GMAT (Fach) / Sentence Correction (Lektion)

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• Work Order 1. Read the ENTIRE sentence and identify 0-2 mistakes in it. 2. Go over the 5 answer choices vertically, focusing only on the part(s) in which the original sentence is mistaken. Eliminate answer choices that repeat the original mistake(s). If you're left with one answer choice only - choose it. 3. If you're left with more than one answer choice, eliminate all grammatically incorrect/ illogical answer choices. If you're left with one answer choice only - choose it. 4. If you're left with more than one answer choice, eliminate all stylistically flawed answer choices (i.e., redundant and/or ambiguous ones). If you're left with one answer choice only - choose it. 5. If you're left with more than one answer choice, eliminate all answer choices that change the meaning of the original sentence. If you're left with one answer choice only - choose it. 6. If you're left with more than one answer choice, eliminate all answer choices that do not fit into the rest of the sentence (i.e., the part of the original sentence which is not underlined). --- You may find it easier to remember the work order according to the acronym ROGer iS Mean & Fit, which stands for:  Read and eliminate: the Original mistake, Grammatical errors \ illogical sentences, Stylistic flaws, change of Meaning, and answers that don't Fit. 
• Subject Verb Agreement 1. Sentence structure Every sentence in GMAT English must include a subject and a verb. 2. Identifying the subject In 95% of GMAT sentences, the subject is what comes before the first verb, except what is separated from the verb by a comma. 3. Subject Verb Agreement rule The subject and the first verb of a sentence must agree in number (singular/plural). Incorrect: John are a tall man. Correct: John is a tall man. Incorrect: John love Jane. Correct: John loves Jane.
• Subject Verb Agreement The first trick that GMAT writers use is creating long and complex sentences, in which identifying the subjectand the verb is not trivial, or creating sentences in which the subject and the verb are so far apart, that by the time you reach the verb, you've already forgotten whether the subject is singular or plural. Example: Jane, an intelligent attractive woman of 28 who has many hobbies, love John. This sentence is incorrect: the subject (Jane) is singular, and the verb love is plural. However, this mistake is not so easy to spot since the subject and the verb are so far apart. If the part between the commas were omitted, the mistake would become a lot more obvious: Jane love John. Another factor adding to the difficulty of identifying the mistake in this sentence is that the word that appears right before the plural verb love is also plural - hobbies. Using a plural noun before a plural verb makes the sentence sound correct.
• Subject Verb Agreement - STOP SIGNS A long, complex subject or a great distance between subject and verb This stop sign is an indication that you should go back, find the subject, and see if it agrees with the verb, as separating the subject and the verb is a common tool used by the GMAT question writers to confuse and hide SVA error
• Subject Verb Agreement One way of creating confusing Subject Verb Agreement questions is to use a singular subject that seems to be plural. There are TWO reasons why a singular subject seems to be plural: 1. Subject ends with -sThe following words are considered singular subjects although they end with -s:news, thesis, hypothesis, crisis, analysis, politics, physics, mathematics, economics, ethics, athletics Example: The crisis was solved. 2. Collective NounsCollective nouns are nouns which refer to more than one person/animal. They are considered singular subjects. The following words are examples of common collective nouns: audience, committee, congregation, family, flock, group, staff, team.Example: The team is playing really well tonight. The use of such words as subject is quite common in the GMAT, and we have to look out for them. Words or structures that are indicative of a certain topic or mistake are called Stop Signs. Here's the Stop Sign that's indicative of the aforementioned Subject Verb Agreement mistake: Stop Sign: a pseudo-plural singular subject Whenever you see one of these words as the subject of a Sentence Correction question, check Subject Verb Agreement and make sure that the verb is singular. An opposite confusion - that is, of a plural subject that seems to be singular - is also something to look out for although it includes only a single word:  police, and is thus much less common. For some reason, the word police is considered a plural subject. Thus, we should say, "The police are looking for the serial killer". 
• subject noun A subject noun in the form of an unconjugated verb - Verb+ing or to Verb - is considered a singular subject. Examples: 1. Preparing well for the GMAT is essential. 2. To take the GMAT without preparing well for it is not a smart move.
