Verbal Tips Good

7/28/2019 Verbal Tips Good

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Not to use:

Clich words like:

Good, Bad, Nice,

beyond a shadow of doubt,

To use:

pleasant, easy-going, amiable, likable, pleased,

Continue the Thought Words

SimilarlyMoreover

Additionally

In the same way

Likewise

Conclusion WordsThus

ThereforeHence

So

In summaryIn conclusion

Contradiction or Contrast Words

Neverthless

NonethelessHowever

ButAlthoughThough

Even though

NotwithstandingYet

Despite

In spite ofOn the one handon the other hand

While

Unlike


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Consider, regard...as, think of...as: there is no as

after consider, while both regard and think of need

the as.

To be/being: In general, avoidthe construction to

be/being because they are usually passive. To be/being

are commonly used in junk answer choices.

Aaccess to The company has access to large capital

reserves.

act as The poison pill in the contract acts as a

preventative measure against hostile takeovers.

allows for The design of the robot arm allows for

great flexibility.

as....as Chocolate tastes as good as ice cream.

associate with He associates beer with potato chips.

attribute to The poor first quarter results are

attributed to the restructuring.

a responsibility to The CEO has a fiduciary

responsibility to all shareholders.

a result of The recent Nasdaq decline is a result of

higher interest rates.

a sequence of The Sumerian text was a sequence of incomprehensible symbols.

agree with The Teamsters do not agree with the

Republicans on many issues.

among Used when discussing more than two items. He

was the finest policeman among the hundreds of

rookies.

as good as/or better than The new software is as good

as or better than anything on the market

as great as The new house looks as great as I had

hoped.

attend to (someone) The emergency room doctor

attended to the injured victim.

attribute X to Y/X We attribute the results to thenew management.

attributed to Y The extinction of the dinosaurs has

been attributed to an asteroid collision.

B

based on The results are based on a comprehensive ten

year study.

begin to He will begin to study twelve hours before

the test.

believe X to be Y After seeing the flying saucer, I

believe UFOs to be a real phenomenon.

between Used when discussing two things (if there are

more than two, then use among instead). He could not

decide between Corn Flakes or Raisin Bran.

C

care about How much do business schools care about

your score?

centers on + noun The GMAT centers on the knowledge of

basic math and writing/reading skills.

choose to The number of students who choose to go to

business school has increased in the last ten years.


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consistent with Your grades are not consistent with

your abysmal GMAT scores.

contend that He contends that the GMAT has a cultural

bias.

consider + noun How important do you consider the

test?

continue + to If you continue to study, you will

succeed.

contrast A with B If you contrast A with B, you cansee the difference.

convert to You may convert muscle to fat if you study

too much.

compare A to B (compare to stresses similarities). The

music critic favorably compared him to Bob Dylan.

compare A with B (compare with stresses differences).

Broccoli is good for you compared with ice cream.

count on + noun He counts on management support.

concerned with They are concerned with investor

relations more than actual profitability.

conform to When you work at a new company, you should

try to conform to its corporate culture.

D

decide to We decided to continue.

decide on We decided on the new format.

depend on The global economy depends on improving

productivity.

different from The CAT is very different from the

paper and pencil GMAT.

difficult to Many students find the CAT difficult to

take.

distinguish between X and Y Distinguish between

domestic and international production.

distinguish X from Y Juries must attempt to

distinguish truth from falsehood.

depends on whether Our place in the playoffs dependson whether we win tonight.

E

to be + essential to + noun Speed is essential to

success in the Internet marketplace.

except for He did well on the GMAT, except for the

sentence correction questions.

F

flee from The convict fled from the country.

G

grow from Dell Computer grew from a start- up to a

Fortune 500 company in less than fifteen years.

grow out of Needless to say, they quickly grew out of

their first office.

H

help + noun + to Their direct business model helped

them to grow rapidly.

I


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indicate that Dell's recent stock trouble may indicate

that their growth will not continue to be as rapid.

invest in He is too risk-averse to invest in the stock

market

identical with His DNA is identical with his twin's.

in contrast to The candidate claims to support tax

cuts, in contrast to his prior statements.

independent from The Federal Reserve Board is supposed

to be independent from political considerations.indifferent towards Some countries are indifferent

towards human rights.

L

leads to Rapid growth often leads to problems.

like Usually only used for direct comparison: He walks

like Joe walks.

localized in Most Internet venture capital is

localized in a few areas of the world.

M

mistake + noun + for I mistook you for an old friend.

modeled after The judicial building is modeled after

the Parthenon.

more than ever Companies demand MBA graduates now more

than ever.

N

native to There is a unique business culture native to

the U.S.

a native of It infects those who are not even a native

of America.

need to Living in New York City is an experience

everyone needs to try.

to be + necessary + to It is necessary to get a high

GMAT score to get into Stanford.

neither...nor Neither Tom nor Sam has the necessaryskills to finish the job.

not only...but also Stanford not only has the highest

GMAT average, but also the highest GPA.

P

prohibit from + gerund You are prohibited from using a calculator on test day.

potential to A graduate of a top business school has

the potential to make over $100,000.

R

range from X to Y The GMAT scores at top business

schools will range from 650 to 750.

refer to If you have any more questions, you should

refer to a grammar book.

regard as Wharton's finance program is regarded as the

finest in the world.

require + noun + to You require a GMAT score to go to

most U.S. business schools.

rivalry between X and Y The rivalry between the Boston

Red Sox and the New York Yankees is one of the most

celebrated in professional sports.

responsible for The manager is responsible for seven


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entry level employees.

retroactive to The tax policy change is retroactive to

last year.

S

save for Save for William, no one else passed the

exam.

save from Many people use business school to save them

from dull jobs.so that So should not be used as an adjective: GMAT

preparation is so... boring. Use it with "that." This

guide is designed so that you may raise your score.

subscribe to Business school students should subscribe

to the Wall Street Journal.

T

tie to The contract should be tied to concessions.

transmit to The communications system will transmit to

anyone within range.

U

used + infinitive Japan used to be the model

industrial economy.

to be + used to + gerund After five practice tests,

he was used to the GMAT CAT format.

regret doing something

regret to do something

regret doing something - feel sorry to have done smth.: I don't

regret leaving my last job at all.

regret to do something - be sorry that one must do smth.: Dr. Wimpole

regrets to say that he cannot answer readers' letters.

remember doing something

remember to do something

remember doing something - keep in mind smth. that one has done: We

remembered seeing many little country churches with ancient horse

sheds still at the rear.

remember to do something - bear in mind smth. that one has to do:

They kept the Ford out in the street in front of the house. It worked

all right if they remembered to get it filled with anti-freeze.

stop doing somethingstop to do something

stop doing something - cease or give up doing smth.: The teachers had

stopped attending to pupils who would certainly pass or certainly

fail and were concentrating on the borderline cases.

stop to do something - pause in order to do smth.: He stopped to

watch a half-dozen of the boys playing blackjack


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All of the below are from www.sentencecorrection.com

Recent v/s Recently:

1. Reporting that one of its many problems had been the recent extended sales slump in women's apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.(B)its many problems has been the recentlyA is the correct answer.

2. Recently discovered fossil remains strongly suggest that

http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14

although the air that forms them moves rapidly

I don't like the simple present tense because this tense implies that the air does this all the time, not just

sometimes.

Compare: The Moon's gravitational pull thataffects the tides. "affect" should be in simple present because

it happens all the time. In our mountains, however, the air isn't always moving rapidly, just sometimes.

although the air that forms them is moving rapidly

http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12

In the sentence I gave you above, it sounds funny because we are using "although" to contrastwith a noun. Remember, "although" is used between two parts to show that the two parts havesome sort of contrast. We have many such words in English (although, despite, but, however,to name a few), but they are all used in different ways, and are not completelyinterchangeable.

