Sentence Correction

Follow the basic subject-predicate word order for sentences: subject, verb, indirect object, and direct object.. Make sure sentences have both a subject and a predicate and express a com

Sentence correction questions are designed to measure your knowledge of both grammar and effective style.Chances are you already know most of these rules and guidelines even if you don’t know how to articulate

them You can often tell when something sounds wrong, even if you don’t know exactly why it is wrong That

is good news because on the GMAT® exam you do not have to identify the grammar rule that has been ken or what makes the writing ineffective Rather, you will simply have to identify which sentence is free oferrors and written most effectively

bro-That said, you can still benefit a great deal from a review of the basic rules of grammar and guidelinesfor effective style, especially if you feel that grammar is not your strong suit You may find some sections heremore basic than you need, but give yourself the opportunity to review everything in this section You may findthat you have forgotten some rules and guidelines, and a review of the rules and terminology can give youmore confidence on the exam

C H A P T E R

Sentence Correction

7

24 Rules for Grammar and Style

Throughout this chapter, you will learn about and review each of these rules in depth After you have completedthe chapter, use the following list as a checklist as you review for the GMAT exam:

1 Follow the basic subject-predicate word order for sentences: subject, verb, indirect object, and direct

object

2 Make sure sentences have both a subject and a predicate and express a complete thought.

3 Respect sentence boundaries Do not let two or more independent clauses run together.

4 Keep modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify.

5 Use parallel structure for any series of actions or items or the not only/but also construction.

6 Make sure verbs agree in number with their subjects.

7 Keep verb tenses consistent.

8 Use the correct subject or object form of personal pronouns Determine whether a pronoun is

function-ing as a subject or object in the sentence

9 Use apostrophes with pronouns to show contraction only Pronouns do not need apostrophes to show

possession

10 Use who for people, that for things, and which for nonessential clauses that do not refer to people.

11 Make sure pronouns agree in number and person with their antecedents.

12 Be consistent in pronoun point of view.

13 Use less (meaning a smaller amount) for singular nouns representing quantity or degree Use fewer

(meaning a smaller number) for plural nouns and countable items.

14 Use good and bad to modify nouns and pronouns; use well and badly to modify verbs.

15 In comparisons, add -er or -est to short modifiers For longer words, use more/the most or less/the least

before the modifier

16 Do not use double comparisons.

17 Do not use double negatives.

18 Use idioms correctly.

19 Be concise Avoid unnecessary repetition or wordiness.

20 Be precise Use exact words.

21 Avoid ambiguity Make sure word choice and pronoun references are clear and modifiers properly

placed

22 In general, use the active voice.

23 Use variety in sentence structure.

24 Avoid jargon and pretentious language.

 S e n t e n c e S t r u c t u r e

The best place to begin a grammar review is with the basics of sentence construction Although you will notneed to diagram a sentence on the GMAT exam, understanding the fundamentals of sentence structure canhelp you better remember the rules of grammar and style

Sentence structure refers to the way sentences are composed: how subjects, verbs, objects, and

modi-fiers are strung together in clauses and phrases Awkward or incorrect placement of phrases and clauses canresult in sentences that are confusing, unclear, or say things that you do not mean Indeed, many sentences

on the GMAT exam will be wrong precisely because of misplaced sentence elements Sentence structure is alsoimportant to style If sentence structure is too simple or repetitive, the writing becomes monotonous for thereader (Style will be addressed later in this section.)

Subjects, Predicates, and Objects

The sentence is the basic unit of written expression It consists of two essential parts—a subject and a

pred-icate—and it must express a complete thought The subject of a sentence tells the reader who or what the

sen-tence is about—who or what is performing the action of the sensen-tence The predicate tells the reader something

about the subject—what the subject is or does Consider the following sentence:

The clock is ticking.

