Friday, June 30, 2006

Gmat sentence correction 24 , 25

Gmat Sentence Correction 24 & 25

24). Based on accounts of various ancient writers, scholars have painted a sketchy picture of the activities of an all-female cult that, perhaps as early as the sixth century B.C., worshipped a goddess known in Latin as Bona Dea, "the good goddess."

(A) Based on accounts of various ancient writers

(B) Basing it on various ancient writers' accounts

(C) With accounts of various ancient writers used for a basis

(D) By the accounts of various ancient writers they used

(E) Using accounts of various ancient writers

25). The number of acres destroyed by wildfires, which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased dramatically over the past several years, prompting major concern among local politicians.

A). which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have increased


B). which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, have been increasing

C). which has become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased

D). which have become an ongoing threat due to drought and booming population density, has increased

E). which have become an ongoing threat because of drought and booming population density, has increased

Answers-

24). E is the best choice.

A - Dangling modifier - the introductory clause beginning Based on modifies scholars, the noun that immediately follows it.
In other words, A says that scholars were based on the accounts of various ancient writers.

B - is awkward and imprecise - referent of pronoun "it" is not clear.

C, D - are also wordy and awkward.
Further in D - By the accounts... they used is an unidiomatic and roundabout way of saying that scholars used me accounts.

E - is clear and concise - correctly uses a present participle (or "-ing" verb) to introduce the modifier describing how the scholars worked.

25). E is the correct choice.

A - The subject of the original sentence is "the number of acres", which is singular. The main verb, however, is "have increased", which is plural. We need to find a choice that replaces "have" with "has". Moreover, the phrase "due to" is incorrect in this context. "Due to" is a phrase that must describe a noun. "The fire was due to drought" is correct, but "There was a fire due to drought" is not. When describing a verb phrase, "because of" is preferable: "There was a fire because of drought."

B - The plural verb "have been" does not agree with the singular subject "the number of acres." Additionally, the passive voice "have been increased" is incorrect. Finally, the phrase "due to drought . . ." is unidiomatic since "because of" (not "due to") should be used to modify the verb phrase "have become an ongoing threat."

C - The modifier "which has become an ongoing threat . . ." contains the singular verb "has" which does not agree with the plural subject "wildfires."

D - The phrase "due to drought . . ." is unidiomatic since "because of" (not "due to") should be used to modify the verb phrase "have become an ongoing threat."

E - Correct - The singular verb "has" agrees with the singular subject "the number of acres." Additionally, "because of drought . . ." is properly used to modify the verb phrase "have become an ongoing threat."

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Gmat sentence correction 22 , 23


22). A recent study has found that within the past few years, many doctors had elected early retirement rather than face the threats of lawsuits and the rising costs of malpractice insurance.

(A) had elected early retirement rather than face

(B) had elected early retirement instead of facing

(C) have elected retiring early instead of facing

(D) have elected to retire early rather than facing

(E) have elected to retire early rather than face

23). In metalwork one advantage of adhesive-bonding over spot-welding is that the contact, and hence the bonding, is effected continuously over a broad surface instead of a series of regularly spaced points with no bonding in between.

A) instead of

B) as opposed to

C) in contrast with

D) rather than at

E) as against being at

Answer -

22). Best answer choice is E

A, B - wrong tense 'had elected'
C - here preference is shown so use of 'instead of' is incorrect.
D - violating parallelism - D has parallelism problem. ...elected to retire....rather than facing....

Hence E is the best choice.

23). D is the best choice, as preference is suggested in the sentence.

A - "instead of " - incorrect - not a substitute
B - "as opposed to" - incorrect - there is no argument
C - "in contrast with" - incorrect
E - "being" - incorrect - as use of 'being'- not entertained in Gmat .

Gmat sentence correction 21

21). Patrice, whom according to the classical musician community is a virtuoso, plays in a unique style which is all her own but which also embodies a warmth prevalent during the golden age of violin playing.

A). whom according to the classical musician community is a virtuoso, plays in a unique style which is all her own but which also embodies

B). considered a virtuoso by the community of classical musicians, plays in a style all her own which at the same time embodies

C). regarded by classical musicians as being a virtuoso, plays in a unique style all her own yet embodies

D). regarded by classical musicians as a virtuoso, who plays in a style all her own which at the same time embodies

E). whom the community of classical musicians would consider to be a virtuoso, plays in a unique style while at the same time embodying

Answer - B is the best choice.Click on the link below to see the explanation.

Explanation

Friday, June 23, 2006

Gmat sentence correction 19 20


19). If anyone at InterCom Financial Advisers would have anticipated, or even suspected, the impending sale of the Koniko kelp processing plant, they would have advised owners of Koniko stock to unload all shares immediately.

