Beat The Gmat Sc

Front 1

V: SC: Agree
Agree with

Back 1

another person.
- “I agree with you on this one.”

Front 2

Agree to

Back 2

something inanimate.
- “I agree to your proposal.”

Front 3

V: SC: in that vs. because

Back 3

in that is usually better than because

Front 4

V: SC: Pronoun Errors

- “Samantha and Jane went shopping, but she couldn’t find anything she liked.”

Back 4

(Incorrect)

Front 5

Pronoun number error

- “The average moviegoer expects to see at least one scene of violence per film, and they are seldom disappointed.”

Back 5

(Incorrect)

Front 6

V: SC: Misplaced Modifiers

“Coming out of the department store, John’s wallet was stolen.”

Back 6

(Incorrect)
- 2 ways to fix this misplaced modifier:
- Change 2nd half of sentence.
- Change first half of sentence into adverbial clause, which contains its own subject.

Front 7

V: SC: Parallel Construction

Series of actions set off by commas.

Back 7

- Spot these problems by finding a series of actions, lists, or sentences divided into parts.

Front 8

V: SC: Tense

Back 8

A sentence that begins in one tense should generally stay in that tense

Front 9

V: SC: Tense

- EXCEPTION: Past perfect

Back 9

- Action set in the past perfect must have another action that comes after it set in the simple past.

- “He had ridden his motorcycle for 2 hours when it ran out of gas.”

Front 10

V: SC
Politics –
People –

Back 10

Politics – Singular word
People – Plural word

Front 11

V: SC: Quantity Words

“On the flight to LA, Nancy had to choose between two dinner entrees.”

• Fewer
• Number
• Many
• Less
• Amount, quantity
• Much

Back 11

Countable Items
• Fewer
• Number
• Many

Non- Countable Items
• Less
• Amount, quantity
• Much

Front 12

V: SC: 3-Step Method

Back 12

1) Read original sentence carefully.
2) Scan answer choices for differences that will help identify errors being tested.
3) Eliminate a choice as soon as you find an error.

Front 13

V: SC: Apples and Oranges
Comparison of nouns:
- “The people in my office are smarter than those
in other offices.”

Back 13

Comparison of actions
- “Synthetic oils burn less efficiently than do
natural oils.”
Compare like things/actions to like things/actions.

Front 14

V: SC: Correct Sentences

Back 14

1/5 of SC sentences are correct on the GMAT.
- About 3 questions per test.

Front 15

V: SC: Agreement
Verbs must agree with subjects.
- Watch for collective nouns

Back 15

- audience, committee are singular

Front 16

Verbs must agree with subjects.
- Watch for collective nouns

Back 16

- Verbs agree with whatever follows “or/nor”

Front 17

V: SC: Modifiers

Back 17

Modifiers should be as close as possible to the word or clause it modifies.

Front 18

V: SC: Pronoun

- 2 types of errors:

Back 18

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent and refer to only one antecedent.

- 2 types of errors: reference, agreement
- that is singular
- those is plural

Front 19

V: SC: -ing

Back 19

When the GMAT gives you a choice between one verb tense that uses an –ing form and another that doesn’t, usually the –ing form is wrong.

Front 20

V: SC: Verb Tense
Verb tense must reflect the sequence of events.
- 2 reasons to use –ing form:

Back 20

emphasize continuing nature of an action or to emphasize that two actions are occurring simultaneously.

Front 21

V: SC: Verb Tense

Back 21

- Use simple past tense instead of had + past tense.

Front 22

V: SC: Similar Items

Back 22

Similar elements with the same importance and function should be expressed in the same grammatical form.

Compare people to people, groups to groups, attributes to attributes.

Parallel similar elements in a sentence.

Front 23

V: SC: Like Things

Comparison words:

Back 23

Compare like things only.

Comparison words: like, as, compared to, less than, more than, other, that of, those of.

Front 24

V: SC: like, such as

like =
such as=

Back 24

like = “similar to”
such as = “for example”

Front 25

V: SC: like, as

Use like
Use as

Back 25

Use like for comparing nouns.
Use as for comparing actions.

Front 26

V: SC: Idioms involving as

Memorize:
- regarded
- as long
- such
- plays

Back 26

Memorize:
as is usually preferred over like
- regarded as (don’t use to be)
- as long as
- such questions as
- plays as

Front 27

V: SC: None/No one

Back 27

None can be singular or plural.

No one is always singular.

Front 28

V: SC: Passive Construction

Back 28

Avoid passive verbs!

Front 29

V: SC: Active Tense

Back 29

Active tense is preferred in sentence
correction questions.

Front 30

V: SC: Idiom
Agree

Back 30

that

Front 31

V: SC: Idiom
When rates means “price charged,”
it should be followed by

Back 31

Rates for

Front 32

V: SC: Idiom
Distinguish between X

Back 32

and Y.

