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Correction Rules

I. Eight Types of Errors in the Sentence Correction Section (this is an overview of grammar rules--many
students can skim through this section because some parts are basic).

II. Three Step Method for the Sentence Correction Questions (this is an overview of strategy to approach
the Sentence Correction section).

The scope of this grammar guide is to give you a basic introduction to grammar. If you still need help,
consider buying a book on grammar.
I. Eight Types of Errors in the Sentence Correction Section
The GMAT tests only a limited number of grammar error types.

A. Subject-Verb Agreement
B. Modifiers
C. Parallelism
D. Pronoun Agreement
E. Verb Time Sequences
F. Comparisons
G. Idioms

A. Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb and subject must agree. If the subject is singular, then the verb must be singular. If the
subject is plural, then the verb must be plural. Test writers will try to fool you by using unusual phrases
that make it difficult to tell if the subject is singular or plural.
1. If a singular subject is separated by a comma from an accompanying phrase, it remains singular:
The child, together with his grandmother and his parents, is going to the beach.

wrong
: Frank, accompanied by his student, were at the studio.
right: Frank, accompanied by his student, was at the studio.

2. Collective nouns, such as family, majority, audience, and committee are singular when they act in a
collective fashion or represent one group. They are plural when they act as individuals.
Collective nouns will usually be singular in Sentence Correction sentences.
A majority of the shareholders wants the merger.

Here the "majority" acts as a singular and therefore has a singular verb, "wants."

The jury were in disagreement.

Collective noun, plural verb (because they are acting as individuals). Note: this is very rare and highly
unlikely to come up on test day.

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3. Phrases separated by and are plural; phrases separated by or are singular.

Ted, John, and I are going.

Because they are joined by and, the plural form is used

4. Neither/nor and either/or are a special case. If two subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb should
agree with the subject that is closer to it.
Neither the supervisor nor the staff members were able to calm the distressed client.

5. Be careful to choose the right subject in sentences in which the verb precedes the subject.

wrong: There is many reasons why I can't help you.

right: There are many reasons why I can't help you.

Here reasons is the subject.

Beware of confusing singular/plural words: Singular Plural Medium Media Datum Data

B. Modifiers

1. Errors in the Use of Adjectives and Adverbs.

Check if a word modifier is an ADJECTIVE or an ADVERB. Make sure the correct form has been used.
An ADJECTIVE describes a noun and answers the questions how many, which one, what kind? She is a
good tennis player.
(What kind of tennis player?)
An ADVERB describes either a verb or an adjective and answers the questions when, where, why, in
what manner, and to what extent?
She plays tennis well. (She plays tennis how?) This exercise is relatively easy. (How easy?) Most adverbs
are formed by adding -ly to the adjective, such as, "He worked quickly."
EXCEPTIONS:
Adjective Adverb
early
fast
good
hard
late
early
fast
well
hard (hardly means almost not)
late (lately means recently)
wrong: She is a real good swimmer.

right: She is a really good swimmer.

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"really" is acting as an adverb to modify the adjective "good"

wrong: The new student speaks bad.

right: The new student speaks badly.

"Badly" modifies how the student speaks.

2. Errors of Adjectives with Verbs of Sense. The following verbs of sense are described by ADJECTIVES:

be look smell taste feel seem

wrong: After the three week vacation, she looked very well.

right: After the three week vacation, she looked very good.
NOTE: "She is well" means "She is healthy" or describes a person's well-being.
wrong: The strawberry shortcake tastes deliciously.

right: The strawberry shortcake tastes delicious.

3. Location of Modification.

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes another part of the sentence. You should place a
modifier as close as possible to what it is modifying. Modifiers sometimes appear to modify words that
they don't modify.
Test writers often use tricks to confuse students with modification: that/which clauses, especially ones
that come at the end of sentences sentences beginning or ending with descriptive phrases
Examples Faulty modifications often inadvertently change the meaning of sentences.

