Sentence Correction Tips

1) answer choices in which the word "being" is a verb are rarely correct. pay special attention to where and how "being" is used at the end of the answer choices. this is a kaplan takeaway strategy 2) "there" constructions are rarely correct. if you see "there" with a comma before it, it's probably wrong 3) if you see "which" without a comma before it, it's probably wrong. 4) consider, regard....as, think of......as: there is no as after consider, while both regard and think of need the as. 5) to be/being: in general, avoid the construction to be/being because they are usually passive. to be/being are commonly used in junk answer choices. 6)“after when” is wrong 7) from x to y - correct, from x up to y - incorrect 8) rates for - correct, rates of – incorrect 9) if “who” is present it should refer to one before the comma. 10) “so much.....as” is preferred if it is preceded by a negative. ex: she left not so much as a trace. 11) have + verb (-ed) + present participle (-ing) is wrong ex: “have elected retiring” should be “have elected to retire” 12) a relative pronoun (which, that or who) refers to the word preceding it. if the meaning is unclear, the pronoun is in the wrong position. the word "which" introduces non-essential clauses and "that" introduces essential clauses. "who" refers to individuals; "that" refers to a group of persons, class, type, or species. wrong: the line at the bank was very slow, which made me late. right: i was late because of the line at the bank or the line at the bank made me late. 13) “less” and “amount” refer to non-countable things and answer: “how much?” [soup]. 14) "fewer" and "number" refer to countable things and answer: "how many?" [people]. 15) "if" vs. "whether" vs "whether or not". if these are being tested in one sentence choose "whether" almost 100% of the time!! 16) disinterested vs uninterested disinterested: neutral, unbiased ex: the best judges are disinterested. uninterested: bored, not interested ex: uninterested in his homework, martin nodded off. 17) who vs whom if you can’t get who and whom straight, try this trick: rephrase the sentence to get rid of who or

whom. if you find you’ve replaced who/whom with he, she, or they, then "who" is correct. if you find you’ve ., who/whom with him, her, or them, then "whom" is correct. who is used when it refers to a subject. whom is used when it refers to an object. whoever vs whomever whoever is used in subjective case and whomever is used in objective case. imp eg. the speech was directed toward whoever was present. (whomever in this case is wrong, whoever is subject of the verb was) 18) conditional the conditional might trip you up or give you pause, but it’s actually a wonderfully simple verb form to get right. the formula always goes: if.....were.....would. that’s it! there’s nothing else to memorize. ex: if i were principal, i would let everyone leave at eleven a.m. note that it’s never correct to say if . . . was . . . were. the title of the song “if i were a rich man” is an excellent way to remember the use of were with the conditional. like vs as 'like' is used to compare people or things (nouns) ex: jack and jull, like humpty dumpty, are extremely stupid. 'as' is used to compare clauses. a clause is any phrase that includes a verb ex: just as jogging is a good exercise, swimming is a great way to burn calories. use like whe you want to focus on twp nouns, use as when you want to focus on two nouns doing actions eg. my siamese cat moves just like lion staking its prey. ( here cat is compared to lion and not cats movement compared to lions movement) my siamese cat moves just as a lion staking its prey moves. (here cats movement is compared to lions movement) like vs. such as like and such as? the short answer is that we use like for comparisons and such as for examples. want to know more? please click the link.", "style=\"border: 1px dashed #000;background: #fafad2;padding: 6px;font-size: .8em;overflow: auto;\"");" onmouseout=gal_hidepopup(); href="http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60" target=""such as vs like such as is used to indicate examples like is used to indicate similarities

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can you buy me some fruit like oranges or grapefruit?

in gmatland, this sentence would mean that you do not want oranges or grapefruit; instead, you'd prefer some fruit similar to oranges and grapefruit. for example, you may want pomelo, lemons, or limes. yes, i know this sounds a little crazy, but our goal is to understand what gmat is looking for, not what is "correct" english.

