews and gut for binding.” Notice that the first part of the sentence is an independent clause but the subsequent ones suppress and imply the verb and take care of the run-on problem. Run-ons may also be created by running a qualifier on another or by running an adjective on another. Consider the following examples:

• He is smart compassionate individual. Notice that the adjectives -‘smart’ and ‘compassionate’ – both describe the individual but because they are running on each other, the first adjective takes on the connotations of an adverb. In order to clearly designate the adjective as an adjective, we need a connector between the adjectives. We can rewrite the sentence as “He is smart AND compassionate individual”. Or, we could let a ‘comma’ do the job of the conjunction ‘and’, and write the sentence as ‘He is smart, compassionate individual’. A comma frequently acts as the required conjunction and as the required separator. “I promise to love, to cherish, and to protect’ is another example of how a comma can act as a separator and as a connector of three complements - ‘to love’, ‘to cherish’, ‘to protect’. The complements describe three different promises and need connectors between any two.


In some sentences, complements or qualifiers that describe the same word may be running on each other or one another.

• England exiled its convicts to Australia over a period of 100 years. Notice that three complements (identified in three different colors in the sentence) of the same verb ‘exiled’ are running on one another. Also, notice that a complement answers questions such as ‘who’, ‘when’, and ‘where’. England exiled WHO? Its convicts. England exiled its convicts WHERE? To Australia. England exiled its convicts to Australia WHEN? Over a period of 100 years. As a rule, not more than two complements that answer different questions may be run on each other. In the above example, we have three running on one another. WE can fix the problem by moving one of the qualifiers, usually the one answer the question ‘when’, to the head of the sentence.

• Over a period of 100 years, England exiled its convicts to Australia. This construction is analogous to the MODIFIER construction that is discussed later on in this file. Whereas a modifier typically modifies a noun, the adverbial complement at the head of a sentence and separated by the REQUIRED COMMA, complements the verb ‘exile’. IF A CLAUSE using a relative pronoun is used as a MODIFIER, and is followed by a linking verb, then we can suppress the subject and the verb in the relative clause WHEN ‘WHO’ OR ‘WHICH’ OR ‘THAT’ is used as part of a modifier in the form ‘who is’ or ‘which is’ or ‘that is’, they can be suppressed. We have learned in our earlier discussion that there are different ways in which a relative pronoun can introduce a relative clause by representing the object or the subject of the preceding clause. We have also learned that when a relative clause is used to describe the SUBJECT of the preceding clause, it becomes a MODIFIER of the subject of the main clause. (Remember the example about Clinton? “William Clinton, who was the 42nd President of the United States, was born William Blythe in Arkansas.”) Notice that the relative clause introduced by ‘who’ in the Clinton example is followed by the LINKING VERB ‘is’. We can suppress the SUPPRESS THE SUBJECT AND THE VERB in the relative clause and write just the complement of the predicate as follows.

• William Jefferson Clinton, (who was) the 42nd President of the United States, was born William Blythe in Arkansas.

Notice that ‘who was’ can be suppressed and implied. Consider the following additional examples: “I met John, who is my friend” can be written as “I met John, my friend”. Both are correct forms but the latter is more concise than is the former. In the first expression, “who is my friend” is a predicate adjective that describes John. In the second expression “my friend” is also an adjective but is called a “modifier”.


Consider another example: “I went to Harvard Business School, which is considered the gold standard in business education.” We can write the above sentence as follows: “I went to Harvard Business School, considered the gold standard in business education.” Notice that the second sentence drops the “which is” and turns a “predicate adjective” into a “modifier”. You must bear in mind that both sentences are correct but the latter is considered more concise than is the former. Consider another example of a sentence in which ‘who is’ or ‘which is’ is suppressed. “SMOKERS (WHO ARE) CONCERNED THAT THEIR CHANCES FOR PROMOTION ARE STYMIED BY THEIR HABIT ARE ACTIVELY PURSUING SMOKING CESSATION PROGRAMS”. Notice that in the above sentence, we legally suppressed ‘WHO ARE’. REMEMBER: If you come across two options, one in which WHO IS or ‘which is’ is not suppressed and another in which it is suppressed, the one in which ‘who is’ or ‘which is’ is legally suppressed is likely to be the correct answer. Consider the following two options:

• EFFORT WHICH HAS STARTED TWO YEARS AGO TO UPGRADE THE MATH SKILLS OF GRADE SCHOOL CHILDREN IS SHOWING RESULTS.

• EFFORT (WHICH WAS) STARTED TWO YEARS AGO TO UPGRADE THE MATH SKILLS OF GRADE SCHOOL CHILDREN IS SHOWING RESULTS.

Notice that the second option in which ‘which was’ is suppressed is the more logical of the two options because the first one suggests that the EFFORT STARTED OF ITS OWN FREE WILL or ABILITY. Because the effort has to be started by people, the noun EFFORT cannot engage in active action and must be used in passive case as follows: EFFORT WHICH WAS STARTED TWO YEARS AGO (BY US) TO UPGRADE THE MATH SKILLS OF GRADE SCHOOL CHILDREN IS SHOWING RESULTS. Because we can legally suppress ‘WHICH WAS’ that is part of the relative clause complementing the noun ‘effort’, we can write the same sentence as ‘EFFORT (which was) STARTED TWO YEARS AGO (BY US) TO UPGRADE THE MATH SKILLS OF GRADE SCHOOL CHILDREN IS SHOWING RESULTS’. Get to know and apply these rules so that your Sentence Correction experience will be a pleasant one.


LESSON 6: ADJECIVES, ADVERBS, PREPOSITIONS, AND ARTICLES ♦ ADJECTIVES describe the attribute or quality of a noun, and usually appears BEFORE the noun

they describe. “Beautiful girl” is the correct form. “Girl beautiful” is not. When an adjective is used before the noun it describes, it is called a ‘straight adjective’. However, a straight adjective can be used as a ‘predicate adjective’ following the noun in the manner described below:

♦ “I met a beautiful girl.” straight adjective precedes the noun it describes. ♦ “I met a girl, who is beautiful.” predicate adjective follows the noun it describes.

All things being equal, a straight adjective is better than a predicate adjective because the former is more concise. Be sure to check whether the straight adjective is used BEFORE the noun described. “Deposited checks” is the required form; “checks deposited” is not. “Synthesized foods” is the correct expression. “Foods synthesized” is not. “Foods that are synthesized” is acceptable but is needlessly verbose. If you want to write the adjective after the noun, you must write the expression as a predicate adjective. We have seen previously that a predicate adjective can also be expressed in the form of a modifier by dropping the “who is” or “which is”. Consider the following sentences:

♦ “I live in New York City, which is considered the financial capital of the world.” ♦ “I live in New York City, considered the financial capital of the world.”

You notice that both sentences describe the same city but the second sentence uses a modifier adjective instead of the predicate adjective. All things being equal, a modifier adjective is preferred to a predicate adjective because the former is more concise. Also, in the first sentence, a City is modified by “which”, which is used next to a “thing” only, not next to a place. ♦ As a rule, a modifier adjective is an incomplete sentence that lacks a verb and a subject. If

you notice the following form: “[an incomplete fragment], noun”, then the incomplete fragment will have the potential to describe the noun that follows it. Similarly, in the following form: “[noun, [an incomplete fragment], verb”, the incomplete fragment that follows the noun will describe the noun. It is important that the fragment that describes the noun and the noun described be next to each other.

Consider the following examples: ♦ “A world-renowned physician, Dr. Watson was appointed surgeon-general of the United States.” ♦ “New York City, the center of the universe, is a fun place to visit.” ♦ “Seat belts, protecting the occupants, are standard items of safety in a motor car.” ♦ “Although inside the orbit of Jupiter, the comet can be seen by a good telescope.” ♦ “Bufo Marinus toads, fierce predators and native to south America, were introduced into Florida.” ♦ “Spanning more than 50 years, Fred Muller’s career began in an unpromising apprenticeship as a

language scholar.” ♦ “Using the drug, RU486, a woman can abort fetuses within the first trimester of pregnancy.” ♦ “Harvard Business School, considered the gold standard in case method of learning, is in Boston.” ♦ “Horan Pippin, his right hand crippled by a sniper’s bullet, produced some remarkable paintings.” ♦ “Requiring that citizens recycle plastic, the city passed a law imposing fines on non-compliant

residents.” ♦ “Driving a car and using the interstate highways, people travel long distances in summer.” ♦ “A strong defense of the United States constitution and the handiwork of five authors, the Federalist

Papers enshrine the golden principles we subscribe to as citizens in this country.” ♦ “Attacked and provoked by terrorists, the United States mounted a ferocious and fitting campaign

against the terrorist training camps in the Middle East.” ♦ And so on.

An adjective describes a noun. We can use a “straight” adjective right BEFORE the noun, as in “It is a great movie”, or as a predicate adjective, as in “It is a movie, which is great”, or as a modifier, as in “It is a movie, great”. Although the last example sentence sounds “awful”, it is a good expression. Feelings or actions can be described by using “participial modifiers”, as in “Using a map, we traveled”. Notice that the modifier “using a map” describes action by “we”. “Concerned at the increase in crime, the residents implemented ‘crime watch’ program”. “Concerned” describes feelings by “the residents”. Although most participial modifiers have the “-ing” form, some can have the “-ed” form as illustrated above. Another example of the “-ed” form : “Worried, I began to get my act together.”


Make sure that the modifier intends to describe the subject sitting next to it. Sometimes, the “wrong subject” could be right next to the modifier. Consider the following: Misplaced Subjects: Example 1: “Although inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers can see the comet by using a good telescope.” You notice that “although inside the orbit of Jupiter” describes “amateur astronomers”, the noun that follows the modifier adjective. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the modifier adjective is describing the wrong subject. What should be the correct subject described by the modifier adjective? The comet. Let us move it up the totem-pole and make it sit right next to the modifier adjective. The corrected sentence will read: “Although inside the orbit of Jupiter, the comet can be seen by amateur astronomers by using a good telescope.” If we do not have the liberty to move the subject up or down the totem-pole because we are constrained by the underlining of the sentence, then we need to change a modifier into a non-modifier. This is done by writing the modifier, which is an incomplete fragment lacking a verb, into a complete sentence. Consider the following: “Although inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers can see the comet by using a good telescope.” The underlined part of the sentence is the one that needs to be fixed in relation to the rest of the sentence. GMAT does not allow us the luxury of tinkering with the non-underlined part of the sentence. Because “amateur astronomers” cannot be moved, we have to make sure that the underlined part of the sentence is not written as a modifier adjective. Let us write it out as a complete clause: “Although IT IS inside the orbit of Jupiter, amateur astronomers can see the comet by using a good telescope.” Notice that we changed a modifier into a non modifier by adding a subject and a verb. Also, notice that “IT” has a clearly identified agent or a referent: comet, the only singular subject the pronoun can refer to. Consider another example of misplaced subject described by a modifier adjective. EXAMPLE 2: “An undisputed leader, England was fortunate to have Churchill at the helm of affairs during a major crisis.” Notice that the modifier adjective “an undisputed leader” presumably modifies Churchill, but the subject is sitting in the wrong place in the sentence. Because the misplaced subject is part of the underlined part of the sentence, we have the luxury of moving the subject up or down. Let us do precisely that. “An undisputed leader, Churchill was at the helm of affairs in England during a major crisis.” Also, notice that we cut out the “fortunate to have” part, which is considered inelegant and redundant. If the underlining of the sentence read as follows, then we have to change the modifier into a non modifier by writing the modifier as a complete clause. “An undisputed leader, England was fortunate to have Churchill at the helm of affairs during a major crisis.” In this sentence, we cannot tinker with the non-underlined part of the sentence but must fix the underlined part in relation to the rest of the sentence. Let us write out the modifier as a complete clause so that the “misplaced subject” problem no longer exists.


“He was an undisputed leader, and England had Churchill at the helm of affairs during a major crisis.” DANGLING MODIFIER ADJECTIVE: Some sentences may have a modifier adjective used but no clearly identifiable agent or a noun. Consider the following: “Using the ultrasound imaging, the sex of the fetus can be determined as early as six weeks into the pregnancy.” Notice that “using the ultrasound imaging” is a modifier adjective that sits right next to “sex of the baby” and, by default, describes it. The problem is, the ‘sex of the fetus’ does not use ultrasound imaging. May be, a doctor does. Notice the missing subject in the sentence. Our task is to introduce the missing subject into the sentence and write the sentence as follows: “Using the ultrasound imaging, a physician can determine the sex of the fetus as early as six weeks into the pregnancy.” PARTICIPIAL MODIFIERS DESCRIBE ACTION OR FEELINGS ON THE PART OF THE SUBJECT THEY DESCRIBE, AND CAN HAVE “VERB-ED” FORM OR “VERB-ING” FORM. A subject can be described by more than one modifier phrase at the same time. You must make sure that the conjunction ‘and’ is used to combine the two different modifiers describing the same subject. Consider the following example: The federalist papers, a strong defense of the United States Constitution and an important body of work in political science, represent the handiwork of three different authors. Notice that the subject, “The Federalist Papers”, is described by using two modifiers: ‘a strong defense of the U.S. constitution’ and ‘an important body of work in political science’. Notice that the two different modifiers describing the same subject are connected by using the conjunction ‘and’. Consider another example: It is commonly believed in the paper industry that waste, estimated at 10% of the total raw material cost and resulting from changing products on the fly, is inevitable. Notice that the ‘pop up’ subject ‘waste’ that follows ‘that’ is described in terms of how much it costs and of why it happens: Its value is 10% of the raw material cost, and it results from changing products on the fly. Notice that the two modifiers (in this case, participial modifiers because they use the ‘verb-ed’ form and ‘verb-ing’ form) are connected by the conjunction ‘and’.


Take a look at another example using two different participial modifiers to describe the same subject. Scientists have recently discovered what could be the largest and oldest living organism on Earth, a giant fungus that is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and of root-like tentacles spawned by a single fertilized spore some 10,000 years ago and extending for more than 30 acres in the soil of a Michigan forest. Notice that the above sentence describes the ‘giant fungus’ in terms of what it is an ‘interwoven filigree of mushrooms of (an interwoven filigree) of root-like tentacles’, and goes on to describe the ‘same subject’ in terms of how it was produced and in terms of where it exists. Be sure to notice the ‘verb-ed’ form and ‘verb-ing’ form used to describe the ‘root-like tentacles’. Also, notice that the conjunction ‘and’ combines the two different participial modifiers describing the same subject.

In essence, the above sentence is an example of how a subject can be described in terms of three different modifiers. The (giant) fungus is an interwoven filigree of mushrooms and of root-like tentacles. The (giant) fungus (that is an interwoven filigree of X and Y) is spawned by a single fertilized spore

some 10,000 years ago. The (giant) fungus(that is an interwoven filigree of X and Y) extends for more than 30 acres in the soil

of an Michigan forest. When we combine all three modifiers in a single sentence, the sentence will read as above.

FLANKING MODIFIERS Some sentences will use a subject flanked by two modifiers. Take a look at the following sentence: “Intended to stimulate family summer travel, the new airfare, which allows two adults to fly for the price of one adult ticket, also reduces the advance purchase requirement from 14 days to 7 days.” Notice that the subject ‘new airfare’ is ‘flanked’ by two modifiers: ‘intended to stimulate family summer travel’, which describes the purpose of the new airfare, and ‘which allows two adults to fly for the price of one ticket’, which describes what the airfare does. We could have written the above sentence using ‘flanking modifiers’ by starting the sentence with two modifiers combined with a conjunction ‘and’, and the sentence will read as follows: “Intended to stimulate family summer travel and allowing two adults to fly for the price of one ticket, the new airfare also reduces the advance purchase requirement from 14 days to 7 days.” Notice that the two different modifiers describing the subject ‘the new airfare’ are at the head of the sentence and combined with the conjunction ‘and’. The upshot of the above discussion is that a subject can be described in a sentence using more than one modifier, and that such sentences can be written in ‘flanking modifier’ form or in a form that uses the two modifiers combined with the conjunction ‘and’. You will have to use ‘flanking’ or ‘sandwich’ modifiers if a given subject is described by two adjectives. Consider the following expression: “Graduate Business Schools”. Both ‘graduate’ and ‘business’ must be used as adjectives describing the ‘schools’. In the stated expression, ‘graduate’ describes ‘business’, which describes ‘schools’. Logically, we are dealing with ‘graduate schools’ and ‘schools specializing in the study of business’.


The logical statement ought to read: “Graduate Schools of business”. Notice that ‘graduate’ is used as an adjective describing ‘schools’ and the prepositional qualifier, ‘of business’, describes what category of graduate school we are looking at. Consider another phrase: “dramatic sales increases”. Notice that ‘dramatic’ is used as an adverb describing ‘sales’ and ‘sales’ is used as an adjective describing ‘increases’. Do you see the problem here? “Dramatic” should be an adjective describing ‘increases’, and the ‘increases’ ought to be qualified in terms of ‘sales’. The corrected phrase will read: “dramatic increases in sales”. Notice that both ‘dramatic’ and ‘in sales’ qualify and describe the common noun ‘increases’. Take a look at another example of use of sandwich modifiers: “Ongoing terrorism war” “Ongoing” should describe ‘war’ and the ‘war’ is about ‘terrorism’. The correct expression will read: “Ongoing war on terrorism”. Have you noticed that if two adjectives are simultaneously required to modify the same common noun, then the expression typically uses a straight adjective and a prepositional qualifier to describe a common noun. Consider the following expressions, which are best expressed using sandwich modifiers: American Home Ownership Home ownership by Americans British Conservative Party The conservative party of Britain. Minority Business School admissions Admissions of minorities to business schools. Lethal Soviet missiles Notice that ‘lethal’ is describing ‘Soviet’ in this expression. It should logically

describe the ‘missiles’. The correct expression should read: “Lethal missiles of Soviet Union”. Childproof door locks door locks that are childproof. American Automobile manufactures Automobile manufacturers of America. Notice that both

‘American’ and “automobile” should describe ‘manufacturers’. European Common currency Common currency of Europe. European Economic Union Economic Union of Europe.

You get the drift, don’t you? NOTE: The test you are preparing for, GMAT, is an acronym for GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST, and an example of bad use of adjectives in tandem. Notice that ‘Graduate’ describes ‘Management’, which, in turn, describes ‘admission’ that is acting as the adjective describing ‘test’. A more idiomatic and correct expression ought to read: “Test for Admission to Graduate Schools of Management”(TAGSM). Can you see the irony of the use of unidiomatic syntax by the company administering ‘GMAT’ to describe its test? But then, you are the hapless person being tested, not the company itself. POSTPOSITIVE USE OF ADJECTIVES after the nouns ADJECTIVES MAY BE USED POST-POSITIVELY (AFTER THE NOUN) IF THE ADJECTIVE IS A SPECIAL ONE SUCH AS PROPER, REDUX, ALIVE, GALORE, de jure, etc. EXAMPLES of postpositive use of adjectives are as follows: “I live in Chicago proper”; “It is Clintonian politics redux”; “Flowers galore”; ‘There is not a single man alive who is not charmed by the beauty of nature”; “He is King de jure”.


