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More Than Just Grammar: The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 5)

By jim jacobson posted February 2, 2012

People are talking about the new GMAT, and the way that Sentence Correction will test your comprehension of the sentence’s meaning as well as its grammar, style, and concision, by giving you more answer choices that are grammatically correct (but still wrong). In this series of articles, I want to explore the ways this could happen, with some example questions for you as well. Last time, we talked about a solution to a problem I posed; this time, let’s take a look at how word placement matters.

Placement/choice of conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs

Sentence A: Sergei chose to buy a house because of the increase in both the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Sentence B: Sergei chose to buy a house because of both the increase in the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes.

Both sentences feature Sergei buying a house because of the number of houses on the market and the number of his friends who owned their own homes, but in Sentence A, both of those numbers are going up, while in Sentence B, only the number of houses is increasing. (I tried to come up with a sentence that had a more amusing shift in sense; I will envy you a little if you are able to come up with one.

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More Than Just Grammar: The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 4)

By jim jacobson posted January 29, 2012

People are talking about the new GMAT, and the way that Sentence Correction will test your comprehension of the sentence’s meaning as well as its grammar, style, and concision, by giving you more answer choices that are grammatically correct (but still wrong). In this series of articles, I want to explore the ways this could happen, with some example questions for you as well. Last time, I gave you a question using conditional statements; this time, let’s take a look at the answer.

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In case you missed it or forgot, this was the question:

A group of well-regarded economists has recently published projected figures for the economy next year, which predict that if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase as slowly as it has this year.

A. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending should continue to increase

B. when interest rates remain at their current level, lending can continue its increasing

C. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending continues to increase

D. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending will continue to increase

E. if interest rates remain at their current level, lending could continue to increase

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More Than Just Grammar: The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 3)

By jim jacobson posted January 25, 2012

Conditional statements

If you are very hungry, you eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you may eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you will eat too much food.

If you are very hungry, you should eat too much food.

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More Than Just Grammar: The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 2)

By jim jacobson posted January 20, 2012

People are talking about the new GMAT, and the way that Sentence Correction will test your comprehension of the sentence’s meaning as well as its grammar, style, and concision, by giving you more answer choices that are grammatically correct (but still wrong). In this series of articles, I want to explore the ways this could happen, with some example questions for you as well. Last time, we talked about punctuation; this time, let’s answer the question posed at the end of the last post.

Last time, I gave you this question:

On her way to the store, Priya decided to purchase a personal organizer, a new computer with a wireless network card, and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

A. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier, she decided.

B. and a barking toy robot dog; that would make would make her life easier, she decided.

C. and a barking toy robot dog that would make her life easier; she decided.

D. and a barking toy robot dog making her life easier, she decided.

E. and, deciding that would make her life easier, a barking toy robot dog.

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More Than Just Grammar: The Search for Meaning in the New SC (Part 1)

By jim jacobson posted January 17, 2012

People are talking about the new GMAT, and the way that Sentence Correction will test your comprehension of the sentence’s meaning as well as its grammar, style, and concision, by giving you more answer choices that are grammatically correct (but still wrong). In this series of articles, I want to explore the ways this can happen, with some example questions for you as well. First, let’s talk about punctuation.

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Punctuation

Sentence A: Let’s eat, Grandma!

Sentence B: Let’s eat Grandma!

Sentence C: Every dog knows its master.

Sentence D: Every dog knows it’s master.

The ancient Romans wrote with little or no punctuation, and usually without even putting any spaces between the words. It is hard to imagine the confusion that could arise from that, when in English a simple mark (such as a comma or an apostrophe) can make such difference in the sense of the sentence. In the first pair, Sentence A conveys familial devotion, while B implies cannibalism; in the second pair, Sentence C features man’s best friend looking up to humans, while in Sentence D, the dog looks down on humans.

Of course, the GMAT is unlikely to feature something so simple (or potentially comical), but punctuation is often needed to reduce ambiguity or to change the meaning of a phrase or clause. Relative clauses – clauses starting with a relative pronoun like which, who, or that – are prime candidates for a change in meaning, especially ones starting with which or that. Semicolons and commas, because they separate clauses, can also change the meaning of a sentence by changing the point where one clause begins and another ends.

