GMAT Sentence Correction

"More" and "less" and ambiguity

*Be careful not to use these words before an adjective and a noun because it'll be ambiguous.* For example: "We have even more efficient engines than before." More efficient engines in terms of numbers or engines that are more efficient? *Better*: "We have even more engines that are efficient than before."

Infinitives

*Can serve as nouns, adjectives or adverbs* Noun: "I love TO SWIM" Adjective: "The person TO MEET is here." Adverb: "Sue paused TO EAT lunch." (Why she paused -- this is an infinitive of purpose. Pay attention to these.)

Like vs As

*Like is used to compare nouns, pronouns and phrases. A noun or pronoun needs to follow "like."* Ex: "Like her brother, Ava aced the test." *As is used to compare two clauses* Ex: "Just as her brother did, Ava aced the test." Here, "did" is working verb so "her brother did" is a clause, which as introduces. Remember that for "as" to be used as a comparison, it must be part of a clause, and that means there *must* be a verb! Basically, you can compare Ava and her brother (like), or you can compare what Ava did and what her brother did (as) *DO NOT* use like to compare clauses. And definitely *DO NOT* use like to introduce examples!!!!! That's for "such as" and "including" Just remember: like = nouns, as = clauses.

"ing" verbs

*Noun* = *GERUND* *Modifier* = *PARTICIPLE*

"Number" or "percentage" to start a sentence

*Number:* If the article is "the," "number" is the subject of the sentence and is singular If the article is "a," the sentence is about a number of things so it is plural *Percentage*: "The" -- same rule as above -- singular "A" -- can be singular or plural, need to look at the sentence

Relating quantities with numbers

*Relating quantities with Multiplication*: Use "times" and "as" together "The man is 5 times as old as his son." *Direct Multiplication*: "times" without "as" The cost of the ticket is 10 times the cost six years ago." *Addition and Subtraction*: Use more than and less than "I am 10 years older than you."

Like vs Including

"Like" is used to introduce a similarity between two things while "including" is used to introduce two examples

Which vs That

"Which" is used to introduce nonessential clauses (adds information to a sentence but is not necessary to make meaning), and "that" is used to introduce essential clauses.

Grammar Term: Modifier

A modifier provides additional information in a sentence beyond the core subject and verb; the simplest example is an adjective. However, modifiers can also be more complex and the GMAT typically includes more complex modifiers: "The LARGE dog, WHICH HAS BLACK FUR, is a Bouvier." "TIRED OUT FROM PLAYING BASKETBALL, Harambe decided to take a nap." Here, the capitalized text are modifiers. Sometimes, modifiers can be ESSENTIAL. That is, the sentence doesn't make sense without them. In the above example, you can take out "which has black fur" and the sentence still makes sense. However, consider this example: "The job THAT SHE STARTED LAST WEEK is harder than her previous job." In this example, if you took out the modifier the sentence again would be unclear.

Another gerund note

A noun preceding a gerund has to be in the *possessive* form if the noun is the doer of the action described by the gerund

Absolute Phrase

A phrase that is composed of a noun and its modifiers and they modify the entire clause. They add descriptive or explanatory information to a clause NEVER NEVER start an absolute phrase with "which!" Which has to refer to the main noun closest to the which Also, don't leave "this" or "that" by themselves! They have vague antecedents unless they're attached to a noun (i.e "these results")

Indefinite Pronoun

A pronoun that doesn't refer to a specific noun -- for example, *"anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, nothing, either, neither, someone, whatever"* Most indefinite pronouns are considered to be *singular*. However, there are also the *SANAM indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural*: *Some, any, none, all, more/most.* With SANAM indefinite pronouns, there generally will be an of phrase, and you should look at it to determine whether it is singular or plural. And some are always plural: "Many, few, both, several" You can also use SANAM and pronouns such as "many, each, neither" and other pronouns that pick out a subgroup to describe a smaller part of a larger group. For example, "The model explains all known subatomic particles, SOME of them only recently discovered."

Semicolon

A semicolon can be used in place of a comma and coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) to combine two simple sentences and make a compound sentence.

Verbs that take *ONLY* the infinitive

Advise Allow Forbid Persuade Want

IF...Then constructions

Always have 2 clauses: clause 1 -- if x is true clause 2: then y happens. Note that the word "then" can be omitted. Finally, remember that the order can be changed up, i.e you can have this outcome will happen IF x is true

If you are using the passive voice

Always use the verb "to be"

Adjectives & Participles in the same sentence

An adjective *can* be in the same sentence with a present or past participle. They are parallel when they both function as adjectives to modify a noun

Don't assume the sentence has to be wrong

Answer A is as frequent as any of the others -- about 20% (1/5) of the time!

Conjunctive Adverb

Transition word or phrase that comes after a semicolon -- connects two main clauses

Run-On Sentence / Comma Splice

Two or more sentences that are separated only by a comma; they should actually have a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) between them.

Compound Verb

Two or more verbs that all point to the same subject. For example: "Andrew drove to work and said hello...." The GMAT can often put both a compound subject and a compound verb into a question. For example: "Andrew and Alex drive to work together and greet their co-workers..."

Inverted Sentences

Typically we place the subject before the verb. However, in an inverted sentence, the subject is after the verb. This is just meant to make finding the correct subject verb agreement more challenging. To make it even harder, they may put another noun right before the verb to confuse you. Ex: Through those trees lives a creepy old man. Man is the subject that lives Often these sentences start with here or there

When you see since and within

Use the present perfect

Conditional Tense

Use this for an action that WAS in the future (relative to the time of the main verb) but is now in the past

Past perfect tense / Future perfect tense

Used to describe the earlier of two events in the past. It is paired with simple past tense. Likewise, future perfect is used to express the earlier of two events in the future, and can be paired with simple future tense or simple present tense.

Present perfect for past events

Used when there isn't a defined time specified i.e "Bals has seen all of NYC"

Participles

Verb forms that function as modifiers. Present participles end in "ing" and past participles end in "ed" The noun associated with a participle can be the 1. agent doing the action of the participle or the 2. receiver of the effect of the participle

Sequencing

Verbs must be parallel - gotta use the same tense unless you're trying to sequence and describe a series of events that happened in a certain order. The key here is really understanding the meaning of the sentence so you can apply the right tense

Linking Verbs

Verbs that don't show action, but rather link the subject to words or groups of words that identify or describe the subject. They show what the subject *IS*. Examples: to be verbs, appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, smell, turn, remain These can also be parallelism markers. For example: The bouquet (subject) WAS a gift (object) of love. You couldn't say "a giving" of love for example.