1. On arriving at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement in Springfield.
This sounds as if the friends arrived at the train station. It should say, "When Jay arrived at the train
station, his friends met him and took him to his speaking engagement in Springfield."
Where did "Jay" come from? Sometimes one of the answer choices might inject new names into a
sentence. This is appropriate here since the pronouns had no specific antecedents.

C. Parallelism
Similar elements in a list should be in similar form. Writers often use a parallel structure for dissimilar
items. Parallel constructions must be expressed in parallel grammatical form: all nouns, all infinitives, all
gerunds, all prepositional phrases, or all clauses must agree.
wrong: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and how to program computers.
right: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and computer programming.

This principle applies to any words that might begin each item in a series: prepositions (in, on, by,
with), articles (the, a, an), helping verbs (had, has, would) and possessives (his, her, our). Either repeat
the word before every element in a series or include it only before the first item. Anything else violates
the rules of parallelism.

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In effect, your treatment of the second element of the series determines the form of all subsequent
elements:
wrong: He invested his money in stocks, in real estate, and a home for retired performers.
right: He invested his money in stocks, in real estate, and in a home for retired performers.
When proofreading, check that each item in the series agrees with the word or phrase that begins
the series. In the above example, "invested his money" is the common phrase that each item shares.
You would read, "He invested his money in real estate, (invested his money) in stocks, and (invested his
money) in a home for retired performers."

D. Pronoun Agreement
It is often difficult to tell what noun a pronoun replaces and what case (subjective or objective)
should be used. Which pronoun you use depends on if the pronoun is being used as the subject or the
object of a sentence.
Subject Objective he him she her who whom I me they them we us

1. Pronoun Subject/Object.
Check if a pronoun is the SUBJECT or the OBJECT of a verb or preposition.
wrong: How could she blame you and he for the accident?

right: How could she blame you and him for the accident?

Example
(She/her) was better suited.

Here the pronoun is the subject of the verb suited, meaning "she" acts as the subject and is the correct
answer.

WHO/ WHOM
If the pronoun is acting as a subject, it should be who. If it is acting as an object, it should be whom.

Example I don't know (who/whom) Steven meant.

Whom
is in the object form because it is the object of meant (with Steve as the subject).

2. Check if the pronoun and its verb agree in number.

Remember that the following are singular:

anyone anything each either everyone everything neither no one nothing what whatever
whoever

These are plural:

both many several others few

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wrong: Everyone on the project have to come to the meeting.

right: Everyone on the project has to come to the meeting.

The forms "either... or" and "neither...nor" are singular and take a singular verb. However, if the noun
closest to the verb in the "neither..nor" or "either...or" is plural, then the verb is plural.
wrong: Neither his bodyguards nor he were there.

right: Neither his bodyguards nor he was there.

3. Check if possessive pronouns agree in person and number.

wrong: Some of you will have to bring their own beer.

right: Some of you will have to bring your own beer.

Some
is singular.
wrong: If anyone comes over, take their name.

right: If anyone comes over, take his name.

The subject is anyone, which is singular, which requires a singular pronoun, his.

4. "Objects" of to be verbs are in the subject form.

wrong: It must have been her who called.

right: It must have been she who called.

5. A relative pronoun (which, that or who) refers to the word preceding it. If the meaning is unclear, the
pronoun is in the wrong position. The word "which" introduces non-essential clauses and "that"
introduces essential clauses. "Who" refers to individuals; "that" refers to a group of persons, class, type,
or species.

wrong: The line at the bank was very slow, which made me late.

right: I was late because of the line at the bank.

OR The line at the bank made me late.
6. In forms using impersonal pronouns, use either "one.. one's/his or her" or "you.. your."
wrong: One should have their teeth checked every six months.

right: One should have one's/his or her teeth checked six months.
OR You should have your teeth checked every six months.
wrong: One should take your responsibilities seriously.

right: One should take one's/his or her responsibilities seriously.

OR You should take your responsibilities seriously.

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Exception: note that its is a possessive of it, and it's is the contraction of "it is."