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GMAT: 8 Rules of Diction for Non-Native Speakers

By vivian kerr posted December 23, 2011

Diction can be a confusing concept, especially for non-native English speakers. Though sometimes diction errors are also grammatically correct, there may be cases where you simply have to “know” which word is correct in a certain context. Here are seven sets of words that are frequently (and mistakenly) used interchangeably, along with their appropriate governing rules. Look out for them on your Sentence Correction practice questions, especially in Comparisons questions.

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1. It’s/Its. “Its” is the possessive form of the pronoun it. This is unique because usually an apostrophe is needed to show possession. Its’ is never correct. It’s is the contraction for “it is” or “it has.”

2. Whose/Who’s. “Who’s” is a contraction of “who is” or “who has.” “Whose” is the possessive form of the pronoun “who.” If “who’s” cannot logically replace “who is” or “who has.”
3. Among/Between. “Among” is used when dealing with a group of three or more. “Between” can only be used for a group of two.
4. Amount/Number. “Amount” can only refer to an uncountable noun. We can use “number” to refer to a countable noun.
5. Fewer/Less. “Less” refers to an uncountable noun, whereas “fewer” refers to a countable noun. Remember that some words can change from countable/uncountable depending on whether they are plural or singular. For example, “stone” is uncountable, but “stones” are countable.
6. Over/More Than. “Over” refers to location only and is a preposition. “More than” is only used to refer to a number or a quantity.
7. Much/Many. “Much” refers to an uncountable noun. “Many” refers to a countable one. Check out this practice GMAT question from Grockit’s database:

Records from the latter half of the 19th century show that in 1876 in Westbridge County there were 1,200 landowners, nearly 12 percent of the state landowner population, three times as many as 1852.

A three times as many as 1852

B three times as much as 1852

C triple what it was in 1852

D triple the figure for 1852

E thrice the number that was recorded in 1852

We know that it can be three times as MANY as something countable, but “1852” is not countable, so A and B can be eliminated quickly. Ideally, we’d want an answer to say “three times as many as in 1852” but we aren’t given that option. In option C, we have an ambiguous pronoun. D and E have the same meaning, but D it much more concise and therefore correct.

8. Better/Best. This concept tests the comparative/superlative forms. Comparative forms like “better”, “more”, etc. are only used when two things are being compared. Superlative forms like “best”, “most”, etc. are used to compare three or more things.

For another great post on English proficiency for the GMAT check out this article.

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GMAT Sentence Correction: Relative Clauses and Tense

By jordan schonig posted December 15, 2011

A relative clause, a clause which begins with a relative pronoun such as who, that, or which, can be used the same way as a clause that begins with a present participle. This simple idea may be muddied by grammatical jargon, so let’s check out an example to clarify:

(Using a relative clause): The employee who is surveying the land is a good friend of mine.

(Using a present participle): The employee surveying the land is a good friend of mine.

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We generally consider these two versions of the same sentence to be interchangeable. The “who” can be used or not, yielding the same meaning. There are cases, however, when you cannot consider the relative clause and present participle interchangeable. Consider these two versions of the same sentence:

(Using a present participle) 1. The price of produce is rapidly increasing, a trend eventually culminating in a consumer’s revolution.

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GMAT Sentence Correction: Gerunds and Possessives

By jordan schonig posted November 29, 2011

You may have heard native English speakers hesitate when using a gerund in the possessive case. This particular grammar issue is often shirked by textbooks and school teachers, so many of us are never quite sure whether to use a possessive adjective with a gerund in certain cases. Take this example of a common mistake below:

Incorrect: Jake dancing is the result of weeks of practice.

Many English speakers would use this sentence without noticing the error, and probably many of us would not hear any error if we heard the sentence as it’s written. The problem with the sentence, though, is that the noun, Jake, as the agent of the action, dancing, must be in the possessive case. The simple reason is that Jake himself cannot be the result of weeks of practice. Rather, it is Jake’s dancing that is the result of weeks of practice.

Try this GMAT sentence correction for practice!

Correct: Jake’s dancing is the result of weeks of practice.

Now while this seems simple enough, there are still some nuances that have to be reviewed before we can safely decide when to use a noun in the possessive case when it precedes a gerund. The main rule we must remember is that the “ing” verb that comes after the noun does function as a noun; in other words, make sure the ‘ing’ verb is a gerund before you use the preceding noun in the possessive case. Notice the subtly different meanings created by sentences below:

Ambiguous: I like Jake dancing.