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can you buy me some fruit such as oranges or grapefruit?

yes, this is what we're supposed to say in gmatland -- oranges and grapefruit are examples of the type of fruit we want. shall vs will shall is used in first person(i,we) and will is used in second or third person (you,he,she,it, they) eg. shall we depart now? will you be able to find your way? shall is used in all persons for emphatic statements. eg. i shall do no such thing. you shall not be permitted in. they shall not pass. should vs would should is used to express obligation or condition eg. i should repait the hole that i made in the fabric. (obligation) if we should leave them penniless, they may actually starve. (condition) would is used to express a wish or a customary action. was vs were use were always (for any person) if the sentence is used to express conditions contrary to fact and to epress wishes, suppositions or doubts. eg. if i were a rich man. (these are subjunctive sentences) if my father were still alive.

uses of subjunctive mood the subjunctive mood is used for 1) conditions contrary to the fact eg. if i were rich, i would have bought america. if she insists on paying the bill, it will be alright with me. (here the condition is not contrary to the fact, so use insists and no insist) if the theater were near my house, i would have gone there daily. 2) demands in clauses introduced by that or in clauses where that is implied

eg. i wish that i were a prime minister. i recommend that he take a trip abroad. ( here takes is not used, instead 'take' should be used) the judge ordered that widows and orphans be protected. (here 'be' is used instead of 'are' since it is a demand) 3) wishes: eg. i wish i were prime minister. aggrement of subject and verb singular subject should have singular verb and plural subject should have plural verb. eg. the skater has fallen through the ice. ( singular subject skater, singular verb has fallen) the skaters have fallen through the ice. ( plural subject skaters, plural verb have fallen) (to get get singular verb substitue subject with he, she, it. to get plural verb substitute subject with they.) in many sentences containing a singular subject, plural words may intervene betwene subject and verb. in such cases remember that the subject is singular and must have a singular verb. the importance of men, ammunition, and food supplies was not overlooked by the general. ( subject importance is singular so the verb is singular 'was overlooked' and not 'were overlooked') salman and sohail ( the subject is plual) kulfi and rabdi is a great dish ( kulfi and rabdi is singular) he or she ( subject is singular) goats or sheep ( subject is singular) gun and bullets ( verb should be plural as it is closer to plural subject) bullets and gun ( verb should be singular as it is closer to singular subject) her brother alongwith her parents is staying here. (here the subject is singular, and 'is' is correct) very good eg. the set of propositions which were discussed by the panel has been published in the society journal. (propositions were discussed (so plural verb) and set of propositions was printed so singular verb)

also nouns anyone,everyone, eachone is singular. when using neither....nor the verb should agree the subject following nor, same for either...or either he was right or they were right (here they is plural so use 'were')

togrther with, alongwith forms singular noun teacher alongwith student is going to school. teacher and student are going to school. “broadcast” and "data" are plural crises is plural for crisis.

tenses of the infinitive verb an infinitive is a verb with 'to` before it. (to swim, to play, to fight) present infinitive : active : to tell, to be telling , passive: to be told perfect infinitive : active: to have told, to have been telling passive: to have been told the present infinitive is used if its action occurs at the same time or after the action of the main verb. eg. she does not want to continue the conversation. she did not want to continue the conversation. he decided to reveal the whole truth. ( here the infinitive to reveal occurs after main verb decided) the prefect infinitive is used if its action precedes that of the main verb eg. it is senseless to have told such a story. everyone agreed it was difficult to have prepared for such an examination. ( the infitive prepared occurs before main verb agreed) pronouns pronoun case chart subject

object

possesors

i,we

me,us

my,our

you

you

your

he,she, it,they

him,her,

his,her,its,their

it, them

compound structures: when you have a compound subject or object ignore the first noun or pronoun and see which case fits the remaining pronoun. bill and i went to the movie. correct: i went to the movie. correct: bill went to th movie.

after all forms of the linking verb to be, use subject pronouns. eg. it was i. it is`we. it might have been they. using who or whom: always use this 2 step approach 1) reverse the order to make meaning more clear 2) substitute he/him, he - who, him - whom eg. the boy (who/whom) she met lives nearby. 1) reverse the order : she met (he/him) 2) she met him is correct, so the sentence is the boy whom she met lives nearby. eg. i had known (who\whom) she was. 1) she was (she\her) 2) she was her is correct as was is a to be verb correct: i had known who she was. using pronouns with gerund always use possesive form of the pronoun before a gerund. eg. she resents his (not him) going to the basket ball game. he did not like thier (not them) whining about the homework. our parents were pround of our winnig the race. between is always followed by object pronoun. remember: it is always between you and me.