E. Verb Time Sequences

A common error in the GMAT is to misuse verb tense. Different verb tenses indicate the order in
which separate actions or events occur. Many GMAT sentences are complicated and involve several
different actions occurring at different times. The correct tenses make the sequence of actions clear. To
determine whether the verbs in a sentence are in the proper tenses, pick one event as a "base" action
and then determine when other events occurred relative to it. Determine whether the events occurred
PRIOR TO the base action, AFTER the base action, or AT THE SAME TIME AS the base event took place.
Actions that start before the base may continue after the base.
VERB TENSE TIPS
1. You should look out for -ing forms. Typically -ing forms are commonly used as junk answers on the
GMAT.
I am walking I was walking I had been walking

As far as the GMAT is concerned, there are only two basic reasons to use an -ing form:
to emphasize the continuing nature of an action or to emphasize that two actions are occurring
simultaneously.
In other words, the GMAT usually wants you to pick a simpler tense, one that doesn't use the -ing form,
unless an action is continuing or happening during another action. A good way to remember this rule is
to think of the word during and its -ing ending. 2. Be alert for the appearance of several verbs, indicating
events that seem to have happened in sequence or at different times. In which case, pick one verb as
the "base" in time sequence.

Example
If the cyclist wins the race, it will be representing an extraordinary comeback from his earlier cancer.

Solution The win will not be "representing an extraordinary comeback;" it will "represent a comeback."

F. Comparisons
You should compare only things that can be logically compared. Faulty comparisons account for a
significant number of errors in GMAT Sentence Correction questions. Most relate to the very simple idea
that YOU CAN'T COMPARE APPLES TO ORANGES. You want to compare things that are grammatically
similar; you also want to compare things that are logically similar. For instance, you can't logically
compare a person to a quality or an item to a group. You have to compare one individual to another,
one quality to another, or one group to another.
You should look out for key comparison words, such as:
like as compared to less than more than other that of those of
A number of constructions call for you to always express ideas in parallel form. These constructions
include
Either X or Y...
Neither X nor Y...
Not only X but also Y...
X or Y can stand for as little as one word or as much as a whole clause, but in any case, the grammatical
structure of X or Y must be identical.

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wrong: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as from that mountain lodge.

right: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as the one from that mountain lodge.
Check to see whether the comparison is both logical (according to the standards of GMAT English) and
grammatical.
1. Jerry gives less to charity than any other church member.
You want to compare what Jerry gives to what any other church member contributes. The simplest way
to fix this and make it suitable GMAT English is to add a "does" after "church member". Thus, the
statement now directly compares what Jerry gives to what other church members give. (Note: if Jerry
were to give something quantifiable, like dollars then it would be, "Jerry gives fewer dollars..." instead of
less.)

2. The newer model weighed 20 pounds less than that of the older model.
It has to be either: "The newer model weighed 20 pounds less than the older model did." or "The newer
model's weight was 20 pounds less than that of the older model."

3. The sports writer questioned the skill of basketball players compared to tennis players.
It has to be "the skill of basketball players" compared to that of "tennis players." It must be phrased the
"skill of basketball players compared to the skill of tennis players."

G. Idioms

Look for these common idiom tricks on GMAT questions:

Consider, regard...as, think of...as : there is no as after consider, while both regard and think of need
the as.
To be/being : In general, avoid the construction to be/being because they are usually passive. To
be/being are commonly used in junk answer choices.
Idioms in Bold tend to be more common on the GMAT A access to The company has access to large
capital reserves. act as The poison pill in the contract acts as a preventative measure against hostile
takeovers. allows for The design of the robot arm allows for great flexibility. as....as Chocolate tastes as
good as ice cream. associate with He associates beer with potato chips. attribute to The poor first
quarter results are attributed to the restructuring. a responsibility to The CEO has a fiduciary
responsibility to all shareholders. a result of The recent Nasdaq decline is a result of higher interest
rates. a sequence of The Sumerian text was a sequence of incomprehensible symbols. agree with The
Teamsters do not agree with the Republicans on many issues. among Used when discussing more than
two items. He was the finest policeman among the hundreds of rookies. as good as/or better than The
new software is as good as or better than anything on the market as great as The new house looks as
great as I had hoped. attend to (someone) The emergency room doctor attended to the injured victim.
attribute X to Y/X We attribute the results to the new management. attributed to Y The extinction of
the dinosaurs has been attributed to an asteroid collision.
B based on The results are based on a comprehensive ten year study. begin to He will begin to study
twelve hours before the test. believe X to be Y After seeing the flying saucer, I believe UFOs to be a real
phenomenon. between Used when discussing two things (if there are more than two, then use among
instead). He could not decide between Corn Flakes or Raisin Bran. C care about How much do business
schools care about your score? centers on + noun The GMAT centers on the knowledge of basic math
and writing/reading skills. choose to The number of students who choose to go to business school has
increased in the last ten years. consistent with Your grades are not consistent with your abysmal GMAT
scores. contend that He contends that the GMAT has a cultural bias. consider + noun How important