ARTICLES Words such as “a”, “an”, and “the” are adjectives called “articles”. “A” and “an” are called indefinite articles because they do not identify a ‘definite’ subject or one of a kind item, but “the” is called a definite article because it refers to ‘one of a kind’ subject. “He is a president of a company” is an example of a sentence in which two indefinite articles describe two different nouns. The article ‘a’ is not definite because it does not suggest that ‘he’ is the only president of the only company. On the other hand, in the sentence, “Bush is THE President of THE United States of America”, the definite article ‘the’ identifies the one and only president of the one and only U.S.A. The definite article describes the noun it qualifies in a precise and definite manner. “I went to the Penn Station” is an example of a sentence in which “the” identifies the one and only Penn Station in New York City. “I went to a ticket counter” is an example of a sentence in which the indefinite article “a” refers to any one of the several ticket counters. “The Cleveland that Sarah Austin knew” is another example of use of the definite article. Sometimes, a subject may be described by more than one adjective, including the definite article. Consider the following example: “The information contained in the more than 50,000 different genes found in a human cell is contained in a mere 3% of the cell’s DNA.” Notice that “genes” is described in terms of “different genes”, and in terms of how many different genes in the expression “50,000 different genes”, and in the expression “more than 50,000 different genes”. But then we are referring to a definite set of human genes, and must use the definite article “the”. Notice that the definite article precedes the other adjectives used. That brings us to the golden rule of “article use” along with other adjectives: Always use any article ahead of any other adjectives describing the same subject. Consider this example: “Robert Carter III filed a deed of emancipation, setting free the more than 500 slaves legally considered his property.” Notice that the definite article “the” precedes the other adjectives modifying the same subject – slaves. Consider another set of examples: “Offers of admission sent to the more than 1,000 applicants to the Harvard’s undergraduate program were bounced by the America Online server.” In the sentence, “It is a definite advantage”, the article “a” precedes the adjective ‘definite’. Remember: The article must be used ahead of the other adjectives describing the same subject. It is incorrect to say: “offers of admission sent to more than the 1,000 applicants.” In this sentence, the article does not come before the other adjectives. It always must.


ADVERBS ADVERBS can modify an adjective or a verb. An adverb cannot be used to describe a noun. If three nouns are used side by side, then the first noun will be the adverb, the second the adjective, and the third the noun or the subject. In the phrase “Income Tax Act”, “income” is the adverb modifying the adjective “tax”, which describes the noun “act”. In the phrase “Financial recovery package”, the adverb “financial” modifies the adjective “recovery”, which describes the noun “package”. Not all words ending in “-ly” are adverbs, but most of them are. For example, “He is a lonely man” is an example of a sentence in which the word “lonely” is not an adverb but an adjective describing the noun “man”. Also, be sure to use the adverb ahead of the verb or the adjective it describes. For example, “It was well done” is the preferred form, not “it was done well.” Another example: “Your silence establishes clearly that you are not interested” is not as good as “your silence clearly establishes that you are not interested.”

ADVERBS and ADJECTIVES CAN BE WRITTEN IN A PREPOSITIONAL FORM.

“It suddenly happened” can be written as “It happened in a sudden manner”. The prepositional phrase ‘in a sudden manner’ acts as an adverb describing the verb ‘happen’. Similarly, the sentence ‘the painting was superbly done’ can be written as ‘the painting was done in a superb manner’. In fact, if you have a prepositional phrase sitting next to a verb, the prepositional phrase will behave as an adverb describing the verb. We have seen earlier that prepositional phrases can also act as adjectives if they are sitting next to a noun. For example, the sentence, “I undertook a detailed study of Inuit art” can be written as ‘I undertook a study in detail of Inuit art’. Notice that the ‘detailed study’ is an adjectival form, and ‘study in detail’ is a prepositional form, but in both cases the subject ‘study’ is described by an adjective. Similarly, “business schools” is a phrase that uses ‘business’ as an adjective to describe ‘schools’. The adjectival phrase can be written in a prepositional form as ‘schools of business’. HERE ARE SOME MORE EXAMPLES OF ADJECTIVAL AND ADVERBIAL PHRASES WRITTEN IN PREPOSITIONAL FORMS: Capital investment = investment of capital Graduate business schools = Graduate schools of business It slowly happened = It happened in a slow fashion. The project was efficiently executed = The project was executed in an efficient manner.

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES THAT COMPLEMENT A VERB may be written at the head of a sentence followed by a comma before the start of the independent clause. This is done when the adverbial complement is awkwardly placed within a sentence. Consider the following sentence: “ENGLAND EXILED ITS CONVICTS TO AUSTRALIA OVER A PERIOD OF TIME”. The ‘convicts’ are the OBJECT of the sentence. Notice that the prepositional phrase ‘over a period of time’ is used with adverbial force to complement the verb ‘exiled’. We can write the above sentence by putting the adverbial complement at the head of the sentence as follows: “OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, England exiled its convicts to Australia”. Consider another ‘awkward’ sentence in which the complement is misplaced. “THERE IS A PROBLEM OF AVAILABLE DRINKING WATER IN RURAL AREAS”. Notice that the noun ‘problem’ is qualified by two prepositional phrases: “of available drinking water’ and “in rural areas”. The awkwardness created by the juxtaposition of the complements can be overcome by writing the sentence as follows: “IN RURAL AREAS, THERE IS A PROBLEM OF AVAILABLE DRINKING WATER.” The sentence, “I am frankly astonished” may also be written, “Frankly, I am astonished’.


PREPOSITIONS can be used to combine two nouns, or an adjective with a noun, or a verb with a noun, or a clause with another clause. Prepositions typically start a phrase that describes the word that comes right before the preposition. In the sentence, ‘new techniques allow us to study in detail the effects of warming of the Pacific Ocean’ , the preposition ‘in’ starts the phrase ‘in detail’ which describes the verb ‘study’. In the sentence, ‘I go to the ball game’, the preposition starts a phrase that describes the verb ‘go’. In fact, the idiomatic form is the form that uses the prepositions in the right places, and one that uses the correct prepositions. For example, ‘I prefer New York over Chicago’ is not idiomatic because the required preposition is ‘to’, not ‘over’. ‘I prefer New York to Chicago’ is the idiomatic form. Similarly, ‘over a period of time, I became proficient’ uses the preposition at the start of the sentence, and notice that the prepositional phrase ‘over a period of time’ is dangling. ‘Dangling prepositions’ are considered to be in poor taste, and we might make the expression more idiomatic by writing the same sentence as ‘I became over a period of time proficient’. Notice that the preposition ‘over’ describes the verb ‘became’ as it should. Prepositions such as OF, IN, TO, WITH, BETWEEN, OVER, UNDER, ON, and THAT are the most typical ones used in sentences. Typically, prepositions begin a phrase that qualifies or limits the scope of the word that precedes the preposition. For example, ‘investment of capital in real estate’ is an example of a fragment using two prepositions – ‘of’ and ‘in’. The first preposition is part of a qualifying phrase ‘of capital’ and expresses the fact that the investment described is one of capital, not of any other kind such as time or energy or effort. The second preposition ‘in’ is part of a phrase ‘in real estate’ that qualifies capital by stating that capital is invested in real estate, not in another area such as stock market. As you might have noticed, the prepositions are used to limit the scope of the word that precedes them, and, consequently, do little to further the understanding of the structure of the sentence. It is for this reason that we stated previously that we can HIDE the part of the sentence starting in the preposition in order to make sense of the structure of the sentence in terms of subject and verb. Some expressions are best expressed as prepositional phrases because a straight adjectival form might be confusing. Take the example of the movie title: “Cider House Rules”. Notice that the movie-maker intended ‘rules’ to be a noun, not a verb. An uninitiated in the Hollywood parlance might just as easily treat ‘rules’ as a verb and read the title to mean, “Cider House reigns’ or ‘Cider House prevails’. GMAT is a stickler for clarity, and for the sake of clear expression, “Cider House Rules” is best written, “Rules of Cider House”. During the recent orgy of sniper attacks in the Washington D.C. area, the cable news network, CNN, captioned the news coverage as “SNIPER ATTACKS”. Obviously, the network intended the word ‘attacks’ to take on the noun form, and would have made the intent more clear by stating, “Attacks of Sniper” instead of “Sniper attacks”. The title editors of the movies or of the cable networks do not have to take the GMAT and can get away with ‘confusing’ phrases, but you, the GMAT taker, have to learn to do better. Remember: Some adjectival forms are best expressed in prepositional manner. Prepositional noun phrases in which two nouns are combined with a preposition are an alternate form of adjectival phrases, as we have seen before. For example, ‘areas of finance’ can be written ‘financial areas’, and ‘schools of business’ can be written as ‘business schools’. The rule about the prepositional noun phrases is that the noun that precedes the preposition is the SUBJECT OF THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE, and will dictate the form of the verb, The noun that follows the preposition is the OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE, and will act as the ‘descriptor’ of the SUBJECT of the prepositional phrase. For example, in the form, “investment of capital”, ‘investment’ is the subject and ‘capital’ is the object describing the investment. IT tells us what kind of investment we are dealing with. In the phrase, “techniques in imaging’, ‘techniques’ are the subject, and ‘imaging’ tells us in what specific area the ‘techniques’ apply. We have seen previously, adjectives are in most cases ‘needless distractors’ and not relevant to getting a good grip on the structure of the sentence. For this reason, if you have any prepositional noun phrase, you may ‘ignore’ the part of the phrase starting with the preposition.

“OF” can have several connotations: It can mean “involving” when used in the form “investment of capital”. It can mean “having” when used in the form “men of honor”. It can mean “belonging to “ when used in the form “House of Mary”. It can also mean “from” when used in the form “People of England”.

Think of prepositions as “flexible conjunctions”. Whereas a “conjunction” such as “and” is restricted to the use of combining “like” items – noun with noun, verb with verb, adjective with adjective, or a clause with a clause – a preposition can combine “anything” with “anything”. For example, in the expression “We left him for dead”, a verb “left” is combined with a noun “dead (person)”. In the sentence, “He is amazing for a beginner”, an adjective “amazing” is combined with a noun “beginner” using the preposition “for”.


We have seen in the discussion in the preceding page that prepositions can describe nouns. They can also describe ACTIONS when combining a noun with a verb. In the sentence, “I drove through the town’, a verb is combined with a noun by the preposition ‘through’. Notice that the preposition describes where the action – drive - took place: the town. In the sentence, “The birds flew into the plate glass window”, the preposition ‘into’ describes the action ‘fly’. The bottom-line is, a preposition can combine anything with anything, whereas a conjunction can combine items of the same kind only. For example, a conjunction cannot be used to combine a verb with a noun, or an adjective with a noun, but a preposition can do this job admirably. (oops! We should have written, “a preposition can admirably do this job”. Remember the rule that the adverb must precede the verb or the adjective it describes.) Consider the following examples in which prepositions are flexibly used to combine ‘anything’ with ‘anything’. In the sentence, “I drove over the bridge”, the preposition “over” combines a clause with a noun. In the phrase, “good for America”, an adjective is combined with a noun. In the phrase “to die for a cause”, a verb (infinitive) is combined with a noun. You must be careful to use a proper preposition to combine elements of a sentence. A wrong preposition can convey a totally different meaning. For example, “price for car” is the correct expression because “we pay a price for a car”. “Price of a car” is not good because the preposition “of” means “belonging to” or “having”. “Price of a car” suggests that “the price belongs to a car”. Rule: If two nouns are combined with a preposition, the form of the first noun will dictate what form the verb must have. Consider the following example: “Strategies for growth are nonexistent”. Notice that two nouns – strategies and growth – are combined with the preposition “for”. The form of the verb must be plural because the noun (strategies) that precedes “for” is plural.

PREPOSITIONAL NOUN PHRASES APPEARING IN THE UNDERLINED PART OF THE GMAT SENTENCE NEED TO BE VETTED CLOSELY AND

CAREFULLY. ♦ When you come across “prepositional noun phrases” such as the one shown above in

the GMAT, you must be extra vigilant because prepositional noun phrases are fraught with problems. A prepositional phrase is one in which two nouns are combined by using a preposition. The first noun that precedes the preposition is the subject of the prepositional phrase, and the second noun that follows the conjunction is called the object of the prepositional phrase. In some prepositional phrases, it is likely that the subject and the object of the prepositional phrase are switched. This scenario can lead to major problems in the intended meaning of the sentence. Consider the following example:


♦ “The vocal tracts of Neanderthals were narrow, and

without a language.” Notice that “vocal tracts” is combined with “Neanderthals” by using a preposition. “Vocal tracts” are the subject of the prepositional phrase. “Neanderthals” are the object of the prepositional phrase. The sentence would have us believe that the “vocal tracts were without a language.” The vocal tracts do not have a language; Only people do. The subject should be Neanderthals, and the prepositional noun phrase has the intended subject sitting in the wrong place. We need to rewrite the sentence by using Neanderthals as the subject. The corrected sentence must read:

♦ Neanderthals were without a language because they had narrow vocal tracts. ♦ The vocal tracts of Neanderthals were narrow, and the Neanderthals were without a language.

Notice that the first corrected version is the best version using the conjunction “because” to express a “reason why” for something. Consider another example: ♦ “The wavelength of infrared radiation is long,

and remains invisible.” The subject of the prepositional phrase is “wavelength” and the object of the prepositional phrase is “infrared radiation”. The sentence would have us believe that “the wavelength remains invisible”. Wavelength is the size of the radiation, and cannot be visible or invisible. Radiation could be visible or invisible because of its wavelength. We have a problem of misplaced subject in this sentence. The subject – infrared radiation – is sitting in the wrong place in the prepositional phrase, and we need to correct the problem. The corrected sentence will read: ♦ “Infrared radiation is invisible because its wavelength is long.” ♦ “The wavelength of infrared radiation is long, and the radiation remains invisible.” The first corrected version is the preferred form because it is more concise and more effective using the “reason why” conjunction “because”. ♦ GMAT will also test your ability to use the correct preposition when combining verbs with nouns, or

adjectives with nouns, or nouns with nouns. Idiomatic expressions are, for the most part, about using the correct prepositions. For example, “regard as indecent” is the idiomatic form. Notice that in this expression, the preposition “as” combines a verb with an adjective. It is incorrect to use an infinitive form such as “regard to be indecent”. Similarly, “price for something” is the idiomatic form. In this expression, a noun is combined with another noun using a preposition “for”. It is incorrect to use the preposition “of” and say, “price of something”.

♦ You should know that prepositions take on different meanings and connotations that are context specific. For example, the preposition “of” usually has a ‘possessive’ connotation. “Contemporaries of Lincoln” is an expression that means “people of the same time period as Lincoln’s”. You should watch out for “double possessive forms” such as “contemporaries of Lincoln’s”. “A friend of mine” is best expressed as “My friend.” The preposition “for” could mean a number of different things. For example, “For” could mean “in spite of”. Consider the following expression: “She is none the wiser for all the training she received.” The sentence simply means, “In spite of all the training she received, she is none the wiser.” “For” could also mean “believing to be”. Consider the following sentence: “They left the wounded soldier for dead and moved on.” The sentence means the following: “The left the wounded soldier believing him to be dead and moved on.” Similarly, the sentence “I mistook John for Peter”, the intended meaning is “I mistook John believing him to be Peter.” “For” can also mean “in the areas of”. Consider the following sentence: “Only Amsterdam’s town hall could rival St. Peter’s basilica for elegance and opulence.” The sentence means: “Only Amsterdam’s town hall could compete with St. Peter’s basilica in the areas of elegance and opulence.”


♦ Similarly, you should also know that some prepositions can stand for another preposition. Consider the following sentence: “The time is ten of nine.” The preposition “of” takes the place of another preposition “to”. The above sentence means: “The time is ten to nine.” Similarly, “of” can also stand for “about”. Consider the following sentence: “It speaks highly of you”. The sentence means, “It speaks highly about you.” Similarly, the preposition “to” can take the place of “for” in the sentence: “I came late to dinner.” You could just as easily say, “I came late for dinner.”

The upshot of the foregoing discussion is that prepositions play a vital role in a sentence connecting verbs, adjectives, and nouns with other verbs, adjectives, and nouns. Idiomatic expressions are simply about using the correct prepositions to connect verbs, adjectives, and nouns with other verbs, adjectives, and nouns. “WITH” is another preposition that needs to be checked out closely – better yet, closely checked out – in GMAT sentences. When you come across ‘with’, substitute ‘having’ and see whether it makes sense. Consider the following sentence: “With only 5% of the world’s population, Americans consume 30% of the world’s renewable sources of energy.” Lets us replace ‘with’ with ‘having’ and see whether the sentence makes sense. When we do that, we notice a problem. The problem with the above sentence is that it suggests that “Americans” “have” 5% of the world’s population. “Americans” do not “have” 5% of the world’s population. They ‘represent’ 5% of the world’s population. Therefore, the sentence starting in a preposition is not well-written. The corrected form will be: “Representing only 5% of the world’s population, Americans consume 30% of the world’s renewable sources of energy.” Notice that we used the participial modifier, ‘representing’, to describe the ‘Americans’.

FOR PARALLELISM SAKE, REPEAT THE PREPOSITION AFTER EACH CONJUNCTION.

Later on in this file, we will see that parallelism will require that we repeat the preposition throughout after each conjunction, including a comma, especially if the actions involved are distinct and different. BAD SENTENCE: “The costs associated with production and marketing are high.” The problem with the above sentence is that it suggests that ‘production and marketing’ is collectively a single activity. We know that production and marketing are two distinctly different activities. We should be saying, ‘the costs associated with production and associated with marketing are high”, or, more concisely, “the costs associated with production and with marketing are high.” CORRECTED SENTENCE: “The costs associated with production and with marketing are high.” ANOTHER BAD SENTENCE: “The defense lawyer accused the police of illegally taping his client’s conversation and using the information to prove their case.” There are two different distinct actions here: illegal taping of conversation by the police and use of the information. WE need to repeat the preposition here too. The corrected sentence will read: “The defense lawyer accused the police of illegally taping his client’s conversation and of using

the information to prove their case.”


LESSON 7: CONJUNCTIONS In the previous lesson, we learned that ‘prepositions’ are flexible connectors between verbs and nouns, or between adjectives and nouns, or between verbs and adjective, or between nouns and nouns. Conjunctions typically do the same job except that conjunctions connect words and phrases of the same kind: verb and verb, adjective and adjective, noun and noun, or clauses and clauses, whereas “prepositions” are more versatile connectors connecting pretty much anything to anything: a verb with a noun, a noun with an adjective, and so on. Examples: ♦ I had bread and eggs for breakfast. the conjunction combines two nouns. ♦ I exercise and diet. the conjunction “and” combines two verbs. ♦ It was boring and unexciting. the conjunction “and” combines two adjectives. ♦ It is a tedious process and an unpleasant one. the conjunction “and” combines two adjectival

phrases. ♦ I took the GMAT and was accepted at Harvard Business School. the conjunction “and”

combines two stand alone sentences, a.k.a “independent clauses”. A conjunction can also connect multiple items of the same kind. A comma takes the same significance as a conjunction as used in the following sentences. ♦ She is smart, (she is) well-mannered, (she is) empathetic, and (she is) pleasant. ♦ Tom took the GMAT, (Tom)applied to business schools, and (Tom)was accepted at 3 schools. The important thing to keep in mind is that items combined by the conjunction must be of the same kind. You cannot combine a verb with a noun using a conjunction. A preposition can do that job. ♦ Also notice that when a conjunction is used to combine multiple items of the same kind, a “comma” is

used instead of the conjunction “and”. We do not say, “She is smart, and well-mannered, and empathetic, and pleasant”. Instead, we say, “She is smart, well-mannered, empathetic, and pleasant.”

GMAT will test your ability to use conjunctions properly, and to use the proper conjunctions in GMAT sentences. For example, conjunction “but” is used to express an unexpected contrast; conjunction “because” is used to provide a reason for a situation; and so on. Let us examine the conjunctions in greater detail. The most commonly used and tested conjunctions are: “and”, “or”, “because”, “but”, “if”, “although”, “despite”, “not only…. but also”, “either …. Or”, “not… but”, “so …. That”, “such…….. that”, “(in the same manner) as”, “as many as”, comma, semi-colon, colon. ♦ CONJUNCTION ‘AND’ IS THE MOST COMMONLY USED AND ABUSED CONJUNCTION. ♦ “and” when used as a conjunction in GMAT sentences could introduce problem with parallelism, or

with the intended meaning of the sentence. You must check out sentences using “and” by applying the stem test. “Stem” is collectively the “subject and the common verb” if there is no verb used after the conjunction “and”, or the subject alone if a verb follows the conjunction.