• X of Y Subject One way GMAT writers create confusing Subject Verb Agreement questions is by using a complex subject in the form of X of Y. Example: Three members of an organization In these cases, the verb should agree with the X part of the subject - the part that comes before of. Thus, if X is singular, then the entire subject is singular and the verb should be singular. Example: A test of 150 questions is long (The test is long, not the questions). If X is plural, then the entire subject is plural and the verb should be plural. Example: Three members of an organization are waiting outside (the three members are waiting, not the organization). Whenever you see a Sentence Correction question whose subject is in the form of X of Y, chances are that this is a Subject Verb Agreement question. This makes it a Stop Sign: an X of Y subject
• Verb precedes Subject As you already know, in 95% of English sentences, the subject comes BEFORE the verb. In these cases, we know how to identify the subject: it's everything that comes before the first verb except what's separated from it by a comma.  That leaves us with 5% of the sentences in which the subject comes AFTER the verb. In these sentences, the subject is not where we expect it to be, and identifying it is not trivial. That's exactly why GMAC, the GMAT writers, uses such sentences a lot more frequently than in 5% of Subject Verb Agreement questions. If you encounter such a sentence, be sure that what it checks is Subject Verb Agreement.  Stop Sign: The verb precedes (comes before) the subject How can we identify such sentences? Simple: our rule for identifying the subject does not work. Example: There is a boy in the playground. Normally, the subject is what comes BEFORE the verb, but in this case the subject is a boy, not There. In order to further identify the problem, turn this sentence into plural: There are boys in the playground. Once the verb became plural, whatever else had to be changed to agree with it is the subject: the singular a boy became plural -  boys. There did not change. This further proves that There is not the subject of the sentence. Here is how it works with a few other examples: Beneath the tree sleeps a child --> Beneath the tree sleep children. In the shadows lurks a dangerous animal --> In the shadows lurk dangerous animals.  Crucial to health is avoiding smoking ---> Crucial to health are avoiding smoking and exercising regularly. It is important in the GMAT to look at the verb and ask what the subject of the verb is, what or who performs that action and to be aware that the subject can come after the verb.
• Conjugated vs. Unconjugated Verbs Verbs may be either conjugated or unconjugated. A conjugated verb is a verb which distinctly points out the time of the action it describes. For example, the following verbs indicate either past, present or future tense: write   -->   presentwrites  -->   presentwrote  -->   pastwill write  -->  future An unconjugated verb is a verb which is not attributed to any specific time. Notice how each of the verbs below remains the same in sentences which describe actions taken at different times: writing:John is writing (present); Jane had been writing (past); John will start writing (future) to write:John wants to write (present); Jane's boss refused to write her a check (past); Jane will try to write a novel (future) written:It is written in the stars (present); Jane had written a complaint letter (past); John's name will be written down in the chronicles (future)
• Conjugated Verbs The conjugated verb forms are: present (V1): wait, waits, give, givespast (V2): waited, gavefuture: will future past: would The unconjugated verb forms are: Verb+ing (also called present participle): waiting, giving To + Verb (also called infinitive): to wait, to givethe third form or V3 (also called past participle): waited, given Note: Sometimes the conjugated verb form of the past (V2) will be the same as the unconjugated verb form V3. Therefore a verb like waited has the same form, whether conjugated or unconjugated. The same is true for verbs like work or talk - both the conjugated V2 and unconjugated V3 forms are the same (worked/talked).  However, if it is an exception verb, then the V2 and V3 forms are different: The V2 form of the verb eat is ateand the V3 form is eaten. An easy way to see this is: If the past tense (V2) ends with 'ed' (e.g. walked), then the V3 form will be the same (walked).
• Conjugation Rule There is a simple rule in the English language that applies to all sentences: The first, and only the first, verb in a sentence (or a clause) must be conjugated. In other words, the first verb in a sentence/clause must be conjugated and all other following verbs must be unconjugated. The reason behind this rule is that we need one indication - no more, no less - of the tense of the sentence.
• What makes a sentence a sentence? A sentence is a group of at least two words that consists of a subject and a conjugated verb. A sentencetypically expresses an independent statement, question, request, or command. The first word in a sentencebegins with a capital letter. A sentence must end with one of the following: period (.)question mark (?)exclamation mark (!)Sentences can consist of one clause or more.
• What's a clause? A clause is a pair of words or a group of words that consists of a subject and a conjugated verb. A sentence consists of at least one clause. Example: John is tired because he didn't get enough sleep last night. This example is a single sentence that consists of two clauses: 1. John is tired 2. he didn't get enough sleep last night
• What's a fragment? A fragment is a pair of words or a group of words that does not consist of both a subject and a conjugated verb. A fragment either contains a verb but not its subject or a subject but no verb. Let's do some "sentence surgery" to see how the following example can be divided into the building blocks we've learned about: Example: I didn't know that the cat ran across the street. The above example is a sentence, as can be seen from the fact it ends with a sentence ender (a period).  We can divide this sentence into two clauses: 1. I didn't know  2. the cat ran across the street We can also divide the sentence into several fragments, such as the street, across the street, ran across the street, the cat, etc.