GMAT likes to test people on number questions, have you noticed? twice, double, number, numbers, etc.

The important thing here is that the number in the first example (the number of women employed outside

the home) is an actual number--35,000, for example. Even if you add more women to the original

number, there will still be one number, right?

The second usage of "numbers" is also correct, and means that there are many people in that group. For

example, it is correct to say:

People are leaving California in greater numbers.

People are spending more money on the Internet in greater numbers.
http://www.sentencecorrection.com/http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12http://www.sentencecorrection.com/http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=14http://www.sentencecorrection.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=12


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Well, I think the easiest way to explain this one is to say that we are clearly modifying a time, so we

should use when (which is for times).

Compare a somewhat simplified sentence:

After looking at old family photographs, I sometimes long to return to my childhood, when my life

was simple and full of wonder. After looking at old family photographs, I sometimes long to return to my childhood, in which my

life was simple and full of wonder.

I think the first one clearly sounds better. What do you think?

18. There has been a change in how men think of land, a change from thinking it simply private property tothat now of a limited national resource, with an inherent public interest transcending the individual owner's

prerogatives.

D) Once men used to think of land as simply private property, but they consider it nowE) Once thought of simply as private property, land is now considered

Can anybody explain to me why E is the answer, not D?

D has a number of problems.

First, once and used to is redundant.

Second, the location ofonce (i.e., before the subject and the verb) makes the reader think that the

conjunction once is being used (Once I learned the answer, it was simple.) NOT the adverb once (I once

believed that the Earth was flat.).

Third, simplyneeds to modify the verb think; as D is written, it modifiesprivate.

Finally, the adverb nowshould go before consider--now consider.

And C... Yes, C is wordy, strike one.

And it incorrectly uses there has been. Remember, there is/are/might be/has been, etc. is used to expressexistence. ETS and GMAT have called this type of usage "vague." Strike two.

Strike three--a change from considering itis awkward at best, and unidiomatic at worst.

I'm still wondering though why " thought of simply as private property" in E is correct.We should say in passive voice that " simply thought to be private property", right?

Can we use " think of as " in passive voice?

Sure we can.

thought of as and thought to be are both correct


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I would like to point out that both thatand which are relative pronouns. Really the only difference between them on the

GMAT (when they are relative pronouns) is that which is non-restrictive (extra information), and thatis restrictive

(necessary information):

I want you to meet my mother, who is a doctor.

Since I have only one mother, the adjective clause is not necessary to identify which mother.

The Sun, which is the only star in our solar system, is the source of heat for Earth.

I want you to bring me the pen that is red.

In this case, I have many pens, and the adjective clause serves to identify precisely which pen it is that I want you tobring to me.

OG 9.

Astronomers at the Palomar Observatory have discovered a distant supernova explosion, one that they

believe is a type previously unknown to science.

(e) they believe to be of

I have no problem in identifying the right answer. But I have problem in understanding OG explanation.

QUOTE

The pronoun that in A should be deleted, since the pronoun one is sufficient to introduce the modifier andthe sentence is more fluid without that.

In my understanding, "one" is the antecedent, and "(that) they believe to be of" is the clause that

modifies "one". So it's not precise to say that "one" is introducing the modifier.

pls kindly clarify.

--we must understand that GMAT thinks that one and thatare redundant (which kind of makes sense, if youthink about it), and try to apply that way of thinking to new questions.

Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to the activity of describing the resemblances

between unlike things:

He compared her to a summer day.

Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer.


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Compare takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their

similarities or differences: T

he police compared the forged signature with the original.

The committee will have to compare the Senate's version of the bill with the version that was passed by

the House.

When compare is used to mean to liken (one) with another, with is traditionally held to be the correct

preposition:

That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel.

But to is frequently used in this context and is not incorrect.

Which of the [[ ]] 's has an error?

By 2025 the United States [[may exhaust its supplies of]] domestic oil and gas and be forced to rely [[even moreheavily]] than it already[[has]] on supplies [[imported from]] the Middle East

The answer says " has" is incorrect... it should be replaced by "is"

Erin, can you help with tenses?

"has" is present perfect....what about "is"...

thanks

has should be changed to does:

Through ellipsis, has reliedreduces to has; since relieddoes not appear in the sentence, it's grammaticallyincorrect. does, on the other hand, can replace relies (present tense).

Especially or Specially?

This is a favorite question of grammar checkers. Most of the time there is little or no difference betweenthe words especially and specially.

Special is a common adjective. Specially is its adverb form. Special means "particular, distinguished ina distinct way, or designed for a particular purpose." Specially means "particularly, in a disintguishingmanner, or for a particular purpose."

Especial is an uncommon adjective. Especially, its adverb form, is much more common. Especialmeans "exceptional, noteworthy, or particular." Especially means "exceptionally, in a noteworthymanner, or particularly."

In the sense of "particular" or "particularly," the words mean pretty much the same thing. Often they canbe used synonymously. However, if you want to stress the exceptional or noteworthy quality, thenespecial or especially is a better choice. If you want to stress the distinctive purpose of something, thenspecial or is the word you are looking for.

Example:This program has specially designed macros for word processors.(A distinctive purpose)


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Example:He did especially well in All-Star Game.(A noteworthy performance)

quote:

Which one is the right answer? A???

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a late nineteenth-century feminist, called for urban apartment houses including child-care facilitiesand clustered suburban houses including communal eating and social facilities.A) including child-care facilities and clustered suburban houses including communal eating and social facilitiesB) that included child-care facilities, and for clustered suburban houses to include communal eating and social facilitiesC) with child-care facilities included and for clustered suburban houses to include communal eating and social facilitiesD) that included child-care facilities and for clustered suburban houses with communal eating and social facilitiesE) to include child-care facilities and for clustered suburban houses with communal eating and social facilities included

First, we can eliminate all the answer choices that use with communal eating and socialfacilities included or any other structure that follows this pattern:

preposition + noun + participle

This pattern is almost always wrong on the GMAT, and is certainly wrong in this question. Thiseliminates C) and E).

A) is ambiguous--is clustered suburban houses parallel with child-carfacilities or withurban apartment houses? We need to repeat for to be sure that clustered suburbanhouses is parallel with urban apartment houses.

Now we're left with B) and D).

Now, the only difference between B and D is the infinitive to include, which GMAT considersunidiomatic.

That leaves us with D).Erin

One pervasive theory explains the introduction of breakfast cereals in the early 1900's as a result of thegrowing number of automobiles which led to a decline in horse ownership and a subsequent grain glut ;by persuading people to eat what had previously been horse feed ,market equilibrium wasrestored

A

B. persuading people to eat what had previously been horse feed restored market equilibrium

the concept here is modification:

by persuading people, market equilibrium was restored

The answer choice A says that market equilibrium was persuading people! Erin

I think it may help to know why this sentence sounds okay:

Ten states here did something, but only one there.

but this one does not:


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Ten states here did something, but only one.

The "there" in the first sentence gives enough information to make the comparison clear. Since we'retalking about "finer points of GMAT," I should mention that sometimes an element can do the job of an"ellipsed" word, even if the two words are a different part of speech.

I know that logically one would think that an adverb cannot replace a verb (and in reality, that's notwhat's happening), but in this case, an adverb can make a verb unnecessary.

All depends on what you mean:

proof of life, proof of his existence

Or:

proof that something is true, that he is still alive, etc.

But we should NOT mix the two like this:

proof of something being true, proof of him living, etc.

Make sense?

One of plural noun + that + plural verb.

One of plural noun + singular verb.