Consider the following examples:

♦ “John was intelligent and hard-working.” Notice that the conjunction “and” is not followed by a verb. Our stem in this sentence is “John was”. The stem test will have you

Because a conjunction combines items or elements of the same kind, when two independent clauses are combined using “and”, typically the “subject” and/or the “verb” used in the first part before the conjunction is omitted after the conjunction. Consider the following sentence: “She took the GMAT and applied to a business school." Notice that the part of the sentence after “and” lacks a subject, the second part of the sentence after the conjunction will, by default, have the same subject as used in the first part before the conjunction. This “default” subject is called the “stem”. In some sentences, the stem will comprise the “Default subject and the verb”. Consider the following sentence: “I went to the supermarket, and then to the ball game”. Notice that the part of the sentence after “and” lacks a “subject” and a “verb”. Because the first part before “and” is a complete sentence, the second part must likewise be the same form too. By default, the ‘subject’ and the ‘verb’ used in the first part will be the subject and the verb for the second part of the sentence. “I went to the supermarket, and then (I went) to the ball game.”


repeat the stem after the conjunction and see whether the sentence reads correct. Let us do just that: “John was intelligent and (John was) hard-working”. Notice that the stem test indicates that the sentence is well written, and that the conjunction is properly used.

♦ “John was intelligent and had good work ethic.” Notice that the conjunction “and” is followed by a different verb “had”. In this sentence, our stem is simply “John”. If you throw in the stem after the conjunction “and” , and read the sentence, it must make sense. Let us test it. “John was intelligent and (John) had good work ethic.” The sentence passes muster when the stem test is applied, and is well written.

Now that you know what a stem is and how to apply the stem test, let us see how we can apply the stem test and check for wrinkles in GMAT sentences. EXAMPLE 1: “Nevada gained a million jobs in high-tech industries and made the state’s economy more diversified than it was a decade ago.” In the above sentence, the conjunction “and” is followed by a different verb “made”. Therefore, our stem is simply “Nevada”. If you throw in “Nevada” after the conjunction and test the sentence, you get the following picture: ““Nevada gained a million jobs in high-tech industries and (Nevada) made the state’s economy more diversified than it was a decade ago.” Notice that the part of the sentence after the conjunction reads: “Nevada made the state’s economy more diversified than it was a decade ago.” That does not sound right. Nevada did not do anything to the economy. It is the “gaining of jobs” that made the economy more diversified. We also notice that the first part of the sentence before the conjunction expresses the cause of the effect expressed after the conjunction. Therefore, it will be appropriate to use a participial form, and write the sentence as follows: “Nevada gained a million jobs in high-tech industries making the state’s economy more diversified than it was a decade ago.” Let us take a look at another sentence and do the stem test. EXAMPLE 2: “The senate passed a law and legalized health benefits for illegal aliens living in the United States.” Notice that the conjunction “and” is followed by a different verb “legalized”, and our stem will be “The senate”. Let us throw in the stem after the conjunction and read the sentence as follows: “The senate passed a law and (the senate) legalized health benefits for illegal aliens living in the United States.” The sentence does not read awkward but is not effective because it implies that the senate did two things and one may not be connected to the other. If the intent of the sentence is to suggest that the law was instrumental in legalizing health benefits, then there is a cause and effect connection between the first part and the second part of the sentence. The cause and effect connection is best expressed using a participial form as follows: “The senate passed a law legalizing health benefits for illegal aliens living in the United States.”


EXAMPLE 3: “The economic indicators show that the recession will get worse before it gets better and more short-term job losses will have to be endured.” We notice that there is no verb used immediately following the conjunction “and”. Our stem, therefore, will be: “The economic indicators show”. Let us throw in the stem after the conjunction and read the sentence as follows: “The economic indicators show that the recession will get worse before it gets better and (the economic indicators show) more short-term job losses will have to be endured.” We notice that the second sentence after the conjunction “and” is not well written because it lacks “that” required to introduce the noun clause: “more short-term job losses will have to be endured.” Let us add the “that” and make the sentence well written: “The economic indicators show that the recession will get worse before it gets better and (the economic indicators show) that more short-term job losses will have to be endured.” Our stem test pointed to an idiom problem and a problem with parallelism. When we added the “that” after the conjunction, we took care of both problems. Let us consider another example and see how “stem test” can help us fix problems in GMAT sentences. EXAMPLE 4: “Costs associated with production and marketing are high.” Notice that there is no verb used immediately after the conjunction. Our stem, therefore, is “Costs associated”. Let us throw in the stem after the conjunction and see whether the sentence reads correct. “Costs associated with production and (costs associated) marketing are high.” Notice that the second part of the sentence after the conjunction does not read right because it lacks a preposition “with”. We must add the preposition in order to make the sentence read right and parallel. The corrected sentence will read: “Costs associated with production and with marketing are high.” Notice that the sentence is parallel now. We did not have to repeat the preposition after the conjunction if the conjunction were to combine two nouns: “production” and “marketing” as one collectively single activity. But we know that “production” and “marketing” are two distinctly different activities, and need to treat the conjunction as connecting two separate sentences instead of two nouns. For example, “sales and marketing” collectively could be a single activity. But “human resources management” and “marketing” are two distinctly different activities. Stem test will let you know if there are problems with the sentence in terms of parallelism. EXAMPLE 5: “The law requires that you wear seat belts and you respect traffic signs.” Notice that there is no verb immediately following the conjunction “and”. Our stem is: “The law requires”. Let us throw in the stem and see whether the sentence makes sense. “The law requires that you wear seat belts and (the law requires) you respect traffic signs.”


We notice that the second part of the sentence after the conjunction is not idiomatic because it lacks the “that” required to introduce the independent clause: “you respect traffic signs.” The corrected sentence must read: “The law requires that you wear seat belts and (the law requires) that you respect traffic signs.” Another example of a parallel sentence that meets the stem test is as follows: “I promise to love, (I promise) to protect, and (I promise) to respect.”

Be sure to apply the stem test and see whether the sentence is better written using a different conjunction such as a participial form (if there is a cause and effect connection between the two parts of the sentence) or by repeating a preposition or another conjunction such as “that” in order to make the sentence more idiomatic and parallel. ♦ USE “BECAUSE” TO EXPRESS A REASON. Some sentences will have two parts – one part expressing the effect and the other expressing the cause of the effect. “Because” means “for the reason that”. Consider the following example: “John received a GMAT score in the low 500’s and (John) could not go to Harvard Business School.” Notice that the sentence does not give the impression that John’s inability to go to Harvard was caused by his low GMAT score. “John could not go to Harvard because his GMAT score was not up to speed” is a better and a more effective way of expressing the intended meaning of the sentence. The following are additional examples of sentences using “because” to provide a reason for a stated effect. ♦ The infrared radiation is invisible because its wavelength is too long to be registered by the eyes. ♦ Neanderthals were without a language because they had narrow vocal tracts. Because “because” means “for the reason that”, it is incorrect to use the expression: “The reason is because.” The correct expression is: “The reason is that.” ♦ The reason I could not go to the party is that I was ill. ♦ The reason that American companies are competitive is that the wages are high in the United States.


♦ Use ‘BUT’ to express a contrast Example: “I received a GMAT score of 700, but I did not apply to any graduate school of business.” Notice the contrast in the above sentence: One would expect a person scoring in the 700’s to apply to a graduate school of business but “I” did not do so. ♦ USE “IF” to express a condition or uncertainty.

Do not use “IF” to express doubt or decision. Use ‘whether’ instead.

Example: “IF it rains today, I will not go to the party.” Notice that “my going to the party” is conditional upon the weather. “If productivity does not improve in America, the European Union will replace America as the economic power-house.” “If you do not behave, you will be punished.” Do not use “if” to express doubt or decision. Use ‘WHETHER’ to express a decision or doubt. Example of incorrect use: “I wonder if it will rain today.” Correct expression: “I wonder whether it will rain today.” Incorrect expression: “I will make up my mind if I want to go to Columbia or to Harvard.” Correct expression: “I will make up my mind whether I want to go to Columbia or to Harvard.” ♦ “Not only…. But also” is a glorified “and”. Let us consider the following sentence: “I took the GMAT and the GRE.” We can write the same sentence by using the glorified “and” – ‘not only … but also’ – in the following manner: “I took not only the GMAT but also the GRE.” GMAT will test your ability to use “not only… but also” in a parallel form. The trick is to identify what is driving the two different actions described, separate it, and then use “not only… but also” to complete the sentence. Consider the following: ♦ Interest rates are tied to the prime on business loans. ♦ Interest rates are tied to the prime on consumer loans. Notice that “interest rates are tied to the prime” is the common clause for both sentences. The preposition tells us “on what?” When we combine the two sentences, we must separate the common clause and then use the “not only… but also” conjunction. Also, bear in mind that the “preposition” must be used after the “not only” and after the “but also”, not before.


The combined sentence will read: “Interest rates are tied to the prime not only on consumer loans but also on business loans.” It is incorrect to say, “Interest rates are tied to the prime on not only consumer loans but also business loans.” Why is that? Because a preposition cannot combine a noun with a conjunction. It can only combine a noun with a verb or a noun with an adjective, and so on. Let us consider another set of sentences and test our ability to combine them using “not only… but also”. ♦ The United States is arguably the world’s only military super power. ♦ The United States is arguably the economic engine that drives the world economy. We notice that “The United States is arguably” is the common phrase to both sentences. We can use this common phrase before the conjunction and write the sentence as: ♦ The United States is arguably not only the world’s only military super power but also the

economic engine that drives the world economy. So, when you deal with a sentence using “not only…but also”, try to separate the common phrase or clause and then use the conjunction to combine the two different items of information relevant to the common clause or phrase. Also, be sure to use any preposition AFTER the “not only” and AFTER the “but also”, not BEFORE. ♦ Also, be sure to use “but also” if you see “not

only” in the part of the sentence outside the underlined part. Do not use any variations.

♦ INCORRECT EXPRESSION: “It is not only boring but useless too.” CORRECT EXPRESSION: “It is not only boring but also useless.” ♦ INCORRECT EXPRESSION: “He was not only stubborn but unyielding in an extreme way

also.” CORRECT EXPRESSION: “He was not only stubborn but also unyielding in an extreme way.” ♦ INCORRECT EXPRESSION: “The United States launched an attack on Afghanistan not only to

destroy the terrorist camps but capture the terrorist leaders also.”

CORRECT EXPRESSION: “The United states launched an attack on Afghanistan not only to destroy the terrorist camps but also to capture the terrorist leaders.” Notice the parallelism involving the infinitives after the conjunction.


♦ CONJUNCTION “EITHER… OR” is used to

express a choice. “Neither … Nor” is used to negate the two options.

Consider the following two sentences: ♦ I can go to Harvard. ♦ I can go to Columbia. ♦ I can go either to Harvard or to Columbia. Notice that the preposition is used after the conjunction, not before. You must bear in mind that any preposition to be used must be done so after “either” and after “or”. This requirement is similar to the requirement we learned with respect to “not only…. but also”. Another example: ♦ Under the safe drinking water act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required either

to approve the individual state plans for controlling the discharge of waste into underground water or to enforce its own plan for states without adequate regulations.

Notice the parallelism: “to approve” and “to enforce” used after “either” and “or”. You must bear in mind that “either … or” and “not only…but also” are tested in the GMAT in the context of parallelism requirement. ♦ The opposite of “either… or” is “neither… nor”. Remember not to use “nor” without “neither”. Incorrect expression: “It was not feasible, nor was it sensible.” Correct expression: “It was neither feasible not sensible.” Also, remember not to use “either….Or” if there is no choice expressed in the sentence. Consider the following sentence: ♦ Inuits of the Bering Sea were isolated from contact with the Europeans longer than were the Aleuts or

the Nunuvits.” Notice that we did not use “either the Aleuts or the Nunuvits.” The sentence tries to say that one group was isolated from contact with the Europeans longer than were the other two groups. There is no choice to be made in terms of groups here. NEITHER--- NOR is used as a function word to introduce the second or last member or the second and each following member of a series of items each of which is negated <neither here nor there>. WE have seen that sentences using ‘neither..nor’ can use an inverted clause. (“Neither am I able nor am I willing” “I am neither able nor willing”). Neither and nor, when used alone, means ‘also not’. “He did not see it coming; neither did I” means the same as “He did not see it coming and I also did not see it coming”. Similarly, “It was not practical; nor was it sensible” is the same as “It was not practical and it was also not sensible”. Notice that the clause is inverted after ‘neither’ and ‘nor’


CONJUNCTIONS USED IN ORDER TO EXPRESS A “CAUSE AND EFFECT”. We saw briefly during our discussion of the “stem test” how to use a participial form to express a cause and effect. Consider the following example: ♦ Analysts blamed May’s sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as on the weather,

which was colder and wetter than usual and slowed sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture.

Notice that the idea expressed by the sentence is that the colder weather led to poor sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture. Do we see a cause and effect connection here? Yes, we do. We should write the sentence by using a participial form as follows: ♦ Analysts blamed May’s sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as on the weather,

which was colder and wetter than usual, slowing sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture.

A participial conjunction is always used to express a simple cause and effect connection. Sometimes, there may be some intensity associated with the cause leading to something. Consider the following sentences: ♦ I was very tired. ♦ I could not stay focused on the task at hand. Notice that “I was not merely tired”, but “I was very tired”. There is an intensity associated with the cause here. The best way to combine the two statements is by using the conjunction “so …. That” ♦ I was SO tired THAT I could not stay focused on the task at hand. Remember: “so” means “very”. “Thank you so much” means “Thank you very much.” “I am so glad” means “I am very glad.” Rule: “So….that” is always used in one of the following forms: “So [adjective or adjectival phrase] that” “So [adverb or adverbial phrase] that” Consider the following examples. ♦ It happened very suddenly. ♦ I was taken aback. ♦ It happened so suddenly that I was taken aback. ♦ Wages are very high in the United States. ♦ American companies cannot compete with those in the third world countries. ♦ Wages are so high in the United States that American companies cannot compete with those in

the third world countries. Notice that “so” is always followed by an adjective or adverb, or by an adjectival phrase or an adverbial phrase. If the cause is expressed in terms of a “noun” or a “noun phrase”, then we must use “such … that” Consider the following example:


♦ The food additives caused severe disorders. ♦ The food additives were banned by the F.D.A. ♦ The food additives caused SUCH severe disorders THAT the additives were banned by the F.D.A “severe disorders” is a noun phrase using an adjective “severe” to modify a noun “disorders”. Consider another example: ♦ Earthquake struck California with great intensity. ♦ California was devastated. ♦ Earthquake struck California with such great intensity that California was devastated. Notice that “great intensity” is a noun phrase in which “great” is used to modify the noun, “intensity”, and “such…that” is the appropriate conjunction to use.

RULE: IF THE SENTENCE EXPRESSES A CAUSE AND EFFECT CONNECTION, WITHOUT AN INTENSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAUSE, USE A SIMPLE PARTICIPIAL FORM. IF THERE IS INTENSITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CAUSE, USE “SO..THAT” OR “SUCH..THAT” CONJUNCTIONS. Also, remember that “So that” is an expression, in which “so” and “that” are side by side, meaning “in order to”. “I took the GMAT so that I can apply to a Graduate School of Business” means “I took the GMAT in order to be able to apply to a graduate school of business.” “I left early so that I can arrive at the meeting on time” means “I left early in order to be able to arrive at the meeting early.” “I took the GMAT preparation course so that I can deal with the test competently” means “I took the GMAT preparation course in order to be able to deal with the test competently.” CAVEAT: DO NOT PICK ANSWER CHOICES USING “SO MUCH SO THAT” OR “SO AS TO” OR “SUCH AS TO”. In all cases, a simple “so….that” or “such…..that” is the required conjunction. ♦ USE THE FORM “AS MANY AS” to express “the same quantity as”. Never use “so many as”

form. Example: “I have as many cars as you do.” It is incorrect to say, “I have so many cars as you.”

CONJUNCTION ‘SO AS TO’

‘so as to’ means ‘for the purpose of’ or ‘in order to’. “I took the GMAT so as to apply to business schools” is an example of a sentence in which ‘so as to’ is correctly used to mean ‘in order to’. GMAT abuses ‘so as to’. Be careful when you come across answer choices that use the SPLIT FORM of ‘so as to’. “I was SO angry AS TO leave the room” is an example of a sentence in which ‘so as to’ is abused. You CANNOT split the conjunction ‘so as to’. Do not pick any choice in GMAT sentence Correction that ‘splits’ the conjunction ‘so as to’. Also, be careful not to choose answer choices using ‘so much so that’ OR ‘such as to’.


CONJUNCTION USED TO CLARIFY

“IN THAT” “IN THAT” is frequently used to the preceding clause. “Blue-winged warblers are unlike other warblers IN THAT it is difficult to tell the male and the female of the species apart.” Notice that the clarifier conjunction IN THAT is used to clarify in what respect the blue-winged warblers are different from their cousins. Take another example: “Contracts with foreign governments are fraught with uncertainties IN THAT the governments can alter the terms of the contract without assigning any reason”.

PROPER USE OF COMPARATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

COMPARATIVE CONJUNCTIONS are conjunctions used to compare possessions, actions, subjects, attributes of two different subjects. These conjunctions typically are ‘phrases’ having two or more words, phrases such as ‘more than’, ‘better than’, as many as’, or ‘as often as’. The rule is, you must repeat the verb or the preposition, as the case may be, after a “two or more words” conjunction such as “as many as”, “as often as”, “more than”, “better than”, “(in the same manner) as”, and so on. Our normal communication is replete with inappropriate use of these comparative conjunctions. Consider the following expression: “cuts like a knife”. When you come across ‘like’ used as a comparative conjunction, substitute ‘similar to’ and see whether it makes sense to write the sentence using ‘like’ in the middle of the sentence. (See the box on the side for when to use ‘as’ and when to use ‘like’). When we apply this test, we have a phrase reading as follows: “cuts similar to a knife”. That is not what we intended to say. We wanted to say, ‘cuts in the same manner as a knife does’. The abbreviated comparative conjunction for ‘in the same manner as’ is ‘as’, and we can write the phrase as: “cuts as a knife does”. Also, notice that we used a verb after the second subject – knife – as required under the rules of use of comparative conjunction. If we must use ‘like’ in a comparative sense, make sure that it is used to compare like objects or nouns. we can use the form: “Like a knife, it cuts” or “It is like a knife because it cuts.” Why do we need to repeat the verb or, in some cases, the prepositions when we use a comparative conjunction? Because, if we do not, the sentence will read unclear or awkward. Consider the following example: BAD SENTENCE: “I HAVE MORE MONEY THAN YOU.” Notice that the sentence uses the possessive verb ‘have’ to expression that I possess two things: money and you, but I possess money to a greater degree than I possess you. Do you see the problem with the way the sentence sounds? Our intent is to compare my possession with your possession in terms of money. Therefore, the corrected sentence must read: “I have more money than you have (money)”. Another bad sentence: “Children do not organize their perceptions like adults.” Let us replace ‘like’ with ‘similar to’ and see whether the sentence reads well. We have: “Children do not organize their perceptions similar to adults.” The sentence reads awkward by using a phrase that could be read together as ‘perceptions similar to adults’. We intend to say, “children do not organize their perceptions in the same manner as adults organize their perceptiosn." Therefore, the corrected sentence must read: “Children do not organize their perceptions as adults do.”