• What are parts of speech? Parts of speech are a way of categorizing words not according to their meaning but according to their syntactic function. Which parts of speech are there? There are eight main categories of words, or eight parts of speech. The five parts of speech that we need to know in order to answer Parts of Speech questions are the following: A. Noun A noun is a word used to name a person (e.g., John, Clinton, woman, president), animal (e.g., cat, lions),place (e.g., Rome, China, school, home), thing (e.g., chair, game) and abstract idea (e.g., dream, freedom, love). B. Adjective An Adjective describes a noun. In English, an adjective usually comes before the noun it describes. Examples of adjectives are big, red, beautiful,  incredible and good. C. Verb A verb expresses actions, events, or states of being. Examples of verbs are loves, walked, to sleep, driven, will, be, have and talking. D. Adverb The main function of an adverb is to describe a verb. An adverb indicates the manner of or the degree to which an action was performed and answers questions such as how? and how much? Adverbs typically end with a ly suffix (examples: diligently, sufficiently, incredibly), but not always so: fast and slow can also be used as adverbs to describe verbs: he ran fast. E. Article An article (e.g., a, some, many) describes a noun, giving us mostly quantitative information about the noun. The other three parts of speech are Pronoun, Conjunction and Preposition. We will discuss them in detail separately throughout the course.
• Article An article (e.g., a, some, many) describes a noun, giving us quantitative information about it. Examples:1. John is a man.2. John has many friends. In the first example, the article a describes the noun man, informing us that there is one man. In the second example, the article many describes the noun friends, informing us that there is (a lot) morethan one friend. An exception is the article the, which does not give us quantitative information about a noun. The is used to inform the reader that the noun it describes is a specific, particular noun. Examples:1. a man - any man.2. the man - a specific man
• Article GMAT Mistakes: Using The Wrong Article Some articles, such as the, can be used with all nouns: singular nouns (e.g., the cat), plural nouns (e.g., the cats), count nouns (again, the cat) and non-count nouns (e.g., the air). Other articles can only be used with count nouns, and still others can only be used with non-count nouns. count noun        non-count nounmany                    mucha few                    a littlefew                        littlefewer                     less the number of       the amount ofseveral                   - Examples:Incorrect: There are less tigers today than there were in 1900.Correct: There are fewer tigers today than there were in 1900. Common mistakes native English speakers make are using non-count articles with count nouns. For example, many people will generally use less, no matter whether the following noun is count or non-count: less milk(which is correct as the noun milk is non-count), less students (which is incorrect as the noun students is count), less chairs (incorrect as the noun chairs is count). Thus, the non-count articles are a Stop Sign. Whenever we see them in a sentence, we focus our attention on them and on the noun that follows them. If it is a non-count noun, the sentence is OK. However, if it is a count noun, we spotted our mistake.    Stop Sign: much, (a) little, less, the amount of
• What is an adverb? The main function of an adverb is to describe a verb. An adverb indicates the manner of or the degree to which an action was performed and answers questions such as how? and how much? Example: John speaks clearly. An adverb usually comes AFTER the verb it describes, but can also appear BEFORE the verb. Example: John clearly meant no harm. 2. Adverb identification through suffixes An adverb has only one typical suffix: -ly. Often, adding -ly to an adjective turns it into an adverb. Example: nice + -ly = nicely Similarly, deleting the -ly suffix from an adverb often results in an adjective.  Example: politely - -ly = polite 3. Additional functions of adverb  Although the main function of adverbs is to describe verbs, adverbs can also describe adjectives (as in example 1 below) and other adverbs (as in example 2 below). Examples:1. John is an extremely nice man.2. John speaks extremely clearly.