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do you consider the test? continue + to If you continue to study, you will succeed. contrast A with B If
you contrast A with B, you can see the difference. convert to You may convert muscle to fat if you study
too much. compare A to B (compare to stresses similarities). The music critic favorably compared him to
Bob Dylan. compare A with B (compare with stresses differences). Broccoli is good for you compared
with ice cream. count on + noun He counts on management support. concerned with They are
concerned with investor relations more than actual profitability. conform to When you work at a new
company, you should try to conform to its corporate culture.
D decide to We decided to continue. decide on We decided on the new format. depend on The global
economy depends on improving productivity. different from The CAT is very different from the paper
and pencil GMAT. difficult to Many students find the CAT difficult to take. distinguish between X and Y
Distinguish between domestic and international production. distinguish X from Y Juries must attempt to
distinguish truth from falsehood. depends on whether Our place in the playoffs depends on whether we
win tonight.
E to be + essential to + noun Speed is essential to success in the Internet marketplace. except for He did
well on the GMAT, except for the sentence correction questions.
F flee from The convict fled from the country. G grow from Dell Computer grew from a start- up to a
Fortune 500 company in less than fifteen years. grow out of Needless to say, they quickly grew out of
their first office.
H help + noun + to Their direct business model helped them to grow rapidly.
I indicate that Dell's recent stock trouble may indicate that their growth will not continue to be as rapid.
invest in He is too risk-averse to invest in the stock market identical with His DNA is identical with his
twin's. in contrast to The candidate claims to support tax cuts, in contrast to his prior statements.
independent from The Federal Reserve Board is supposed to be independent from political
considerations. indifferent towards Some countries are indifferent towards human rights. L leads to
Rapid growth often leads to problems. like Usually only used for direct comparison: He walks like Joe
walks. localized in Most Internet venture capital is localized in a few areas of the world. M mistake +
noun + for I mistook you for an old friend. modeled after The judicial building is modeled after the
Parthenon. more than ever Companies demand MBA graduates now more than ever.
N native to There is a unique business culture native to the U.S. a native of It infects those who are not
even a native of America. need to Living in New York City is an experience everyone needs to try. to be
+ necessary + to It is necessary to get a high GMAT score to get into Stanford. neither...nor Neither Tom
nor Sam has the necessary skills to finish the job. not only...but also Stanford not only has the highest
GMAT average, but also the highest GPA.
P prohibit from + gerund You are prohibited from using a calculator on test day. potential to A graduate
of a top business school has the potential to make over $100,000.
R range from X to Y The GMAT scores at top business schools will range from 650 to 750. refer to If you
have any more questions, you should refer to a grammar book. regard as Wharton's finance program is
regarded as the finest in the world. require + noun + to You require a GMAT score to go to most U.S.
business schools. rivalry between X and Y The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York
Yankees is one of the most celebrated in professional sports. responsible for The manager is responsible
for seven entry level employees. retroactive to The tax policy change is retroactive to last year.
S save for Save for William, no one else passed the exam. save from Many people use business school
to save them from dull jobs. so that So should not be used as an adjective: GMAT preparation is so...
boring. Use it with "that." This guide is designed so that you may raise your score. subscribe to Business
school students should subscribe to the Wall Street Journal. T tie to The contract should be tied to
concessions. transmit to The communications system will transmit to anyone within range. U used +
infinitive Japan used to be the model industrial economy. to be + used to + gerund After five practice
tests, he was used to the GMAT CAT format. The most effective way to learn idioms is to practice