IMPORTANT Use “as” to compare items of information or ‘actions’ but use ‘like’ to compare nouns or noun phrases. Example: “Britain, like America, is an English-speaking country’. Notice that two nouns – Britain and America – are compared using ‘like’. In the example, “Left brain does not work as the right brain does”, we are comparing two items of information: ‘working of left brain’ versus ‘working of right brain’, and we have correctly used the conjunction ‘as’. You should understand this important distinction, and make sure that you do not use ‘like’ and ‘as’ interchangeably.


Notice that, in the corrected sentence, we used the proper comparative conjunction ‘as’ in place of ‘like’ and restated the verb after the second subject – adults. In some cases, we may have to restate a preposition in a sentence using comparative conjunction. Example if a bad sentence: “Twice as many apply to Harvard each year as M.I.T.” Corrected sentence: “Twice as many apply to Harvard each year as (apply) to M.I.T.” Also, notice that in the above example, the comparative conjunction “as many as” was split up, with ‘as many’ appearing in one place and ‘as’ in another. It is acceptable use of the phrase, especially when we communicate a ratio information in a comparative sense. “Twice as many apply to Harvard each year as (apply) to M.I.T” is equivalent to an expression: The ratio of applicants to Harvard to those to M.I.T is 2 to 1.” You will come across statements of this type in your quantitative assessment segment of the GMAT. Some more examples of correct use of comparative conjunctions: ♦ More Americans watch NBC news than they do any other news broadcast. ♦ Rice has protein of higher quality than wheat does. ♦ I was separated from my uncle longer than was my brother. ♦ I was separated from my uncle longer than from my brother. Means something different. ♦ Children do not organize their perceptions (in the same manner) as adults do. ♦ IBM does not require its customers to purchase additional warranty as Dell does. ♦ Also be sure to write a complete sentence after the comparative conjunction expressing now versus

past. It is illegal to say, “I have more money now than four years ago”. The legal expression is, “I have more money now than I had (or did) four years ago”.

CONJUNCTION USED TO EMPHASIZE Form: “only….not” The conjunction ‘only…not’ is used to emphasize one thing and to deemphasize another of the same kind. Consider the following sentence: “The condominium corporation took into account ONLY the concerns of the prospective clients, NOT the concerns of the surrounding home-owners.” Notice how ‘only’ emphasizes the concerns of one group and deemphasizes the concerns of another. Also notice that the emphasis and deemphasis is on the same noun – concerns. When you are asked to deal with sentences using ‘only…not’, make sure that the emphasis and the corresponding deemphasis are placed on the items of the same kind. (only ‘apples of one kind’, not ‘apples of another kind’). The word ‘only’ can also be used to provide adverbial emphasis on one thing, and not in a comparison context. In such cases, make sure that the emphasis is applied on the correct word. “IT was the first book by a black woman and ONLY the second (book) by an American Woman” is an example of a sentence in which the adverbial emphasis is placed on the ‘second book’ to highlight the fact that only two women had ever written books until the time of speaking.


♦ “CONTRAST” CONJUNCTIONS – ALTHOUGH, INSPITE OF, DESPITE, BUT

We have seen previously how to use the contrast conjunction “but” in order to express a contrasting situation. “I took the GMAT but I did not apply to a Graduate School of Business.” The normal expectation is that if one takes the GMAT, then one applies to the Graduate School of Business. “BUT” tells us that the normal expectation was belied in the situation described. Consider another example: “Chinese Scientists had long known that the flow of blood was a continuous circle controlled by the heart, BUT the discovery was unnoticed in the west.” The contrast described is that the phenomenon was known in one part of the world but the other part of the world was completely oblivious of it. In some sentences, we will be required to express a positive or a negative contrast. ALTHOUGH is a conjunction used to express a positive outcome in the face of a negative quality. EVEN THOUGH is an extreme although. “Although it was raining, we went to the movies.” “Even though it was snowing heavily and the roads were treacherous, we went to the movies.” Do you see the extreme situation presented in the sentence using ‘even though’? RULE: ALTHOUGH means ‘INSPITE OF THE FACT THAT’ AND REQUIRES A CLAUSE TO FOLLOW ITS USE IN A SENTENCE. “Although smart, he did not do well on the standardized test” is not a correct statement. It should read, “Although he is smart, he did not do well on the standardized test”. DESPITE or INSPITE OF is used to express a negative outcome in the face of a positive quality. DESPITE requires a NOUN after its use, not a clause. Make sure that DESPITE is followed by a noun or noun phrase in order to determine whether it is correctly used. “Despite his wealth, he is miserable” is the correct use of despite. Notice that ‘despite’ is followed by the noun phrase ‘his wealth’. GMAT abuses DESPITE and frequently tests answer choices or awkward sentences using the form ‘DESPITE HAVING’. Watch out for those clumsy answer choices. They will not be correct. “Despite HAVING HIS RIGHT ARM CRIPPLED BY A SNIPER’S BULLET, HE FOUGHT BRAVELY” is not a good sentence. Notice that Despite is not followed by a noun or noun phrase. Also, ‘having his right arm crippled by a sniper’s bullet’ suggests that he WILLINGLY HAD HIS RIGHT ARM CRIPPLED by a sniper’s bullet. Pay attention to these nuances when you analyze an answer choice. CORRECT USE OF ‘ALTHOUGH’ and ‘DESPITE’ EXAMPLES: ♦ Although I did not prepare well for the test, I received a very high score in the 90th percentile. ♦ Although Chimpanzees have only half the human intelligence, they are remarkably perceptive. Notice the “although a negative, a positive” aspect to the above sentences. Let us see how “despite” or “inspite of” is correctly used. EXAMPLE: ♦ “Despite its enormous resources, the United States lags the third world countries in grade school

education.” ♦ “Despite the fact that we started early, we arrived at the destination very late.” ♦ “Despite their intelligence and advanced education, terrorists use their knowledge for evil purposes.” CAVEAT: GMAT answer choices do not normally use “despite” correctly. Before you are tempted to pick an answer choice using “Despite” or “despite having” forms, check to see whether these expressions are indeed used to express a negative outcome in the face of a positive quality and a noun or noun phrase follows DESPITE. _____________________________________________________________________________________


DESPITE and ‘FOR ALL’ may be used synonymously. The conjunction ‘despite’ may also be replaced with the conjunction ‘for all’.

• DESPITE HIS WEALTH, HE IS MISERABLE. • FOR ALL HIS WEALTH, HE IS MISERABLE.

Both statements mean the same and are identical statements. GMAT occasionally tests ‘for all’ in sentence correction. Typically, one choice will use ‘despite’ and the other ‘for all’. The one using ‘for all’ is more often than not the correct answer, not the one using ‘despite’. Consider the following sentence and the answer options: The fifties, for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been a time of considerable achievement in arts.

(A) for all their advertised conformity, now appear to have been (B) despite all their advertised conformity, now appears that they were (C) despite all its advertised conformity, now appears as (D) despite all their advertised conformity, not appears to have been (E) with all their advertised conformity, now appear

Notice that the subject, ‘the fifties’, is plural in form and the verb must have a plural form as well. The pronoun must also be plural in form. Choice B uses a plural pronoun but uses a singular verb form. Choice C uses singular pronoun and singular verb forms. Choice D uses the plural pronoun as required but the verb ‘appears’ is singular in form. Choice D uses the plural pronoun and a plural form of the verb. Therefore, we can eliminate out of hand options B, C, and D. We now have to choose which of the remaining two options is ‘correct’. The choice E uses the preposition ‘with’ as a conjunction and does not express the required contrast. Also, because the fifties are in the past, we need to use a perfect form of the verb as used in choice A. (a present perfect verb is required to express action completed as of the time of viewing or speaking). Also, ‘fifties appear a time of achievement’ is not idiomatic. “they appear to be a time or achievement’ (present tense) or “they appear to HAVE BEEN a time of achievement’ (present perfect as required) is the idiomatic form. Notice that the options using ‘despite’ were ‘messed up’ and we had to choose the one using the equivalent ‘for all’. TRIVIA: Any comparison involving ‘degree’ usually involves the use of conjunction ‘more.. than’ or ‘better.. than’ or ‘greater.. than’. “One is MORE significant event THAN the other” is an example of the degree comparison suggesting that one event is significant to a greater degree than the other. Notice that such comparison involves ‘splitting up’ the ‘more than’, with ‘more’ acting as an adverb or as an adjective. “I am more sincere than she is” is another example of a sentence in which ‘more’ is used as an adverb to modify the adjective ‘sincere’. If ‘more than’ is used without being split up, it is an adverbial phrase, and means ‘be farther than it is’. “It is more than usual for this season” means ‘the season does not see ‘it’ to the same degree”. “The building is larger than usual for a city hall” means “city halls are not generally this large”. Read more about conjunctions in Sentence Correction in a Nutshell file.


LESSON 8: MODIFIED VERB FORMS – “VERBALS” REDUX The “Verbals” are “modified verb” forms, and there are THREE verbals in English language:

♦ INFINITIVES ♦ GERUNDS ♦ PARTICPLES

INFINITIVE: Infinitives have the form “to [verb]”, and are used to described SECONDARY ACTION driven by a PRIMARY ACTION IN THE SAME SENTENCE. In other words, infinitives typically complement the primary verb, but can also complement a NOUN or ADJECTIVE. Examples of sentences in which an infinitive COMPLEMENTS a noun and an adjective are as follows: INFINITIVE COMPLEMENTING A NOUN: “I have the WILL and the ABILITY to proceed”. “His ATTEMPT to shift the blame was not well received” INFINITIVE COMPLEMENTING AN ADJECTIVE: “I am UNWILLING to participate in this exercise”. “I am unable to confirm the story.” INFINITIVE AS VERB COMPLEMENTS Consider the following example: “The law requires you to pay taxes.” The ‘Law’ is the subject, the primary verb associated with the subject is “require”, and the object receiving action is “you”, and the SECONDARY action required of the object is “pay taxes”. The secondary action is expressed by the infinitive “to pay taxes”. Consider another example: “I told John to go to the airport.” The subject driving the action is “I”. The primary action is “tell”. The secondary action done by the object receiving action is “go” to the airport. The secondary action is expressed with the infinitive “to go”. It is not necessary for the secondary action to be done by an object. The subject could do both primary and secondary actions in the same sentence. Consider the following sentence: “I have to go.” The subject is doing both actions: “have” and “to go”. In some rare cases, it is idiomatic and acceptable to drop the “to” from the infinitive. Consider the following example: “I saw John (to) leave the house at 8:00 a.m.” Notice that the sentence does not say, “to leave” the house. “TO’ is implied and can be omitted. But such “omissions” are few and far between. In a majority of cases, we are required to use the “to [verb]” form. Consider the following examples: ♦ Your action leads me to believe that you are not interested in this proposal. ♦ Many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the prospect of malpractice law-suit. ♦ Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights can heat the atmosphere enough to affect the trajectories of

ballistic missiles. Be sure to use an infinitive after “enough” in a sentence, if enough is used with adverbial emphasis.

‘ENOUGH’ means ‘sufficiently’ and is used postpositively after an adjective. “I am strong enough to carry out this task” is the same statement as, “I am SUFFICIENTLY STRONG to carry out this task”. MORE examples of the postpositive use of adverbial ‘enough’ with the meaning of ‘sufficiently’: “I worked hard enough to deserve the recognition.” “You are not mature enough to take this setback in good spirit.”

ENOUGH can be used as a noun, or as an adjective, or as an adverb describing an action (as in the above example). Because the word ‘enough’ has an adverbial connotation in the sentence because it expresses a ‘degree’ of action (heating of the atmosphere), you should use a verb form after ‘enough’ in the above examples. Example of the use of ‘enough’ as an adjective: “I have enough money”. Example of the use of ‘enough’ as a noun to indicate ‘sufficient quantity or amount’: “I have enough.”

Remember that GMAT will occasionally test the idiomatic form “TO DO X IS TO DO Y”. “To take the GMAT is to get ready to apply to Business Schools” is an idiomatic form. Do not use an infinitive as the subject of a clause if the sentence does not have this idiomatic form “to do X is to do y”.


SUBJUNCTIVE FORM A SUBJUNCTIVE VERB expresses a mood of authority, of wishing, of suggestion, or begging, of wishing, etc. Typical subjunctive verbs are: REQUIRE, PROPOSE, INSIST, SUGGEST, RECOMMEND, DEMAND, TELL, ASK, MANDATE, ORDER (Also please refer to the earlier discussion of subjunctive forms on pages 10 and 11) The SUBJUNCTIVE FORM is a special form IN THAT the normal subject-verb agreement rule does not apply in the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE of the subjunctive sentence. The independent clause of a subjunctive sentence uses a VERB in PLURAL FORM even though the subject of the independent clause following the subjunctive verb used in the dependent clause is singular. (“I suggest that LISA TAKE THE KIDS TO THE MOVIES” Notice that Lisa is a singular subject but the verb ‘take’ is in plural form.) RULE If the DEPENDENT CLAUSE at the head of a sentence uses a SUBJUNCTIVE VERB, then the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE describing the thought contained in the said DEPENDENT CLAUSE MUST use a special form called the SUBJUNCTIVE FORM. Some special rules apply to a subjunctive form: The subjunctive VERB of the dependent clause is typically followed by the connector ‘THAT’ although

the connector may follow a noun in some select cases. (“I advised Maria that she be at the airport to receive Tom.” Notice that the SUBJUNCTIVE VERB ‘advise’ is followed by a noun answering the question ‘who did you advise?’ and the noun is followed by the connector ‘that’ introducing the independent clause, which explains ‘what did you advise Maria?’)

The INDEPENDENT CLAUSE explaining the incomplete thought contained in the DEPENDENT CLAUSE using the subjunctive verb MUST use the PLURAL FORM OF THE VERB regardless of the form of the Subject of the independent clause (“I suggest that Maria LEAVE now” Notice that the verb form ‘leave’ is plural even though Maria is a singular subject in the independent clause.)

If the independent clause must use a LINKING VERB, it must be the ‘BE’ form of the linking verb, not ‘IS’ or ‘ARE’, or the infinitive ‘TO BE’. You must make sure that the independent clause of a subjunctive sentence does not use the regular linking verbs or the infinitives or the singular form of any action verb.

A subjunctive sentence MUST NOT use ‘should’ or ‘must’ in its independent clause. (“The law requires that you should pay taxes” is illegal.)

You should recognize the presence of a SUBJUNCTIVE VERB in the dependent clause of a sentence, and then make sure that the appropriate form is used for the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE and that the connector ‘that’ is used between the dependent and the independent clause. Consider the following “infinitive sentence” using a primary verb driving a secondary action: ♦ The law requires you to pay taxes. The sentence uses the subjunctive verb ‘require’ in what ought to be written as a dependent clause. The sentence as written suggests that the ‘law requires you’ (“Uncle Sam wants you” type of a connotation). The law does not require a person. The law requires some action on the part of ‘you’. The law requires WHAT? Typically, the answer to ‘WHAT’ is provided by the independent clause connected to the dependent clause by the connector ‘THAT’. (connector)

♦ The law requires that you pay taxes. (dependent clause) (independent clause explaining the subjunctive verb ‘require’)

As you can see, the structure of a Subjunctive sentence is as follows: {DEPENDENT CLAUSE CONTAINING A SUBJUNCTIVE VERB} [connector ‘THAT’] {Independent clause having the form specific to a subjunctive sentence}


LEARN to recognize dependent clauses and to see the SUBJUNCTIVE VERB in the dependent clause. Be sure to write the independent clause in the Subjunctive form. Also, if the dependent clause uses the subjunctive verb, do not select a choice using an infinitive form. ♦ INFINTIVE SENTENCE: “I recommend you to take the preparation program for the GMAT.” ♦ CORRECT SUBJUNCTIVE FORM: “I recommend that you take the preparation program for the

GMAT.” ♦ INFINITIVE SENTENCE: “I SUGGEST (TO YOU) to obtain funding through donations.” ♦ SUBJUNCTIVE FORM: “I SUGGEST THAT you obtain funding through donations.” ♦ INFINTIVE SENTENCE: “I TOLD JOHN TO BE AT THE AIRPORT WHEN THE PLANE ARRIVED.” ♦ SUBJUNCTIVE FORM: “ I TOLD JOHN THAT HE BE AT THE AIRPORT WHEN THE PLANE

ARRIVED.” Remember that the independent clause of a subjunctive sentence must use a PLURAL form of the verb regardless of the form of the subject of the independent clause. The independent clause must use the linking verb ‘be’ if a linking verb use is required, and the use of the linking verbs ‘is’ or ‘are’ or of the infinitive ‘to be’ is forbidden. The independent clause cannot use the SHOULD or the MUST for reasons explained in the box below this paragraph. DO NOT USE: “SHOULD”, “MUST”, “IS”, ‘TO BE’ OR “ARE” FORMS OF THE LINKING VERBS in the independent clause of a subjunctive sentence.. For example, “The law requires that you should pay taxes” is redundant form because ‘require’ is a subjunctive verb expressing ‘authority’, and it is redundant to us another compulsion word such as ‘should’. In the sentence, “I suggest that we must go to the party’, there is an element of inconsistency in the sentence because ‘suggest’ is an action of gentle persuasion, and the use of ‘must’ in the same sentence does not agree with the mood of gentle persuasion. Therefore, the use of ‘should’ or ‘must’ or ‘could’ or ‘would’ be either redundant or inconsistent in a subjunctive sentence. DO USE: “THAT” AFTER THE SUBJUNCTIVE OR THE PRIMARY VERB. USE “BE” FORM OF THE LINKING VERB IF REQUIRED. (EXAMPLE: I TOLD JOHN THAT HE BE AT THE AIRPORT). ALSO, ALWAYS USE THE PLURAL FORM OF THE VERB FOR A SINGULAR OBJECT RECEIVING ACTION. Example: “I warned John that he behave.” Also, in a subjunctive sentence, the verb describing action by the object of the sentence must always be in a plural form or must have the ‘BE’ form if a linking verb is the appropriate choice It is incorrect to say, “I asked that she stays” . The correct form is, “I asked that she stay.” The verb form must be plural regardless of the subject form in the independent clause of a subjunctive sentence. Likewise, it is incorrect to say, “I proposed that we are at the party.” The correct expression should be: “I proposed that we be at the party.” Think about it this way: If we ‘are’ already at the party, then any proposal recommending such attendance is a wasted effort. USE ‘WOULD’ to express a mood of contingency in subjunctive sentences using a hypothetical or preference. “I would rather that you did not bother me” or “If the ozone layer WERE destroyed, we would all burn to death”. (Remember the inverted form: “Were the ozone layer destroyed, we would all burn to dealth”. You should expect to deal with subjunctive forms on the GMAT. Learn to recognize the form and to apply the rules. ALSO READ THE RULES ABOUT THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD OF PREFERENCE discussed on page 11.


SUBJUNCTIVE NOUN FORMS Subjunctive forms can also use “subjunctive nouns”, which carry the same connotations of authority, suggestion, pleading, proposing, recommendation, etc. Consider the following examples: ♦ The law requires that you pay taxes. ♦ The requirement that you pay taxes applies in this case. ♦ I propose that we receive funding through donations. ♦ My proposal that we receive funding through donations is pending before the committee. ♦ The U.N. insists that Iraq comply with the resolutions before sanctions can be lifted. ♦ The U.N.’s insistence that Iraq comply with the resolutions before sanctions can be lifted is justified. ♦ The management team recommends that an applicant’s prior use of drugs be valid grounds for not

hiring the person. ♦ The management team’s recommendation that an applicant’s prior use of drugs be valid grounds for not

hiring the person is well received.