Front 33

V: SC: Idiom
Likely

Back 33

to be

Front 34

V: SC: Idiom
Same to X

Back 34

as to Y.

Front 35

V: SC: Greater than/More than

Back 35

Greater than is appropriate when describing numbers alone.
- “Greater than 100…”

More than should be used when describing the numbers of objects or when making comparisons.
- “More than 100 fish.”

Front 36

V: SC: Subordination, Coordination

Back 36

Coordination
- Equal emphasis – and, or, but

Subordination
- Emphasize other part – although, while,
since

Front 37

V: SC: Participles

Back 37

Adjectives formed from verbs
- “Peter, distracted by his cat and wanting to do his work…”

Front 38

V: SC: Ellipsis

Back 38

Put omitted pieces back into sentence to see if it makes sense.

Front 39

V: SC: Passive

Back 39

Passive voice does not itself contribute an error. Eliminate passive if there is a grammatically correct alternative in the active voice.

Front 40

V: SC: Less

Back 40

Less is a word used to describe non-count nouns, but also used for sums of money, periods of time and distance, and citations of numerical/statistical data.

- “It’s less than 20 miles to Dallas.”
- “We spent less than $20.”
- “The town spent less than 4% of its budget.”

Front 41

V: SC: One of the…

Back 41

One of the + PLURAL NOUN + that/who/ + PLURAL VERB
- “He is one of the persons who make money.”
- “This is one of the cars that run on hydrogen.”

Front 42

V: SC: Consider

Back 42

- “Critics consider facilities an integral part…” (Correct)

When consider means “regard as,” as should not be present with consider in the sentence. Consider is also not followed by an infinitive like to be.

Front 43

V: SC: Ellipsis

Most of the time when we use a comparison using than or as, we leave words out.

Back 43

- “He is taller than she.”
- “He is as happy as they.”

Front 44

V: SC: Idiom

Deciding

Back 44

that

Front 45

V: SC: Idiom

Just as…

Back 45

…so

Front 46

V: SC: Idiom

Not so much…

Back 46

…as

Front 47

V: SC: Strategy

When the entire sentence is underlined in the
question, the answer has a higher probability
of being .

Back 47

‘D’ or ‘E’

Front 48

V: SC: Idiom

X forbids Y
X prohibits Y

Back 48

X forbids Y to do Z
X prohibits Y from doing Z

Front 49

V: SC: If/Whether

Back 49

Whether is correct when you’re
discussing two options.
If is correct for more than 2 options.

Front 50

V: SC: Singular or Plural

The following can be singular or plural pronouns, depending on the noun it refers to:

Back 50

- Some
- More
- Most
- All

Front 51

V: SC: Less, Fewer

Less =
Fewer =

Back 51

Less = “not as much”
Fewer = “not as many”

Front 52

V: SC: Compare

Use compare to

Use compare with

Back 52

Use compare to for unlike things
- “He compared her to a summer day.”

Use compare with for like things
- “The police compared the forged signature with the original.”

Front 53

V: SC: Comparison Words

Like –
As –
Such as –

Back 53

Like – used to express similarity, normally between two nouns
- “Lemons are like limes.”

As – normally used to compare two clauses,
NOT two nouns
- “He looks as if he is drunk.”

Such as – normally used to give examples.

Front 54

V: SC: Number

A number requires
The number requires

Back 54

A number requires a plural verb.
- “A number of people are waiting for the bus.”
The number requires a singular verb.
- “The number of cars in the city is decreasing.”

Front 55

V: SC: Idiom

So X

Back 55

So X as to be Y

Front 56

V: SC: Idiom
Same as X

Back 56

Same as X as to Y

Front 57

V: SC: Idiom
Just as…

Back 57

…so too

Front 58

V: SC: Infinitives to Avoid

To include is

To implement is

Back 58

To include is wrong.
- Including is correct.

To implement is wrong.
- Implementing is correct.

Front 59

V: SC: Pattern to Avoid
Avoid any sentence construction with:

Back 59

Avoid any sentence construction with:
PREPOSITION + NOUN + PARTICIPLE
- “…with child-care facilities
included.” (Incorrect)

Front 60

V: SC: being, to be

Back 60

Avoid being and to be, if possible.
- Both forms are considered passive.

Front 61

V: SC: Idiom – Paired Coordinates
Not X

Back 61

but rather Y

Front 62

V: SC: Idiom - Target
Target

Back 62

Target at
- “The shoe company targeted its advertising at high-school kids.”

Front 63

V: SC: Idiom
Between…

Back 63

…and

Front 64

V: SC: they

Back 64

Always be suspicious of the pronoun
they.