• Present Simple and Progressive Present Simple is used to describe the following actions: 1. Actions that occur at a certain frequency (e.g., usually, sometimes). 2. Facts and generalizations. For example, The Earth revolves around the sun. The structure for Present Simple sentences is simple - the first (and often only) verb in the sentence must be in the present form (V1): It rains here all the time. Birds from Scandinavia fly south every winter. I am rarely cold. The following time expressions are used in Present Simple sentences to describe the frequency of the action the sentence discusses. These expressions indicate that the sentence is in the Present Simple tense (underlined in the above examples): always, all the time, usually, generally, regularly, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, never every (second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year, evening, morning, winter, etc.) once (a day, a week, in a lifetime, etc.) Present Progressive Sentences in Present Progressive describe an action that is in progress at present. The structure for Present Progressive sentences is as follows: the first verb in the sentence is am, is or are, depending on the subject; the second verb in the sentence is in the Verb+ing form. Present Progressive:   am / is / are   +   Verb+ing Examples: It is raining here right now. Birds from Scandinavia are currently flying over Germany. Jane is mixing the salad at the moment. The following time expressions are used in Present Progressive sentences to indicate that the action is taking place at the present time. These expressions indicate that the sentence is in Present Progressive (underlined in the above examples): now, right now, at the moment, currently, presently
• Past Simple and Progressive Past Simple Past Simple is used to describe the following actions: 1. Historical facts: e.g., The Egyptians built the pyramids. 2. Actions that occurred at a specific point in the past: e.g., John met Jane in 2005.  The structure for Past Simple sentences is simple - the first (and often only) verb in the sentence must be in the past form (V2): John missed the bus to work yesterday. Jane worked hard on her thesis during the summer. Churchill was the English Prime Minister between 1951 and 1955. The following time expressions are used in Past Simple sentences to describe the time in which the action was performed. These expressions indicate that the sentence is in the Past Simple tense (underlined in the above examples): yesterday, the day before yesterday last (Friday, week, month, year, winter, etc.) (a second, a minute, an hour, a day, 400 years) ago during (the summer, the exam period, World War II, the celebrations) in (835 A.D, the past, the 1860s) when (followed by another sentence in the past simple tense: when he met her, when the custom was common, when they were married, when she sliced the onion) Past Progressive Sentences in Past Progressive describe an action that was in progress (a) at a certain point in the past; (b) when another action occurred; or (c) while another action was taking place. Examples: (a) Last night at 20:00 John and Jane were having dinner.(b) John almost fell asleep while he was driving home.(c) John was watching TV while Jane was working out. The structure for Past Progressive sentences is as follows: the first verb in the sentence is was or were, depending on whether the subject is singular or plural; the second verb in the sentence is in the Verb+ing form. Past Progressive:   was / were   +   Verb+ing Examples: Last night at 20:00 John and Jane were having dinner.John almost fell asleep while he was drivinghome.John almost fell asleep as he was drivinghome.John was watchingTV while Jane was workingout. The following time expressions indicate Past Progressive. while, as (followed by Past Progressive)
• Present Perfect Present Perfect is used to describe the following actions: Actions that occurred at an unknown or unspecified time in the past. Example: John has already been to Paris. Actions that occurred several times in the past.  Example: John has been to Paris five times. Actions that began in the past and are still relevant/in progress at present. Example: John has known Jane for six years. The structure for Present Perfect sentences is as follows: the first verb is has/have, depending on the subject, and the second verb is in the third form (V3). Present Perfect: has / have   +   Verb in the third form  (V3) Examples: John has known Jane for six years.John has not cooked dinner yet. John and Jane have lived in Seattle since 2005. The following time expressions indicate that the sentence is in the Present Perfect tense (underlined in the above examples): for, since, already, just, yet, recently, lately, so far, ever, never, several times
• Past Perfect Past Perfect is used to describe the following actions: 1. Actions that had been completed before a certain point in time in the past. Example: John had moved to Seattle before 2006. 2. Actions that had been completed before another action in the past.  Example: John had moved to Seattle before he met Jane. The structure for Past Perfect sentences is as follows: the first verb is had, and the second verb is in the third form (V3). Past Perfect: had + Verb in the third form  (V3) Examples: John and Jane had met two years before they got married. John and Jane got married two years after they had met. The following time expressions indicate that the sentence is in the Past Perfect tense (underlined in the above examples): before, after, by the time, until
• Reported Speach What is Reported Speech? When we report what another person has said, asked, claimed, etc. rather than cite the person's exact words.  Example: Direct Speech: "I will love you forever", John told Jane. Reported Speech: John told Jane that he would love her forever. In Reported Speech, when the reporting verb (e.g., told, asked, claimed, argued) is in the Past tense, the following verbs (i.e., what is reported) should also be in the Past. That's why in the above example, the Futuretense verb will love was changed to Future Past (would love).