GERUNDS GERUNDS are verbs modified to act as nouns. Consider the sentence: “Running is fun.” “Running” is a gerund, which is acting as a noun in the sentence. Typically, gerunds are obtained by adding an “-ing” end to a verb, and must be associated with a verb in a sentence. Notice that in the above sentence, “running” is associated with the linking verb “is”. Momentarily, we will take a look at participles, which will also have the “-ing” form, but the distinction to be applied is that a participial will not be associated with a verb whereas a gerund will be and must be. A gerund is considered an inferior form of a noun. If you have two choices – one using a gerund form and the other using the standard noun form – always pick the one using a regular noun. (Make sure that there are no other requirements forcing you to use a gerund form. See example below.) Consider the following sentences – one using the gerund form and the other using a noun form. 1. Federal incentives encourage investing capital in commercial real estate. 2. Federal incentives encourage investing of capital in commercial real estate. 3. Federal incentives encourage capital investment in commercial real estate. 4. Federal incentives encourage investment of capital in commercial real estate. Sentence 1 uses a ‘investing’ as an adjective describing ‘capital’, and suggests that the ‘capital’ can invest itself. You should be able to pay attention to these awkward juxtaposition of words and phrases. Sentence 2 uses a gerund form ‘investing’ in a prepositional phrase for which ‘capital’ is the object. Sentence 3 uses ‘capital’ as the adjective describing the noun ‘investment’. This form is better than the gerund form used in sentence 2, but the use of ‘capital’ as an adjective is not well taken. “capital” should be the qualifier describing the type of investment, and not used as an ‘attribute’ of investment as is done in this sentence. Sentence 4 uses the regular noun ‘investment’ and uses the prepositional qualifier ‘of capital’ to describe the type of investment. Notice that the form in sentence 4 has all the correct elements, and is the preferred form although some test authors do not make the required distinction between options 3 and 4. While it is true that a regular noun form is preferred to a gerund form, you also need to make sure that the choice you are about to pick and using the regular noun form does not have any wrinkles added to it. Sometimes, you may have to pick a choice that uses a gerund form (other than ‘being’) because the ones using a noun form are messed up.


Consider the following example: “Federal incentives encourage investing capital in commercial real estate even though the vacancy rates are high in the existing structures and there is no new demand for new construction.” (A) Federal incentives encourage investing of capital in commercial real estate even though the vacancy rates are high (B) Federal incentives encourage investment of capital in commercial real estate despite having high vacancy rates ( C ) Federal incentives encourage capital investment in commercial real estate being with high vacancy rates Notice that the first choice restates the underlined part, and the other two options indicated provide variations in sentence structure. Also notice that choice A uses the gerund form ‘investing’ and uses the prepositional qualifier ‘of capital’ to describe the type of investment. Choices B and C use a regular noun form, which is preferred. But we stated at the outset that we need to make sure that the rest of the sentence is well written too. We notice that the only problem with the Choice A is that it uses a gerund form. Otherwise, the underlined part is well written and expresses the intended idea clearly and effectively: The incentives encourage one to invest capital in real estate even though there is no demand for such a venture. Choice B uses a regular noun but the rest of the sentence is messed up. The choice would have us believe that the “federal incentives have high vacancy rates”. Notice that “despite having high vacancy rates modifies the subject of the sentence: Federal incentives. Federal incentives do not have vacancy rates. They merely provide encouragement for certain activities. Even though choice B uses a regular noun, we cannot pick this option because the rest of the sentence is not well written. Choice C also uses a regular noun phrase “capital investment” but the expression “being with high vacancy rates” suggests that the “Commercial real estate has high vacancy rates”. Also, the sentence is written in an awkward manner. In view of this, choice C is also not acceptable even though it uses a regular noun. We must pick option A even though it uses a gerund form because it is well written otherwise.

A WORD ABOUT THE MUCH-ABUSED WORD, ‘BEING’ If there is one word that is literally worn-out through repetitive and often incorrect use, ii is BEING. (“Like” is a close second, like). We use the words ‘being’ and ‘like’ usually as filler words and do not worry about the appropriateness of its use in a statement. Our normal communication is replete with phrases such as “the reason being is that’ or ‘being that as it may’ or ‘she is just being a woman’ etc. (Like is not too far behind: “it is like the coolest thing’ or ‘he is like awesome’ or ‘I am like completely stunned, like’ and so on). BEING, if used in active voice statements, connotes temporariness. “I am being lazy’ suggests that I am not habitually lazy but temporarily lazy. “I am lazy’ implies that I am ‘habitually lazy’. You can see why it is illogical to say, ‘she is just being a woman’, meaning that she is temporarily a woman. Because she cannot be anything but a woman, it is illogical to say that she is BEING a woman. You could say, ‘She is BEING A DIFFICULT WOMAN’ meaning that she is not habitually difficult to deal with. BEING, if used in passive voice statements, connotes action in progress. “The job is being done” suggests that the work is under way. “Proposals with graphics have a better chance of BEING APPROVED” is a statement in which ‘being approved’ is synonymous with ‘receiving approval’. (A better way to say the same statement is as follows: “Proposals with graphics are more likely TO BE APPROVED’) GMAT sentences using BEING have an extremely high probability of ‘being incorrect’. (or, better yet, GMAT sentences using ‘being’ are very highly likely to BE INCORRECT). Being is an avoidable word in any sentence and GMAT will TEMPT you with answer choices using BEING. Remember: you have a better chance of having your ex-significant-other say nice things about you to her shrink than you have of ‘being correct’ in selecting an answer using BEING. Do NOT pick an answer using BEING unless you have thoroughly checked it out and made sure that there are no better alternatives. Usually there is.


PARTICIPIAL FORMS

We have seen in the previous pages that a participial form is the required form for expressing cause and effect connotation in a sentence, if there is no “intensity” associated with the cause. A participial form also has, typically, a “verb – ing” form as used in GMAT, and the way we will distinguish between a gerund and a participial form is by paying attention to whether any verb is associated with the “-ing” form or not. Consider the following examples: GERUND FORM: Investing capital in real estate yields high returns. Notice that “investing capital” is associated with the verb “yield”, and the phrase is a gerund form. PARTICIPIAL FORM: Debris from a comet strikes earth, sending up a global pall of dust. Notice that “sending” is not associated with any verb, and will qualify as the participial form. We have to use a participial form under any one of the following scenarios: 1. To express a cause and effect relationship, with no intensity associated with cause.

♦ Example: I came late to dinner, annoying my friend. 2. To express a continuing action;

♦ Example: It has been raining non-stop since morning. 3. To express legal connotation in an objective case. Use a participial form after nouns such as

‘law’, ‘act’, ‘ban’, ‘order’, ‘directive’, ‘deed’, ‘contract’ if such nouns appear as the objects of the sentence. ♦ Example: The senate passed a law, legalizing health benefits for illegal aliens.

Notice that ‘law’ is a ‘legal’ noun appearing as the object of the sentence. We had seen under the discussion of subjunctive forms that if a legal noun is used as the subject of a sentence, we should be using a subjunctive form. Example: “The law requires that health benefit s for aliens be legalized’. 4. To describe action or feeling on the part of a noun or a subject in a sentence.

(typically, in “verb-ing” or “verb-ed” forms) ♦ Example: Seat belts, protecting the occupants against fatal injuries in a head-on crash, are

standard items of safety. Notice that in the last sentence, the participial expression is actually acting as a modifier describing the action associated with the noun, Seat belts. Consider another example of such use:

♦ Example: Critics, comparing the colorization process to putting lipstick on a Greek Statue, contend that colorizatoin of black and white films degrades works of art.

“comparing” describes action by “critics”. In the sentence, “Referring to the hostility, smokers felt sad”, “referring to the hostility” describes the action or feelings on the part of smokers. We have seen in our previous discussion on the subject of ‘modifiers’ that participial modifiers of the form “verb-ing” or “verb-ed” are frequently used in GMAT sentences to describe action or feelings by a subject, and that we can ‘ignore’ them as long as they are well written and outside the underlined part of the sentence. Anything that describes a subject is not critical to a good understanding of the structure of the sentence in terms of subject and of the verb.

A participial can also have the “verb-ed” form. Typically, in this form, a participial describes action or feelings felt by a subject that follows the description. Look at the following example: “Agitated, she left the room.” “Agitated” describes the feelings on the part of “she”. In the sentence, “concerned at the accident fatalities, Tennessee passed a mandatory seat-belt law”, “concerned” describes feelings on the part of a State (Tennessee) administration.


Let us consider some “ineffective expressions” and see why it makes sense to use a participial form. INEFFECTIVE SENTENCE: “Senate passed a law and legalized marijuana.” Why is this sentence ineffective, though grammatically correct? Because it suggests that the Senate did two different things, and one may not be connected to the other. But if the intent of the law was to legalize the drug, then the connection is best expressed using a participial form. As a rule, use a participial form if you come across a legal connotation in an objective case. Notice that in the above sentence, “law” is not the subject but the object of the sentence. (That is what is meant by objective case. If “law’ were used in a subjective case, you might be required to use a subjunctive form. Consider the following example: “The law requires that marijuana consumption be deemed legal.”) The effective sentence will read: Senate passed a law legalizing marijuana. EXAMPLE 2: INEFFECTIVE SENTENCE: “Debris from a disintegrating comet fell to earth, which sent up a global pall of dust.” Notice the “noun, which” form in the sentence. We learned in an earlier lesson to replace “which” with the noun that immediately precedes it, and to test the sentence. Let us do that and see whether the sentence as written makes sense or not. “Earth sent up a global pall of dust.” That does not make sense. Earth is not doing anything. The “debris” slamming into earth results in a pall of dust shooting up. There is a cause and effect connotation in the sentence, and we need to communicate the cause and effect by using a participial form. The corrected sentence will read: “Debris from a disintegrating comet fell to earth, sending up a global pall of dust.” EXAMPLE 3: INEFFECTIVE SENTENCE: “Shields made of animal hide were standard items of military equipment for the Natives to protect the warriors against enemy arrows and spears. Notice that the underlined part of the sentence uses an infinitive, which is not driven by any primary verb in the sentence. Clearly, an infinitive is inappropriate usage here. The part of the sentence beginning with the underlined part appears to describe the “shields made of animal hide” and we need to use a modifier using a participial expression to describe the “shields”. The corrected sentence will read: “Shields made of animal hide were standard items of military equipment for the Natives, protecting the warriors against enemy arrows and spears.” Remember to recognize the following and use the participial form in the corrected sentences:

♦ Cause and effect connotation; no intensity associated with cause. ♦ On-going action; ♦ Legal connotation in objective case; ♦ Describe a noun or a subject in terms of what they do or what they say or what they feel, etc.

Participial forms will be tested in the GMAT. You better get up to speed in this concept area.

It is incorrect to use the subjunctive form when “law” is used as the object of the sentence because the subjunctive form will change the meaning of the sentence in such cases. “Senate passed a law legalizing marijuana” states that the Senate passed a law having the express purpose of legalizing marijuana. If, instead, we wrote: “Senate passed a law that marijuana be legalized (by who?)”, We have two problems with the subjunctive form used in the second sentence. Firstly, we are not sure who is supposed to legalize marijuana. Secondly, the meaning of the subjunctive sentence is that the law did not legalize marijuana but required someone else to legalize it. You will be required to pay attention to such subtleties, and to use the appropriate form.


PPPAAARRRAAALLLLLLEEELLLIIISSSMMM Parallelism is about using a sentence construction that agrees throughout with the “stem verb” used in the sentence, or about doing the stem test and determining what form the sentence needs to take after each conjunction, etc. Consider the following sentence: “Federal authorities involved in the investigation have found the local witnesses are difficult to locate, they are reticent, and suspicious of strangers.” The first thing we notice is the missing “that” after “found”. “Federal authorities have found that somethingis true” is the correct form. Also, we notice that in the compound sentence used after the verb “found”, the local witnesses are described in terms of three different attributes:

♦ Local witnesses are difficult to locate; ♦ Local witnesses are reticent; ♦ Local witnesses are suspicious of strangers.

We can combine the three independent clauses into a compound sentence. The stem is “local witnesses are”. “Local witnesses are difficult to locate, (local witnesses are) reticent, and (local witnesses are) suspicious of strangers.” Let us combine this clause with the main clause of the original sentence and write: “Federal authorities involved in the investigation have found THAT the local witnesses are difficult to locate, reticent, and suspicious of strangers.” Notice that the original sentence used a run on form (‘they are reticent’ following a comma). The corrected sentence takes care of this problem too. Parallelism may also involve describing a series of effects of a common phenomenon. The series of effects described need to be made sense of as “bulleted list of items’. Consider the following example: “Seismologists studying the earthquake that struck northern California in 1989 are still investigating some of its mysteries: the unexpected power of the seismic waves, the upward thrust threw one man straight into the air, and the strange electromagnetic signals were detected hours before the temblor.” Obviously, there are three different effects of the earthquake described after the colon. (A colon signifies that there is an explanation coming up for what was stated prior to the colon.) Notice that the two effects stated in the underlined part constitute run-on sentences. There are three effects described:

♦ The unexpected power of the waves; ♦ The upward thrust which did something; ♦ The strange electromagnetic signals which were detected before the quake.

We need to change the run-on sentences into noun phrases each described by a predicate adjective as shown in the bulleted list above.


The corrected parallel sentence will read: “Seismologists studying the earthquake that struck northern California in 1989 are still investigating some of its mysteries: the unexpected power of the seismic waves, the upward thrust that threw one man straight into the air, and the strange electromagnetic signals that were detected hours before the temblor.” There we have a well-written, parallel sentence. PARALLELISM will also involve repeating the preposition after a comma or a conjunction. Take a look at the following example: “The lawyer for the defense charged that he suspected the police OF having illegally taped his client’s confidential conversations with his client and then used the information obtained in finding evidence supporting their charges.” Parallelism is about writing the above sentence in the following manner: “The lawyer for the defense charged that he suspected the police OF having illegally taped his client’s confidential conversation.” “The lawyer for the defense charged that he suspected the police OF using the information obtained TO FIND evidence supporting their charges.” The lawyer accused the police of doing X and of doing Y. That is the nutshell essence of the whole sentence. You can see that we need to repeat the preposition “OF” after the conjunction “and”, and change “in finding” to the more idiomatic “TO FIND”. We reviewed in the context of ‘prepositions’ that if there multiple distinct and different actions, then we need to associate the preposition with each one of them, and here is another example of the same requirement. The corrected, parallel sentence will read: “The lawyer for the police charged that he suspected the police OF having illegally taped his client’s confidential conversation and then OF using the information obtained to find evidence supporting their charges.” As a rule, be sure to repeat the preposition after each comma, and after each conjunction, if the actions or ideas are distinct and different from one another.. The following additional examples will illustrate this requirement. ♦ “Until quite recently, American Presidents lived in a world in which the public and private realms of their

lives were largely separate, in which the press cooperated in maintaining the distinction, and in which Americans judged national leaders without receiving or expecting intimate information about them.”

♦ “Costs associated with upgrading computers and with the development of new products are prohibitive.”

♦ “I promise TO love, TO protect, and TO cherish till death do us part.” ♦ “It is well known in the computer industry that how often the technology changes and how frequently

software is upgraded can be crucial to profits.” ♦ “The most common reasons for an employee’s unwillingness to accept transfer to a new location are

the high mortgage rates, the greater cost of housing in the new area, and the difficulty of selling the old home.” (This is an example of how the article may have to be repeated, if appropriate.)

♦ “The Myron manufacturing company has been consistently following a policy aimed at decreasing the operating costs and improving the efficiency of the distribution system.” (Notice that same consistent verb form used.)

Parallelism is about maintaining an element of consistency across the entire sentence, and you will be expected to understand and enforce this requirement when you work on sentence correction. GMAT test authors suffer from a parallelism fetish, and you should expect at least a couple of sentences asking you to check out parallelism seriously on the test.


IIILLLLLLOOOGGGIIICCCAAALLL EEEXXXPPPRRREEESSSSSSIIIOOONNNSSS AAANNNDDD CCCOOOMMMPPPAAARRRIIISSSOOONNNSSS You will be required to make sure that the sentence is written in a ‘logical’ fashion, comparing like items. Consider the following example: “Unlike Wal Mart, the customers of K-Mart can order merchandise on the internet.” What is wrong with the above picture? The sentence contrasts a “company” with the “customers of another”. That is illogical. We can only compare or contrast companies with companies, customers with customers, and so on. Typically, “LIKE” and ‘UNLIKE’ forms are the most frequently tested forms, testing your ability to identify illogical expressions. “LIKE” is used to suggest a similarity, and is often used in one of the following forms:

♦ LIKE X, Y or X, Like Y, …. ♦ X IS LIKE Y BECAUSE ♦ X IS LIKE Y IN THAT

‘UNLIKE’ is used to suggest a dissimilarity, and is often used in one of the following forms:

♦ UNLIKE X, Y or X, unlike Y, …… ♦ X IS UNLIKE Y BECAUSE ♦ X IS UNLIKE Y IN THAT

“Like” is synonymous with “Similar to” but is more concise form. “Unlike” is synonymous with “in contrast to”, but is more concise. Therefore, if you have two choices – one using the form “similar to” and the other using the form “LIKE” – you will pick the one using the “Like X,Y” form. Similarly, if you have two options – one using the form “in contrast to” and the other using the form “UNLIKE X, Y” – you will select the “Unlike X, Y” form. Consider the following sentence: “Unlike most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warblers are very difficult to distinguish.” We notice that the sentence attempts to contrast “a species of birds” with the “gender of a subset of those species”. That is illogical. We can contrast “species with species” or “gender with gender”, but not “species with gender”. Let us make the sentence more logical: “Unlike the male and female in most warbler species, the male and female blue-winged warblers are indistinguishable.” Notice that we made the sentence not only more logical but also idiomatic by changing the phrase “difficult to distinguish” to “indistinguishable”. Later on, we will learn that “distinguish” has to be used in the form “distinguish between X and Y”. “They are indistinguishable” is more idiomatic than “they are difficult to distinguish”. Note that the following expressions are synonymous: ♦ It is difficult to distinguish between X and Y. ♦ X and Y are indistinguishable. ♦ It is difficult to tell X and Y apart. ♦ It is difficult to tell X from Y.

“WHAT” is often abused as a pronoun in sentences making comparisons. For example, “I know more now than what I knew before I took the program” is illogical. You can either say, “what I know now is more than what I knew before I took the program”, or, “I know more now than I did before I took the program.” Similarly, “America has more resources than what most other countries have” is not elegant. “America has more resources than most other countries do” is the correct logical expression. Similarly, “dirt roads cost twice as much as maintaining paved roads” is illogical statement comparing “dirt roads” with “maintaining paved roads.” A more logical statement would be, “Dirt roads cost twice as much as paved roads do”, or, “maintaining dirt roads is twice as expensive as maintaining paved road is.” Make sure that the sentence makes logical comparisons comparing apples with applies, not with oranges.