Front 65

V: SC: Comparison of actions
Watch out for comparison of actions:
- “French wines taste better than Australian wines.”
- “French wines taste better than Australian wines do.”

- “French wines taste better than Australian wines taste.”

- “French wines taste better than do Australian wines.”

Back 65

Watch out for comparison of actions:
- “French wines taste better than Australian wines.” (Incorrect)

- “French wines taste better than Australian wines do.” (Correct)

- “French wines taste better than Australian wines taste.” (Correct)

- “French wines taste better than do Australian wines.” (Correct)

Front 66

V: SC: Pronoun Rules

Back 66

Each pronoun must agree in number (plural
or singular) with the noun it replaces.

Each pronoun must refer directly and unambiguously to the noun it replaces.

Front 67

V: SC: Phrase, Clause

You can change a misplaced modifier into a legal sentence by changing a phrase into a clause.
- “While leaving the bank, Evelyn’s purse was stolen.”

Back 67

- “While leaving the bank, Evelyn’s purse was stolen.” (Incorrect, underlined portion is a phrase)

- “As she was leaving the bank, Evelyn’s purse was stolen.” (Correct, underlined portion is a clause)

Front 68

V: SC: Numbers Greater than
Numbers greater than 1 are

Back 68

Numbers greater than 1 are plural.
- “Three out of every four automobile owners in the US also own a bicycle.”

Front 69

V: SC: During V: SC: Quantifiers
With fractions, percentages, and indefinite quantifiers, the verb agrees with the preceding noun or clause.
With singular or non-count nouns or clauses,
use a singular verb.
During + TIME PERIOD

Back 69

During + TIME PERIOD is wrong.
- “During two hours, I felt sleepy.” (Incorrect)
- “During the last two hours, I have felt sleepy.
(Correct)

Front 70

V: SC: Quantifiers

Back 70

With fractions, percentages, and indefinite
quantifiers, the verb agrees with the
preceding noun or clause.

With singular or non-count nouns or clauses,
use a singular verb.

Front 71

V: SC: Hopefully

Back 71

Hopefully is almost always wrong on the GMAT. Avoid sentence choices with this word.

Front 72

V: SC: Having
Having +

Back 72

Having + past participle
- Used to express actions that are finished and
to show that one thing comes after another.

Front 73

V: SC: Thinking Words
Thinking words (i.e., theory, belief, believe…) + that
- Thinking words are always followed by

Back 73

that

- “Lucy’s belief that the Earth is flat is
great.” (Correct)
- “Lucy’s belief of…” (Incorrect)

Front 74

V: SC: Credit
Credit A
(give responsibility for)

Back 74

with B:
- “Edison is credited with inventing the light bulb.”

Front 75

V: SC: Credit

Credit X:
(give money or credit)

Back 75

to Y:
give money or credit to
- “The bank credited $1 million to his account.”

Front 76

V: SC: Credit

(money received for or in
exchange for something)

Back 76

for (noun):

- “The customer received a $20 credit for the interruption of service.”

Front 77

V: SC: Might/May

Back 77

Might is the past tense of may.

Front 78

V: SC: Number
“A number of
“The number of”

Back 78

“A number of” always takes plural verbs.
- “A number of people have gone…”

“The number of” always takes singular verbs.
- “The number of people has increased…”

Front 79

V: SC: Plural/Singular

Back 79

QUANTIFIER + of + NOUN + VERB
The noun determines whether verb is singular
or plural.
- “Most of the people are…”
- “Most of the water is…”

Front 80

V: SC: Majority
Majority should be used with

Back 80

count nouns only.

- “The majority of the talk…” (Incorrect)
- “The greater part of the talk…” (Correct)
- “The majority of the people…” (Correct)

Front 81

V: SC: Just as
Just as can replace

Back 81

in the same way that.

Front 82

V: SC: like vs. as
Use like when you want to

Use as when you want to

Back 82

to focus on two nouns.

to focus on two nouns doing two actions.

Front 83

V: SC: Strategy
Whenever we have two options that are both
grammatically correct, and the only difference is
meaning, we MUST go with the original
meaning.

Back 83

V: SC: Strategy
Whenever we have two options that are both
grammatically correct, and the only difference is
meaning, we MUST go with the original
meaning.

Front 84

V: SC: be-verb
NOUN + BE-verb + NOUN/ADJECTIVE
- “The change was good for me.” (Correct)
- “The change was when I came to the
U.S.” (Incorrect)
- Use “changed occurred” instead.

Back 84

V: SC: be-verb
NOUN + BE-verb + NOUN/ADJECTIVE
- “The change was good for me.” (Correct)
- “The change was when I came to the
U.S.” (Incorrect)
- Use “changed occurred” instead.