• Reported Speech - Stop Sign The Stop Sign to look out for is: Reported Speech with a reporting verb in Past tense When you spot a question with this Stop Sign, make sure that the following verbs are in the Past Tense. Incorrect: Jane said that she will arrive at noon. Correct: Jane said that she would arrive at noon. Incorrect: The taxi driver asked the man where he wants to go. Correct: The taxi driver asked the man where he wanted to go. Here are some commonly used reporting verbs in GMAT Sentence Correction Reported Speech questions: announced  maintained claimed argued
• Once in the Past is always in the Past The rule here is:                                               Once in the Past, always in the Past. Put differently, if a sentence is anchored in the past, it cannot include verbs in Present or Future tense. Let's look at the example again:                        As a toddler, John loved animals and is always eager to play outside. Sentences in the Past tense often begin with a certain word or phrase that informs us about when the events described in them took place. Let's call these words or phrases anchors. In our example, the anchor is As a toddler. It anchors the rest of the sentence in the Past because the rest of the sentence describes what John did as a toddler, which was in the past. The example then correctly continues with an action in the Past tense - John loved animals. However, the following phrase and is always eager is in the Present. This unexplained change is both a logical and a grammatical error. When a sentence begins in the Past tense, logic has it that it continues in the Past tense by default. Incorrect: As a toddler, John loved animals and is always eager to play outside.Correct:   As a toddler, John loved animals and was always eager to play outside.
• Pronoun Agreement Rule A pronoun must agree with the noun to which it refers in number (singular/plural), gender (male/female/neutral), and person (first, second, third; also human/non human). Number: Incorrect: John is tall. They are 1.95 meters tall.Correct: John is tall. He is 1.95 meters tall. Gender: Incorrect: Bill Clinton is a former president. Her second term ended in 2000. Correct: Bill Clinton is a former president. His second term ended in 2000.  Person: Incorrect: John is tall. It is 1.95 meters tall.Correct: John is tall. He is 1.95 meters tall.
• Pronoun Stop Sign Every pronoun in the underlined part of the sentence or after it Whenever you come across this Stop Sign, check the agreement between the pronoun and the noun to which it refers. If they do not agree, you have found your mistake. If the pronoun is underlined but the noun is not, the correct answer will use a different pronoun so that it agrees with the noun.  If the noun is underlined and the pronoun is not, the correct answer choice will change the noun so that it agrees with the pronoun. If both the noun and the pronoun are underlined, check them both in ALL answer choices and eliminate all answer choices in which they do not agree.
• Pronoun Questions - Ambiguity In addition to grammatical Pronoun mistakes, in which the pronoun does not agree in number, gender or person with the noun to which it refers, there are also stylistic Pronoun mistakes of ambiguity. In these cases, the problem is not that the pronoun does not agree with the noun to which it refers, but the opposite: the pronoun agrees with more than just the noun to which it refers. Example: The cat is lying on the floor. Its eyes are closed. In the above example, the pronoun Its agrees with both the cat and the floor, which makes the sentence ambiguous. Although it is clear that Its refers to the cat - the floor has no eyes - the sentence is still grammatically ambiguous Solving an ambiguity mistake involves avoiding the use of the ambiguous pronoun. Example: The cat is lying on the floor. The cat's eyes are closed. OR The cat, whose eyes are closed, is lying on the floor.
• Pronoun Questions: The Word/Term Let's look at the following example: The word jewelry is accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings. This sentence is logically flawed. It equates a word with what this word defines/describes: word = accessories (e.g., earrings, bracelets, etc.) Instead of the correct equation: jewelry = accessories (e.g., earrings, bracelets, etc.) The logical problem here is that the word is not accessories: you can't wear the word "jewelry". At best, the word "jewelry" can describe or refer to accessories. Thus, the GMAT way of correcting such mistakes is as follows: Incorrect: The word jewelry is accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings. Correct: The word jewelry refers to accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings. Correct: The word jewelry describes accessories such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings
• Pronoun Questions: The word/Term - Stop Sign The appearance of the words the word/term in a Sentence Correction question is a Stop Sign: The word/term...   it is... The word/term appears, then there are more words, and then we see the pronoun it, which refers to the word/term, followed by the verb is. Example:  Incorrect: The word guys is commonly used to refer to both sexes although, grammatically speaking, it is males only. Correct: The word guys is commonly used to refer to both sexes although, grammatically speaking, it refers to males only. Whenever we see this Stop Sign, we know that the topic that the question checks is pronouns, specifically using refers to/defines/describes after the word/term (and not is).