The word clock is the subject It tells you what the sentence is about—who or what performs the action

of the sentence The verb phrase is ticking is the predicate It tells you the action performed by (or

informa-tion about) the subject

The subject of a sentence can be singular or compound (plural):

I slept all day Kendrick and I worked all night.

singular subject compound subject (two subjects performing the action)

The predicate can also be singular or compound:

I received a bonus I received a bonus and got a raise.

singular predicate compound predicate (two actions performed by the subject)

Subject-predicate is the fundamental word order of sentences When this order is reversed, the result is

an awkward and perhaps unclear sentence such as the following:

A bonus I received.

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In such a short sentence, the meaning is often clear despite the awkward word order However, in longersentences, when the subject and predicate are reversed, the sentence can be quite confusing, as in the followingsentence from the pretest:

Creating a fundamental shift in American foreign policy and establishing a “policy of containment” that framed our foreign policy as a battle between the forces of good (America and other democratic soci- eties) and evil (the Soviet Union and other communist nations), was the 1947 Truman Doctrine.

In many sentences, someone or something “receives” the action expressed in the predicate This person

or thing is called the direct object In the following sentences, the subject and predicate are separated by a

slash (/) and the direct object is underlined:

I / bought a present (The present receives the action of being bought.)

Jane / loves ice cream (Ice cream receives the action of being loved by Jane.)

Sentences can also have an indirect object: a person or thing who “receives” the direct object In the

fol-lowing sentences, the direct object is underlined and the indirect object is in bold:

I / gave Sunil a raise (Sunil receives the raise; the raise receives the action of being given.)

The student / asked the professor a question (The professor receives the question; the question

receives the action of being asked.)

Rule #1: Follow the basic subject-predicate word order for sentences: subject, verb, indirect object, and

direct object

Independent and Dependent Clauses

A clause contains a subject and a predicate and may also have direct and indirect objects An independent

clause expresses a complete thought; it can stand on its own as a sentence A dependent clause, on the other

hand, cannot stand alone because it expresses an incomplete idea When a dependent clause stands alone, it

results in a sentence fragment.

Independent clause: She was excited.

Dependent clause: Because she was excited.

Notice that the dependent clause is incomplete; it needs an additional thought to make a completesentence:

She spoke very quickly because she was excited.

The independent clause, however, can stand alone It is a complete thought

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S UBORDINATING C ONJUNCTIONS

A subordinating conjunction such as the word because makes a dependent clause dependent Subordinatingconjunctions connect clauses and help show the relationship between those clauses The following is a list ofthe most common subordinating conjunctions:

When a clause begins with a subordinating conjunction, it is dependent It must be connected to anindependent clause to become a complete thought:

I never knew true happiness until I met you.

After Johnson quit, I had to work extra overtime.

C ONJUNCTIVE A DVERBS

A very common grammar mistake is to think that words such as however and therefore are subordinating

con-junctions But however and therefore belong to a group of words called conjunctive adverbs, which also

sig-nal relationships between parts of a sentence When they are used with a semicolon, they can combineindependent clauses The following is a list of the most common conjunctive adverbs:

I did not go to the party; instead, I stayed home and watched a good film.

Samantha is a fabulous cook; indeed, she may even be better than Jacque.

I need to pay this bill immediately Otherwise, my phone service will be cut off.

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C OMPOUND S ENTENCES AND C OORDINATING C ONJUNCTIONS

When two independent clauses are combined, the result is a compound sentence such as the following:

He was late, so he lost the account.

The most common way to join two independent clauses is with a comma and a coordinating

con-junction: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet Independent clauses can also be joined with a semicolon if the ideas in

the sentences are closely related:

I am tall, and he is short. [IC, coordinating conjunction  IC]

I was late, yet I still got the account. [IC, coordinating conjunction  IC]

Sentence Boundaries

Expressing complete ideas and clearly indicating where sentences begin and end are essential to effective ing Two of the most common grammatical errors with sentence boundaries are fragments and run-ons

writ-I NCOMPLETE S ENTENCES (F RAGMENTS )

As stated earlier, a complete sentence must (1) have both a subject (who or what performs the action) and

a verb (a state of being or an action) and (2) express a complete thought If you don’t complete a thought,

or if you are missing a subject or verb (or both), then you have an incomplete sentence (also called a sentence

fragment) To correct a fragment, add the missing subject or verb or otherwise change the sentence to

com-plete the thought

Incomplete: Which is simply not true (No subject Which is not a subject.)