(A) If anyone at InterCom Financial Advisers would have anticipated

(B) Had anyone at InterCom Financial Advisers anticipated

(C) If any people at InterCom Financial Advisers would have anticipated

(D) If any people at InterCom Financial Advisers had anticipated

(E) If anybody at InterCom Financial Advisers anticipated



20). If the reporter would have known the landlord's side of the story, she would not have written an article so favorable to the 81-year-old tenant.

(A) would have known the landlord's side of the story, she would not have written

(B) would of known the landlord's side of the story, she would not of written

(C) had known the landlord's side of the story, she would not have written

(D) had known the landlord's side of the story, she would not have wrote

(E) knew the landlord's side of the story, she would not have written


Answers -

19). D is the right answer - Correct tense
anyone - singular

any people - plural,
use of " they would .. " in later half of the sentence implies we need plural .

20). C is the right choice.

Whenever you come across if ... then tense construction in a sentence,

IF Clause Then Clause


PAST PERFECT ---- WOULD/COULD + HAVE + PARTICIPLE

If Ram had won... he would have given.....


Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Gmat Sentence Correction 17 , 18

Gmat Sentence Correction 17 & 18

17). Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a late nineteenth-century feminist, called for urban apartment houses including child-care facilities and clustered suburban houses including communal eating and social facilities.

(A) including child-care facilities and clustered suburban houses including communal eating and social facilities

(B) that included child-care facilities, and for clustered suburban houses to include communal eating and social facilities

(C) with child-care facilities included and for clustered suburban houses to include communal eating and social facilities

(D) that included child-care facilities and for clustered suburban houses with communal eating and social facilities

(E) to include child-care facilities and for clustered suburban houses with communal eating and social facilities included


18). No one but him could have told them that the king was I.

(A) him could have told them that the king was I.

(B) he could have told them that the king was me.

(C) him could have told them the king was me.

(D) he could have told them that the king was I.

(E) him could had told them that the king was I.



Answer -

17). D is the right choice.

A - AMBIGUITY - including..... - not clear - it is hard to tell whether Gilman called for urban apartment houses that included child-care facilities or whether such facilities represent one variety of the urban apartment houses she wanted to built.

C,E - incorrect - preposition + noun + participle, Gmat almost never entertains this pattern -- communal eating and social facilities included.

B - to include - unidiomatic



18). A is the answer.Gmat grammar tip --

"except", "no one but" should be followed by object form of Pronoun.

No one but -- in other words means - except
.

Always use subject form of Pronoun after the linking verb.--(Here linking verb 'was' so we use subject form of pronoun i.e I)



Gmat Sentence Correction 15 , 16

Gmat Sentence Correction 15 & 16

15). The suspect is facing charges that he illegally published telephone credit card numbers, intending that they be used by others to avoid telephone billings.

A. intending that they be used by others to avoid telephone billings.

B. with the intent of others using them to avoid telephone billings.

C. intending that telephone billings could be avoided by others using them.

D. with the intent of their use by others to avoid telephone billings.

E. with the intent that telephone billings would be avoided by others through their use.

16). Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.

A. because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone

B. because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that are

C. because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissues

D. in that their composition , tissues such as tooth and bone, is

E. in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues

Answer -

15). A is the best choice - The correct idioms are -
1. Intent on verb+ing.
2. intend to verb -- applying 2nd, A is the best choice.

B, D, E -- "numbers" cannot have intent.

C -- use "shall " or "should" instead of "could". Further, use of "them" is ambiguous as it can either refer to "numbers" or to "billings".

16). E is the best choice.It is a modifier question.(To know about modifiers click on links below).

A - "not normally found..." modifies "bone"
B - "that.." modifies "bone" again
D - Composition = tissues ? One is singular, the other is plural.

In gmat "like" is used to show similarity whereas "such as" means example. By this reasoning we straight away eliminate choices B, C.

Further "because" is used to express a simple relationship whereas "in that" qualifies the previous statement. In this sentence use of because is wrong, also in Gmat "in that " is preferred over "because".


http://gmat-grammar.blogspot.com

Monday, June 19, 2006

Gmat Sentence Correction 13, 14

SENTENCE CORRECTION 13 & 14

13). In the Renaissance, painters were so impressed with Leonardo da Vinci that they ignored their own training and designate as a masterpiece anything he painted.

(A) were so impressed with Leonardo da Vinci that they ignored

(B) were impressed with Leonardo da Vinci to such an extent that they were to ignore

(C) were so impressed with Leonardo da Vinci as to ignore

(D) were so impressed with Leonardo da Vinci that they had to ignore

(E) were as impressed with Leonardo da Vinci as to ignore

14). Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries.

(A). Many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries.

(B). chiseled from solid rock centuries ago,the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries.