I think I am right in judging the plural almost always ;) --HA

QUOTE (silent bob @ Oct 26 2003, 02:38 PM)

A) Gun powders and spices were believed to be introduced to Europe by Chinese in the 15th century.

B) Gun powders and spices are believed to have been introduced to Europe by Cchinese in the 15thcentury.

B is better.

Here's why. We assume we're talking about something that is still true, i.e., something that is still

believed. Therefore, we use the present tense are believed.

Furthermore, we have the difference between to be introducedand to have been introduced.

to be + COMPLEMENT refers to present tense: The depletion of the ozone layer is believedto be the cause

of global warming.


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to have been + COMPLEMENT refers to past tense: The impact of a giant meteorite is believedto have

causeda chain of events that would ultimately lead to the extinction of the dinosaur.

QUOTE (tobe @ Nov 7 2003, 02:22 AM)

Thanks, does the same explanation hold for

She saw, cowering in the corner of the room, a thoroughly frightened child.

Or, can we associate 'cowering' with 'her' or 'child'?

The simplest explanation of modification says that distance alone determines what is modified. In this

case, the modifier cowering is closer to She. But there is such a strong association between being

frightened and cowering that the reader naturally wants to make an association between the two; in other

words, the cowering seems to modify childas well.

In a word, this sentence is ambiguous

QUOTE (kpadma @ Nov 13 2003, 12:08 PM)

What is the difference between the following two sentences?

1. Many of the artists visit Florence.

2. Many an artist visits Florence.

I do understand the meaning of the first sentence, but not thesecond sentence. What is the excat meaning of the second

sentence and what context one should use it?

The meaning of the two is the same--many artists.

The second one is, of course, less common than the first, but they're both grammatically correct.

That said, this construction does somehow sound "un-GMAT-like," and I would be a little surprised to see

it as a correct answer on the real GMAT

"so as to" is acceptable in GMAT. I have seen questions in OG having "so as to" as correct answer.

I make the choice between "so as to" and "so that" by the following method:

1. If there is only one noun which could be modified by "so as", I would go for "so as".

Ex: Jim worked hard so as to get promotion.

It is very clear that only promotion is for Jim and not for any one else.


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2. If there are more than one noun, I would go for "so that".

Ex: Jim divorced Jeniffer so as to marry.

"marriage" can be for Jim or for Jeniffer. So, better would be

Jim divorced Jeniffer so that he could marry.

The past progressive ("were rivaling") is wrong. In fact, I cannot think of any common example in which

the progressive would be correct--am rivaling, are rivaling, is rivaling, etc.

any of the stock holders *who disapproves* of the management endorested slate of candidatesmay offer an alternative slate under procedures established by the SEC

1. who disaproves2. who disaprove3.that are disaproving4.that do not approve

5. who are nto in approval

I think it should be 1 but the answer is 2

they disaproveand he disaproves

any of the stock holders refers to maybe one of them which is singular so it should bedisaproves

any comments

Before looking at the question you posted, lets review the following examples:

1. A lot ofbooks have arrived.

2. Lots ofsugarhas arrived.3. Anotherlotof books has arrived.

4. Severallots of sugar have arrived.

The reddish parts are heads of NPs(Noun Phrase).

lotand lots are quantifiers in 1 and 2 respectively, while they are non-quantifiers in 3 and 4.

In your example, as in 5, any is a quantifier. The head of the NP--any of the stock holders--isstock holders, so the verb--to disapprove--has to agree with plural head-noun.

5. Any of the stock holders who disapprove of the management endorsed slate of candidates

may offer an alternative slate under procedures established by the SEC.

OG212

The Baldrick Manufacturing Company has for several years followed a policy aimed at decreasing


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operating costs and improving the efficiency of its distribution system.

C) aiming at the decreasing operating costs and improving

by checking parallelism, we have no problem to rule out C. But my question is:

what is the difference of aimed at and aiming at?

Many thanks.

It all has to do with subject (active) vs. object (passive):

policy is aimed at

vs.

the policy is aiming to do something

QUOTE (Erin @ Oct 9 2003, 08:54 AM)

the policy is aiming to do something

(1) They aimed to do it

(2) They aimed at doing it

The second one indicates optimistic stance, whereas the first one shows low confidence. That is why

gerund is neutral, infinitive is [-realis](showing irrealis states)

posibility of doing it is preferable to possibility to do it

potential to do it is as good as potential of doing it

QUOTE

Judge Bonham denied a motion to allow members of the jury to go home at the end of each day in steadofbe confined to a hotel.

Further analysis -- "to go" and "to be" are parallel intransitive verbs; "home" and "confined to a hotel" are

parallel subject complements. In this option, "confined" is an adjective (past participle) where as in the

other option "confine" acts as a verb.

Hello, these, as are the following, are extracts from papertests.

Why is one preferred over the other?

The message left little hope- that the hostages would be released


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- for the hostages to be releasedby the end of the week.

Your comments

Bart,

In my opinion, "that the hostages will be released is correct".I'll start with the for answer. The object of the message is the release of the hostages. "For the hostagesto be released" to me, implies that the message is for the hostages, not their release.

Also, the phrase requires a subjunctive "that". For example "stated that", or "proclaimed that". Hope thathelps

Guys,

Here is the explanation.

"that the hostages ... " is a noun clause and not a modifier clause. (The modifier clause would have been

-- "that the hostages be released" -- verb "be" in pure form) Therefore, it doesn't fit with the rest of the

sentence and the sentence is grammatically incorrect.

The second option is clearer and grammatically correct.

The propositional phrase "for the hostages" is a modifier that describes hope. "to be released" is also a

modifier phrase describing "hope". Grammar rules allow you to include as many modifiers (adjectives in

this case) as you wish in a sentence.

However, according to ETS papertests, the correct answer is the first answer .

We are left in the dark unless the comment, posted first, suggests the appropriate explanation.

The message left little hope that the hostages would be released .

Funnily enough, our dear that plays many roles in English, some of which are nominal purpose, adverbial

purpose, result, relative clause, adverbial relative and apposite.

In this question, it is functioning as apposite to head-noun, hope.

the chance that he could win

the rumour that the President resigns

the fact that ...

the doubt that ...

I will add non-finite apposites later.

Non-finite forms as appositives:

the need to be concise


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the tendency [for legislators] to filibusterthe call to enlist during the First World Warthe move to end non-lethal aidthe plan to assassinate JFK

Just imagine appositive relation as equivalence.

the plan = to assassinate JFK

Will: a settled-notion posterior, volitional, expectative in hypothesis clauses

Would: doubtful in non-past contexts, characteristic behavior--behavior that one could almost predict

simply by knowing the subject, past indirect discourse

1. Three cats each eat ...2. Three cats, each of which eats ...,

In 1, each is postpositive Adj, whereas in 2, it is distributive determiner

Television can be superficial, as when three major networks each broadcast exactly the same.

Adverb clause of manner with temporal adverb clause:

Television can be superficial, as [TV is superficial] when three networks each broad cast thesame

OG 9/e, In an effort to reduce their inventories, Italian vintners have cut prices; their wines [are priced tosell, and they do.]

In the above question, GMAT was testing fronting.

The following information is from Grammar Exchange:

"This word order pattern looks like inversion but it is not. It's a device known as fronting. There are manykinds of fronting, of which this is one. It is possible to "front" the verb or verb phrase, with the verbusually in the base form, followed by the grammatical subject and with an auxiliary to complete it, as inGisele's examples. There is no inversion of the grammatical subject and the verb; only the bare infinitivepart of the verb precedes the grammatical subject, while the auxiliary verb, which carries the tense andnumber information, always follows it.