Complete: That is simply not true.

Incomplete: For example, the French Revolution (No verb.)

Complete: The best example is the French Revolution

Incomplete: Even though the polar icecaps are melting (Subject and verb, but not a

complete thought.)Complete: Some people still do not believe in global warming even though the polar

icecaps are melting

Rule #2: Make sure sentences have both a subject and a predicate and express a complete thought.

Let us go it is getting late.

I aced the interview, I should get the job.

Whether or not you believe me it is true, I did not lie to you.

You can correct run-on sentences in five ways:

The following is a run-on sentence corrected with each of the previous techniques:

The debate is over, now it is time to vote

period The debate is over Now it is time to vote.

comma  conjunction The debate is over, and now it is time to vote.

semicolon The debate is over; now it is time to vote.

dash The debate is over—now it is time to vote.

subordinating conjunction Since the debate is over, it is time to vote.

Rule #3: Respect sentence boundaries Do not let two or more independent clauses run together.

Phrases and Modifiers

Sentences are often “filled out” by phrases and modifiers Phrases are groups of words that do not have both

a subject and predicate; they might have either a subject or a verb, but not both, and sometimes neither ifiers are words and phrases that qualify or describe people, places, things, and actions The most common

Mod-phrases are prepositional Mod-phrases, which consist of a preposition and a noun or pronoun (e.g., in the attic) Modifiers include adjectives (e.g., slow, blue, excellent) and adverbs (e.g., cheerfully, suspiciously) In the fol-

lowing examples, the prepositional phrases are underlined and the modifiers are in bold:

He was very late for an important meeting with a new client.

He brazenly looked through her purse when she got up from the table to go to the ladies’ room.

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P LACEMENT OF M ODIFIERS

As a general rule, words, phrases, or clauses that describe nouns and pronouns should be as close as possible

to the words they describe The relaxing music, for example, is better (clearer, more concise, and more cise) than the music that is relaxing In the first sentence, the modifier relaxing is right next to the word it mod- ifies (music).

pre-When modifiers are not next to the words they describe, you not only often use extra words, but you

also might end up with a misplaced or dangling modifier and a sentence that means something other than

what was intended This is especially true of phrases and clauses that work as modifiers Take a look at thefollowing sentence:

Whispering quietly, I heard the children stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

Who was whispering quietly? Because the modifier whispering quietly is next to I, the sentence says that

I was doing the whispering But the context of the sentence indicates that it was the children who were doing

the whispering Here are three corrected versions In the first version, the modifier is moved to its proper place,

next to children In the second and third versions, I is removed from the sentence to eliminate any confusion:

I heard the children whispering quietly as they stole cookies from the cookie jar.

The children, whispering quietly, stole cookies from the cookie jar.

Whispering quietly, the children stole cookies from the cookie jar as I listened.

Here’s another example:

Worn and tattered, Uncle Joe took down the flag.

It’s quite obvious that it was the flag, not Uncle Joe, that was worn and tattered But because the ifier (worn and tattered) isn’t right next to what it modifies (the flag), the sentence actually says that UncleJoe was worn and tattered Here are two corrected versions The first simply puts the modifier in its proper

mod-place The second moves the modifier and puts it in a restrictive clause (a which clause) that clarifies what is

modified:

Uncle Joe took down the worn and tattered flag.

Uncle Joe took down the flag, which was worn and tattered.

Rule #4: Keep modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify.