(C). hundreds of monesteries, many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago, re dotting the mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia.

(D). The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries, many of which are chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.

(E). The mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia are dotted with hundreds of monesteries,many of them chiseled from solid rock centuries ago.

Answers :-

13). The correct answer is C.

A - wrong - they ignored..... and designate ... this is incorrect... either use present tense or past.. not both..

We use 'so as' to mean with the purpose or result - must be followed by an infinitive. This rule this rule applies in the given sentence.
Painters were impressed... [as a result] they ignored and designated...

The last part of the sentence uses 'designate'. It's a hint that 'ignore' should be used in its infinitive form as well (because of the rule and to preserve parallelism).

Note - GMAT generally prefers "so that" when applicable. However, because there is an infinitive form "designate" later in the sentence, you have to use "so as to" to maintain parallelism in verb tense.

14). E is the best choice.

A,B - Wrong because the chiseled ones are monastries and not the mountain regions.

C - Run-on sentence. It must be many of which.


D - Use of 'are' is incorrect.

E - many of .....ago - absolute phrase - so this is right choice





Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Gmat Sentence Correction 11, 12

GMAT SENTENCE CORRECTION -- 11 & 12

11). Three hundred guests is as many as even the most ambitious host or hostess should invite, and this number of guests is advisable only when circumstances actually demand it.

A) as many as even

B) so many as even

C) so many that even

D) as many that even

E) even so many that


12). The ideal citeis of Ebenezer Howard, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Le Corbusier, different from one another as they were, were all based on a belief that physical order in itself could bring about the good life.

A). different from one another as they were

B). different one from the other as they were

C). different from each other as every one was

D). differing as each was, one from the other

E). although each differed from

Answer

11). A --- 2 idioms involved here are ---

1- As many as - to the same extent, degree (equal to) -- Ram was as sad as someone could ever be

2- So... that..- To such an extent/degree that...usually leads to a conclusion -- Ram was so sad that he decided to leave his job.

In the question :--
Three hundred guests is as many as even the most ambitious host or hostess should invite.

As can be seen, "even the most ambitious host or hostess should invite" is not the conclusion of the 300 guests.

Instead,"as many as" will make the proper link between the two parts => that the 300 guests is equal to what the most ambitious host should invite.

12). A "as" here is somewhat similar to "even though".
Other catch in this sentence lies in the fact that we often omit the first "as" when we invert, here it implies -- "as different from one another as they were" is same as "different from one another as they were".



Monday, June 12, 2006

GMAT Sentence Correction 1-10

I will be posting few sentence correction questions in a day daily, the explanation and correct answer to each question will be posted by me at the end of each day, hope this would help all those who are preparing for Gmat.

1. A “calendar stick” carved centuries ago by the Winnebago tribe may provide the first evidence that the North American Indians have developed advanced full-year calendars basing them on systematic astronomical observation.

(A) that the North American Indians have developed advanced full-year calendars basing them
(B) of the North American Indians who have developed advanced full-year calendars and based them
(C) of the development of advanced full-year calendars by North American Indians, basing them
(D) of the North American Indians and their development of advanced full-year calendars based
(E) that the North American Indians developed advanced full-year calendars based

2. A 1972 agreement between Canada and the United States reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump into the Great Lakes.

(A) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities had been allowed to dump
(B) reduced the phosphate amount that municipalities had been dumping
(C) reduces the phosphate amount municipalities have been allowed to dump
(D) reduced the amount of phosphates that municipalities are allowed to dump
(E) reduces the amount of phosphates allowed for dumping by municipalities

3. A collection of 38 poems by Phillis Wheatley, a slave, was published in the 1770’s, the first book by a Black woman and it was only the second published by an American woman.

(A) it was only the second published by an American woman
(B) it was only the second that an American woman published
(C) the second one only published by an American woman
(D) the second one only that an American woman published
(E) only the second published by an American woman

4. A common disability in test pilots is hearing impairment, a consequence of sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time.

(A) a consequence of sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time
(B) a consequence from sitting for long periods of time too near to large jet engines
(C) a consequence which resulted from sitting too close to large jet engines for long periods of time
(D) damaged from sitting too near to large jet engines for long periods of time
(E) damaged because they sat too close to large jet engines for long periods of time

5. A controversial figure throughout most of his public life, the Black leader Marcus Garvey advocated that some Blacks return to Africa, the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom.

(A) that some Blacks return to Africa, the land that, to him, symbolized the possibility of freedom
(B) that some Blacks return to the African land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him
(C) that some Blacks return to Africa which was the land which symbolized the possibility of freedom to him
(D) some Black’s returning to Africa which was the land that to him symbolized the possibility of freedom
(E) some Black’s return to the land symbolizing the possibility of freedom to him, Africa

6. A fire in an enclosed space burns with the aid of reflected radiation that preheats the fuel, making ignition much easier and flames spreading more quickly.