Of course the usual versions of these sentences do not repeat the verb phrase. For example, the firstsentence would normally be

They advised me to stay, and I did [so]

Notice that the entire verb phrase (verb plus complement) can be fronted:

...and give a party I will

It is also possible to front adjectives:

He was precocious as a child, and precocious he still isThey said it would be cheaper to go by air, but cheaper it certainly wasn't

...and prepositional phrases:


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He lived with a chip on his shoulder and with a chip on his shoulder he died

Fronting is a feature of "information packaging," which arranges the parts of an utterance so as to createa desired information flow. It is used to preserve the order of ideas, "old" information preceding "new"information.

Fronting is seen in utterances such as

We remodeled the kitchen in 1998. The bathrooms we left until 2000He's very charming. Her I can't stand

The kind of fronting Gisele presents is used to create a special effect, often for emphasis, contrast, orsometimes irony.

If there is no special reason to front the verb complement, the fronting is not appropriate. One would haveto see the sentence in question to know whether it is a candidate for this special treatment.

Marilyn Martin"

What's the Difference Between thatand which?

After people study GMAT sentence correction for a while, they may ask about the difference between that

and which. I have to say for the record, though, that it is not terribly important to know the difference

between the two to get a high score on the test, but I know that some people are naturally curious about

the difference (people here tend to be overachievers!).

A Tip

But first, a testmagic tip: GMAT almost always (I say almost always because I've seen one question that

did not follow this rule, but the rule was violated in all five answer choices) wants you to put a comma

before which. In other words, if you see which without a comma before it, it's probably wrong. After this

explanation, you should understand why, but for those of you who want only the most important

information, this is what you need to know.

An Example

Both of these sentences are correct in GMAT land:

Please go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine.


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Please go into the room and get me the big book that is mine.

Yes, in GMATland, these two sentences have two different meanings.

Both of these sentences would be incorrect in GMAT land:

X Please go into the room and get me the big book which is mine. X

X Please go into the room and get me the big book, that is mine. X

Notice the commas--that's what makes all the difference.

The Explanation

Okay, we have in English this weird idea that we need to use different grammar in an adjective clause

(a.k.a. relative clause) depending on whether the information in the adjective clause is necessary to

specifically identify which noun we are referring to.

For example, imagine you have one sister, and you are telling a friend that your sister is coming to visit

you. Since this person is your friend, we can presume that he knows that you have only one sister.

You utter a sentence like this to your friend in GMATland:

"My sister, who just graduated from college, is coming to see me."

In GMATland, since your friend (we presume) knows you well and knows that you have only one sister,

this extra bit of information is considered unnecessary to identify which sister it is you are talking about. It

is a sort of "by the way" information--"My sister is coming to see me, and oh, by the way, she just

graduated from college."

Now imagine you have two, three, or even more sisters. Let's imagine that one is a college professor,

another is a webmaster, and this one who is coming to visit you just graduated from college. If you're

talking to your friend, and you say only "my sister," and you do not mention her name, your friend might

not know which sister you are talking about. So you add that extra bit of information--my sister who just

graduated from college--to identify which sister it is you are referring to.

In this situation, we have just correctly employed a very important grammar rule. Read on.

So, if the person you're talking to, or the person who's reading what you've written, needs that extra bit

of information to know which noun you're referring to, we say that that extra information is non-


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restrictive. This word doesn't really describe the function clearly, so many teachers say that this

information is "extra."

On the other hand, if you need that information to know which noun you are talking about, we say that

the information is restrictive. Again, this word is not really a good choice for clarity, and many teachers

use the term "necessary information" instead.

Finally, just to make English a bit more difficult, we have a rule that says we should use a comma before

or after "extra information clauses and phrases," but not with "necessary information clauses or phrases."

The idea here is that the comma represents the slight pause in speech or change in intonation that a

native speaker might use when making such an utterance.

I should point out that both thatand which are relative pronouns, i.e., they are grammatically the same,

but their meanings are slightly different.

Now, let's return to our original example sentences:

Please go into the room and get me the big book, which is mine.

In this sentence, the clause which is mine is "extra" because the information "the big

book" is enough to identify which book it is that you want. We can assume that

there is only one big book in the room.

Please go into the room and get me the big book that is mine.

In this sentence, the clause that is mine is "necessary" because the information "the big book" is NOT

enough to identify which book it is that you want--it is probably the case that there are several big books

in the room, so I need to add the information "that is mine" to identify which book it is that I want.

More Examples

A few more examples may help:

I met with Bill Clinton, who is a lawyer.

The name Bill Clinton is enough to identify which person I'm talking about--who is a lawyeris therefore

extra information.


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I met with the man who is a lawyer.

In this case, "the man" is not enough information to identify which person I'm talking about--who is a

lawyeris therefore necessary information.

The Sun, which is the only star in our solar system, is the source of heat for Earth.

Again, the name "the Sun" already clearly identifies the noun; therefore, the information in the adjective

clause "which is the only star in our solar system" is extra.

The star that is at the center of our solar system is called what?

In this case, since we don't have a name here, we don't know which star it is that we are referring to.

Therefore, the information in the adjective clause "that is at the center our solar system" is necessary.

A good rule to learn is that which requires a comma before it. If you're not sure about why the comma is

necessary, please see this post.

However, GMAT is very tricky at times, and can of course create a question in which this rule does NOT

apply. In fact, I've seen a question that used which without a comma, but ALL the answer choices violated

the rule. I.e., none of the answer choices used that; they all used which without a comma.

Here's an example of what I mean:

Lucise in San Francisco is a place which anybody can visit.

(A) which anybody can visit

(B) which any person could visit

(C) which no person could not visit

(D) which, if they wanted to, any person could visit

(E) which any person could visit if they so desired

I know some of you will think that this sentence is terrible, but the whole point of GMAT sentence

correction is that we must choose the best answer, NOT the perfect answer

BEING
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Disclaimer: Please pay close attention to my usage ofmost, often, many, etc. If I say thatsomething is often true, this doesn't mean that's it's always true. The GMAT is a sneaky, elusivetest, and it can be very clever at finding exceptions to whatever rules we come up with.

People who study for GMAT for a while quickly learn that being is usually wrong.

So I'm guessing you already know that being in an answer choice is wrong more often than it is right.

This is a good strategy to get you started, but to get over 700 on the GMAT, you really need to knowsome of the finer points of GMAT Sentence Correction that relate to the use of the word being.

There are at least two different situations in which being is often the right answer.

Here is the first example of when being is correct:

When the grammar requires it.

Yes, I'm trying to simplify things here, but the idea is this--many ideas can be expressed in more than oneway. For example, I can say:

I'm afraidof being late.

I'm afraidthat I'll be late.

Each has its own emphasis, but the point is that these two structures exist. (If I know my members here,I know that they will have questions about the difference, but please, let's start a separate thread forthis.)

Whether we can express ideas in one or more structures is really related to the word used; in other words,it is idiomatic.

But some idioms allow only one structure. For example:

In addition to being one of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and American tastes, ChezPanisse in Berkeley is also one of the Bay Area's most established restaurants.

The idiomatic structure in addition to does not have a counterpart that uses a subject and a verb, so ouronly option here is to use being, which is grammatically a noun, but is derived from a verb.

The second example of when being is correct is shown in this example:

There are many reasons to get an MBA, with increased career prospects being the most important formany MBA applicants.

Technically this part here:

with increased career prospects being the most important for many MBA applicants

is anabsolute phrase, but I think it's also helpful just to memorize the pattern:

with + NOUN + being + NOUN COMPLEMENT

I hope that helps.

This tutorial is not complete, so if you find any problems, let me know

Subject/Verb Inversion
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So you already know that the GMAT test is an adaptive test, meaning that your score goes up or down

depending on the difficulty of the questions that you answer correctly or incorrectly. On the sentence

correction section of the GMAT, the questions that test you on subject/verb inversion tend to be the

harder questions, and are therefore worth more points.