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A word’s function and form is determined by its part of speech The word calm, for example, can be either averb (calm down) or an adjective (a calm afternoon); it changes to calmly when it is an adverb (they discussedthe matter calmly) Be sure you know the different parts of speech and the job each part of speech performs

in a sentence The following table offers a quick reference guide for the main parts of speech

noun names a person, place, thing, water, Byron, telephone, Main Street,

or concept tub, virtue pronoun takes the place of a noun so that I, you, he, she, us, they, this, that,

noun does not have to be repeated themselves, somebody, who, which verb expresses an action, occurrence, wait, seem, be, visit, renew

or state of being helping verb combines with other verbs (main forms of be, do and have; can,

(also called auxiliary verb) verbs) to create verb phrases that could, may, might, must, shall,

help indicate tenses should, will, would adjective modifies nouns and pronouns; can green, round, old, surprising; that

also identify or quantify (e.g., that elephant); several (e.g.,

several elephants) adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, other dreamily, quickly, always, very, then

adverbs, or entire clauses preposition expresses the relationship in time in, on, around, above, between,

or space between words in a sentence underneath, beside, with, upon

Prepositions are extremely important; they help us understand how objects relate to each other in space andtime Recognizing them can help you quickly check for subject-verb agreement and other grammar issues Thefollowing is a list of the most common prepositions See pages 127–128 for notes about the most commonprepositional idioms

behind below beneath beside

(continued)

Parts of Speech: A Brief Review

Parts of Speech: A Brief Reviewbesides between beyond by

since through throughout till

Parallel Structure

Parallel structure means that words and phrases in a sentence follow the same grammatical pattern

When-ever a sentence has a series of actions, a list of items, or a not only/but also construction, it should have

par-allel structure Parpar-allelism makes ideas easier to follow and expresses ideas more gracefully Notice howparallelism works in the following examples:

Not parallel: We came, we saw, and it was conquered by us (The first two clauses use the active we past tense verb construction; the third uses a passive structure with a prepositional phrase.)Parallel: We came, we saw, we conquered (All three clauses start with we and use a past tense verb.)

Not parallel: Please be sure to throw out your trash, place your silverware in the bin, and your tray should go on the counter (Two verbs follow the to  verb  your  noun pattern; the third puts the

noun first and then the verb.)

Parallel: Please be sure to throw out your trash, place your silverware in the pin, and put your tray on the counter (All three items follow the to  verb  your  noun  prepositional phrase pattern.)

The following are two more examples of sentences with correct parallel structure:

Hermione’s nervousness was exacerbated not only by the large crowd but also by the bright lights (Each

phrase has a preposition, an adjective, and a noun.)

Their idea was not only the most original; it was also the most practical (Each phrase uses the

superla-tive form of an adjecsuperla-tive [see page 126 for more information on superlasuperla-tives].)

Rule #5: Use parallel structure for any series of actions or items or the not only/but also construction.

 G r a m m a r a n d U s a g e

Grammar and usage refer to the rules that govern the forms of words people use and the special tions of words that create specific meanings In this section, you will review the following areas of basic gram-mar and usage:

In English grammar, agreement means that sentence elements are balanced Verbs, for example, should agree

in number with their subjects If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular; if the subject is plural,the verb should be plural

Incorrect: Robin want to meet us later (singular subject, plural verb)

Correct: Robin wants to meet us later (singular subject, singular verb)

Incorrect: He do whatever he want (singular subject, plural verbs)

Correct: He does whatever he wants (singular subject, singular verbs)

Of course, to make sure subjects and verbs agree, you need to be clear about who or what is the subject

of the sentence This can be tricky in sentences with indefinite pronouns and in inverted sentences Use thefollowing guidelines for proper subject-verb agreement:

■ Remember that subjects are never found in prepositional phrases, so the subject must be elsewhere in the

sentence Sometimes the subject is the antecedent of a noun found in a prepositional phrase, as in thefollowing example:

Only one of the students was officially registered for the class.

The pronoun one is the subject of the sentence, not students, because students is part of the tional phrase of the students The verb must therefore be singular (was).

preposi-■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by and, the verb must be plural.

Both Vanessa and Xui want to join the committee.

■ If a compound, singular subject is connected by or or nor, the verb must be singular.

Neither Vanessa nor Xiu wants to join the committee.