List of Indefinite Pronouns that is always singular / plural

Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something, whoever. *Easier to remember the list that is always plural: BOTH, FEW, MANY, SEVERAL* *Ones that can be either singular or plural: SANAM: Some, any, none, all, most/more* -- just depends whether the pronoun refers to a singular or plural verb, and in this case, you NEED the prepositional phrase that comes after -- this is an EXCEPTION to the rule Note that they'll often throw a prep phrase in there that makes it seems like you need to go plural when you don't. Ex: Neither *of the girls* (like/likes) doing chores on the weekends. It should be "likes," because you should ignore "of the girls"

Subjunctive Verbs

Are always plural. Use of the "to be" verb in subjunctive is always the word "be" Always used with "that": Demand/request/reccomend verb + that + subject + subjunctive verb

Redundancy

Avoid it. No right answers on the GMAT will contain unnecessary words. Pay attention to expressions of time here. Easy to test redundancy with time. Pay attention to transition words as well.

Subordinate Clause

Created by a subordinating conjunction, a clause that modifies an independent clause. These clauses are much like complete sentences but they have subordinators at the beginning. Common subordinator markers: *although, before / after, unless, because, that, so that, if, yet while, since, when* Make sure the subordinator makes sense. Although, for example, indicates a contrast, but if the rest of the sentence doesn't talk about a contrast then although isn't a good subordinator.

This, that, these and those

DO NOT use these or this in place of a noun. You can, however, *use those or this to indicate a "new copy."* For example, "The money spent by her parents is less than THAT spent by her children." The money her children spent is a different pot of money than the one her parents spent. Those or that have to agree in number with the previous version. Remember that.

Verbs that take *ONLY* the command subjunctive when they indicate desire

Demand Dictate Insist Mandate *Propose* *Recommend* Request Stipulate *Suggest*

X is/are to Y what W is/are to Z

Don't use "just as"

Due to vs Because of

Due to is used to modify/present reason for NOUNS. Can be replaced with "caused by" and the sentence still makes sense. Because of is used for verbs/actions.

Be careful of interrogative pronouns with parallelism

Eg: Where, which, what, who (often used with to be) / whose / whom (possessive) While recognizing that lying often facilitates social interactions, psychiatrists are seeking to determine WHEN it becomes destructive and WHICH kinds of mental problems it can signal

Progressive Tenses

Emphasize the ongoing nature of something -- takes place over some period of time *Combination of verb TO BE and a present participle* Examples: Present Progressive: "Sandy is playing soccer" Past Progressive: "Sandy was playing soccer yesterday" Future Progressive: "Sandy will be playing soccer tomorrow" *DO NOT use progressive tenses to indicate verbs that express general states*, such as saying "This inscription IS SIGNIFYING (signifies) the emperor's birth."

Helping Verbs

Examples are may, will, must, should, would. By changing up these verbs, you can change the meaning of a sentence. For example: 1. If Chris and Bob had met, they discussed math. 2.If Chris and Bob had met, they would discuss math. Here, the helping verb "would" makes the second sentence right because "if" suggests a hypothetical. Three Primary Helping Verbs: *Be* -- Progressive tenses and and the passive voice *Do* -- simple present or past *Have* -- Generates Perfect Tenses

Additive Phrases

Expressions that add to or modify subjects. They generally include words like *along with, as well as, in addition to, including, accompanied by, together with*... Remember that these expressions *NO NOT MAKE SUBJECTS PLURAL* although they are meant to trick you into thinking its plural Example: "Sally, *along with Joe, Bobby and Sue, IS* going to the fair tonight."

The first thing you ALWAYS do when reading an SC question

Find the meaning of the sentence. --What is the time frame - past/present/future? --Has the event finished or is it still continuing? --Is/was/will the event be continuous or at a point in time? --Is there any sequencing of events?

Finite Verb

Finite verbs are the main verb in a sentence and answer the question, "when did the action in the sentence take place?" The only part of a sentence that *must* have both a subject and a main verb is the main clause of the sentence

The Flip it strategy

Flip the sentence when the GMAT tries to confuse you by putting the subject of the sentence after the verb! Rephrase it so that the subject is at the beginning.

Expressions that designate quantities or parts

Generally are determined to be singular or plural based on the noun in the prepositional phrase

Limiting Words

Generally used as misplaced adverbs. Words like "only," just, even, almost, merely, simply, exactly, nearly, hardly. In a lot of these situations the sentence is going to be grammatically correct but it isn't going to describe what you want it to. The best placement of a limiting adverb is immediately before the word or phrase that it is meant to modify

Simple Gerund

Gerund is an "ing" verb used as a noun These do not have an article (a or the) at the beginning "Riding a bicycle..." *Simple gerunds cannot be parallel to complex gerunds!*

In the event you really aren't sure whether something is singular or plural...

Go with singular.

"When compared to...."

IS ALWAYS WRONG ALWAYS!!!!

Not Only...But also rules

If not only comes BEFORE the verb, then you have to repeat the verb after but also. If not only comes AFTER the verb, you don't have to repeat the verb

Remember that pronouns follow the same rules of subject verb agreement that nouns do!

If the subject is a pronoun rather than a regular noun, the rules still apply

Past Perfect: The earlier action

In a sentence in which you use past perfect, you would either use it with the simple past to indicate that the past perfect action happened first or you would use it with some sort of time marker to suggest that the past perfect action happened prior to that

Prepositional Phrases with Time

In addition to misplaced prepositional phrases, make sure that prepositional phrases with time aren't misplaced because they can also be really confusing / ambiguous

Error: Multiple possible pronoun antecedents

In order for a sentence to effectively convey a meaning, it has to be clear which noun is the antecedent of each pronoun in the sentence. Ex: In a fit of anger, Bals poured the water from the vase and threw it. Even though you wouldn't throw water, "it" could technically refer to either the vase or water. Ex: While she was in LA, Maria texted Marisol many times. Who is she referring to?