• Pronoun Questions: To do so/doing so A pronoun, such as it, refers to a previously mentioned noun. If we want to refer to a previously mentioned verb, it is incorrect to use a pronoun. The correct way to refer to a previously mentioned verb is to use the phrase to do so or doing so. Examples: Incorrect: John is playing tennis. He enjoys it. Incorrect: John is playing tennis. He enjoys doing it. Correct: John is playing tennis. He enjoys doing so. Correct: John is playing tennis. It is enjoyable for him to do so. 
• Pronoun Questions: One The pronoun one agrees with itself only. Why? One is singular, so it does not agree with the plural pronouns (they, them, their).  One is gender neutral, so it does not agree with the gender specific pronouns (he, him, his, she, her). We could use he or she, but this is redundant. One refers to humans, so it does not agree with the pronouns it and its. Example: One must love one's children.
• Pronoun Questions: It It is a unique pronoun as it can do more than just refer to a previously mentioned noun (as in example 1 below). It can also serve as a subject in a sentence that has no "real" subject (as in example 2 below).  Examples:1. The company is growing. It is hiring new employees.2. It is snowing. In example 1, it fulfills the traditional pronoun function: referring to a previously mentioned noun (The company). In example 2, on the other hand, it does not refer to any noun. Every sentence needs a subject, and in the absence of one, it comes to the rescue.
• Pronoun Questions: This This is a unique pronoun in that it can do more than just refer to a noun (as in example 1 below).  This can also refer to a previously described situation (as in example 2 below). Examples: Jane tried on several outfits before she picked this dress. Jane is always trying on several outfits before she finally picks one while John waits for her impatiently and tells her to make up her mind already or they will be late. This is becoming a problem in their relationship. In example 1, this fulfills the traditional pronoun function: referring to a noun (dress). In example 2, on the other hand, this does not refer to any specific noun. It refers to the general situationthat was described in the previous sentence.
• Pronoun Questions: This, Stop Sign As this is a pronoun, it is a Stop Sign. Thus, when you see this in a question, you should stop and check its correctness.   Ask yourself to what this refers. The fact that this can refer to both a noun and a situation makes it prone to ambiguity. Therefore, if you are not sure to what this refers, it probably means that there is an ambiguitymistake in the sentence.   If you think that this refers to a noun, treat it the same as any other pronoun and check whether it agrees with the noun in number (this is singular, so it agrees with singular nouns).
• Passive Passive sentences are sentences in which the subject is passive and the action is performed by the object. Example: The steak was eaten by John. The subject (The steak) isn't active. The steak did nothing. John, who is the object of the sentence, is the active one. He is the one who ate the steak. Active: John took the GMAT. Passive: The GMAT was taken by John. Active: John is taking the GMAT. Passive: The GMAT is being taken by John.
• Parallelism questions is characterized by the fact that it contains a list of two or more items. Example:Jane owns a dog, a cat, and a hamster.  There are two types of Parallelism of errors: 1. Not all items on the list belong to the same part of speech. Incorrect: In order to stay healthy, it is best to eat healthy food, relaxation, and exercising regularly. Correct: In order to stay healthy, it is best to eat healthy food, relax, and exercise regularly. 2. A structural mistake - the incorrect grouping of ideas within a sentence. Incorrect: Jane owns a dog, a cat, a hamster.  Correct: Jane owns a dog, a cat, and a hamster.  Incorrect: Jane likes skiing, watching movies, reading books, magazines and dictionaries. Correct: Jane likes skiing, watching movies, and reading books, magazines, and dictionaries. Structural mistakes stem from the fixed structure of the list: A, B, and C.  The last item on the list must be preceded by ", and" - a comma, followed by 'and'. The incorrect versions of the two sentence above are missing these elements to signify where the list ends, and the correct versions correct this mistake by adding ', and' where necessary. Also, notice the last example has two lists. The second list (underlined) is a part of the third item of the first list (in bold; and yes, they can do that!).