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them. Whenever you get an idiom question wrong, write down the idiom. Make a list and memorize.
There are a finite number of idioms that could be tested on the GMAT, and with enough practice, you
should be able to cover most of them.
Examples

1. When choosing a car you often have to choose (between/among) practicality and performance.

Between is correct. Use "between" to distinguish two things, such "practicality" and "performance." Use
"among" for more than two things. The bank robbers divided the stolen money "among" the five of
them."

2. A small order of french fries has much (fewer/less) fries than the super-sized order.

Fewer is correct. Fewer answers the question "How many?" relating to something that could be counted
individually." Less "refers to things such as pudding, cake, or flour, which cannot be reasonably
quantified

3. I prefer Mozart (to/over) Beethoven.

"Prefer to" is the proper expression.

4. Timothy talks (like/as) his friends do.

This is one of the few instances "like" should be used in English. "Like" is used here as a direct
comparison.

5. He was studying (in/at) a rate of two practice GMATs per day.

It's "at a rate of," instead of "in a rate of."

6. The joint-venture contract covers such questions (like/as) the division of profits and costs.

"Covers… as" is better here. "Like" should be used very rarely, only for direct comparisons (Joe plays like
his brother).

7. Dan Marino is regarded (as/to be) one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play football.
The idiom is "regarded as."

II. Three-Step Method to the Sentence Correction Questions

A. Read the sentence.

B. Figure out what the question is testing.
C. Eliminate answer choices.

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A. Read the sentence.

Do not simply read the underlined part of the sentence. Read the complete sentence. Choice (A) will
always be a copy of the original underlined part of the sentence. If you cannot find any errors in the
original sentence, choose A. Don't worry about spelling, capitalization, or punctuation; they are not
covered in Sentence Correction questions.

B. Figure out what the question is testing.

This is a multiple choice exam, so you know that one of the answer choices must be right. Therefore,
you may look at the different answer choices and see what the changes are to figure out the problem in
the sentence.
Example
"On arriving at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement."
Give these answers a quick glance:
a) On arriving at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement.
b) Arriving at the train station, his friends who met him immediately took him to his speaking
engagement.
c) When he arrived at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement.
d) When he arrived at the train station, he was taken immediately to his speaking engagement.
e) After arriving at the train station, he was immediately taken to his speaking engagement.
Notice that certain parts of the sentences change from choice A to choice E. These are the
"controversial" parts of the sentence that contain variable elements.

a) On arriving at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement.
b) Arriving at the train station, his friends who met him immediately took him to his speaking
engagement.
c) When he arrived at the train station, his friends met him and took him immediately to his speaking
engagement.
d) When he arrived at the train station, he was taken immediately to his speaking engagement.
e) After arriving at the train station, he was immediately taken to his speaking engagement.
The bolded parts of the sentence represent areas that change; the non-bolded are the areas that are
fixed throughout the answer choices and therefore must not have problems. Thus, we may narrow the
problem areas of the sentence. Choice C is correct because it clarifies the subject of the modifying
phrase.

C. Eliminate answer choices.

The process of elimination is very important here. Eliminate a choice once you find one error in it.
Gradually, you should be down to one or two choices, and you may make a reasonable guess. Use the
process of elimination scrap paper charts to narrow your choices.

D. Sample Questions

1. The threat of discrimination lawsuits helps ensure <that pay be the same for jobs historically held by
minorities as for jobs requiring comparable skill that are> usually held by whites.