Consider another illogical expression: “Unlike auto insurance, the frequency of claims does not affect the premiums for personal property coverage.” Notice that the sentence attempts to contrast a type of insurance with the frequency of claims. That is as illogical as it gets. We can only contrast “insurance with insurance” or “frequency of claims with frequency of claims”. We cannot mix and match. Let us make the sentence more logical: “Unlike the premiums for Auto insurance, premiums for personal property insurance are not affected by the frequency of claims.” “apples to apples” comparison or contrast is what “logical expressions” are all about. Let us consider a sentence in which items are illogically compared. “Samuel Sewall, like the views of other seventeenth-century colonists, viewed marriage as a property arrangement rather than as an emotional bond based on romantic love.” Notice that the above sentence attempts to compare a “person with the views of a contemporary group of people”. That is illogical. We need to make it more logical by doing a comparison between people and people or between views of one person with the views of another group. The logical fix will read as follows: “Samuel Sewall, like other seventeenth-century colonists, viewed marriage as a property arrangement rather than as an emotional bond based on romantic love.” We now have a sentence that makes logical comparison between like items. “Like X, Y” can also be expressed in another form: “As did X, so did Y”. But the latter is more verbose, and needlessly redundant. For example, we can write the Samuel Sewall sentence as follows: “As did other seventeenth-century colonists, so did Samuel Sewall view marriage as a property arrangement rather than as an emotional bond based on romantic love.” Logical or illogical expressions could also involve “prepositional noun phrases” uses as the “subject of the sentence”. But the subject and the object of the prepositional noun phrase itself could be interchanged. We learned in the lesson on prepositions that if two nouns are combined with the preposition, the first noun that precedes the preposition will be the subject of the prepositional phrase, and the second noun that follows the preposition will be the object of the prepositional phrase. You must check out prepositional phrases carefully to make sure that the “subject” and the “object” of the phrase are not mixed up. Consider the following example of such mix up. “The vocal tracts of Neanderthals were narrow, and without a language.” Notice that the sentence uses a prepositional phrase as its subject, and we know that the noun or the noun phrase that precedes the preposition is the subject of the prepositional phrase. The sentence seems to say:

♦ The vocal tracts were narrow and the vocal tracts were without a language.


Can you see the problem here? The vocal tracts do not have a language. Only a person with narrow vocal tracts may not have a language. We notice that the subject and the object of the prepositional phrase are swapped, and the sentence is making an illogical statement. Let us fix it. ♦ Neanderthals were without a language because they had narrow vocal tracts. (or) ♦ The vocal tracts of Neanderthals were narrow, and Neanderthals, consequently, were without a

language. You can easily tell that the first one is a better expression because it is more concise, and because it uses the conjunction ‘because”. Sometimes, you may have to go with the latter form because the “underlining of the GMAT sentence” may force you to do so. You may not have an option to re-write the entire sentence because the whole sentence may not be underlined. If it is, then the answer choice will appear in the first form. IF the part of the sentence after the conjunction is underlined, then the latter version will be the one to look for. CAVEAT: When you come across prepositional phrases in which two nouns are combined using a preposition, check it out carefully. The subject – object mix up is a real possibility. Be warned.

ILLOGICAL EXPRESSIONS CREATED BY MODIFIERS

Modifiers can also create illogical nightmares. Consider the following sentence using a modifier. “With only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. Citizens consume 33% of the world’s renewable energy.” Notice that the sentence starts in a preposition “WITH”, which is not generally acceptable. As a rule, you cannot start or end a sentence in a preposition (unless you are posing a question), but we have seen an exception with the preposition “over” once. ‘With whom do you go to work?’ Is acceptable. The sentence as written is not.). In addition to this violation, the sentence uses a modifier form that describes the “U.S. Citizens”. The sentence suggests that the U.S. Citizens have 5% of the world’s population. The U.S. citizens do not HAVE 5% of the world’s population; they represent 5% of the world’s population. Do you see the problem posed by the modifier here? Also, we notice that the sentence communicates a contrast, which is not well expressed by the modifier used. We need to take care of this set of problems in the corrected sentence. We will use the “contrast” conjunction “although” to express “larger consumption by a smaller group of people.” The corrected expression will read: “Although they represent only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. citizens consume 33% of the world’s renewable energy.” Or, “Although representing only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. citizens consume 33% of the world’s renewable energy.” Or, “Although accounting for only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. Citizens consume 33% of the world’s renewable energy.” “Account for” as used in this sentence means “adding up to”. “Account for” can also mean, “explain”. Example: “I can account for my absence” . The meaning of this sentence is that “I can explain my absence.” “Account for” can also mean, “make amends for”. Example: “I will account for my animosity toward you.” Notice that the same phrase can have different meanings driven by context specific information.


Consider another example of an “illogical” sentence using a modifier. “Using only 15% of human intelligence, Chimpanzees are remarkably perceptive.” The sentence implies that the Chimpanzees somehow use some proportion of human intelligence. They do not use “human intelligence.” They have intelligence that represents 15% of the human intelligence. We need to fix this problem of illogical statement. Also, the contrast is not coming through loud and clear. We need to say, “Chimpanzees are not as intelligent as humans but they are remarkably perceptive.” We can express the same contrast by using “although”. The corrected sentence will read: “Although they have only 15% of the human intelligence, Chimpanzees can be remarkably perceptive.” Or, “Although having only 15% of the human intelligence, Chimpanzees can be remarkably perceptive.” ILLOGICAL EXPRESSIONS can also be found in some seemingly non-threatening sentences. Consider the following: “Several years ago, the diet industry introduced a variety of appetite suppressants, but some of these drugs caused stomach disorders severe enough to have been banned by the F.D.A.” Notice that the sentence suggests that the F.D.A banned the stomach disorders, not the appetite suppressants. Is that illogical? It sure is. How do we take care of this problem? “Several years ago, the diet industry introduced a variety of appetite suppressants, but some of these drugs caused such severe stomach disorders that some of these drugs were banned by the F.D.A.” Notice that we used the “such … that” form to express the cause and effect connection expressed in the sentence, and to take care of the illogical expression contained in the original sentence. Consider the following “sound good” sentence: “Protein in rice is of higher quality than wheat.” You notice that “protein in rice” is contrasted with “wheat”. That is as illogical as it can ever get. We can only contrast “protein in rice” with “protein in wheat”. We need to say: “Protein in rice is of higher quality than THAT in wheat.” Notice that we replaced “protein” with the pronoun “that” after the conjunction. Consider another illogical expression that was part of George W.’s inauguration speech: “Nation-building is the role of the citizens, not the government.” The above sentence can be broken down into its two parts:

♦ Nation-building is the role of the citizens. ♦ Nation- building is not the government.

Looks like the speech-writer did not have to take the GMAT and learn the rules and requirements of GMAT sentence correction. The correct expression should read: “Nation-building is the role of the citizens, not that of the government.” Once again, we have replaced the “role” with the pronoun “that” after the conjunction. Oftentimes, a sentence that “sounds good” may have an illogical component to it. Check things out carefully. It is not ‘for nothing’ that we keep saying that Sentence Correction is the trickiest of the three sections in the Verbal assessment.


“ONLY… NOT” is tested frequently on the GMAT in the context of making logical emphasis on one thing and corresponding deemphasis on another of the same kind. We have seen in an earlier discussion that ‘not…only’ is used to emphasize apples of one kind and deemphasize apples of another kind. Remember to make the emphasis and corresponding deemphasis on the items of the same kind. Consider the following statements:

♦ The prospective clients had concerns. ♦ The surrounding homeowners had concerns. ♦ The Condominium corporation took into account ONLY the concerns of prospective clients, not the

concerns of surrounding homeowners. Notice that the last sentence above makes a logical comparison between the concerns of two groups, and uses “only” to emphasize the concerns of one group only. Consider another comparison:

♦ GMAT scores may be used for graduate school admissions. ♦ GMAT scores may not be used for employment in Consulting companies. ♦ G.M.A.C wants the GMAT scores to be used only for graduate school admissions, not for

employment in consulting companies. Notice how the sentence deals with two different uses of GMAT scores and emphasizes the correct use and deemphasize the incorrect use. Consider the following set of sentences, and notice that “only” is used to combine the two statements in a logical fashion and to highlight the special aspect of the phenomenon.

♦ It was the first book published by a black woman. ♦ It was the second book published by an American woman. ♦ It was the first book published by a black woman, only the second published by an American

Woman. CAVEAT ABOUT “ONLY” : Do Not wedge “only” between two nouns or between a noun and an action verb. In the sentence, “I only know how to do it”, we are not sure whether “only” emphasizes “I” or “know”. Logical comparisons are usually made and tested when you come across “two or more words” conjunctions such as “more than”, “better than”, “as many as” “as often as”, (in the same manner) as, and so on. In all cases, be sure to repeat the verb after such conjunctions. In some cases, you may have to repeat the preposition used before the conjunction. The following examples will clarify this requirement:

♦ I have more money than you have. ♦ I was separated from my uncle longer than was my brother. ♦ I was separated from my uncle longer than from my brother. ♦ Colon cancer strikes women as often as it does men. ♦ Children do not organize their perceptions (in the same manner) as adults do. ♦ More Americans watch NBC news than they do any other news broadcast. Logical comparisons will be tested on the GMAT. Your ability to recognize the requirement is a critical skill that will stand you in good stead when you take the test.


CLEAR AND CONCISE EXPRESSIONS The GMAT sentences must be checked out for clarity and conciseness. Clarity is about making sure that the sentence is not open to multiple interpretations. Conciseness is about expressing a given idea with the least amount of words. CLEAR EXPRESSIONS: Problems with clarity are typically caused by “pronouns” used after a conjunction, and by “noun, which” forms. They may also be caused by failure to repeat the verb or the preposition after a “two or more words conjunction.” Sentences using a ‘prepositional noun phrase’ as the subject also may have the subject and the object mixed up, resulting in ‘confusion’. Consider the following “unclear” sentence, which is taken from a radio commercial for Colon Cancer Society for which the spokesperson was Hillary Clinton. “Colon cancer strikes women as often as men.” We are not sure whether Hillary Clinton meant: “Colon cancer strikes women as often as men strike women.” Or, “Colon cancer strikes women as often as it strikes men.” Can you see that Hillary Clinton’s message is open to multiple takes? How many listeners of the message would have analyzed the message in this fashion? Not many, we would like to think. But as a potential MBA program applicant, you should. Consider the following commercial for Bayer aspirin: “I gave my mother Bayer aspirin, and then called the ambulance. The doctor told me that IT probably saved her life.” Do we know for sure what the pronoun “IT” stands for? Does “IT” stand for “giving Bayer aspirin” or for “calling the ambulance”? We are not sure. The sentence is not clear because it is open to multiple interpretations. Madison Avenue copywriters can get away with such ambiguity but you cannot let a GMAT sentence do so. “NOUN, WHICH” forms can also create ambiguity in the intended meaning of sentences. Consider the following: “The bird had a wingspan of 50 feet, which was considered the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.” The subject of the prepositional noun phrase that precedes “which” is wingspan, and if we replace “which” with “wingspan” and read the sentence, we get the following story: ♦ The bird had a wingspan of 50 feet. ♦ The wingspan was considered the largest flying creature. The wingspan cannot be the largest flying creature. The bird with such wingspan could be. We need to write the sentence in a clear manner as follows:

♦ The bird is considered to have been the largest flying creature because its wingspan was 50 feet.

♦ The bird had a wingspan of 50 feet, and the bird was considered the largest flying creature the world has ever seen. Notice that we repeated “bird” after the conjunction and did not use the pronoun “IT” because the pronoun could have cause a confusion as to what it represents: the bird or the wingspan.

The first version is the preferred version but you may have to go the second version if the underlining of the sentence starts with “which”.

Positioning of words and phrases in the correct places is critical to communicating a clear information. “The jury will decide later today whether the cop killer will be put to death” communicates a different idea from the sentence, “the jury will decide whether the cop killer will be put to death later today.” Notice that the phrase “later today” hangs on “jury’s decision” in one sentence but on “putting to death” in the latter. You will be required to check out the nuances of the different positioning of phrases in a sentence when you decide which of the two options is the best option.


When you deal with the ‘NOUN, Which” form in a GMAT sentence, you may have to restate the implied subject in order to make the sentence clear. Consider the following sentence. “I want to gain experience in international finance, which is lacking in my present job.” The “noun, which” form suggests that “International finance is lacking in my present job.” It is the experience or opportunity for experience that is lacking in your present job, but the sentence as written does not communicate this idea well. We need to repeat the implied subject in order to make the sentence clear. The clear expression will read: “I would like to gain experience in international finance, opportunity for experience lacking in my present job.” Let us take a look at another sentence in which we will have to restate the implied subject. “Scientists discovered mineral deposits in Baltic sea sediments, which are consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the area.” Notice that the “sediments, which” implies that the sediments are consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the area. It is the discovery of deposits that is consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the Baltic sea region. Let us restate the implied subject and rewrite the sentence: “Scientists discovered mineral deposits in Baltic sea sediments, discovery consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the region.” We have seen previously when we discussed the participial forms that if the sentence communicates a cause and effect connection, a participial form is in order. Consider the following sentence using “noun, which” form and expressing a cause and effect connotation.

“Some herbal supplements can elevate testosterone levels in adult males, which can lead to sexual aggression.” First of all, we notice that “which” is sitting next to “males”. We cannot modify a person with “which”. If we replace “which” with “adult males”, the sentence would read: “Adult males can lead to sexual aggression.” Is the sentence well written and clearly written? Far from it. WE notice that the elevation of testosterone levels is followed by sexual aggression. A clear-cut cause and effect situation. We will have to express the idea by using a participial form as follows: “Some herbal supplements can elevate testosterone levels in adult males, leading to sexual aggression.” Check for clarity of expressions. Most sentences that sound good may not be clearly written.

Let us see what conciseness is all about next.

You must examine sentences using a prepositional noun phrase as the subject of the sentence. A prepositional noun phrase is one in which two nouns are combined with a preposition. An example of such a phrase is “investment of capital”. Consider the following sentence: “The wavelength of radiation is long and invisible.” Notice that ‘wavelength’ is the SUBJECT of the prepositional phrase, and the sentence implies that the ‘wavelength is invisible’. It is the radiation that is invisible because of the long wavelength. A more clear and correct expression will read: “The radiation is invisible because its wavelength is long.” As you can see, the subject and the object are mixed up in the prepositional phrase ‘wavelength of radiation’.


CCCOOONNNCCCIIISSSEEE EEEXXXPPPRRREEESSSSSSIIIOOONNNSSS Conciseness is about avoiding redundancy. For example, we saw in an earlier lesson on adjectives that we can use a straight adjective or a predicate adjective. “Beautiful woman” can also be written as “woman who is beautiful”. But you can see clearly that a straight adjective expresses the same information by using fewer words, and is the preferred form. “First World countries” is a more concise expression than is “countries that are First World”, although both expressions mean the same. However, some expressions may have to be written in a predicate adjectival form. Consider the following: “The Food and Drugs administration requires that manufacturers of processed food not use the term ‘natural’ if the food item contains chemical preservatives, flavor additives, or anything synthesized.” Notice that the underlined part is attempting to “put the cart before the horse” in that it uses the adjective after the noun described by the adjective. We learnt that it is heresy to do so. Can we say, “synthesized anything”? That does not sound correct. WE must, therefore, either say, “synthesized contents” or “anything that is synthesized”. In fact, the test asked you to pick a choice that used the predicate adjective form because there was no other “better expression”. We cannot accept an unidiomatic expression such as “anything synthesized” for the sake of brevity. WE also saw earlier that we can write a predicate adjective as a modifier. “I met George W. Bush, who is the President” can also be written as, “I met George W. Bush, the President”. Notice that the latter uses a modifier to describe the same person whereas the former uses a predicate adjective to describe Mr. Bush. Both do the same job, and because the modifier uses fewer words and is idiomatic, we must prefer that form. ♦ You should also know that we can hide the linking verb, if the same linking verb is to be

repeated. Consider the following: “Once the usefulness of the motor car was proven and its superiority to the horse buggy (was) demonstrated, much of the initial hostility to the motor car disappeared.” Notice that the second use of “was” has been suppressed because it is idiomatic to do so. It is also more concise to do so. In some other situations, the linking verb must be suppressed because, otherwise, we will have a run-on sentence problem. A run-on sentence is one in which independent clauses are combined without proper use of conjunctions. Here is an example of a run-on sentence: “I saw John at the airport, I invited him to the party.” Notice that the run-on problem can be fixed by using a simple conjunction: “ I saw John at the airport, and invited him to the party.”

Conciseness is about avoiding needless repetition of words having the same meaning. For example, in the expression “reason is because”, ‘reason’ and ‘because’ have the same meaning and we have a classic case of a redundant expression. A proper and concise expression will be, “the reason is that”. Another example of redundant repetition is in the phrase, “It may be likely”. ‘May be’ and ‘likely’ mean the same thing, and it is enough to say, “It is likely”. Similarly, it is redundant form to say, “it evolved gradually” because ‘evolution’ itself is a gradual process. Secondly, ‘evolved gradually’ is a form in which the adverb follows the verb it describes, and it is forbidden to use the adverb after the verb The next time you are tempted to say, “I am totally 100% satisfied”, control your exuberance and say instead, “I am totally satisfied”, or “I am 100% satisfied”. Avoid redundancy like you would avoid plague.


Let us say that we want to describe the usefulness of Virginia white-tailed deer to the Delaware tribes. “Of all the wild animals in their area, none was more useful to the Delaware tribes than the Virginia white-tailed deer: It was a source of meat, and its hide was used for clothing, its antlers and bones (were) used for tools, and its sinews and gut (were) used for bindings and glue.” The first conjunction “and” tells us that the first use of the deer is separate from the second use described after the conjunction. Notice the comma after “it was a source of meat”. The comma and the conjunction following the comma tell us that what follows is another manner in which the animal was useful. The second use appears to be that the body parts of the animal were useful in a variety of ways, and the part of the sentence after “and” (in red) describes precisely that. Notice also that we need to suppress the linking verbs “were” after the first use of “was”, as otherwise we will have a huge run-on sentence problem on our hands. Consider another example: “Once the president WAS chosen, and the cabinet of ministers (was) appointed, the democratic process was set in motion.” “The law requires that the levels of bacteria at popular beaches BE monitored, and the results (be) reported.” Notice how the second and subsequent use of the same linking verb – in singular or in plural form as the case may be – has been suppressed in the above examples. It is perfectly legal to do so. Also, try to stay away from redundant “prop” expressions. “Thank you” is good enough. “Thank you much” is redundant. “I am weak in math” is good enough. “I am weak in math to some degree or extent” is crappy. “at least as many as or more than a million” is redundant. “at least a million” is concise and good enough. “As old as or older than” is redundant. “at least as old as” is good enough. “it does not make sense” is good enough. “It does not make ANY sense” is redundant. “the reason is because” is redundant. “The reason is that” is good enough. “it may be likely” is redundant. “It is likely” is good enough. “Being that I am a man” is redundant and clumsy. “Because I am a man” is more concise, and idiomatic. Avoid the double possessive form. “A friend of mine” is a double possessive. “of” has a possessive connotation. So does “mine”. Instead of saying, “contemporaries of Johnson’s”, say, “contemporaries of Johnson”. Instead of saying, “a friend of mine”, say, “My friend”. Learn how to “hide” linking verbs in sentences and how to write a predicate adjective as a modifier for conciseness sake. Also, stay away from clumsy expressions such as the ones identified above.


ACTIVE VERSUS PASSIVE VOICE EXPRESSIONS

In an “active voice” expression, the subject takes the front seat. In a “passive voice” expression, the subject takes the back seat and the object receiving action takes the front seat. ACTIVE FORM: “I TOLD JOHN TO GO TO THE AIRPORT.” PASSIVE FORM: “JOHN WAS TOLD BY ME TO GO TO THE AIRPORT.” A passive voice expression will use the “by the subject” form as shown above. “The senate passed the law” is active form. “The law was passed by the senate” is passive form. Notice the “by the subject” form in a passive expression. “The term red-shift denotes the extent to which light from a distant galaxy has been shifted BY the rapid motion of galaxy away from earth” is another example of a passive voice construction. Again, notice the “by the motion of galaxy” form used in the sentence. “By the subject” can be hidden and not openly stated. “The law was passed” is an example of a sentence in which “by the senate” is implied and hidden. “I was accepted at Harvard” implies “by the admission committee”. Which is better: A passive form or an active form? Surely, an active voice construction is preferred to a passive voice construction. But sometimes, a passive voice construction may be the required form.