Deciding whether pronoun / antecedent pairs are ambiguous

Just pay attention to the context of the sentence. If the sentence is written in such a way that it is only logical for the pronoun to be referring to a certain noun even if there are two that agree in number, its not considered ambiguous. Finally, once you logically determine what the antecedent for the pronoun must be, make sure that antecedent is actually in the sentence

Dangling Modifier

Similar to misplaced modifiers but in this case the noun being modified has been completely left out of the sentence -- these are *ALWAYS WRONG* Ex: "Walking along the river, the new tower can be seen."

Subject Verb Agreement

Singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural subjects require plural verbs. Ex. The DOGS EAT the dog food. (plural) The DOG EATS the food. (singular)

Simply focusing on grammar is not enough...

There are sentences that are grammatically perfect but are illogical in meaning. The way that meaning is most tested is via using modifiers. Ask yourself if the sentence makes sense if it is read literally and if the meaning conveyed by the sentence is logical. Context will provide you with info to figure out what the sentence is trying to say

Pronoun Error: Pronoun uses an incorrect case

There is the subject (I, you, he/she, they), object (me, you, him/her, them) and possessive case (mine, yours, his/hers, theirs) These distinctions also apply for relative pronouns. Ex: Who (subject) whom (object) and whose (possessive) The subject DOES the action of the sentence and the object RECEIVES the action of the sentence. If the pronoun is doing the action, a subject pronoun must be used and if the subject is receiving the action or being acted upon, an object pronoun must be used.

Complex Gerund

These do have an article at the beginning (a or the) Ex: The successful riding of a bicycle..." Note: *Only complex gerunds can be parallel to action nouns, simple gerunds cannot* Ex: The rebels demanded the withdrawal of government forced from occupied regions and *the raising of* the rebel flag on holidays YOU SHOULD NOT USE A COMPLEX GERUND IF IT CAN INSTEAD BE IN THE FORM OF AN ACTION NOUN!

Colons

These provide further explanation for what come before them, and they have to be able to stand on their own in a full sentence. Whatever is being elaborated upon should be placed as close to the colon as possible. Difference between a semicolon: A semicolon connects two independent clauses, but in this case the second clause doesn't necessarily explain the first. On the contrary, the colon always connects a sentence with an explanation or examples.

Parallelism Markers

These will link or contrast items. Most common: *and, but, or* Others: *Both/And, Either/Or, Not/But, Not Only/But Also, From/To* There can be a word before the first element which means its a closed marker (these are the "others" that are less common). When open markers are used, it's not as easy to see where the parallelism should begin, so often the same signal word is used to introduce the parallel phrases. For example: "I want to retire to a place *WHERE* I can relax and *WHERE* I pay low taxes." *You mainly have to repeat the signal word when a closed marker is being used.* This technique can actually make a sentence clear and logical as well.

Additive Phrase

They just *add nouns onto another noun*, i.e "ALONG WITH me" "IN ADDITION TO you" Important thing to know here is that they *ARE NOT PART OF THE SUBJECT*

Demonstrative Pronouns

This That These Those These can be used as adjectives (i.e "These plants") or in place of nouns, but they have to be modified in some way Ex: "The strategy taken by Bals is preferable to THAT taken by Connor." Here, that stands in for strategy and is modified by "taken by Connor."

Marker

This is a clue that a certain kind of issue is being tested. For example, if you see the word "like / unlike," you should realize that you're being tested on comparisons.

Present Perfect

This is used for actions that started in the past but continue into the present. It is possible that the event you are discussing is definitely over, but its *effect* continues to the present. "Andrew HAS BEEN in the library for 5 hours." "The child HAS DRAWN a line in the sand." A time phrase that does not include the present should not contain this tense in that sentence.

Stacked Modifiers

We can also have modifiers that are "stacked," or when they come one after the other. For example: The panel will hear from an emotional intelligence expert. You don't actually know if this guy is an EQ expert or if he works for the CIA and is emotional. The fix here is again going to be similar to squinting modifiers: you should separate the modifiers to make the sentence more clear.

Squinting Modifiers

A modifier *placed between two words or expressions each of which it could modify* Ex: People who train consistently achieve score increases. Does consistently modify train or achieve? To fix this, put consistently before train or at the end of the sentence. *Same fix with stacked modifiers.*

Words that the GMAT will try and confuse between adjectives and adverbs

Corresponding, frequent, independent, rare, recent, seeming, separate, significant, supposed, usual ----> If you see the answer choices switching back and forth between the adjective and adverb forms of the same word you need to ask yourself what the word is modifying!

Concision of sentences

It is true that the GMAT PREFERS to be concise (everyone does), but that is not a rule so don't get thrown off by it. Often the test will make the right answer less concise than the wrong answer to throw people off because they focus too much on concision. Basically, concision isn't really going to help you much.

Deadly Five Pronouns

It/Its They Them Their

In noun clauses, use "to be" instead of "as"

Null

No ambiguity with nouns and pronouns if two antecedents aren't in the same tense!

Null

If you're having trouble picking out the subject in a sentence...

Remember that the subject is the noun performing the action

Reporting Verb

Report, indicate, claim, announce *MUST be followed by "that"*

Noun + Noun Modifiers

noun + noun modifiers are very versatile modifiers and can modify an entity in the sentence. This entity can be the immediate preceding noun, a noun in the middle of the preceding clause, or the entire preceding clause. The modification of noun + noun modifiers completely depends on the context of the sentence. Deciding which it modifies is just logic and context driven

Noun Modifiers

*THEY MUST BE PLACED AS CLOSELY TO THE NOUN THEY ARE MODIFYING AS POSSIBLE* Though adjectives are the simplest noun modifiers, there are obviously more complex noun modifiers that essentially act as long adjectives. For example, "The cat ON THE COUCH" (preposition) "The cat OWNED BY SUE" (past participle) "The cat SLEEPING ON THE RUG" (present participle Noun modifiers typically answer a who, what, where, when, why question -- if you can answer one of these questions about a noun and it points to the modifier, its a noun modifier! You also have NONESSENTIAL modifiers -- which you can take out of the sentence and still retain the same meaning (these are generally separated out from the rest of the sentence with commas), and ESSENTIAL modifiers, where taking them out might compromise the meaning of the sentence (if there are 3 cats and you say "the cat is loud" no none will know which cat you're referring to. These are NOT separated out by commas) Positioning: generally, a noun's modifier has to be placed really closely to it (as closely as possible) or else it's just going to be confusing and ambiguous. An essential modifier comes before a non-essential modifier. ---> Wrong: "A hard worker, the new project was managed by Bals." ---> Right: "A hard worker, Bals managed the new project." There are a few rare exceptions where this isn't a requirement: 1. A really short predicate between a super long modifier 2.A short, nonessential phrase set off by commas and 3. If the modifier is part of a series of parallel modifiers