using correct pronoun form in appositive phrases: when pronouns are used as appositives (words that restate the noun), pronouns take the same case as the renaming noun eg. the two boys, larry and he are sleeping. ( here two boys is subject so he is used which is a subject pronoun) daisy saw the two boys, larry and him. (here two boys is object so him is used which is an object pronoun) using correct pronouns in comparisons: try extending the sentence and see which fits

she is funnier than (he/him). extend the sentence: she is funnier than he is. ( he fits)

'but' is always followed by an objective pronoun (him,her, me) `'was' is always followed by a subjective pronoun (i) eg. no one but him could have told them that the theif was i. verbs was, were are to be verbs and require subjective pronoun. each other vs one another each other - used when two persons are involved ex: ross and rachel love each other. one another - used when there are more than 2 people ex: the three brothers love one another. different from vs different than always use different from and not different than. targeted at vs targeted to always use targeted at ditinguish between always use distinguish between x and y forbidden to vs forbidden from always use forbidden to' and not 'forbidden from' compared to vs compared with “compared to” is used when unlike things are compared and is used to stress the resemblance eg. caliban is compared to a beast in shakespeare's the tempest. “compared with” is used when like or similar things are compared and is used to stress the resemblance or difference (usually difference) eg. compared with you, i cannot sing well at all. remember : dog is compared to man , sachin is compared with lara whether vs. if on gmat whether will almost always beat 'if''

incorrect: her client dint tell her if he had sent his payment yet. correct: her client didn't tell her whether he had sent his payment yet. as long as vs so long as as long as - deals with physical comparision ex: the baseball bat was as long as the club so long as - deals with a condition ex: so long as you maintain your cool, the meeting should be fine. equal vs equivalent equal should be used only in its strict sense. ex: 4+3 is equal to 5+2 equivalent is preferable when we are saying that two thing s are not entirely identical, but are almost equal. ex: country x spent $xx on something, equivalent to the gdp of country y. using due to due to can only be used if it can be replaced by "caused by" it does not mean "because of" incorrect: the game was postponed due to rain. correct: the game was postponed because of rain. correct : the games postponement was due to rain. using each rule 1 : "the subject of a sentence starting with each is always singular" rule 2: when each follows a plural subject, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain in plural" eg. for 1st rule: three cats, each of which eats.. eg. for 2nd rule : three cats each eat .... (each here follows cats (plural) so the subsequent pronoun or verb should be plural) television can be superficial, as when 3 major networks each broadcast exactly the same... so as to "so as" is never correct on gmat incorrect: he exercises everyday so as to build his stamina correct: he exercises everyday in an effort to build his stamina. it in gmat 'it' at the end of the sentence should always replace noun and not a sentence. my brother said i took his cookies, but i dint do it ( this is wrong here 'it' is replacing a sentence 'i didn't take the cookies')

during + time period is wrong eg. during two hours is wrong during last two hours is right. same as same as to x as to y range from x to y use - not x but rather y always use credited with. use among when 3 or more things are involved, do not use between. than vs then use than when doing comparisions eg. greater than, less than.. then is used in case of time...eg. i will go there and then i will eat. use whom only for pronouns and not for things. always use seek support from and not support of always use mistook for and not mistook as always use in contrast to and not in contrast with always use damge to and not damage of when you have one of the factors in the sentence it is always plurall and not singular. always use possibility of having and not possibility to have. less, more v/s lower, greater less, more, amount with non countable nouns, lower ,fewer, number and greater with countable nouns. audience, group, family are collective nouns and are singular always use seek support from and not seek support of always use distinguishing x from y and not distinguishing x and y always use between x and y always use so much .... as always use so...as always use merge x with y

both and each side can never go together ========================================================================= ================================= instead of coming up with a "great" or a "thanks", please come up with ur respective points. think that is what huskers had in his mind. tip of the day - 0823 use of semicolons semi colons are used to seperate different clauses in a statemet. this is something we are all aware of in gmatland. another use and eg. of semi colon. when the items in a series themselves contain commas, separate the items with semicolons. incorrect: we visited erie, pennsylvania, buffalo, new york, and toronto, ontario. (confusing. semicolons needed to make clear distinctions.) correct: we visited erie, pennsylvania; buffalo, new york; and toronto, ontario. tip of the day - 0824 use of colons colons appear rarely on gmat land, but there is no harm in equipping yourself with something extra. usages:

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colons with lists - use a colon before a list when the list is preceded by a complete independent clause. eg. john has all the ingredients: minced clams, milk, potatoes, and onions