• Parallelism questions - Stop Sign Yes, there is. The basic parallelism Stop Sign is: A list of 3 items or more, separated by commas and and/or before the last item. Example: John likes playing soccer, basketball, and tennis. Parallelism questions deal with logic. That's probably why they are one of the GMAC's favorites. They don't just test the knowledge of rules. They test understanding and the ability to analyze complex data. With this said, in order to crack the harder Parallelism questions in the GMAT, you must be pretty sharp when it comes to grammar and parts of speech. Don't worry! After completing the full section on Parallelism and all the questions, you will be! As you saw in the above examples, all items in a list must be of the same part of speech.  Here are some examples: noun, noun, and/or noun.John ate pizza, salad, and ice-cream. adjective, adjective, and/or adjective.Jane was exhausted, irritated, or sad. adverb, adverb, and/or adverb.John wasn't sure whether he should answer Jane's questions spontaneously, honestly, or carefully.
• Parallelism questions: The rules for verbs Parallelism questions are different for conjugated and unconjugated verbs: Conjugated Verbs In a list, a conjugated verb goes hand-in-hand with any other conjugated verb, no matter what tense it belongs to. Examples: Correct: John loves, adores, and married Jane. Correct: John loves, adores, and admires Jane. Correct: John loves, adores, and will marry Jane. Correct: John loves, adores, and would marry Jane. Unconjugated Verbs In a list, an unconjugated verb must be grouped with unconjugated verbs of the same type. To + verb: John loves to read, (to) write, and (to) sleep. Verb + ing: John enjoys cooking, baking, and cleaning. V3: John has driven to the test center, taken the GMAT, and scored 780.
• Parallelism Questions - The controlling part Look at the part of the sentence directly before the parallel construction - the controlling part. A correct parallel construction allows for the controlling part to be 'slotted' before each part of the construction in a grammatically correct manner. In an incorrect parallel construction, there will be some interference in slotting the controlling part because the list members are not the same part of speech. Try to slot the controlling part before each item on the list, and see if it all makes sense. If it doesn't, there's a parallelism error. For example: Incorrect: John will go to Paris, Rome, and to England in the summer. This construction is incorrect because the controlling part, 'John will go to', cannot be slotted before each part of the list, since they are not all the same part of speech: John will go to Paris (noun) John will go to Rome (noun) John will go to to England (to+noun) Both of the following sentences are grammatically correct ways of correcting the error: a. Remove the 'to' in the last item of the list (creating a list of 3 nouns): Correct: John will go to Paris, Rome, and England in the summer. b. Add another 'to' in the second part (creating a list of 3 to+noun): Correct: John will go to Paris, to Rome, and to England in the summer. Note that in the last sentence, the controlling part is now only "John will go", and the 'to's are now part of the list. If the question presented the two grammatically correct sentences above in two answer choices, which of them would be preferable?
• Parallelism questions - Not only a but also b Example: John not only watches birds, but also donates money to a bird-welfare foundation. The Stop Sign to look out for is: not only A but also B When you see this Stop Sign in a sentence, work according to the following rules: (A) Both phrases must appear together. If there's a not only, there must also be a but also, and vice versa. Example: Incorrect: John not only watches birds, he also donates money to a bird-welfare foundation. Incorrect: John watches birds, but also donates money to a bird-welfare foundation. Correct: John not only watches birds, but also donates money to a bird-welfare foundation. (B) Make sure that A and B are of the same part of speech. Example: Incorrect: Strawberries are not only tasty but also strengthen your health. Correct: Strawberries are not only tasty but also healthy. (C) Make sure that A and B are logically parallel.
• Parallelism questions - (n)either A 8 (n)or B Examples: Growing up, John wanted to become either a fireman or a doctor.   Jane likes neither apples nor oranges. Be on the lookout for this Stop Sign: (n)either A (n)or B Whenever you see this Stop Sign in a sentence, work according to the following rules: (A) Do not mix either with nor and neither with or. Example: Incorrect: John likes neither Lisa or Tina.  Incorrect: John likes either Lisa nor Tina.  Correct: John likes either Lisa or Tina.  Correct: John likes neither Lisa nor Tina.  (B) A and B must be of the same part of speech. Example: Incorrect: Jane would like to either drink wine or champagne. Correct: Jane would like to drink either wine or champagne.
• Parallelism questions: A is/means B Recycling means to reuse a certain material. Can you find anything wrong with it? The above sentence is grammatically incorrect because of a Parallelism error. The verb meanscreates an equation: recycling = to reuse a certain material In an equation, both sides should indeed be equal, that is, parallel each other. Therefore, the sentence should be as follows: Recycling means reusing a certain material. To recycle means to reuse a certain material. Another verb that creates an equation is the verb is. Example: Many vegetarians believe that meat is murder. What helps us identify this kind of Parallelism error and correct it is the following Stop Sign: A is/means B Whenever you come across a sentence containing this structure, make sure that: (A) A and B are grammatically parallel (i.e., of the same part of speech). Example: Incorrect: In reality, to recycle is showing love to the environment. Correct: In reality, to recycle is to show love to the environment. (B) A and B are logically parallel.