So, to raise your GMAT score, you should be very familiar with most or all of the items on this list! I've

spent a few years developing this list, and feel confident that it represents most or all of the inversion

points that you'll see on the GMAT, TOEFL, or SAT II: Writing tests.

There are at least eighteen types of inversion:

1. neg intro

2. intro adverbial (in, down, prepositional phrase)

3. intro -ed

4. comparative

5. intro comparative

6. as

7. so... that...

8. had, should, were

9. there is

10. here is

11. intro -ing

12. emphasis

13. the bigger, the better

14. questions

15. "story speech"

16. nor

17. so do I/neither do I

18. intro adjective

Type Examples Notes

1. neg intro

Never do I sleep.

Only at night can I study.

Question form is obligatory.

Used with all verbs.


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Type Examples Notes

In no way could I help you with yourJapanese grammar question.

I believe that only rarely will I need

your help.

Not until I got home did I realize thatmy shoes were untied.

This one is very common on the TOEFLand somewhat common on the GMAT and

GRE.

We need to learn the various types ofwords and phrases that require this type

of inversion.

Notice that sometimes the inversion occursright after the neg intro form and

sometimes it occurs in the next subjectand verb.

See Neg Intro for more info.

2. intro adverbial

Into the room ran the lady.

First comes love, then comesmarriage.

After A comes B, then comes C, nextcomes D.

Down came the rain and washed thespider out.

Inversion is optional.

Used with be-verbs, linking verbs, andverbs of direction.

This one is less common on the TOEFL, butmore common on the GMAT and GRE.

Notice that sometimes we have an adverb,like first and down and sometimes we

have an adverb phrase like into the roomor after A. These adverbs and adverb

phrases usually show location or direction.

This type of inversion usually only occurswith be-verbs, linking verbs and verbs that

show direction or movement, like come,go, run, etc.

3. intro ed

Found in San Francisco is LombardStreet, the so-called crookedest street

in the world.

Lost among the old tables and chairswas the priceless Victorian desk.

Located between San Francisco andMarin County is the Golden Gate

Bridge.

Inversion is obligatory.

Used with be-verbs.

This one is very common on the TOEFL,GMAT, and GRE.

This type of inversion usually occurs withbe-verbs, but sometimes with linking

verbs.

Notice that the phrase is the complementof the be-verb.

4. comparatives

Cheetahs run faster than doantelopes.




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Type Examples Notes

You speak Chinese better than do I.

Jessica is more interested in ComputerScience than is Benjamin.

This form of inversion is common on theTOEFL, GMAT, and GRE.

We normally only have inversion here if

we are comparing subjects of the verb, notobjects. For example, in the following two

sentences, we are comparing objects,carrots and potatoes, not the subject I.:

I like carrots more than I do potatoes.

I like carrots more than do I likepotatoes.

Now, in this sentence, we are comparingsubjects, I and my friend Carl:

I like carrots more than does my friendCarl.

5. intro comparative

Bigger than an apatosaur is the bluewhale.

More important than your personalstatement is your GPA.

No less impressive than the inventionof the laser was the development of

the wheel.


Used with be-verbs.

This form is more common on the GMATand GRE than it is on the TOEFL.

Notice that we can only use this form ofinversion when the verb is a be-verb since

in every case, the comparative is the

complement of the be-verb.

Remember that less than is also acomparative.

6. as

Megumi is from Japan, as is Sato.

So-eun wants to leave early today, asdoes Oi.

If thrown into the water, camels canswim, as can cats.



We can only use inversion if we are usingas for comparisons.

as is one of the trickiest words in English;

it can have many different meanings.

7. so that

So happy was I that I bought flowersfor everybody in class.

So quickly did she leave that we didnot even realize was gone.

So rarely does a comet appear visible

Question form is obligatory.


This is not so common on the TOEFL, but


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Type Examples Notes

to the naked eye that when one does,it is considered a major event.

is fairly common on the GMAT and GRE.

The so that clause must before theverb in for this type of inversion.

8. had, should,were for if-clauses

Had I remembered Tomomisbirthday, she wouldnt be mad at me

now.

Should you need a hand, I will bemore than happy to help you.

Were I you, I think I would studymore for your exam tomorrow.



This is somewhat common on the TOEFLand more common on the GMAT and GRE.

This type of inversion is kind of special.Notice that we can only use this type of

inversion when we are using an if-clause.In other words, if is omitted: even thoughthe word if does not appear in the clause,

we still have the meaning of an if-clause.

For more information, see had, should,were.

9. there is, thereare, there exists,there comes, etc.

There is a good restaurant nearby.

There comes a time in every personslife when she realizes that she is

responsible for her own happiness, notother people.

Scientists hypothesize that there

exists a certain type of particle thatcan travel faster than the speed oflight.


Usually used only with these verbs.

This form of inversion is common on theTOEFL, GMAT, and GRE, as well as in

spoken and written English.

Most people remember there is and thereare. BUT we must also remember thatthere are other verbs that we can use

instead of is and are. The most commonones are exist, come, and go.

10. here is, hereare, here comes,

here come

Here is some good food for you to try.

Here are the books that I dont needanymore.

Here comes the bus!


Usually used only with these verbs.

You will probably not see this on thegrammar section of the TOEFL or on theGMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear

on the Listening Comprehension Section ofthe TOEFL. We use this form mostly in

spoken English.

11. intro -ing

Burning out of control was the forestlocated in the foothills of the Sierra

Nevada mountains.

Coming in last in the race was Joe


Used only with be-verbs.

This form is not common on the TOEFL,


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Type Examples Notes

Elephant Legs Blow.

Not helping the situation was littleSusie, who was throwing newspaper

on the spreading fire.

but might show up on the GMAT or GRE.

Notice the intro ing phrase is thecomplement of the be-verb.

12. emphasis

Boy am I hungry.

Is it ever hot in here!

Do you know how to cook!



You will probably not see this on thegrammar section of the TOEFL or on theGMAT or GRE. It could, however, appear

on the Listening Comprehension Section ofthe TOEFL. We use this form mostly in

spoken English.

13. the bigger, thebetter

The closer an object is to anotherobject, the greater is the gravity

between the two objects.

Question form is optional.


14. questions

Is this the last example?

Do you enjoy reading these lists?

Are we finished yet?



You will probably not see this on thegrammar section of the TOEFL (TOEFL

doesnt test questions anymore) or on theGMAT or GRE. It would, however, appear

on the Listening Comprehension Section ofthe TOEFL.

15. "story speech"

I think its time to go, said Susan.

Its time for you, but not for me,replied Gary.

Maybe we should collect our thoughtsfor a moment, commented Lany.


Used with verbs that report speech.

You will probably not see this on thegrammar section of the TOEFL or on the

GMAT or GRE.

16. norNo one has volunteered for the job,

nor do we expect anyone to volunteerin the future.

Hok-ming cannot speak Portuguese,nor can Jos speak Cantonese.

The zoo regulations will not permityou to touch the animals, nor would



You might see this on the adaptive TOEFLif you are scoring high and it could appear

on the GMAT or GRE.

Remember that nor is considered a


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Type Examples Notes

most people advise you to do so. conjunction, but we use it between twosentences (not between any two elements

like the other conjunctions).

17. "so do I"/"neither do I."

So do I.

So can Terry.

Neither do most people I know.



You will probably not see this on thegrammar section of the TOEFL or on the

GMAT or GRE.

18. intro adjective

Beautiful beyond belief was my babydaughter.

Happy about their acceptance intotheir dream schools were Lany and

Tomo.

Quick and painless will be yourmedical procedure.

Inversion is obligatory in most cases.