Other noteworthy Pronouns

*There* -- means "in that place." The antecedent is often a noun in a prepositional phrase *Itself and Themselves* -- *Used to refer directly back to the subject.* Have to use one of these if the subject is acting upon itself. You can also use these to intensify a noun *One another and Each Other* -- *Indicate interaction between parties.* *CANNOT* be interchanged with "themselves" *Such and other/another* -- Generally combine with another noun to refer to an antecedent. Such literally means like the antecedent *One* -- indicates and indefinite copy or a single, indefinite part of a collection *Do so / do it* -- refer to an entire action, including a verb, its objects and modifiers

Demonstrative Pronouns and Demonstrative Adjectives

*This, that, these and those* They can function as *demonstrative pronouns OR demonstrative adjectives* Note that *when used as pronouns, they don't always have to refer directly to their antecedents* Ex: The speed of today's cars well exceeds that of cars in the 50's. The "that" in this sentence doesn't refer to the same speed as the original speed mentioned. *You may be tested on the pronouns by the test writers using these demonstrative pronouns when a personal pronoun makes more sense because the original subject isn't being compared or pointed out in some way* How to tell apart when they are pronouns and when they are adjectives: *A demonstrative adjective is ALWAYS followed by a noun, but a demonstrative pronoun ALWAYS stands alone* because it takes the place of a noun Ex: The tires on most sports cars are wider than those on most mid-size sedans "Those" is a demonstrative PRONOUN Ex: That book is long "That" is a demonstrative ADJECTIVE.

Whether vs If

*Whether* is preferred if there are only two options

Appositive

- An appositive is an element of a sentence that modifies or further describes another element of a sentence by renaming it. *If, when you replace a noun in a sentence with its modifier, the sentence retains its core meaning, the noun modifier is an appositive.* These are often used by the test as a way to place something in between the subject and verb to confuse you. Appositives *almost always appear beside what they modify,* so they may be placed right after the main subject and inbetween the verb. --> For example: Type II diabetes, *a condition now through to result, at least in part, from the consumption of animal products such as milk, eggs, and various meats,* (is/are) becoming more prevalent in America. The bold phrase here just really is renaming Type II Diabetes - *Appositives can be essential to the meaning of the sentence, or they can be nonessential and just add additional info.* The test here is to *remove it from the sentence to see if the meaning of the sentence changes*, but *unessential appositives are going to be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas whereas essential modifiers will not be*. --> Essential Example: My neighbor Ted never cuts his grass. Unessential Example: Mr. Johnson, the oldest teacher at our school, is retiring next year. - There are also *abstract appositives*, which rename and modify abstract ideas. --> Ex: Earth's population of humans is expected to increase substantially over the coming decades, *a development that could have significant negative effects on quality of life on the planet.* The appositive here is not modifying nor renaming any specific noun in the sentence but rather the entire idea that precedes it. These will be asked about on the test by basically asking which form of the abstract appositive is most effective in delivering meaning/clarity. - They appear on the test in the forms of nouns, pronouns, noun phrases/clauses that modify other nouns, pronouns and noun phrases/clauses --> Examples of a noun, and two noun phrases: My sister *Lucia* is working tonight. Bals' house, *a bungalow,* has solar panels on its roof. *An amazing example of renaissance art,* the statue dominated the exhibit.

How the GMAT tries to change meaning

1. Changing the placement of modifiers 2. Changing the type of modifier 3. Using a conjunction that changes the meaning of a sentence

Phrases that can modify nouns

1. Prepositional Phrases 2. Noun phrases 3. Verb -- ing and ed

Sentence Correction Process

1. Take a first glance -First word of the 5 answers will always contain at least one difference (called the "split") 2. Read the sentence for meaning -You need to be aware of sentence meaning because a sentence can be grammatically correct but ambiguous. Remember that non underlined parts of the sentence can contain valuable information. If you think you see an issue with the original writing then cross off A and any others that repeat the same mistake. -ex: "Annie and Margot went to the movies in her car." Who's MF car??? 3. Find a starting point -Two most likely starting points: You either notice an issue in the original sentence or you notice splits/differences in the answer choices. If you're having trouble determining which path of a split is correct, you should find another split and work from that one 4. Eliminate -Remember that "best" answer choice doesn't mean ideal!

Clues in your first glance

1a. A LONG underline generally signifies: Issues with sentence structure, meaning, modifiers and parallelism 1b. A SHORT underline (referring to less than about 5 words) generally tells you that you should compare the answers before you read the original sentence 2. Pay attention to the first underlined word, because it can give you clues about what is being tested in the question. For example, if the first underlined word is "has," there's a good chance you're being tested on subject verb agreement, because "has" is a verb 3. Look at the difference between the first word or two of each answer choice. For example, you may see "has" vs "have." In this case, you know that they're testing singular vs plural. There's always going to be a difference at the beginning, but there's also going to be a difference at the end too.

Relative Clause

A clause that begins with a relative pronoun such as that, which, when, where, who or whom. Often placed between a subject and its verb to make catching subject-verb agreement issues more challenging. Ex: The horse *that has a spot on its chest and long, muscular legs* (is/are) munching on carrots and apples. Again, the move here is to ignore these clauses

Prepositional Phrase

A group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun. The noun/pronoun in a prepositional phrase CANNOT be the subject of the sentence. Ex: "The discovery of new medicines." Common prepositions: Of, in, to, for, with, on, by, at, from (basically the words that you don't capitalize) These are often used as adjectives or adverbs, but in this case, *MAKE SURE IT IS AS CLOSE TO THE WORD IT MODIFIES AS POSSIBLE! IF THEY ARE MISPLACED THEY WILL MODIFY THE WRONG THINGS!* Incorrect: "He walked his dog in a speedo." Should be, "In a speedo, he walked his dog."