♦ A passive form may be mandated by the modifier use. ♦ Example: “A world renowned physician, Dr. Watson was appointed surgeon general (by

the President).”

♦ A passive form may be more effective if the object of the sentence is more important than the subject. ♦ Example: “The law allowing illegal aliens to seek permanent residence in the United

States was passed by the Senate.” Notice that the “law” is front and center in the sentence and the subject takes a deserved back seat because it is the role of the Senate to make laws, but the law legalizing status for illegal aliens is special.

♦ A passive form may be required if the subject doing the action is indefinite or unknown.

♦ Example: “The commission proposed that funding be obtained (by some unknown entity)

through donations.” All things remaining equal, you will always prefer an active voice construction to a passive voice construction. But before you settle on an answer choice using an “active voice”, make sure that there are no other requirements – such as a modifier use or another wrinkle in the “active form” sentence – that would make the “active voice” construction less than desirable. Consider the following example: “Published in a small rural town in New Brunswick, John Lops and Mary Tot were the owners and publishers of the Tight Wad newsletter.” Notice that the modifier “published in a small rural town” modifies “John Lops and Mary Tot”. The modifier should modify the “Tight Wad” newsletter, and we need to write the sentence in a passive form because the modifier use forces us to do so. The corrected sentence will read: “Published in a small rural town in New Brunswick, the Tight Wad newsletter was owned and published by John Lops and Mary Tot.”


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMA IN A SENTENCE

A comma has a special role and significance in the clear expression of the intent of a sentence. A comma can act as a conjunction, provide a brief pause leading to a related thought, or set off the subject from its modifier. The comma used or not used between a noun and a modifier will dictate whether the modifier describes a noun or the action by the noun. Example of the use of comma as a conjunction: “He is smart, intelligent, compassionate, conservative, and caring.” Notice that the different attributes are ‘combined’ by the repeated use of commas as conjunction after each attribute except the last one. We require the use of ‘and’ to close out the list of attributes. Example of the use of comma to provide a brief pause leading to a related thought: “Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, TISSUES not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.” Notice that the comma provides a pause before a related thought about the tumor is expressed. In fact, in this sentence, the comma replaces a conjunction such as ‘and’. We could have written the same sentence as: “Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, and such tissues are not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.” The use of comma dispenses with the use of a conjunction and the ‘verb’ in the follow–on sentence. Another example of how the use of a conjunction and the use of a verb in a follow–on thought can be dispensed with by using a comma to provide a pause; There is a striking similarity between algae and cows, and the similarity shows the common evolutionary

origin of all mammals. This sentence can be written using a comma to provide the required pause after the first thought as:

There is a striking similarity between algae and cows, similarity that shows the common evolutionary origin of all mammals.

Example of use of comma to set off the subject from the modifier: “Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently felt that their chances for promotion are unfairly stymied.” Notice that the modifier ‘referring to the current hostility toward smoking’ is set off from the subject, ‘smokers’, by the use of the comma. In this sentence, the modifier describes action by the subject. If a comma is not used between the subject and the modifier, the modifier may describe the subject instead of its action. If the sentence were to read: “Smokers referring to the hostility toward smoking frequently felt that the chances for promotion are unfairly stymied”, the subject is no longer simple ‘smokers’ but the noun phrase ‘smokers referring to the hostility toward smoking’. The modifier describes a subset of all smokers and suggests that some smokers may refer to the current hostility and some others may not. Take a look at the following variant forms: USING the highways, people can travel long distances. People using the highways can travel long distances.

The first sentence uses a modifier to describe action by ‘people’. In the second sentence, ‘using the highways’ describes the ‘people’, not their action. It is appropriate to use the modifier to describe an action and, therefore, the first sentence is the preferred expression. Pay attention to these nuances and be aware of the need to make such fine distinctions among the various choices. The use of comma will also be required to set off a preposition from the word the preposition ought not describe. Consider the following sentence: “The diet of Hindus is largely vegetarian with meat consumed as a rarity” is not the same sentence as “the diet of Hindus is largely vegetarian, with meat consumed as a rarity.” The first sentence says that the diet is ‘vegetarian with meat’ whereas the second sentence uses a comma and appropriately designates the preposition ‘with’ as a connector, and not as a preposition describing the preceding noun. Similarly, the sentence ‘the baby comes out of the womb with a rudimentary sense of vision’ suggests that the womb has a rudimentary sense of vision. However, the sentence, “the baby comes out of the womb, with a rudimentary sense of vision” suggests that the ‘rudimentary sense of vision’ belongs to the

baby, not to the womb.

A semi colon (;) provides a longer pause than does a comma, and is used when the train of thought expressed in the first sentence will be carried through to the second. “As the baby emerges from the darkness of the womb, it has a rudimentary sense of vision rated about 50/500; an adult with such a vision would be considered legally blind”. A colon (:) is used before an extended quotation, explanation, example, series, etc. “I have many friends: Amanda, Bertha, Cathy, and Diana.”


IDIOMS Idioms are the accepted way of combining words using conjunctions and prepositions in order to express an idea or a thought. Idioms will require that we use proper words and phrases in the correct places in order to express an idea or thought. For example, ‘the law requires that children be restrained under four years in a safety seat’ is an example of a sentence in which the prepositional phrase ‘under four years’ is describing ‘restraint’, not the ‘children’. The sentence is an example of bad idiom and unclear expression. The correct sentence will read: “The law requires that children under four years be restrained in a safety seat’. Similarly, ‘new techniques make possible the study of warming of oceans’ is not as idiomatic as ‘new techniques make the study of warming of oceans possible’ or ‘new techniques make it possible to study the warming of oceans’. The following is a list of some of the most commonly tested idiomatic forms in the GMAT. Be sure to get up to speed and recognize the forms. We have seen during our discussion on prepositions that proper use of prepositions constitute idiomatic use of words. For example, “price for something” is the idiomatic form using the preposition “for”. “Price OF something” is not idiomatic because the preposition “OF” typically has “belonging to” connotation, and “price belonging to a car” is not a good expression. The following is a partial list of the most commonly tested idiomatic forms in the GMAT. 1. PREFER X TO Y “I PREFER NEW YORK TO CHICAGO.” It is incorrect to say, “I prefer New York over Chicago” or “I prefer New York rather than Chicago”. 2. MORE THAN ANY OTHER “San Antonio, Texas has more Mexican American restaurants than any

other town in North America.” 3. Distinguish between X and Y “It is difficult to distinguish between the democrats and the

republicans.” It is incorrect to say, “The democrats and the republicans are difficult to distinguish.” It is also idiomatic to use the verb ‘distinguish’ in transitive case as in ‘distinguish republicans from democrats”.

4. Similarity between X and Y “There is a similarity between the democratic ideals and the republican

ideals.” It is incorrect to say, “There is a similarity of republican ideals to democratic ideals.” 5. Tell X from Y “ it is difficult to tell the democrats from the republicans.” It is also correct to say, “The

republicans and democrats are indistinguishable.” 6. Account for = comprise, constitute, explain “African Americans account for 30% of the U.S.

population.” “All the missing people at the WTC have been accounted for.” 7. Rival X for Y Only the new town hall at Amsterdam could rival the St. Peter’s basilica for grandeur

and size.” “Rival X for Y” means “be equal to X in terms of Y” 8. Make do without = manage without “Native Indians built their homes using mud and sand, making

do without timber or nails.” 9. Mistake X for Y “I mistook John for Peter” = “I thought it was Peter but the person was actually

John.” 10. Price for something “The premiums for automobile insurance are on the increase.” 11. X is not unlike Y = X is somewhat similar to Y “Courage of Jackie Robinson, in the face of physical

threats and abuse, was not unlike that of Rosa Parks, who refused to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.”

12. “Like X, Y” or “X is like Y because” or “Y, Like X” “Like GMAT, GRE is an aptitude test.” 13. “Unlike X, Y” or “X is unlike Y because” or “Y, Unlike X” “Unlike New York, London does not have

very many skyscrapers.”


14. “RANGE From X to Y” “The problem RANGES from lack of infrastructure in some countries TO a

lack of honest government in others..” Watch out for “rather than” used with “From / To”. Example: “Federal laws require airlines to reduce the advance purchase requirement for tickets to 7 days rather than the current 14”. “To…rather than” is not idiomatic. Always look for “from… to” form.

15. More than / better than Watch out for “rather than” used with “more / better”. “Religion is better

served by make-shift spaces rather than by the church buildings” is not idiomatic because “better rather than” is not idiomatic. “Religion is better served by make-shift spaces than by the Church buildings” is.

16. RATHER THAN = instead of “Rather than” as a stand alone phrase is acceptable but cannot be

used with “from / to / better / more”. “Physicians would rather order unnecessary procedures than face the prospect of malpractice lawsuits” is a well-written sentence. It is acceptable to split up “rather than” as shown. Another example: “I would rather die than give up my free speech rights.”

17. “X is caused by Y” Do not use the form “X is because of Y”. Example: “Many astronomical

phenomena are caused by the interaction between two stars orbiting each other.” 18. Do not use “like” as a substitute for “such as”. Use “Such as” to express a ‘definite list’. “Like” means

“similar to”. Use ‘like’ to express an ‘indefinite or unspecific’ list. “Cities such as Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and Atlanta were hit by the winter storm.” In this sentence, the list identified is a ‘definite list’ of ‘cities’. “Cities like Chicago, Denver, Detroit, and Atlanta were hit by the winter storm” is not as good because the sentence implies that cities similar to the listed cities were affected, not necessarily the listed cities themselves.

19. Learn to use the emphasis word “ONLY”. In GMAT sentences, “ONLY” is used to emphasize a noun.

As a rule, do not sandwich “ONLY” between a noun and a noun, or between a noun and an action verb. Example: “I Only know how to do it” is not clearly written because we do not know whether the emphasis word “only” stresses “I” or “Know”. “Only I know how to do it” takes care of the ambiguity in the sentence. Similarly, “It was the first book by a black woman, and only the second by an American woman” is the correct expression using the emphasis word “only” in the correct place to stress a noun. Another example: “Concerns of New York City residents only were addressed by the Port Authority, not those of New Jersey commuters to the Big Apple.” It is incorrect to say, “Concerns of ONLY New York city residents were addressed….” Because “only” splits up the prepositional phrase.

20. Do not use “like” as a substitute for “as” “as” when used as the conjunction stands for “in the same

manner as”. “Do as I say” or “Do as others do” is the correct expression. It is incorrect to say, “Do like I say” or “Do like others do”. Another example of correct use of “as” : “Children do not organize their perceptions (in the same manner) as adults do.”

21. “As did X, so did Y” “As did the seventeenth century colonists, so did Samuel Sewall view

marriage as a property arrangement rather than as a bond based on romantic involvement.” 22. “Just as, so [verb]” “Just as GMAT is an aptitude test, so is GRE.” 23. “No sooner …. Than” “No sooner did the train arrive than she spotted me.” “No sooner did

the Feds cut interest rates than the stock markets took off.” 24. “the more… the better” “The more you study, the better you perform.” “The rarer

something gets, the higher price people are willing to pay for it.” “The harsher the penalties, the less willing judges are to impose them.”

25. “regard as” “I regard that as an insult.” “Most nations regard their airspace as extending

upward as high as an aircraft can fly.” 26. “consider to be” “I consider him to be the authority on this subject.” It is also acceptable to

“hide” the infinitive “to be”. For example, it is idiomatic to say, “I consider him the authority on this subject.” Another example: “I consider that an offensive remark.” Another example: “Canada considers Quebec an integral part of its sovereign territory.”

“ONLY” is used to make logical emphasis. “I took the GMAT only, not the GRE” is an example of a sentence in which “only” is used to make logical emphasis.


27. “attribute to”= “credit to” “As many as 300 of the over 700 paintings attributed to Rembrandt may actually be the works of his students or his other admirers.” Also, “ATTRIBUTE X TO Y” (“Analysts attribute the decline in the price of light crude oil TO excess inventory”)

28. “However much” = “to whatever degree or extent” “However much you may disagree that

GMAT is a fair test, the graduate schools have no other objective means of evaluating a candidate’s qualification for admision.”

29. “lacking in” = “deficient in”. “Students lacking in Quantitative skills will be at a distinct

disadvantage when they enter a graduate degree program.” 30. “Unless” = “except if” “Unless it rains, the journey will proceed.” “Unless you bomb the

GMAT, you will go to a graduate school of business.”

31. “so” = “in the manner stated” “Parliament did not accord full immigration benefits to recent claimants because it believed that “doing so” would reward them for entering the country illegally.”

Do not use “doing it would reward them for entering the country illegally.” Also, we say, “I don’t think so’, not “I don’t think it.” Consider another example: “At a time when it was unusual to do so, Lincoln signed a deed of emancipation setting free the more than 500 slaves considered his property.”

32. “many” is an adjective used to modify a plural noun. “Much” is used to modify a singular noun. “How

many minutes do we have left?” and “How much time do we have left?” 33. “as many as” Do not use the form “so many as”. “Never before had taxpayers confronted as

many changes at once as they did in the tax reforms act.” 34. Do not use “should” as a substitute for “IF” It is inelegant to say, “Should it rain, we will not go.”

Instead, say, “IF it rains, we will not go.” Also, do not use “were it” instead of “IF”. It is inelegant to say, “Were it to rain, we will not go.”

35. Do not use “apart from” to mean “except for”. “Except for a concert performance that the composer

himself staged in 1911, Scott Joplin’s ragtime opera Treemonisha was not produced until 1972.” It is incorrect to substitute “apart from” for “except for”. “Apart from” suggests a physical separation.

36. “Inferior to” / “superior to” “Calcium supplements are inferior to Milk.” ”Walking is a superior

form of exercise to running.” 37. “prohibit from” / “forbid to” “Minnesota passed a law prohibiting landfills from accepting grass

clippings.” “I forbid you to go there.” Do not use the forms “prohibit to” or “forbid from”. 38. “liable for” = “responsible for” “You are liable for your behavior and its consequences.” 39. Use “some and others” if you want to refer to two groups of items. Use “some, others, and still others” if

you want to refer to three groups of items. Example: “Some students major in Marketing while others major in Finance.” “Some take English, while others take Spanish, and still others take French.”

40. “once” is more concise than “at one time” “People who might once have died in childhood of small

pox live well into their 80th birthdays.” Do not use “any one time” in lieu of “once”. 41. Liken = compare “Clinton was likened to Kennedy”. 42. “Lack” = not have “Many girls coming out of grade schools lack the social skills required to make

friends.” “I lack the will to proceed.” “I lack the desire to continue.” Means that I do not have the desire to continue or do not have the will to proceed.


43. “Lacking” = be without, be deficient in often used in the form “lacking in” Caveat: Do not use

“lacking” as a substitute for “without”, which means “in the absence of” or “from outside”. ”Many students graduating from colleges are lacking in math skills.” It is incorrect to say, “A patient accusing a doctor of malpractice cannot prove the case lacking another doctor’s testimony.” Instead, say, “A patient accusing a doctor of malpractice cannot prove the case without another doctor’s testimony.”

44. “shorten” means to “cut short”. “Lessen” means to mitigate or reduce. Do not use them synonymously.

“I shortened my stay at London” “The graduate schools will lessen the requirement for GMAT score from 650 to 600.” “Federal laws require that the airlines shorten the advance purchase requirement for tickets from 14 days to 7 days.”

45. “More and more” means “to a greater degree”. Do NOT use “increasingly” for “more and more”.

“Students majoring in Finance and in Marketing are becoming more and more successful in their careers.” It is incorrect to say, “Students majoring in Finance and in Marketing are becoming increasingly successful in their careers.” “Increasing” means “rising”. We can talk about “increasing levels of unemployment”.

46. “Elect” means “choose” “Many doctors have elected to retire early rather than face the prospect of

malpractice lawsuits.” Notice that “elect” is followed by an infinitive. 47. “enough” means ‘sufficiently’ and is usually followed by an infinitive. “Aurora Borealis can heat the

atmosphere enough to affect the trajectories of ballistic missiles.” Enough can also be used as an adjective in the form “I have enough money”. Enough can also be used as a noun: “I have had enough (of this nonsense)”. Usually, ‘enough’ is used as adverb and requires a verb such as an INFINITIVE after it.

48. Do not use ‘THUS’ as a substitute for “THEREFORE”. ‘Thus’ means ‘in this manner’. “Therefore” means

“for the reason stated”. 49. FOR ALL = DESPITE “For all my best effort, I did not succeed” is the same statement as ‘Despite all

my best effort, I did not succeed’. 50. SUBJUNCTIVE STATEMENTS expressing a HYPOTHETICAL mood (If I were the King of England), it

will often be written in inverted form. “If I were the King of England, I would play golf all day” is the same statement as “Were I the king of England, I would play golf all day”. Likewise, instead of saying, “If I had known that, I would not have done it” is the same statement as ‘Had I known that, I would not have done it”.

51. NEITHER and NOR are also followed by INVERTED CLAUSES. “Neither was it practical nor (was it)

worth the effort”. 52. Sentence Inversion in ‘not only.. but also’ construction: The clause after ‘not only’ may be

inverted but the clause after ‘but also’ is not. “Not only did he invite me to the party but he also sent a limousine to pick me up’.

53. The infinitive ‘to be’ may be used as the subject of a clause in a special idiomatic construction ‘to do x is to do y’. “To compare the lightning-fast genius of playwright Tom Stoppard with the pedestrian efforts of some of his contemporaries is to compare the exquisite bouquet of a fine wine with that of ordinary grape juice.”

54. “Just as’ is typically used in the idiomatic form “Just as… so is”. Example: “Just as Margaret Thatcher is a conservative politician so is George Bush’.

55. Pay attention to the LOGICAL nature of statements you are tempted to pick. “a fine wine’s bouquet” is clumsy. It is correct and logical to say, ‘a bouquet of fine wine’. It is clumsy and illogical to say, ‘increasing violence is worrisome’. The more logical expression would be, ‘the increase in violence (observed) is worrisome’. After you are done with the basic checks such as ‘subject-verb’, etc, your final answer may turn on which of the two remaining answers is more logically written. Remember that GMAT is a test of your logical reasoning, not just of grammar and idiom.

Try to put the subject as close to the verb as possible by ‘omitting’ the part of the sentence starting with a preposition and by ‘omitting’ any descriptions in the nature of modifiers. In the sentence, “John of Liverpool, a city in its former glory days was a preeminent town in England, lives now in London.” Notice that we managed to bring the subject and the verb close to each other by “hiding” the part starting with the preposition “of” and by “ignoring” the modifier describing “Liverpool”. Of course, you need to make sure that the modifier is not wrinkledor badly written.