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(A) that pay be the same for jobs historically held by minorities as for jobs requiring comparable skill that
are
(B) that pay for jobs historically held by minorities should be the same as for a job requiring comparable
skills
(C) to pay the same in jobs historically held by minorities as in jobs of comparable skill that are
(D) to pay the same regardless of whether a job was historically held by minorities or is one demanding
comparable skills
(E) to pay as much for jobs historically held by minorities as for a job demanding comparable skills

In choice B, 'should' is illogical after 'requires', or at least unnecessary, and so is better omitted; in
choices B and E, 'job' does not agree in number with jobs; and in choices B, D, and E, the wording
illogically describes the 'comparable skills' rather than the 'jobs' as being "usually held, by whites."
Choices C, D, and E produce the ungrammatical construction 'requires of... employers to pay', in which
of makes the phrase incorrect. In C, .the use of in rather than 'for' is unidiomatic, and 'jobs of
comparable skill' confusedly suggests that the jobs rather than the workers possess the skills. In D, the
phrase beginning 'regardless. . .' is awkward and wordy in addition to being illogical. Choice A is best

2. Hand ale pumps may slightly improve the flavor of ale over gas-powered kegs, but modern pub
managers contend that <hand ale pumps cost twice as much as gas-powered kegs>.

(A) hand ale pumps cost twice as much as maintaining gas-powered kegs
(B) hand ale pumps cost twice as much to maintain as gas-powered kegs do
(C) maintaining hand ale pumps costs twice as much as gas-powered kegs do
(D) maintaining hand ale pumps costs twice as much as it does for gas-powered kegs
(E) to maintain hand ale pumps costs twice as much as for gas-powered kegs

This sentence compares the costs required to maintain two kinds of roads. B, the best choice, is able to
maintain parallelism in the comparison as well. Choice A incorrectly shifts the meaning by comparing the
cost of hand ale pumps with the cost of maintaining gas-powered kegs. Choice C does the opposite: it
compares the cost of maintaining hand ale pumps with the cost of gas-powered kegs themselves. Choice
D further confuses the sentence by adding a nonparallel clause, it does for, in which it has no clear
referent. Choice E introduces the infinitive phrase to maintain.., and wrongly attempts to complete the
comparison with the nonparallel prepositional phrase for....

3. This week's bingo session will have <an even greater amount of winners> than won last week.

(A) an even greater amount of winners

(B) an ever larger amount of winners
(C) an amount of people even winners
(D) a number of people even winners
(E) an even greater number of winners

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Notice that three choices contain the word amount and two choices contain number. People, because
they can be counted, come in numbers rather than amounts. (E) is best because of the remaining two
because the phrase an even greater amount of people clearly refers to more people, while a number of
people even larger could be referring to bigger people.

4. <With> only one percent of the world's population, the English people have dramatically altered the
course of the world.

A) With
B) Although accounting for
C) Being
D) Despite having
E) As

The trick with this sentence correction question is the contrast between the size of the English
population and the activities of its citizens. Choices D and B are the only ones that establish the contrast,
and only B, the best choice, expresses meaning accurately with the phrase 'Although accounting for.'
'With' in choice A and 'Despite having' in choice D confusingly suggest that English people somehow
possess, rather than constitute, one percent of the world's population. Choices E and C lose the contrast
between the opening phrase and the main clause, and As is unidiomatic in E.

5. The public's widespread interest in the life of <ancient Egyptians and their general curiosity about
extraterrestrial life has> generated considerable interest in science fiction.

A) ancient Egyptians and their general curiosity about extraterrestrial life has
B) ancient Egyptians and they are generally curious about extraterrestrial life which has
C) ancient Egyptians, as well as their general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, have
D) ancient Egyptians, as well as its general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, has
E) ancient Egyptians, as well as general curiosity about extraterrestrial life, have

The sample sentence has two errors. First, it is vague about what the word 'their' refers to (the public or
the ancient Egyptians) and then there is a problem with subject/verb agreement (public is singular,
meaning that it has to math 'has'. Logically, it would seem the reference is to the public, but public is
singular; so we would have to use its, not their. Choice (B) is awkward. Choices (C), (D), and (E) change
the sentence's structure so that the word belief becomes the only subject-now we need a singular verb.
Only (D) contains the singular verb has.

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