Grammar Term: Clause

A set of words that contains a subject and a working verb Example: She applied for the job. She is the subject and applied is the verb. A subject and a working verb create an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. An independent clause can be a stand alone sentence; every correct sentence contains at least one independent clause. On the contrary, a DEPENDENT CLAUSE contains a verb but it can't stand on its own as a sentence. for example, "Although she didn't have much work experience..." Here, have is the verb, but it isn't a complete sentence. More complex sentences will have an independent clause and may contain other stuff like dependent clauses, another independent clause or other modifiers. Here they are together: "Although she didn't have much work experience, she applied for the job." The second part is the independent clause while the first part is the dependent clause. Without an independent clause (basically, if you're missing the subject or the verb), you have a FRAGMENT.

Compound Subject

A subject composed of multiple nouns (the nouns can be singular or plural, i.e the boys and the girls or the boy and the girl) joined by a coordinating conjunction such as and, or, nor Ex: The sidewalk and the street. Most of the time these subjects require *plural* verbs (when joined by "and," see below), but other times they are actually one entity and take a singular verb. i.e "Rock and Roll" *IF THE COMPOUND SUBJECT IS FORMED BY OR, NOR, EITHER...OR, NEITHER...NOR, THE VERB MUST AGREE WITH THE SUBJECT NOUN TO WHICH IT IS CLOSET!!!* *If the two nouns disagree in number*, then the noun closer to the verb dominates. For example, "Andrew and his *friends take* a break from studying."

Adverb

A type of modifier that modifies basically everything other than a noun or pronoun Ex: "The smart student works QUICKLY."

Adjective

A type of modifier that modifies only a noun or pronoun Ex: "The SMART student works quickly."

Intransitive Verb

A verb that doesn't take a direct object For example: "The driver swerved"

State Verb

A verb that indicates a condition of the subject rather than an action it performs Ex: "Her assistant KNOWS Russian" "I LOVE chocolate"

Transitive Verb

A verb that takes a direct object -- cab generally be put in the passive voice, turning the object into the subject Ex: "She observed the driver" --> "The driver was observed by her"

Bossy Verb

A verb that tells someone to do something -- they take the command subjunctive or an infinitive

Subordinator

A word that creates a subordinate clause Relative Pronouns: what, which, that, who/whose/whom Subordinating Conjunctions: Although, because, while, whereas

Preposition

A word that indicates a relationship between the object and something else in the sentence Less common ones: next to, between, against, over/under, out of, upon Thus, a *prepositional phrase* is just a preposition and an object

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun so you don't have to repeat that noun in a sentence When pronouns are tested, it'll most likely be in the form of them testing singular vs plural. Whenever they are testing pronouns, find the antecedent first -- the word that the pronouns are replacing. These two must agree in number. If, in the answer choices, you see them offering you one with a pronoun and one with a regular noun, its more likely the choice with the regular noun will be right to avoid ambiguity. Occasionally you can have different pronouns of the same class refer to different nouns in one sentence, but typically its preferred to not have that. Moreover, a noun and its pronoun are not required to have the same structure. Ex: "The board is investigating the compensation packages of several EXECUTIVES in order to determine how much THEY may have been improperly awarded. Logically, the board can't have been improperly awarded. Meaning here matters.

Working Verb

A working verb can run a sentence by itself and thus can be part of an independent clause. For example: "The cat WATCHED the mouse." Wrong: "The cat SITTING by the stairs."

Possessive Nouns

ARE NOT ACTUALLY NOUNS -- THEY ARE ADJECTIVES!!!! Therefore, modifiers can't modify them! Also -- do not use the form Y of x's. As in the racket of Andrew's. That's wrong. Either Andrew's racket or the racket of Andrew. Also -- remember that the test, the vast majority of the time, avoids answers that have the plural possessive " 's "

Progressive Tenses

Actions that were going on in the past, are going on now, or will be going on in the future when something else happened, is happening or will happen

Possessive Modification Trap

Be on the lookout for a modifying phrase followed by a possessive noun. For example, "Awarded the nobel prize for his work in chemistry, Bals' research..." isn't right. It should just be Bals. Obviously Bals' research can't be awarded a nobel prize

Sentences that begin with fractions or the word "percent"

Can be singular or plural depending on what constitutes the fraction

Modal Helping Verbs

Can, could, may, might, must, shall... These are often used in a repetitive manner on the test (which obviously is wrong)

Relative Clauses

Clauses that *relate or connect parts of a sentence to each other and begin with relative pronouns* -- if the clause is a noun modifier, then the relative pronoun (pronouns that show how one thing relates to another in a sentence) also refers back to the modified noun. *Almost always place the clauses IMMEDIATELY AFTER the noun it is meant to modify (see remote relative clauses).*

Parallelism

Comparable sentence parts must be structurally and logically similar. While every word within parallel phrases doesn't have to parallel, the main ones do and they both have to connect and work with the root phrase. The root phrase is basically what begins the sentence, and any of the parallel items should be able to finish that sentence on their own. Everything has to be parallel: Nouns, adjectives, working verbs, infinitive verbs, participle modifiers, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses Two rules that could confuse you about the above: 1. You CAN pair verbs of different tenses as long as the meaning of the sentence supports it. "She EATS apples all the time and DRANK some apple juice yesterday." 2. Past and present participles can also be paired: The cat slept in the sun, FATIGUED by play and DREAMING of the mouse that got away."

Comparative vs Superlatives

Comparative: 2 things Superlatives: 3+ things DO NOT use a comparative without the word "than" DO NOT compare an adverb that ends in "ly" to a comparative form that ends in "er"

Grammar Term: Conjunction

Conjunctions are just words that help to connect different parts of sentences together. For example, "He worked hard, AND his reward was a pay raise." COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS are words that can glue together two *independent clauses.* The most common ones are the *FANBOYS: FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR, YET SO.* You can also have SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: These conjunctions *connect modifiers to independent clauses*. Most common ones are: Although / though, because, if, before / after, unless, while.