SENTENCE CORRECTION CHECK-LIST

1. IDENTIFY THE CLAUSES – DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT CLAUSES - AND MAKE SURE THAT THE SUBJECT AND THE VERB AGREE IN EACH CLAUSE. KNOW THE EXCEPTION ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE OF A SUBJUNCTIVE SENTENCE IN WHICH THE VERB USED MUST HAVE A PLURAL FORM REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE SUBJECT, AND THE LINKING VERB, IF REQUIRED, MUST BE THE ‘BE’ FORM. (SEE ITEM 8) 2. KNOW THE EXPLETIVE CONSTRUCTION IN WHICH A ‘FILLER’ WORD SUCH AS ‘IT’ OR ‘THERE’ IS USED AS THE SUBJECT OR THE OBJECT IN ANTICIPATION OF THE NOUN OR PHRASE THAT IS THE INTENDED SUBJECT OR OBJECT. EXAMPLE OF AN EXPLETIVE SENTENCE: “NEW TECHNIQUES IN THERMAL IMAGING HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO STUDY IN DETAIL THE WARMING OF OCEANS”. “MINNESOTA IS ONE OF THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES WHERE THERE IS A SIZABLE POPULATION OF TIMBER WOLVES”. 3. USE A LOGICAL NOUN AS THE SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE. INSTEAD OF ‘50/500 IS THE SENSE OF VISION OF A NEW-BORN BABY”, WRITE ‘THE NEW-BORN BABY HAS A SENSE OF VISION RATED AT 50/500”. NOTICE THAT IN THE FIRST SENTENCE THE SUBJECT IS ‘50/500’, A RATING WHEREAS A MORE LOGICAL SUBJECT FOR THE STATEMENT IS THE NEW-BORN BABY. INSTEAD OF ‘ADVANTAGES OF WINDMILLS ARE SEVERAL”, WRITE “WINDMILLS HAVE SEVERAL ADVANTAGES”. NOTICE THAT WE LOGICALLY USED ‘WINMILLS’ AS THE SUBJECT OF THE CLAUSE, NOT THE ‘ADVANTAGES’ 4. REMEMBER THAT SOME NOUNS CANNOT ENGAGE IN ACTIVE ACTION, AND ARE ONLY USED AS OBJECTS IN A STATEMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, ‘MY LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11TH” IS NOT A LOGICAL STATEMENT BECAUSE YOUR LIFE CANNOT CHANGE OF ITS OWN FREE WILL. A MORE LOGICAL STATEMENT WOULD BE: “MY LIFE HAS BEEN CHANGED BY THE EVENTS OF 9/11”. LIKEWISE, IT IS ILLOGICAL TO SAY, “THE EFFORT, WHICH STARTED 5 YEARS AGO, IS PAYING OFF”. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS STATEMENT? IT IMPLIES THAT THE EFFORT STARTED OF ITS OWN ACCORD. A MORE LOGICAL STATEMENT WOULD PUT EFFORT IN OBJECTIVE CASE AS ‘THE EFFORT, WHICH WAS STARTED (BY US) 5 YEARS AGO, IS PAYING OFF. 5. PAY ATTENTION TO THE USE OF ‘FAKE NOUNS’ SUCH AS ‘GERUNDS’ AND ‘ITY’ NOUNS. GERUNDS ARE VERBS MODIFIED TO END IN ‘ING’ AND ACTING AS NOUNS. ‘ITY’ NOUNS ARE ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS MODIFIED TO END IN ‘ITY’ AND ACTING AS NOUNS. BECAUSE THEY ARE INFERIOR FORMS OF NOUN, THEY MAY NOT BE USED AS SUBJECTS OF A STATEMENT BUT COULD BE USED IN OBJECTIVE CASE. FOR EXAMPLE, ‘TAKING THE GMAT TEST IS A PAIN” IS NOT AS COOL AS “IT IS A PAIN TO TAKE THE GMAT”. NOTICE THAT WE GOT AROUND THE PROBLEM OF USING A GERUND AS THE SUBJECT OF A STATEMENT BY SWITCHING TO AN EXPLETIVE FORM IN WHICH THE NOUN ‘IT’ IS USED AS THE SUBJECT IN ANTICIPATION OF THE INTENDED NOUN OR PHRASE USED IN THE STATEMENT LATER. SIMILARLY, INSTEAD OF WRITING “AVAILABILITY OF WATER IS A PROBLEM IN RURAL AREAS”, WE SHOULD WRITE “THERE IS A PROBLEM OF AVAILABLE WATER IN RURAL AREAS” OR, BETTER YET, “IN RURAL AREAS, THERE IS A PROBLEM OF AVAILABLE WATER”. NOTICE THAT WE WROTE THE SENTENCE BY SWITCHING THE QUALIFIER ‘IN RURAL AREAS’ TO THE HEAD OF THE SENTENCE BECAUSE IN THE FIRST VERSION, IT WAS QUALIFYING ‘WATER’ INSTEAD OF ‘PROBLEM’. “THERE IS A PROBLEM IN RURAL AREAS AND THE PROBLEM IS OF AVAILABLE WATER”. GERUNDS MAY BE APPROPRIATELY USED IN PARALLEL LISTS. EXAMPLE: “MAINE WILL FACE A SEVERE SHORTAGE OF TIMBER THIS SEASON, THE RESULT OF A MAJOR INFESTATION OF BUD WORMS,, THE COMING TO MATURITY OF SPRUCE AND FIR FORESTS, AND A RAPID EXPANSION OF THE PAPER BUSINESS.”, GERUNDS CAN ALSO BE CORRECTLY USED AS OBJECTS OF A STATEMENT: “I WAS SUBJECTED TO A RUDE AWAKENING BY THE INCREASING GAS PRICES.”


6. PAY ATTENTION TO VERBS AND VERB TENSES. MAKE SURE THAT THE SENTENCE USES CONSISTENT VERB TENSE. IF THE SENTENCE DESCRIBES THREE DIFFERENT ACTIONS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD, WE MUST USE THE SAME TENSE THROUGHOUT. “THEY BUILT STONE TEMPLES, FASHIONED MONUMENTS, AND ERECTED SCULPTURES”. KNOW HOW TO USE THE PERFECT VERBS. 7. KNOW THAT INFINITIVES ARE SECONDARY ACTION VERBS THAT TAKE THE FORM ‘TO VERB’. THEY CAN ALSO COMPLEMENT CERTAIN NOUNS AS IN “I HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO IT.” IN THIS SENTENCE, THE INFINITIVE ‘TO DO’ COMPLEMENTS THE NOUN ‘ABILITY’. GENERALLY, INFINITIVES COMPLEMENT PRIMARY ACTION IN A STATEMENT. CONSIDER THIS STATEMENT: “I CHOSE TO GO TO BUSINESS SCHOOL”. THE INFINITIVE ‘TO GO’ COMPLEMENTS ‘CHOSE’. WE CAN WRITE THE SAME SENTENCE IN WHICH ‘CHOSE’ IS USED IN ITS NOUN FORM ‘CHOICE’: “My choice TO GO to Columbia was worth it”. REMEMBER: INFINITIVES CANNOT BE USED AS THE SUBJECT OF A CLAUSE (“TO TAKE THE TEST IS A PAIN” VERSUS “IT IS A PAIN TO TAKE THE TEST”); INFINITIVES CANNOT DRIVE OR COMPLEMENT ANOTHER INFINITIVE. (“I CHOSE TO GO TO COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL TO GET MY BUSINESS DEGREE” VERSUS “I CHOSE TO GO TO COLUMBIA B.S. AND TO GET MY BUSINESS DEGREE”). 8. THE SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS SUCH AS REQUIRE, PROPOSE, INSIST, ORDER, RECOMMEND, PROPOSE, SUGGEST, ASK, TELL, WISH, NEED TO BE USED IN A SPECIAL FORM OF SUBJUNCTIVE SENTENCE. THESE SUBJUNCTIVE VERBS APPEAR IN THE DEPENDENT CLAUSE OF A SENTENCE, AND THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE OF THE SAME SUBJUNCTIVE SENTENCE MUST USE A PLURAL FORM OF THE VERB REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF THE SUBJECT IN THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (“I SUGGEST THAT TOM TAKE THE TEST NEXT WEEK”). IF A LINKING VERB SUCH AS ‘IS’ OR ‘ARE’ IS REQUIRED TO BE USED IN THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE, IT MUST BE THE ‘BE’ FORM. (“I PROPOSE THAT MARY BE THE LEADER OF THE TEAM”). WE MUST NOT USE ‘MUST’ OR ‘SHOULD’ IN THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE OF THE SUBJUNCTIVE SENTENCE. 9. KNOW HOW TO USE ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, QUALIFIERS, COMPLEMENTS, AND MODIFIERS CORRECTLY. ADJECTIVES DESCRIBE THE ATTRIBUTE OF A NOUN, AND TYPICALLY PRECEDE THE DESCRIBED NOUN. (“DEPOSITED CHECKS” INSTEAD OF ‘CHECKS DEPOSITED’). ADVERBS DESCRIBE A VERB OR ADJECTIVE, AND TYPICALLY INTENSIFY AN ACTION OR ATTRIBUTE. (‘THIS EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED MY LIFE’; ‘IT IS AN ENORMOUSLY CHALLENGING TASK’). SOME PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES CAN ACT AS ADVERBIAL QUALIFIERS OR COMPLEMENTS. INSTEAD OF WRITING ‘IT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED MY LIFE’, WE COULD WRITE, ‘IT CHANGED IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY MY LIFE’. WE CAN ALSO WRITE THE ADVERB AT THE HEAD OF THE SENTENCE, USING A COMMA. WE CAN WRITE THE ABOVE SENTENCE AS ‘IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY, IT CHANGED MY LIFE’. INSTEAD OF WRITING “ENGLAND EXILED OVER A PERIOD OF TIME ITS SLAVES TO AUSTRALIA”, WE COULD WRITE, “OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, ENGLAND EXILED ITS SLAVES TO AUSTRALIA”


10. QUALIFIERS ARE COMPLEMENTS THAT CAN DESCRIBE A NOUN, A VERB, OR AN ADJECTIVE. THEY CAN TAKE THE PREPOSITIONAL FORM, PARTICIPIAL FORM, OR RELATIVE PRONOMIAL FORM. (EXAMPLES: ‘SCHOOLS OF BUSINESS’, ‘SCHOOLS SPECIALIZING IN BUSINESS’, ‘SCHOOLS SITUATED ON THE EAST COAST’, SCHOOLS WHICH ARE SITUATED ON THE EAST COAST’). NOTICE THAT QUALIFIERS THAT COMPLEMENT A NOUN TYPICALLY DESCRIBE A ‘SUB-SET’ OF THAT NOUN. ‘SCHOOLS OF BUSINESS’ IS A PHRASE IN WHICH THE COMPLEMENT ‘OF BUSINESS’ DESCRIBES A SUBSET OF ‘SCHOOLS’. DITTO FOR THE OTHER QUALIFIERS COMPLEMENTING A NOUN AS SHOWN IN THE EXAMPLES. 11. NOUNS CAN ALSO BE COMPLEMENTED BY INFINTIIVES AS IN “ALCOHOL MAY INTERFER WITH THE ABILITY (OF THE BRAIN) TO PROCESS INFORMATION”. “HIS UNWILLINGNESS TO ATTEND THE MEETING IS INEXCUSABLE”. 12. QUALIFIERS CAN ALSO COMPLEMENT A VERB OR AN ADJECTIVE. EXAMPLES OF SUCH USE ARE: “I PROCEEDED IN A SPEEDY MANNER”; “THE MOVIE WAS BORING TO AN EXCRUCIATING DEGREE”. 13. MAKE SURE THAT THE QUALIFIERS ARE LOGICALLY PLACED NEXT TO THE WORD THEY COMPLEMENT. CONSIDER THIS AWKWARD SENTENCE USING MISPLACES QUALIFIERS: “LAW REQUIRES THAT PARENTS RESTRAIN CHILDREN IN A SAFETY SEAT UNDER 4 YEARS OF AGE”. NOTICE THAT THE QUALIFIER ‘UNDER 4 YEARS OF AGE’ IS SITTING NEXT TO ‘SAFETY SEAT’ WHILE IT IS REQUIRED TO LOGICALLY COMPLEMENT ‘CHILDREN’. ALSO, THE COMPLEMENT ‘IN A SAFETY SEAT’ SHOULD COMPLEMENT THE VERB ‘RESTRAIN’. THE CORRECTED AND MORE LOGICAL STATEMENT WOULD READ; “THE LAW REQUIRES THAT PARENTS RESTRAIN IN A SAFETY SEAT CHILDREN UNDER 4 YEARS OF AGE”. CONSIDER ANOTHER AWKWARD SENTENCE: “PROBLEMS IN COUNSELING ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STUDENTS FAILING TO GRADUATE”. NOTICE THAT THERE ARE 2 QUALIFIERS RUNNING ON EACH OTHER. THE QUALIFIER ‘FOR THE STUDENTS’ COMLEMENTS THE ADJECTIVE ‘RESPONSIBLE’ AND THE OTHER QUALIFIER ‘FAILING TO GRADUATE’ COMPLEMENTS ‘STUDENTS’. LOGICALLY, THE PROBLEMS IN COUNSELING ARE RESPONSIBLE ‘FOR THE FAILURE OF STUDENTS TO GRADUATE’, NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES. NOTICE THAT ‘STUDENTS FAILING TO GRADUATE’ IS A PHRASE DESCRIBING A SUBGROUP OF STUDENTS AND IMPLIES THAT THERE IS ANOTHER GROUP THAT DID NOT FAIL TO GRADUATE. PAY ATTENTION TO THESE SILLY WRINKLES CAUSED BY IMPROPER POSITIONING OF QUALIFIERS IN A STATEMENT.


14. MODIFIERS ARE COMMA PHRASES THAT DESCRIBE A NOUN, OR ACTION BY A NOUN, OR THE STATE OF MIND OR MOOD OF A NOUN. EXAMPLES: “BORN JANET MIRIUM, THE FUTURE AUTHOR MOVED WITH HER FAMILY TO BOSTON IN 1817.”; “USING A ROAD-MAP, WE TRAVELED ACROSS AMERICA”; “CONCERNED AT THE DELAY, WE CALLED HER”. NOTICE THE COMMA SEPARATING THE MODIFIER BY THE DESCRIBED NOUN. TEST MODIFIERS BY TURNING THE MODIFIER PHRASES INTO QUESTIONS. Who was born Janet Mirium? The future author; Who was using a road map? We did; Who was concerned at the delay? We were. MAKE SURE THAT A LOGICAL NOUN IS SITTING NEXT TO THE MODIFIER. 15. AVOID DANGLING MODIFIERS OR MISPLACED MODIFIERS. “THE FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES, THE SENATE APPOINTED HILLARY CLINTON TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE” IS AN EXAMPLE OF A SENTENCE IN WHICH THE LOGICAL NOUN ‘HILLARY CLINTON’ IS ‘MISPLACED’. WE NEED TO MOVE IT UP AND PLACE IT NEXT TO THE MODIFIER: “THE FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE U.S.A, HILLARY CLINTON WAS APPOINTED TO THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE”. 16. MAKE LOGICAL COMPARISONS AND MAKE SURE THAT COMPARISONS ARE BETWEEN APPLES AND APPLES. TYPICALLY, ‘LIKE’ AND ‘UNLIKE’ ARE USED TO COMPARE NOUNS OR NOUN PHRASES. EXAMPLES; “LIKE NEW YORK, LONDON HAS AN EXCELLENT UNDERGROUND TRANSPORT SYSTEM”. “UNLIKE JAZZ MUSICIANS, THE BLUE GRASS MUSICIANS MOVED IN AN ELITE CIRCLE”. 17. IF COMPARING VERBS OR ACTIONS, USE ‘AS’, NOT ‘LIKE’. EXAMPLE: “DO AS I SAY”; “CHILDREN DO NOT THINK AS ADULTS DO’. REMEMBER THAT ‘AS’ IS ABBREVIATED ‘IN THE SAME MANNER AS’. THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ACTUALLY READ; “DO IN THE SAME MANNER AS I SAY” OR “CHILDREN DO NOT THINK IN THE SAME MANNER AS ADULTS THINK”. 18. CHECK ALL PRONOUNS FOR UNIQUE REFERENTS. CHECK ALL RELATIVE PRONOUNS SUCH AS WHICH, THAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHO FOR PROPER USE. REMEMBER THAT PRONOUNS AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS CREATE PROBLEMS IN GMAT SENTENCES AND YOU MUST CAREFULLY AND CRITICALLY CHECK TO SEE THAT ALL PRONOUNS UNIQUELY REFER TO A SINGLE NOUN, AND THAT ALL RELATIVE PRONOUNS ARE WRINKLE-FREE. EXAMPLE OF A PROBLEM SENTENCE IN WHICH THE PRONOUN DOES NOT UNIQUELY IDENTIFY A SINGLE NOUN; “UNLIKE SMALL BUSINESSES, THE BIG BUSINESSES ARE RELATIVELY MORE STABLE, AND, THEREFORE, THE FINANCIAL CONCEPTS DO NOT APPLY TO THEM”. IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE PRONOUN IN OBJECTIVE CASE ‘THEM’ REFERS TO SMALL BUSINESSES OR TO BIG BUSINESSES. IF THE PRONOUN CREATES SUCH DOUBT, REPLACE THE PRONOUN WITH THE INTENDED NOUN. LIKEWISE, THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS ARE PROBLEMATIC MOST OF THE TIME. UNLIKE REGULAR PRONOUNS THAT CAN REPLACE ANY NOUN IN THE SENTENCE, THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN ONLY REPLACE THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING NOUN. TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE; “ASTROLOGERS PREDICTED THE DESTRUCTION (OF JERUSALEM), WHICH INDEED TOOK PLACE IN 1615”. IN THIS SENTENCE, ‘WHICH’ IS CORRECTLY USED AND REFERS TO ‘DESTRUCTION’.TAKE A LOOK AT THE PROBLEMATIC STATEMENT: “DEBRIS SLAMMED INTO EARTH, WHICH SENT UP A CLOUD OF DUST” IN THIS STATEMENT, ‘WHICH’ REFERS TO EARTH, THE PRECEDING NOUN, AND SUGGESTS THAT THE EARTH SENT UP A CLOUD OF DUST.A MORE LOGICAL STATEMENT WOULD USE THE CAUSE AND EFFECT CONJUNCTION SUCH AS THE PARTICIPIAL ONE: “DEBRIS SLAMMED INTO EARTH, SENDING UP A CLOUD OF DUST”.


19. REVIEW THE RULES ABOUT CONJUNCTIONS IN YOUR STUDY FILE AND MAKE SURE THAT APPROPRIATE CONJUNCTIONS ARE USED. 20. USE PROPER IDIOMS. REVIEW THE IDIOMS IN YOUR STUDY FILE AND BE SURE TO REMEMBER THE PROPER USE OF COMPLEMENTS WITH CERTAIN VERBS AND NOUNS. 21. APPLY THIS CHECK LIST ON A LEVEL OF CONSCIOUS AWARENESS. DO NOT PICK ANSWER CHOICES ON THE BASIS OF HOW THEY SOUND. BECAUSE THE INFORMAL FORM OF COMMUNICATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY FOLLOW THE RULES OF GRAMMAR TESTED ON THE GMAT, ‘THE SOUND TEST’ IS NOT A RELIABLE WAY TO TELL WHETHER A CONSTRUCTION IS SOUND OR LOGICAL. FOLLOW THE RULES AND APPLY THEM CORRECTLY. YOU WILL BE REWARDED WITH A BIG SMILE GOING FROM EAR TO EAR AT THE END OF THE DAY.

PLEASE BE SURE TO INTERNALIZE THE RULES AND PROCEDURES EXPLAINED IN THIS MODULE AND SUMMARIZED IN ‘SENTENCE CORRECTION IN A NUTSHELL FILE’. You should review this file several times in order to be able to recognize the forms of sentences and the requirements for fixing sentences. Work on a level of conscious awareness, and do NOT apply the SOUND TEST. How a sentence sounds is not a reliable way to tell whether a sentence is well-written. (Remember that the Subjunctive sentence does not SOUND normal). Do not go through the motions of picking answer choices. Be sure to PARSE sentences in terms of the various elements and to make sure that the elements are positioned and used in the most appropriate manner.

module iii - sentence correction 101

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