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colons introduce quotations that are formal or lengthy. eg. dickens wrote: "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

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colons may be used to separate independent clauses that are not separated by a conjunction or any other connecting word or phrase. semi colons may also be used in such cases. eg. grapes are not squeezed: the pulp is pressed.

note for 3 >> the second clause begins with a capital letter.

tip of the day – 0825 “so as” is never correct in gmat land.

some usages: incorrect: he runs everyday so as to build his stamina. correct: he runs everyday in an effort to build his stamina correct: her debts are so extreme as to threaten the future of the company

tip of the day – 0827 if two nouns are combined, a conjunction is required to make it plural. in the absence of a conjunction, the two nouns take a singular form. eg. two nouns combined with a conjunction my father and myself are going to the market two nouns combined, without a conjunction the teacher together with the student is going to the market. tip of the day – 0828 “

” used with time period without an intermediate mention of the timing of the period is wrong. wrong: during two hours, i felt sleepy right: during the last two hours, i felt sleepy tip of the day – 0829

“decided to stage the work himself” is an idiomatic expression

tip of the day – 0830 “native to”

penguins are native to the antarctic. “a native of” steve is a native of canada. use "preference for " and "peference to" use "different from" and not "different than" 1) to prohibit s.o. from doing sth. 2) to forbid s.o. to do sth. 3) to distinguish between x and y 4) x is believed to be y 5) x is estimated to be... 6) range from a to b 7) increase by more than twice = wrong! >> twice cannot be an object

tip of the day – 0831 “save for”

save for that inconvenience, the trip was a success.

tip of the day – 0901

“being” is usually wrong in gmat land, except in two kinds of scs •

in addition to being one of the finest restaurants…

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there are many reasons to get an mba, with increased career prospects being the most important..

if…then construction sentences that use the word ‘if’ to describe hypothetical conditions require a conditional verb construction. these sentences have two parts: if clause, and the then clause. the word ‘if’ does not always signal a conditional sentence. only when the sentence has a ‘then’ clause, then the sentence is considered a conditional sentence.

also note would/could never appears in the ‘if’ clause. the actual word then is frequently omitted if clause ; then clause present tense ; will + base verb past tense ; would/could + base verb past perfect tense ; would/could + have + past participle awesome start. erin can we have this as a sticky? here's my input subjunctive mood in gmatland, subjunctive mood can be seen in two types of sentences. 1) if clauses, when the if clause expresses a condition contrary to reality. e.g. if i were a rich man, i would have bought some horses. (in reality, i am not a rich man) 2) when hopes, proposals, desires, and requests are followed by "that". the government requires that every man be prepared for the onslaught of the hurricane. (notice the basic verb form "be" without the "to" in infinitive.) i also wanted to add to score800's last point on passive voice. in gmatland, whenever the emphasis is not on the "doer" of the action, passive voice form is correct. for example, the victim was carried to a nearby hospital. (here "who" carried the victim is not important) possesive + participle it is a strict no no. never choose a choice that has this formation. for example, "organization's trying" is wrong. the number of vs. a number of when you use the number of , use a singular verb. the number of excuses grows every time the he tells the story. when you use a number of , use plural verb. a number of survivors of the plane crash swim to shore. singular verb as 's and plural verb, eg. he works and they work today's tips... yes,lets contribute whatever we can. raise,set and lay are transitive verbs;they are followed by ab object. rise,sit and lie are intransitive;they are not followed by an object. a)tom raised his hand b)i will set the book on the desk.

in a) and b),they are followed by objects like hand,and the book. c)the sun rises in the east. d)i sit in the front row. no objects are followed. which vs. that which, refers to a group as a whole and that, refers to a subset within the group. example: periodicals, which i hate to read, are a good study strategy for the gmat. the periodicals that i hate the most discuss economics. the second point on which and that may seem easy to the verbal guru's but one that always nailed me when i began my days in gmat land. which or that refers to the most recent noun. gmat seems to like to create sentences like: the periodical written by oliver twistie, which took me days to read was boring. in this case the which is referring to the periodical. sorry it is such a lame example but you get the point! hopeful is an adjective, hopefully is an adverb - to be hopeful. hopefully, i will get the promotion -- wrong i am hopeful that i will get a promotion -- correct i hope that i will get a promotion -- correct we waited hopefully for the lottery results -- correc