Connecting Words

Conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs and relative pronouns

Certain preceding elements before a noun require that noun to take a singular verb

Every, each, many a/an Ex: Each of us prefers chewing gum

Indefinite pronouns that are ALWAYS singular

Everyone, anyone, someone, no one, nobody. Remember that indefinite pronouns that are paired with a possessive pronoun have to agree with the pronoun in number

Pronoun Error: No antecedent

Ex: "I'm sure they will arrive soon." Who will arrive soon? A very common example is starting a sentence with "they" even though the word doesn't actually refer to anyone or anything.

Pronoun Error: A pronoun won't refer to a clause on the GMAT

Example: My dog remained lost for days, which caused me to lose sleep until it was found. In this sentence, the pronoun *"which"* incorrectly refers to the whole clause "my dog remained lost for days," which it can't do -- *it has to refer to a specific noun* Ex: The job was less difficult than Shane expected it to be, but that didn't make up for his lack of pay. In this sentence, *"that"* refers to the whole clause "the job was..." but *it needs to clearly refer to a noun*

Indicative vs. Subjunctive

Indicative gives the facts (or beliefs) -- it walks about *what actually happened/is happening* Subjunctive talks about *what would happen / would have happened, what you wish would happened. Desires, suggestions, unreal / unlikely conditions* The subjunctive uses the *simple past tense* of every verb *except "to be,"* where you have to use "*were*" instead of "was"

Moods

Indicative: Facts / Beliefs Imperative: Commands Command Subjunctive: *Commands that are sorta hypothetical*, used with bossy verbs...like "I suggested that he drive..." Hypothetical Subjunctive: Hypothetical stuff

Relative Pronouns and Noun Modifiers

Introduce relative clauses. Examples include: *which, who, whose, whom, where, when.* These words ALWAYS signal noun modifiers -- however, "that" can also precede a noun modifier too, though it doesn't always mean noun modifier, it only does when it is right after a noun i.e. "Andrew brought a dog that..." /Who/ and whom must *ALWAYS* modify people /Which/ CANNOT modify people but it also CANNOT modify anything but nouns and it can't be the beginning of an essential modifier. BE CAREFUL HERE. People screw this up all the time in real life!!! /Whose/ can modify either people or objects /Where/ can modify a place but not a metaphorical place such as a condition or situation /When/ can modify an event or time. You can also use /in which/ for this When relative clauses are meant to be similar, they should start with the same pronoun!!!!!!!! Much like you have to connect verbs with "to" or ending in "ing" when you're listing, you have to start two compared clauses with the same pronoun.

Only time you can use "that" for people

Is when you're talking about an entity made up OF people, such as groups, teams, classes However, remember that *WHOSE* can be used for both people and things

When the word "that" appears after a working verb...

It acts as a "reset" button -- that is, a new subject-verb structure will follow. Also, remember that the times you drop "that" from a sentence in the real world is not right. For example, "I know she is good at math" should actually be "I know THAT she is good at math."

Though the subject of a clause or sentence can't be in a prepositional phrase, an antecedent can be

It can be helpful to try and insert the antecedent for the pronoun to see if it makes sense logically

Possessive pronouns + gerunds

It definitely can be a grammatically correct construction to place a possessive pronoun with a gerund, since a gerund is actually a noun. Don't get thrown off by this

Parallelism and Logic

Logic determines the grammar of parallel lists. It isn't enough for lists to just be grammatically parallel; if they describe a nonsensical meaning, the sentence is considered incorrect

For a noun modifier to correctly be placed far away from the noun it modifies...

Make sure that there is another modifier in between the noun and the modifier that ALSO modifies the noun. If it modifies anything else but the noun, it's wrong. "...appealed to the Supreme Court *in Madrid*, which then asked the Court of Justice for a ruling on how to apply European law covering working times. "...appealed to the Supreme Court *in 2011*, which then asked the Court of Justice for a ruling on how to apply European law covering working times. In the first example, in Madrid refers to the supreme court so the modifier starting with "which" makes sense. But in the second modifier, "in 2011" modifies appealed, so it makes the modifier nonsensical

Misplaced Adjectives

Misplaced modifiers result in errors in meaning When an *adjective* is placed away from the noun it modifies, it can result in a messed up meaning. You need to read sentences CAREFULLY to make sure adjectives modify the correct nouns

Adverbial Modifiers

Modify adverbs and verbs, but can modify anything that isn't a plain noun. They also answer the *who, what, where, when, why* questions but this time the answer will NOT point to a noun. Examples: *Adverb* : "The engineer *rapidly* identified the problem." *Prepositional Phrase*: "The team attends staff meetings *on Mondays*." *Present Participle*: "The engineer fixed the problem, *earning himself a promotion*." *Past Participle*: "*Exhilarated by the successful product launch*, the team celebrated after work." *Placement*: An adverbial modifier points to the right verb or clause as long as it isn't structurally closer to some other verb or clause. For example, "The CEO declared that everyone had to work every day through the holidays to make the production deadline, but *in calling for such an extreme measure*, the company's employees were upset to the point of mutiny." Here, the adverbial modifier *in calling for such an extreme measure* is meant to refer to the CEO's actions, not the employees' actions, but since its behind the conjunction connecting the two independent clauses, it technically refers to the employees' actions which isn't right. *Another thing to note about placement of adverbial modifiers if it's using a participle: the order in which the sentence is structured should represent the order of events in which they occurred.*

If...Then

Multiple forms here... IF *present*...THEN *present* or *can/may* or *future* IF *hypothetical*...THEN *conditional* IF *past perfect*...THEN *conditional perfect* (would have)

The word "of"

Never modify a measurement or unit of time with a noun-adjective; keep "of" in there. For example: "Memorial Day Week" should be "the week OF memorial day"

Command Subjunctive

Never use the command subjunctive without a "that" in front of it -- if there's no "that," you need to use the infinitive Sentence construction is: *Bossy Verb + THAT + subject + Command Subjunctive* Eg. We PROPOSE THAT the school board DISBAND.