• Parallelism questions: A rather than B A rather than B (which means A and not B): Many people make decisions based on emotion rather than reason. Our Stop Sign is: A rather than B When you see this Stop Sign in a question, identify it as a Parallelism question. Make sure that A and B are parallel to each other both grammatically (i.e., they're of the same part of speech) and logically. Example: Incorrect: Jane prefers to bowl rather than swimming. Correct: Jane prefers to bowl rather than to swim.
• Parallelism questions: A and/or/but B In many Parallelism questions, there are two items, A and B, connected by and, or or but. In such cases, the two items must parallel each other both grammatically and logically. Example: John runs and walks. (verbs) Jane either runs or walks but never skips. (verbs) John is neat and fashionable. (adjectives) John dresses neatly and  fashionably. (adverbs) Depending on the circumstances, John dresses casually or formally. (adverbs) John dresses casually but neatly. (adverbs) John will be there but Jane will stay home. (clauses) In fact, these words are so important that they constitute a Stop Sign: A and/or/but B Whenever you come across a sentence containing this structure, make sure that: (A) A and B are of the same part of speech. Example: Incorrect: Pineapples are tasty and strengthen your health. Correct:   Pineapples are tasty and healthy. (B) A and B are logically parallel.
• Comparatives compare two things: Examples: The cabinet is taller than the table.The baby is as heavy as this bag of potatoes. Superlatives, with which we'll deal later on in the course, compare one thing to a group of things. Example:Russia is the largest country in the world. 3. Fuller is (stylistically) better Okay, so it's not a wise saying, but at least now you'll remember it. By a full comparison, we mean that both items of comparison are stated explicitly. All of the examples mentioned so far are full comparisons. However, more advanced Comparison questions will sometimes omit the second item of comparison, and leave the reader to complete the blanks: John is stronger than before. the GNP is higher this year than last. It is stylistically preferable to include the explicit second item of comparison. The following answer choices would be preferable, respectively: John is stronger than he has ever been  This year's GNP is higher than last year's. Again, this is a stylistic requirement. If you see an answer choice which uses such a shortened form, even though it may appear or sound odd to you, do not eliminate it automatically, as it may actually be the correct choice. Check to see if other answer choices should be eliminated first based on grammar/logic mistakes. Note that in a full comparison, the two items compared must be grammatically parallel, i.e. be the same part of speech. Correct: John is stronger than his brother (Compare John to his brother - noun to noun). Correct: John runs faster than his brother does (Compare how fast John runs to how fast his brother does - action to action, or verb to verb). Our Stop Sign for Comparative questions is: Like, unlike, than, as It is possible for a sentence to include these words without comparing. For example, "John is more than happy to serve his country" includes than, but nothing is actually being compared. Therefore, whenever you see these words in a Sentence Correction question, take the following steps: (1) Check whether the sentence actually compares two things. If it does, identify the comparison and see that: (2) It uses either equality or inequality words - not mixed(3) The things under comparison are logically comparable(4) The comparison is preferably a full one - includes both items of comparison and a conjugated verbin the second part of the comparison.
• Superlative A Superlative is a form of comparison in which someone or something is compared to a group and has the highest degree of a certain quality. John is the most content man in the world.Out of all her classmates, Jane has the darkest hair.Ireland is the greenest country I have ever seen. The Superlative form is as follows: the most adjective (e.g., the most difficult)    --OR--    the adjective+est (e.g., the fastest) The word the always precedes Superlatives because Superlatives discuss a specific member/item of a group. Having said all that, what do you think is missing in the following sentence, grammatically speaking? This melody is the most beautiful melody. A superlative must always define the group which is under comparison: Incorrect: John is the fastest man.Correct: John is the fastest man on earth. Notice how two people or things do not constitute a group for that purpose. If we discuss two people or things, the structure we use should be the comparative form. Incorrect: Out of John and Jane, John is the strongest.Correct: John is stronger than Jane. (Comparative, not Superlative) So remember, whenever you encounter a superlative, make sure it (a) begins with the(b) continues with most + adjective or adjective+est(c) includes a definition of the group whose members/items are being compared, either before or after the superlative

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