Apart from any given context, the sentence above is a bit ambiguous and odd, though not grammatically incorrect in the formal sense. What the sentence suggests is that I like Jake when he dances.

Clear: I like Jake’s dancing.

The above sentence is clear and unambiguous. It means simply that I like the dancing that Jake happens to be doing.

Clear: Jake dancing is quite a spectacle.

You may think that you should immediately change Jake into Jake’s, but this sentence does make sense. Ask yourself, “can Jake himself be ‘quite a spectacle?”’ Yes. Thus, as it stands, the sentence means that Jake, while dancing, is a spectacle.

Clear: Jake’s dancing is quite a spectacle.

This sentence means almost exactly the same thing as the previous sentence, but notice the subtle difference: now I am specifically saying that the dancing itself is a spectacle.

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GMAT Practice: What to Do if You Cannot Spot an Error on SC

By vivian kerr posted November 24, 2011

Unlike CR and RC, GMAT Sentence Correction is far less “strategy-heavy”, however you can still develop a methodical approach and apply it to every question. Start by asking yourself, can I spot an error? If you can, then go to the answer choices and quickly eliminate those that do NOT correct the error. Scan the remaining choices for a secondary error, and eliminate. But what can you do if you cannot spot an error?
One way to approach each SC is to start with the “VPIMPS” and check systematically for each error. This will take longer than just “spotting” the errors so it’s important to continue working on your knowledge of the tested SC grammar rules so you can better spot the errors, but this is a good method for those times when you just can’t tell what (if anything) is wrong with the sentence. “VPIMPS” stands for:

Verb Agreement – check the verb tense for logic and make sure it agrees with the subject in number

Parallelism – is there a list in the sentence or a series of clauses? Numerous commas and the word “and” is often a clue that parallelism is present.

Idioms – two-part idioms and prepositional idioms are very commonly tested; do you have any doubts about a certain phrase? Try putting it in a new sentence. Does it still make sense?

Modifiers – is an adjective used where an adverb is needed? Are there clauses that begin with “which” or “that”?

Pronouns – They must have a clear antecedent and agree with their nouns. “Meaning” often comes into play with pronouns. A pronoun may not have a stated antecedent, but the meaning will make it clear what the intended antecedent is.

Sentence fragments/run-ons – run-ons and fragments; is there too much info in the sentence, or not enough?

Test your GMAT verbal skills with this practice sentence correction question.

You can find many in-depth articles on each of these in the BTG library. SC is really about knowing the dozen tested concepts. It’s really not logic-based like CR. You just have to practice, practice, practice, know your English grammar rules cold, and learn what the GMAT “prefers” stylistically. Good luck!

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GMAT Sentence Correction: Eliminating Pronouns

By jordan schonig posted November 20, 2011

At this point, we should already be familiar with the concept of ambiguous pronouns. To refresh your memory, an ambiguous pronoun is a pronoun whose antecedent is not entirely clear; that is, the ambiguous pronoun could refer to more than one possible noun in the sentence.

Example: After meeting Dave and Bill at the airport, Steve dropped off some luggage at his house.

Here, we don’t know if “his house” refers to Dave’s house or Bill’s house, so the pronoun is ambiguous. You could fix the problem a number of ways. You could change “his” to “their,” so we know that Dave and Bill share the house that Bill is visiting, or we could replace the “his” with either “Dave” or “Bill” in order to clarify the ambiguity by eliminating the noun.

Test your GMAT skills with this sentence correction practice question.

There is, however, another alternative that the GMAT seems to favor. Because repeating the noun sounds repetitive and clunky, we can use a synonym for the antecedent that acts as a generic placeholder for a noun. The synonym should always be more general than, or should encompass, the antecedent.

Example: New state-of-the-art plastics use polymer compounds that give these materials unmatched durability.

Notice in the above sentence that the phrase “these materials” functions as a pronoun for “plastics,” which, as opposed to “polymer compounds,” can easily be described as “materials.” Using the pronoun “them” would result in a case of pronoun ambiguity, since we have two possible antecedents—plastics and polymer compounds.

Example 2: After the controversial policy agreement was ratified, the committee submitted a bill that would allow more for control over such contracts in the future.

The above sentence exemplifies the same case. “Such contracts” clearly refers to the “policy agreement” because only policy agreement can be described as a type of contract. The other possible antecedents, committee and bill (but really only “bill” because the “committee” is the subject of the verb), do not pose any problems for the sentence.

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