Retaining certain parts of answer choices

Note that in certain cases, there are multiple meanings that are logical and are in the answer choices, but if one was in the original sentence (even if it is incorrect) you should retain that meaning....for example, increased to vs. increased by

Remote Relative Clause

Occasionally, there are structures where it is acceptable for a relative clause to be separated from the noun that it modifies: 1. If the phrase is separated from the noun by another modifier like a prepositional phrase or an appositive Ex: The town of Rockport, a sleepy seaside village north of Boston...." town of Rockport is essentially one noun but "of Rockport" is really a modifier of town Ex: Marty has a fruit stand in his town's farmer's market *that he uses not only to sell fruits and veggies but also to spread his*..." Here, you may think that the bolded relative clause needs to go near stand but its actually correct as written because "in his town's farmer's market" is pivotal to the meaning of the sentence and come between the clause and the noun 2. A relative clause may be separated from the noun it modifies by the main verb of the sentence Ex: Right: Even as we speak, solar panels are being developed that will generate power much more efficiently than any panels in use today. Wrong: Even as we speak, solar panels that will generate power much more efficiently than any panels in use today are being developed. *THE GMAT TAKES THE POSITION THAT THE SUBJECT AND MAIN VERBS THAT SIGNIFY COMING INTO BEING, ARRIVAL AND POSITIONING SHOULD NOT BE FAR APART EVEN IF IT SOUNDS RIGHT!*

Subjects CAN be a whole phrase or a clause

Often it'll be an "ing" phrase, such as "Having good friends IS a wonderful thing." Here, the subject is "having good friends" and the verb is obviously "is" Remember that *phrase and clause subjects are ALWAYS singular*

Pronoun error: A pronoun doesn't agree in number with its antecedent. Pay attention to "Each" and "Every" and

Often, the fix for this will just be to eliminate the pronoun entirely *Be ESPECIALLY careful with each and every and everyone because those are ALWAYS singular antecedents and they'll usually put a plural noun in there to confuse you*

Who vs Whom

One way to choose between who and whom is to replace the pronoun with he or him. He = who, him = whom

Pronoun Error: Unnecessary Pronoun

Only one noun/pronoun is needed to fill any particular role so a second one is considered wordy. Ex: Rich Roll, one an unhealthy corporate lawyer, he decided to change his life at age 40 --> obviously, don't need the "he"

The GMAT will often put a prepositional phrase between a subject and its verb to confuse you

Our ears are trained to pair verbs with the nouns immediately preceding them, so be careful. A good general strategy is to just ignore the prepositional phrase. The subject is almost never located in the prepositional phrase

Participle Phrase

Phrases that are based on but usually begin with participles. They can *NEVER* be the main verb in a clause -- they can only be part of it IF THERE IS A HELPING VERB. They act as modifiers! 1. Participle phrases that modify specific nouns -- can see this clearly by noticing that there is no comma between the phrase and the immediately preceding noun (they generally further define the noun) 2. Participle phrases that appear at the beginning or in the middle of a clause and are set off by commas (these are nonessential noun modifiers) 3. Participle phrases that appear at the end of clauses (these are generally set off by commas at the end) modify THE ENTIRE PRECEDING CLAUSE. They often describe the results of actions discussed in the sentence, the causes of events described in the sentence, or other events that were simultaneous and related to the others mentioned in the sentence. Ex: The strong winds blew apart structures and pushed ocean water into the town, *turning the buildings on Main Street into piles of debris*. *Always remember that a participle phrase has to work logically with the rest of the sentence. They can include grammatically correct participle phrases that just don't make sense.*

Dummy Pronoun

Placeholder "it" I.e, "It's cold outside" 2 Times you are going to want to use this: *1. Instead of infinitive subjects* ex: To resist temptation is futile --> It is futile to resist temptation *2. Instead of that-clause subjects* "That we scored at all encouraged us" --> "It encouraged us that we scored at all."

Phrases that can modify verbs

Prepositional Phrases are the ONLY phrases that can modify verbs

Action Nouns

Refer to actions, often formed from verbs Ex: Eruption, pollution, action

Collective Nouns

Refer to groups of people or things -- *almost always singular*. The *only time a plural verb is required is when the sentence makes it clear that the members of the group are not acting as a single unit but rather as individuals.* Ex of Plural: "The crew sometimes argue among themselves over..." It's plural here because clearly the crew can't argue with itself but the members have to argue among themselves. Ex: Baggage, equipment, army, crowd Sometimes Collective Nouns will be followed by a prepositional phrase, which can make it clear that the group is acting as a single unit or individually. Ex: pack of wolves vs couple of the members of my team

Concrete Noun

Refer to things, places, people and even time periods or specific events Ex: Andrew, New York, politician, region, week

Singular or Plural: Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns like that, which and who can be singular or plural depending on what they are modifying Ex: The dresser that is The curtains that are

More on Sentence Meaning and Meaning Errors

Remember how important meaning is. There are so many sentences that are grammatically correct but totally unclear; a good sentence is completely transparent. If the meaning of the original sentence is clear, start looking for grammar issues The Three Meaning Errors: 1. Choosing your words Did the author choose the correct word? Often, they'll pull the correct word's cousin from the dictionary. For example, "known as" vs. "known to be." 2. Placing your words Pay attention to the placement of words because the placement of a single word can alter the meaning of a sentence. If you see a word change position in the answer choices, you NEED to think about whether the change in placement has an impact on the meaning of the sentence. --> For example: "ALL the children were covered in mud" vs "The children were ALL covered in mud." More generally, pay attention to overall word order, because words can be chosen correctly but the sentence can still be confusing. For example, "The council granted the right to make petitions TO CITY OFFICIALS." Did they grant the city officials the right to make petitions or did they grant the right to make petitions to the officials??? 3. Match your words Sentences generally contain pairs of words or phrases that MUST match. --> For example: "Unlike Alaska, where the winter is cold, the temperature in Florida rarely goes below freezing." This doesn't make sense, because the author is comparing Alaska to the temperature in Florida.

Nontraditional Subjects

Remember that subjects can be in nontraditional forms such as gerunds, infinitives, noun phrases and clauses. They *ALL* take singular verbs.