Front 85

V: SC: Pronoun
When you see a pronoun, especially it, immediately
check the antecedent.

Back 85

V: SC: Pronoun
When you see a pronoun, especially it, immediately
check the antecedent.

Front 86

V: SC: Idiom
For =
Along with =

Back 86

For = “despite”
Along with = “in addition to”

Front 87

V: SC: Concern
Concerned for =
Concerned with =

Back 87

Concerned for = “worried, anxious”
Concerned with = “related to”

Front 88

V: SC: So, It
So is used to replace
It is used to replace

Back 88

So is used to replace a verb in a sentence.
It is used to replace a noun.

Front 89

V: SC: Each
Each is

Back 89

usually singular.

But when each follows a plural subject, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain in the plural

- “Three cats each eat.” (Correct)
- “Three cats, each of which eats…” (Correct)

Front 90

V: SC: Whether, If
Whether will almost always

Back 90

beat if.

Front 91

V: SC: Compare
Compare to compares
compare with compares

Back 91

Compare to compares UNLIKE things, whereas
compare with compares LIKE things.
Compare to is used to stress resemblance. Compare
with can be used to show either similarity or difference
(usually difference).

Front 92

V: SC: So as to

- “Her debts are so extreme as to threaten her company.”

- “He exercises everyday so as to build his stamina.”

Back 92

So + ADJECTIVE + as to + VERB
- “Her debts are so extreme as to threaten
her company.” (Correct)
- “He exercises everyday so as to build his
stamina.” (Incorrect)

Front 93

V: SC: Due to

Back 93

Due to means “caused by.” Due to does not mean
“because of.”
- “The game was postponed due to
rain.” (Incorrect)
- “The game was postponed because of
rain.” (Correct)
- “The game’s postponement was due to
rain.” (Correct)

Front 94

V: SC: Idiom
Targeted at
Targeted to

Back 94

Targeted at – CORRECT
Targeted to – WRONG

Front 95

V: SC: Rather than
Use rather than to express

Back 95

a preference.

- “I want a cat rather than a dog.”

Front 96

V: SC: Not, But

Back 96

Use not/but to join linguistically equivalent
things.
- “Pucci is not a dog but a cat.”

Front 97

V: SC: Guessing

Back 97

When in doubt, choose the most concise answer.

Front 98

V: SC: Idiom
In contrast
Similar

Back 98

to
to

Front 99

V: SC: Between…

Back 99

and

and must always followetween
- “Between raising tuition and reducing staff…”

Front 100

V: SC: Whether/If

Whether is correct when a sentence describes

If is correct when a sentence describes

Back 100

alternatives.
- “Whether to participate or not.”

If is correct when a sentence describes a
hypothetical situation.
- “If he participated, he would…”

Front 101

V: SC: Modifiers

Back 101

In order for a modifying phrase to be used correctly, it
must be as close as possible to the thing or person it
modifies.

Front 102

Gerunds

Back 102

Gerunds are words ending in '-ing.'

Remember to treat them as if they were nouns.

Use the word like to compare them and give them a possessive noun or pronoun such as my

Front 103

Split Infinitive

Back 103

The infinitive is the 'to' form of a verb.

Don't split it. Don't put anything between 'to' and the verb.

Front 104

Subjunctive Voice

Back 104

The subjunctive is a voice that follows very specific rules.

For a demand or recommendation, make sure you use the infinitive form of a verb without the word 'to.'

For hypothetical situations, be sure to use both a 'were' and a 'would.'

Front 105

Quantity Words

Back 105

The main issue is countability.

If something is countable, use fewer, number, and many; for things that are not countable, use less, quantity, amount, or much.

When comparing two things, use -er, more, or between; if comparing three or more, use -est, most or among.

Front 106

Passive Voice

Back 106

Passive voice occurs when the subject of a sentence is being acted upon and is not the actor.

While it is not incorrect, GMAC doesn't like it. If there is a better (more active) option, choose it instead.

Front 107

Short and Sweet

Back 107

If POE produces two likely answers that are grammatically correct and that do not change the meaning
GMAC prefers concise or shorter formulations over longer, wordier ones.

Front 108

Redundancy

Back 108

Sentences that include repetitive or redundant words or phrases should be avoided.
Spotting the redundancy can be difficult, keep eyes pealed

Front 109

Read Actively

Back 109

Read Actively
Read Actively
Read Actively
Read Actively
Read Actively

Front 110

Mandate...

Back 110

...That

Front 111

Like and Such As

Back 111

"Like" is used to make comparisons involving things that are similar to, but not included in, the group being described. "Such as" is used to introduce examples of the group being described.

Front 112

So... ...That

Back 112

The proper way to use “so…that” is to place the “so” next to the word that needs to be intensified. Thus the sentence should read “so affected some critics that…”