(A) flames spreading
(B) flame spreads
(C) flames are caused to spread
(D) causing flames to spread
(E) causing spreading of the flames

7. A firm that specializes in the analysis of handwriting claims from a one-page writing sample that it can assess more than three hundred personality traits, including enthusiasm, imagination, and ambition.

(A) from a one-page writing sample that it can assess
(B) from a one-page writing sample it has the ability of assessing
(C) the ability, from a one-page writing sample, of assessing
(D) to be able, from a one-page writing sample, to assess
(E) being able to assess, from a one-page writing sample,

8. A huge flying reptile that died out with the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago, the Quetzalcoatlus had a wingspan of 36 feet, believed to be the largest flying creature the world has ever seen.

(A) believed to be
(B) and that is believed to be
(C) and it is believed to have been
(D) which was, it is believed,
(E) which is believed to be

9. A Labor Department study states that the numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase in the past decade and accounted for more than sixty-two percent of the total growth in the civilian work force.

(A) numbers of women employed outside the home grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase
(B) numbers of women employed outside the home grew more than thirty-five percent
(C) numbers of women employed outside the home were raised by more than thirty-five percent
(D) number of women employed outside the home increased by more than thirty-five percent
(E) number of women employed outside the home was raised by more than a thirty-five percent increase

10. A large rise in the number of housing starts in the coming year should boost new construction dollars by several billion dollars, making the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than five years ago.

(A) making the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than five years ago
(B) and make the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than five years ago
(C) making the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than it was five years ago
(D) to make the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than five years ago
(E) in making the construction industry’s economic health much more robust than it as five years ago

Answers

1.) E is the best choice as it only maintains parallelism -- carved... developed....based

2.) OA - D.
Since the dumping continued after the date of the agreement, the past perfect verb had been allowed in choice A is incorrect. The verb should instead be the present are allowed(if the agreement remained in effect when the sentence was written) or the past were allowed(if the agreement was no longer in effect when the sentence was written). B changes the meaning of the sentence by stating that – the amount of phosphate that municipalities were dumping whereas stem only talks about the limit and not whether they were up to the limit.C, E use wrong tense reduces, should be the past tense reduced. Further allowed for dumping in E is unidiomatic. Also the phrase amount of phosphate is clear and idiomatically correct, whereas phosphate amount is not idiomatic

3). The best choice is E, Here parallelism has to be maintained between two nouns and not two sentences, thus options A and B are ruled out.Also in choices A and B use of it denotes redundancy. This leaves us with C, D, and E. Choices C and D are wordy, also according to the grammar rule one should put only as close as possible to the word it is suppose to modify.Further choice D is depicting incorrect placing of active and passive voice constructions in the sentence.

4). A is the best choice.

5). A is the best answer. D, E are ruled out because of use of apostrophe which is changing the expression to noun form. Option B is unclear and suffers from ambiguity and in option C the referent of which is not clear.

6). D is the best choice.

7). D is the best answer. It correctly uses an infinitive to connect the verb "claims" with the firm's assertion : claims to be able .....to assess....All of the other choices use ungrammatical or unclear constructions after claims. Choices A and B present clauses that should be introduced by "claims that". In A, placing that after sample rather than after claims produces the unintended statement that the claim itself is made on the basis of a single one - page writing sample.Also in B, the ability of assessing is unidiomatic.Choice C repeats this second fault and uses the unidiomatic claims the ability.Choice E uses the ungrammatical claims being able to assess.

8). C is the best choice.
A - incorrect - participial phrase is incorrectly referring to 36 feet. Further wrongly suggests that Quetzalcoatlus still exists though the real meaning conveyed here is that it is still considered the largest flying creature (present perfect)
B - incorrect - "that" is modifying "a wingspan", instead of modifying "Quetzalcoatlus".
D, E - incorrect - "which" modifying "a wingspan", instead of modifying "Quetzalcoatlus"

9). D is the best choice.Because a count of women employed outside the home at any given time will be expressed by a single number, the use of the plural noun numbers in choices A, B, and C is illogical. In A, the phrase grew by more than a thirty-five percent increase is redundant and wordy, since the sense of increase is implicit in the verb grew. In C and E, the passive verb forms were raised and was raised are inappropriate because there is no identifiable agent responsible for the raising of the number of women employed. In choice E, was raised by ... increase is redundant. Choice D, which presents the comparison logically and idiomatically, is the best answer.

10). C is the best answer.Wrong comparison - health to five years ago eliminate option A, B, and D .In option E in making is not necessary, thus making it unnecessarily wordy.