Pronoun Error: Illogical Antecedents

Sometimes there will be a pronoun that doesn't actually make sense. Ex: The label socialism has long been avoided by Americans, but recent news stories have made it a more mainstream ideology. *Though presumably the pronoun "it" is supposed to refer to socialism, it actually refers to "label," and illogically suggests that label is an ideology. In general, BE CAREFUL when a sentence starts with something like, "The term," "The label," or "The name," "the game," "the _____" etc. Often there will be a pronoun antecedent error

Determining which pronoun should be used in a compound subject

Sometimes they'll sneak in an incorrect pronoun case in a compound subject. Ex: In the new chef's first day, the restaurant owner and HIM (he)... To determine which pronoun should be used, *drop the part of the subject or object that doesn't include a pronoun and determine which pronoun would need to be used on its own*

Pronoun Error: Adjectives can't be antecedents

Sometimes to confuse you, they'll make the intended antecedent an adjective instead of the noun the meaning is trying to convey. Ex: I wish the bread section were at the front of the store so that I could purchase IT more conveniently. "It" is trying to refer to bread but bread is an adjective here and it incorrectly refers to section.

Avoiding Pronouns Altogether

Sometimes worth it to avoid ambiguity -- instead, you can repeat the antecedent or use a synonym of the antecedent

Noun Clause

Start with which, what, that, when, why, whether They basically can be replaced with "it" and the sentence still makes sense

Quantity

Strict grammatical rules: 1. Words used for countable things vs words used for uncountable things are different. For example, *hats* vs *patience* Countable: *many, few(er/est), number/numerous* Uncountable: *much, little/less/least, amount, great* (DON'T USE LESS WITH COUNTABLE ITEMS -- THIS IS A SUPER COMMON MISTAKE) Both: *more/most, enough* 2. The word "numbers": if you use the word "numbers," you have to use the words "greater than," not "more than" 3. Increase/Decrease vs Greater/Less: These words are not the same. Increase/decreases represents the changing of something over time, whereas greater/less is a comparison between two things. 4. Words used for 2 things vs words used for more than 2 things: 2: *better, worse, more, less, between* 3+: *(superlatives) best, worst, most, least, among*

Pronoun Cases

Subject -- I, you, he, she, it, we they, who Object (objects of verbs or prepositions) -- me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom Possessive -- my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers it/its, their/theirs, our/ours *Any of these cases can refer to a noun anywhere in the sentence*

Subject Case vs Object Case

Subject: I, you, we, he, she, they Object: me, you, her, him, us, them

That vs Which

That and which both refer to nouns that represent things *other than people.* How to tell them apart in SC questions: use *THAT* to introduce a clause that discusses necessary information about a noun. These clauses more often than not will not be separated out by commas but understand that they can be. Use *WHICH* if the clause is not talking about information that is vital to the meaning of the sentence. Moreover, these clauses are generally going to be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. The times which will not be preceded by a comma is when it is preceded by a preposition such as "through which" or if it means "which one" Strategy: *Eliminate the clause that begins with that/which from the sentence. If the meaning of the sentence is altered, you know it is essential to the sentence and "that" should be used. If it isn't essential, use "which."*

The GMAT will try to trick you on subject verb agreement with MIDDLEMEN and WARMUPS

The GMAT can try to trick you on subject verb agreement by hiding the subject of the sentence so you don't know whether it's singular or plural. The most common way they will do this is by inserting words in between the subject and the verb (the "middlemen") or by putting words in front of the subject (the "warmup"). Few main ways they'll do this: 1. Prepositional Phrases: Prepositional phrases, which start with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun, modify or describe other parts of the sentence, and the noun here won't be the subject. 2. Dependent Clauses: These clauses, which begin with words like "who" or "because," cannot be part of the main subject or verb -- they're always attached to them. For example: "Because she studied hard, she earned an A." The subject is "she." "Because she studied hard" is just meant to confuse you. 3. Other modifiers Often, you just need to use sentence structure to decide; that is, you need to find which verb is meant to match up with which subject.

Active vs Passive Voice

The active voice refers to when the subject itself performs the action (verb) The passive voice refers to when the subject of the sentence has an action performed ON IT Active: Andrew studied for the test Passive: The test was studied for by Andrew. Though people often assume the passive voice is wrong because it sounds awkward, it actually is correct and be aware of the test trying to trick people because they assume it's wrong. *Finally, active and passive can be in the same sentence and don't have to be parallel.* For example: "The shuttle launch TOOK place flawlessly and WAS SEEN on television."

Grammar Term: Sentence Core

The core of a sentence = any independent clauses + any ESSENTIAL modifiers. Basically, shit that at a minimum you need to have a coherent sentence.

Verb "ing" modifiers vs Noun+noun modifiers

The difference between these two kinds of modifiers is that when the verb-ing modifier preceded by a comma modifies the preceding clause, it presents either additional information or the result of the preceding clause by associating itself with the subject and the verb of the preceding clause. The verb-ing modifier preceded by a comma has to modify the subject and the verb together. However, the noun + noun modifier has no such restriction. It can simply modify just about any aspect of the preceding clause, without being restricted to modify the subject and the verb. A noun + noun modifier can zoom into any entity in the preceding clause to modify it.

Objective Case with who and whom

The objective case is when nouns and pronouns are used as objects. If the objective case is needed, then you need to use *whom*, not who Ex: "Bals receives email from friends WHOM he knows well..." Here, "whom" is the direct object of the verb knows.

Introductory Modifiers

When an introductory modifier is a noun modifier, that noun has to come directly after it. They will frequently try to trick you on this concept by opening sentences using past and present participle modifiers -- and remember that these modifiers usually do not properly modify "it" Wrong ex: Tired and hungry, the aroma from dinner excited Bals. Right: Tired and hungry, bals was cheered by the aroma..."

With nouns and pronouns, pay attention to parallelism

When nouns and pronouns are in parallel positions in different clauses, it is often ok to use a pronoun even if there is a closer antecedent.

Comparisons

You have to compare like things. People with people, weather with weather, plans with plans, etc. Most common comparison marker: *like* Other markers: *unlike, as, than, as __ as, in contrast to / with, different from* Note that with comparisons, pronouns or possessives can stand in for nouns. For example: "Frank's build, like THAT of his brother, is broad and muscular. "Frank's build, like this brother's..." They actually prefer to do this because it makes the question a little harder. *You can also omit units, verbs, and even whole clauses from the second term in a comparison as long as there isn't any ambiguity in the comparison* Ex: "I walk faster than Brian"

If something happened before something else in the past tense...

You need to use the *past perfect* for whatever happened first.

If something was ongoing, or was a background state of affairs when something happened in the past

You need to use the *past perfect*, not the simple past tense