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Verb Review

If English is your second language, a quick review of verb conjugation and usage rules might be in order Turn

to Chapter 11 for an overview of verb forms, a list of irregular verbs, and a review of troublesome verbs such

as lay/lie.

■ If one plural and one singular subject are connected by or or nor, the verb agrees with the closest

subject

Neither Vanessa nor the treasurers want to join the committee.

Neither the treasurers nor Vanessa wants to join the committee.

■ In an inverted sentence, the subject comes after the verb, so the first step is to clearly identify the

sub-ject (Sentences that begin with there is and there are, for example, and questions are inverted

sen-tences.) Once you correctly identify the subject, then you can make sure your verb agrees The correctsubjects and verbs are underlined in the following examples:

Incorrect: There is plenty of reasons to go.

Correct: There are plenty of reasons to go.

Incorrect: Here is the results you have been waiting for.

Correct: Here are the results you have been waiting for.

Incorrect: What is the side effects of this medication?

Correct: What are the side effects of this medication?

Rule #6: Make sure verbs agree in number with their subjects.

Consistent Tense

One of the quickest ways to confuse readers, especially if you are telling a story or describing an event, is toshift verb tenses To help readers be clear about when actions occur, make sure verb tenses are consistent Ifyou begin telling the story in the present tense, for example, stay in the present tense; do not mix tenses asyou write Otherwise, you will leave your readers wondering whether actions are taking place in the present

or took place in the past:

Incorrect: She left the house and forgets her keys again.

Correct: She left the house and forgot her keys again.

Incorrect: When we work together, we got better results.

Correct: When we work together, we get better results.

When we worked together, we got better results.

Pronouns, as noted earlier, replace nouns, so you don’t have to repeat names and objects over and over Thereare several different kinds of pronouns, and each kind of pronoun follows different rules

P ERSONAL P RONOUNS

Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things They can be either singular (I) or plural (we); they can

be subjects (I) or objects (me) Pronouns reflect three points of view: first person (I, we), second person (you), and third person (he, she, it, them).

singular I me first person

you you second person

you you second person they them third person

Pronoun mistakes are often made when you use the subject form when you really need the object form.Here are two guidelines to follow:

■ Always use the object pronoun in a prepositional phrase Pronouns and nouns in prepositional

phrases are always objects:

He promised to bring a souvenir for Betty and me.

Please keep this between us.

■ Always use the subject pronoun in a than construction (comparison) When a pronoun follows than, it

is usually part of a clause that omits the verb to avoid redundancy:

I realize that Alonzo is more talented than I [than I am]

Sandra is much more reliable than he [than he is]

Rule #8: Use the correct subject or object form of personal pronouns Determine whether a pronoun is

functioning as a subject or object in the sentence

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P OSSESSIVE P RONOUNS

The possessive pronouns its, your, their, and whose are often confused with the contractions it’s (it is or it has),

you’re (you are), they’re (they are), and who’s (who is) Because writers use apostrophes to show possession in

nouns (Louise’s truck, the rug’s pattern), many people make the mistake of thinking that pronouns use trophes for possession, too But possessive pronouns do not take apostrophes When a pronoun has an apos-

apos-trophe, it always shows contraction.

POSSESSIVE

its belonging to it The dog chased its tail.

your belonging to you Your time is up.

their belonging to them Their words were comforting.

whose belonging to who Whose tickets are these?

CONTRACTION

it’s it is It’s time to eat.

you’re you are You’re not going to believe your eyes.

they’re they are They’re getting their tickets now.

who’s who is Who’s got my tickets?

Rule #9: Use apostrophes with pronouns to show contraction only Pronouns do not need apostrophes to

show possession

The pronouns who, that, and which are also often confused The following lists the general guidelines

for using these pronouns correctly:

■ Use who or whom when referring to people:

She is the one who should make that decision, not I.

■ Use that when referring to things:

This is the most important decision that she will make as director.

■ Use which when introducing clauses that are not essential to the information in the sentence

(nonre-strictive), unless they refer to people In that case, use who.

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