Used with be-verbs.

This one is fairly rare and probably would

not appear on the TOEFL, but you mightsee it on the GMAT or GRE.

Inversion is sometimes not used in poeticlanguage.

I received this question via PM:

What does Question form is obligatorymean?

This simply means that you MUST invert the subject and the verb in this construction. In otherconstructions, inversion is optional, but in these constructions, it is required.

For example, you may say:

She runs faster than do most of her classmates.

(verb comes before the subject)

or

She runs faster than most of her classmates do.

(subject comes before the verb)

BUT


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Never have I heard such a thing!

CANNOT become

XX Never I have heard such a thing! XX

There is another rare case that requires an inversed construction. Just as SO...THAT at the beginning

of a sentence inverses a subject and verb, so too does SUCH..THAT.

Such is the new exam that almost no one can pass it.

Such was the situation that John had to steal money

The following temporal correlatives with negative expressions may be helpful.

barely ... whenhardly ... before

scarcely ... when

no sooner ... than(when)

From Net:

A prepositional phrase expressing place, with the main verb being intransitive:

(b) On the corner, stood a large, impressive statue of the famous general.

(c) Inside the room lay the remnants of their dinner, hurriedly abandoned as the family fled the

marauders.

A passive voic construction:

(d) In the box was found a large sum of money

(e) Found in the box was a large sum of money

"Only" + a time expression in a clause, or only if:

(f) Only when Dr. Schiller has all the facts will he present his report to the committee.

(g) Only if John Hush is sure that he can win will he run for the job of senator.

Adverbs such as "up," "down," "in" and "out," when the subject is a noun:


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(i) Down came the rain with terrific force.

(i) In walked the president, accompanied by his wife, daughter, and five huge Secret Service Ag

From Time Based Linguistic Analysis by Charles Bailey

p.161

Negative pronoun modifying nominal object:

(1) No animal did we see there!

(2) Not one word did they say about that!

In adverbial relative clauses:

the house where lived Mr. Junkie

Like vs. Such As

Question: What's the difference between like and such as?

Example of the "mistake" that we make in everyday speech: Can you buy me some fruit like

oranges or grapefruit?

How the GMAT Official Guide would explain this mistake: Using like in this answer choice mistakenly

suggests that the utterer of the request does in fact not want oranges or grapefruit, but rather some other

kind of fruit that is similar to oranges or grapefruit.

In normal English: In GMATLand, like means similar to, and such as means for example. Take a look at

these examples:

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.

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


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Yes, this is what we're supposed to say in GMATLand -- oranges and grapefruit are examples of the type

of fruit we want.

I would like you to buy such fruit as oranges and grapefruit for me, if you don't mind.

This is simply a variation -- notice how such and as are separated. Separating the two elements tends to

make this pattern a bit harder to see.

In a series of two or more elements, what you do on #2 determines what you do on 3+. In other words,

everything after #2 must match #2:

I like to swim, to run, and to dance.

I like to swim, run, and dance.

are okay.

I like to swim, run, and to dance.

I like to swim, to run, and dance.

are NOT okay.

1.Generally "it" is considered colloq and "so" is considered formal, when we want to refer tosomthing."In doing so" is formal English."In doing it" is colloq.

2.

D The meaning of the sentence is conveyed clear in D.C if we try to read it this way.....unlike those

in.....................the male and female blue winged warblers r difficult to distinguish what????had thisbeen difficult to be distinguished, that would have been better.

3. "if ..then " rule helps give answer - B

c) If it does as the new airboat is supposed to do - is not clear "it refers to what????

> d) Doing what it is the new airboat is supposed to do - this is clearly rong

> e) Doing what the new airboat is to be doing - tense used is wrong

4."twice" is more formal a word than "two times".Also rate of increase in 1980 is not being

compared with 1980's rather is being quantified in terms of the rate in 1970's .CR:


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I have successfully tried 5 strategies on C.R. passages from ETS. Results have been very good.(One such recent trier have been Rachana Mehta who reached 690) These are the following

strategies.

1. Indianise the situation - Let me elaborate. Since some executives are fabricating these passages

they must be having some relevance to what is happening around and since this world being really

small you can always find parallel situation in Indian context. I am just refering to a question fromofficial guide 10th edition 119 and 120. The Indianised situation could be somewhat like this. In

Mumbai lot of flyovers are built and there is toll tax which is paid by corporation buses like all other

vehicles, although not a single corporation bus plies on these flyovers !! And corporation gladlypays this toll tax running into several crores. The reason being since large percentage of vehicles

switching over to flyovers ensures quick turnaround of corporation buses and increase in profit

without having to made any capital investment.

2. Be party to it - This is a very powerful tool useful for questions of the type weakening and

strengthening type. ETS expects you to become a judge and pass a judgment which is lot more

difficult than being party to the issue. Example 18 of OG can be explained with this tool.

The ordinance makes it mandatory for Raheja Constructions to incorporate automatic fireextinguishers in every apartment they built and the builder is crying hoarse that it makes the wholeproject economically unviable. He also argues why extinguishers are required when 90% of the fires

are put off by household members. If you want to weaken this the be party strategy makes you think

like head of the fire brigade department. You will simply argue look gentleman I do admit most of

the fires are put off by household members but what about those remaining 10% where both husbandand wife work and the fire started over there can gut the whole housing complex.

3. Pick up the least controversial statement - Americans do not like controversies as they are scaredof litigation. So any statement where adverse remarks are made about woman, minorities, weaker

sections cannot be the answer. This is true for C.R. as well as R.C. passages.

4. Look for an answer - You may wonder whether this is a strategy but yes this is indeed a strategy

when it comes to C.R. Unlike Mathematics where only one answer would be factually correct in

C.R. passages all statements could be factually correct but the bottom line is we are not looking for

factually correct statement but an answer.

5. Look for mathematically true statement - You will always come across some C.R. passage where

lots of numbers are involved. Look for a statement which is mathematically true come what may.Refer to 107 of OG the choice D is the only mathematically statement.

One word of caution. These strategy are workable on 95% of the passages on OG or any earlier

official GMAT papers. But they would miserably fail on passages picked up from any other sourcelike Kaplan, Barrons, Princeton etc. The reason being this is a con job we are doing on ETS

executives and not on any other bunch of thinkers. Since this is relevant on OG I believe this shouldbe adequate and rewarding.

When I get a CR, RC, AWA question I do the following,


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1. Read the question and try to understand it. Find out what they need (it may be a strengthen/weakenquestion, explain the paradox, etc question).2. Read the passage carefully and twice if necessary.3. Identify the conclusion, premises, and assumptions. Identifying the underlying assumptions may or may notdirectly help you answer the questions. But if you practice identifying the assumptions you will begin tounderstand the argument really well.4. Go through the choices and you'll find that only one meets your requirement.

Like I said the key is to try to identify the assumptions. This will not only help you answer your question, butwill certainly help increase your reasoning power and help you understand arguments better (Helps on the"analysis of an argument essay" too). Worked for me. With a lot of practice you'll see that the assumptionsstart jumping out at you and most of the answers will be based on an assumption. Now even if the question isreally unconventional, you'll be in a better position to answer the question as you would have understood theargument well.

As for RC please don't get tensed. I got four passages three short (upto 50

lines) 1 long (upto 90 lines). But the key to GMAT RC is to stay cool. Youreally have enough time to read the passage twice if necessary. Rather than

reading a passage once trying real hard to concentrate, try reading it at

your own pace at least twice. Chances are that if you miss something when

you first read the passage you'll get it on the second try. When you start,read the first two sentences twice till you understand it, this will

generally give you an idea about what the passage is all about. From there

its easy. This is the strategy that worked best for me. Different people usedifferent strategies for RCs. Try different strategies and stick to the one

that works best for you. A word of caution- please don't "skim" throuhg the

passages like you must have learnt in some speed reading classes. READ thewhole thing. GMAT passages are really dense (lots of info is compressed into

a few lines) and they are not really designed to test your reading speed.

There's enough time to read most passages at least twice.

When I started preparation, I used to try to focus so much on my first readthat I'd get stuck at places I didn't understand and lose my concentration.

It took me longer and was less effective than reading the whole thing (Likeyou'd read the newspaper) twice. For longer passages you may not be able to

read it twice (esp. if you're short of time). But no matter how long the

passage is, try reading more than necessary when you go back to the passageafter reading a question. Don't hesitate to re-read, I'd say there would be

time. If you've practiced a lot of SC and CR, those questions wouldn't take

much time and you can use the additional time for RC.

As for AWA, I did not prepare much. I had already taken the GRE and got 5.5

on the AWA section. I'd just practiced once before the actual exam. I usedto take the practice tests without attempting the essay. On the actual test

use the essay time to relax. Don't strain yourself because you can afford a

few mistakes in your essay and it won't matter. My strategy was as follows.

On your scratch paper jot down five points for each essay on your scratchpaper. Type in the introductory paragraph (If you can, try to come up with a

good opening). Then type in five paragraphs based on these points (if you

can't get 5 try 4 or 3). One paragraph based on each point. Conclude. If you


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have time include at least one example somewhere with any point. Leave abouttwo minutes to proof read. Trust me there's no need to strain yourself on

the essay.. You don't need to be an ace writer to score 5.5. Number your

points, ie. First,.... Second,.... , ......, In sum. In order to trick theE-rater into awarding you more points use phrases like however, for example,

for instance, nevertheless, as a result, etc.

n is the product of four prime numbers, there are

exactly two of them the same. what is the max possible factors of n including 1

and n?

non-finite -ing vs. to

Prof. Bailey offers some insights on this:

[Quote]

We explain the difference between "the job for them to finish up on

time" and the "task of their finishing up on time" involves twoconsiderations--role of job as the object of "to finish up" and the

difference between the infinitive construct and the gerund

construct. (Note that for is virtual in "She required 0 them to be

finished on time.") That the infinitive is "marked" because of its

volitional-purposive role, lacking in the case of a gerund, explains

the different import of the two expressions. But it explains the

difference between the default expressions "their being watched"

and "for them to be going to get seen," as opposed to the settle

notion of "for them to get watched" and of "for them to be going to

be being seen." *The infinitive generally has a purposive import

lacking to a gerund.*(emphasis mine) But contrast "their intention

to be accepted as competent"; and "their intention of getting

accepted as competent"; to be accepted is purposive, while getting

accepted is not--it can even be factual, as in "Getting accepted

there is what they achieved."

[EndQ]

CONTRAST CONJUNCTIONS----> ALTHOUGH, INSPITE OF, DESPITE, BUT :

We have seen previously how to use the contrast conjunction

But in order to express a contrasting situation.

Example : I took the GMAT BUT I did not apply to a Graduate School of Business.

The normal expectation is that if one takes the GMAT, then one applies to the Graduate School of Business.

BUT tells us that the normal expectation was belied in the situation described

Consider another example:

Chinese Scientists had long known that the flow of blood was a continuous circle controlled by the heart, BUT the

discovery was unnoticed in the west.


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The contrast described is that the phenomenon was known in one part of the world BUT the other part of the world wascompletely oblivious of it.

In some sentences, we will be required to express a positive or a negative contrast.

ALTHOUGH is a conjunction used to express a positive outcome in the face of a negative quality.

EVEN THOUGH is an extreme although.

Although it was raining, we went to the movies.

Even though it was snowing heavily and the roads were treacherous, we went to the movies.?Do you see the extremesituation presented in the sentence using even though?

EXAMPLES:

Notice that Although a negative , a positive aspect to the above sentences.

Let us see how

Although I did not prepare well for the test, I received a very high score in the 90 th percentile.

Although Chimpanzees have only half the human intelligence, they are remarkably perceptive.

DESPITE or INSPITE OF is used to express a negative outcome in the face of a positive quality.

Despite or Inspite of is correctly used.

EXAMPLE:

Despite its enormous resources, the United States lags the third world countries in grade schooleducation.

Despite the fact that we started early, we arrived at the destination very late.?

Despite their intelligence and advanced education, terrorists use their knowledge for evil purposes.

Notice the Despite a positive, a negative aspect

to the above examples.

CAVEAT: GMAT answer choices do not normally use Despite correctly. Before you are tempted to pick ananswer choice using Despite or Despite having forms, check to see whether these expressions are indeed used to

express a negative outcome in the face of a positive quality.

Re: consider/regard:

If the Object complement is far away from object, use *consider to be*

Sentence (1):

'Keegan's point was valid', the grammarians said, forcing ETS to

throw out the question and bump up the test scores of nearly 500,000

students, of the 1.8 million who took the test that day.

Forcing" in the sentence is a present participle, but it's not

dangling. A dangling participle is one that does not refer to the

grammatical subject, as in

*Driving my new Ferrari down the road at 110 miles an hour, a bird

hit my windshield

This is absurd because it implies that the bird was driving the

Ferrari.


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"Forcing" is not an adverbial here either. It doesn't do what adverbs

do: it doesn't modify a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.

Neither does it modify a noun: to see how it would function as a noun

modifier we would need a sentence like this:

The man forcing himself to smile at me is my father-in-law

In sentence (1) "forcing" is a present participle, pure and simple.

It's doing the job of a verb without being marked for verb tense. For

that reason we call the clause that it's in a "non-finite" clause.

Present participial clauses are very interesting. They perform

various functions in sentences. This particular sentence illustrates

one of their uses--to express the consequences of an event. If we

break down the sentence we can see its structure:

The grammarians said "Keegan's point was valid." This forced ETS to

throw out the question and bump up the test scores of nearly 500,000

students....

The present participle allows the writer to combine two sentences

into one while conveying the cause-effect nature of the relationship

between the two ideas.

another example:

(2) She said "Yes," making me the happiest man in the world

It was the action of saying "yes," not the "yes" itself, that caused

the speaker/writer to become the happiest man in the world.

Like/ Unlike --> to compare things or people

Such as --> to list a whole range of items, things etc..

Call for:

--The particle cant be fronted, as in

a) relative clauses

1. X called for Y

2*. Y for which X called

3. Y that X called for

b) clefts(focussings)

4*. It is for Y that X called5. It is Y that X called for

c) Wh-clefts

6*. For which issues did X call?

7. Which issues did X call for?

d) some transformations, such as Object fronting, inversion


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8*. For Y X called

9. Y X called for

--The insertion of adjuncts(complements, objects) are not allowed

10*. X called yesterday for Y

11. X called for Y yesterday

12. Yesterday, X called for Y

13. X, yesterday, called for Y

--The particle is not repeated in coordination

14*. X called for Y and for Z

15. X called for Y and Z

A. He came across some beautiful picture

B. She came across that room to see them.

In A, 'came across' is phrasal verb, whereas in B, it is Verb +

Preposiitonal phrase.

The earlier examples I posted with explanations are gleaned from

other fora. Here is the response from Prof. C.-J Bailey:

I wrote:

(1) She said "Yes," making me the happiest man in the

world

What is the role of "making" in (1)?

Some people say it is resumptive modifier, adverbial,

absolute phrase, adjectival modifying the noun--She,

non-finite clause whose subject is action--saying"Yes", adverbial participle or absolute participle.

C.-J Bailey wrote:

It's a "dangling participle" in traditional rhetoric terminology; it modifies

"she"; it should precede thus, Making me, etc., she said

"Yes." This is a bit clumsy. Best to say: "Her saying 'Yes' made me

the happiest, etc."

What is the role of "making" in (1)?

>Some people say it is resumptive modifier, adverbial,

>absolute phrase, adjectival modifying the noun--She, non-finite clause

>whose subject is action--saying "Yes", adverbial participle or absolute

>participle.

Where did all of that amateurish junk (other than adjectival DURATIVE PARTICIPLE

modifying the PROnoun) come from? She is certainly no

"noun"! That's a rhetorical question; I don't wanna know the answer

C.-J.


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That I saw her at the mall made me happy

The verb in that-clause is realis/factual. This kind of use does not

trigger any problem. When one uses that-clause as objective purpose

clause or adverbial purpose clause, just watch out for the modals.

Our intentions/purposes are not facts. Of course, Semitic theologies

and modern Philosophy and their alter ego, intentional psychology

reverberate the 2000 years old theological problem: actions areinstantions of beliefs or the 24 hour gym slogan: 80 percent Will + 2- 20

percent action = You lose weight:)

In logic, consider the proposition:

Q: I believe that it would rain tomorrow

'that it would rain tommorow' is not truth-functional, whereas Q is.

After all, Science is also a set of beliefs about the world we live

in. Our experience, for example, stick appearing bent when immersed

in water, is not truth-functional, but the theories that explain such

experience/phenomena are truth-functional. Our beliefs about the

world would become false, but our way of seeing/experiencing is not

truth-functional.

Modal world: possible, necessary

These modal verbs--can/could, may/might, will/would, shall/should-- are helpful

to qualify the epistemic(cognitive) and deontic(Christian

moral) necessity and possibilities.

infinitival functions like a modal verb, say, can/may--potential,

attempt, whereas verbid/gerund functions as factual/result.

(1) It was necessary [for them] to process payments

(2) It was necessary for processing payments

In other words, this difference is akin to purpose[clause] vs. result [clause]

There are two sentence patterns that are particularly praised as hallmarks of excellent prose theresumptive and summative modifier.

Appositives as Resumptive Modifiers

Appositives are grammatical structures that rename and elaborate upon another part of a clause.Appositives can be used effectively by writers as 'resumptive modifiers.' A resumptive modifier repeats a keynoun, verb, or adjective and then resumes the line of thought, elaborating on what went before. The effect isto let the reader pause for a moment, to consider the most significant part of the message, and then move on.It also helps resolve any problem the reader might have with ambiguous modifiers. Moreover, if you pick yourspots carefully and not too frequently you can use resumptive modifiers to highlight important ideas:


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A real danger in this digital revolution is the potential it holds fordividing society, a society that will divide into two camps, the techno-elite and the techno-peasants, a society where a "wired" few willprosper at the expense of the masses.

Relative Clauses as Summative Modifiers

Relative clauses often function as modifiers within another clause, allowing a writer to pack more informationin a clearly understandable way into one sentence. Relative clauses are recognizable since they usually beginwith a wh- word (like who, whom, whose, which or that in place of which). Careful writers often use relativeclauses as summative modifiers. With a summative modifier, you end a segment of a sentence with a comma,sum up in a noun or noun phrase what you have just said, and then continue with a relative clause.Summative modifiers let you avoid the ambiguity of a vague which and let you extend the sentence withoutbecoming monotonous:

In the last twenty years, the world has moved from the industrial ageto the information age, a sociological event that will change foreverthe way we work and think.

The information herein I provide is irrelevant to ETS or to general public.There are two kinds of explanations:a) Causal explanations: Natural Sciences provide this kind of explanationsb) Intentional explanations(purpose/will): these explanations have its roots in Christian Theology, which, forinstance, says that actions are instantiation of Will. The present Social sciences subsumed this seculartheology. This is one of reason why Social sciences not progressing.

Let us take an example:1. Opium induces sleep, for(because, in that) it has sleep inducing properties. This kind of explanations,masquerading as causal explanation, redescibe the problem. Redescription of the problems is not anexplanation per se.2. Patriotism causes one to fight for one's country. The former labels the latter. This is not causal explanation

either. Yet, we count them as some kind of explanation.Eeach of them has a separate phone line.

They each have a separate phone line.

Each of the kids drinks 1 glass of milk a day.The kids each drink 1 glass of milk a day.

Each of Sam, Pat, and Ned is an athlete.Sam, Pat and Ned each are athletesIt would be clear if we can draw a Venn diagram, but let me try..

The formula I use is :

AUBUC = (A + B + C) - (A intersection B + B intersection C + C

intersection A) + (A intersection B intersection C).

This is an extension of AUB = A + B - (A intersection B). You are

subtracting (A int B) because you are double counting in A + B.

In the coffee mixtures problem, the question is straight forward and

asks AUBUC (Draw a venn diagram with 3 intersection circles and you

will understand).


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AUBUC = (33 + 43 + 42) - (16 + 18 + 8) + 5

In the students playing basketball question :

Given information:

AUBUC = 150

A = 66

B = 45

C = 42

(A int B int C) = 3and Students who play exactly two sports = 27 { This is not same as

(A int B + B int C + C int A) }

A int B = (students who play only A and B) + students who play all

three.

B int C = (students who play only B and C) + students who play all

three.

C int A = (students who play only C and A) + students who play all

three.

Adding all the above 3:

A int B + B int C + C int A = (students who play only 2) + 3

(students who play all three)

= 27 + 3(3) = 36

Now, AUBUC = A + B + C - (A int B + B int C + C int A) + (A int B int

C) + students who play none (lets call this X)

150 = 66 + 45 + 42 - 36 + 3 + X

--> X = 30

Hope I didn't confuse you. Maybe someone has an easier way of explaning...

regret doing something

regret to do something

regret doing something - feel sorry to have done smth.: I don't

regret leaving my last job at all.

regret to do something - be sorry that one must do smth.: Dr. Wimpole

regrets to say that he cannot answer readers' letters.

remember doing something

remember to do something

remember doing something - keep in mind smth. that one has done: We

remembered seeing many little country churches with ancient horse

sheds still at the rear.

remember to do something - bear in mind smth. that one has to do:

They kept the Ford out in the street in front of the house. It worked

all right if they remembered to get it filled with anti-freeze.

stop doing something

stop to do something

stop doing something - cease or give up doing smth.: The teachers had


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stopped attending to pupils who would certainly pass or certainly

fail and were concentrating on the borderline cases.

stop to do something - pause in order to do smth.: He stopped to

watch a half-dozen of the boys playing blackjack


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RCs .. u are asking the wrong person :((

i think my problem was not practising enuff RCs on the comp. RCs on

the comp and RCs as printed material can be totally different ball

games. totally !

SC and CR i had mainly done the kaplan sectional tests.

if ur english fundaes are strong, for SC doing just kaplan and OG

should be more than enough. but if there are inherent weaknesses, i

presume u need to brush up the basics from elements of style or someother grammar book .. i think theres one on the files section in

gmattutor ( ? )

for CR .. i think its important to grab either kaplan or princeton

and read up the CR section and then move onto the OG questions.

say out the sentences under ur breath, and see which one sounds the

most apt, if that helps. but if this approach doesnt work for u , the

only other way is to

1. look for pronouns

2. look for shorter answer choices

3. separate out the clauses, the subjects, the objects

4. check for misplaced/dangling modifiers

5. check for parallelism

6. question each verb in the sentence

7. check for typical gmat apples n oranges stuff

8. rattafy the important idioms from OG

9. avoid passive voice

10. before any of this, try to understand what the statement is

trying to say, what its trying to convey , then get down to analyzing

how this sentence could be misconstrued to mean something other than

the intended meaning. this approach always helped me.

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