STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

 Structure (part 4)

What is mainly tested in this section?

sentence structure  incomplete independent clauses
 incomplete adjective clauses
 incomplete/missing participial phrases
 incomplete/missing appositives
 incomplete noun clauses
 incomplete adverb clauses
 incomplete/missing prepositional phrases
word order  word order items
verbs  verb problems
 incomplete/missing infinitive and gerund phrases
proper style  parallel structures
 misplaced modifiers
word choice  incomplete/missing comparisons
 missing conjunctions
 missing negative words

Word choice

INCOMPLETE OR MISSING COMPARISONS

 You may see sentences in the Structure section that contain comparisons. Many of these involve the
comparative forms of adjectives.

On the average, the Pacific Ocean is deeper than the Atlantic.

Rhonda is a more experienced performer than Theresa.

This show is less interesting than the one we watched last night.

- Be sure that the sentence compares similar things or concepts.

*The ears of African elephants are bigger than Indian elephants. (INCORRECT)

The ears of African elephants are bigger than those of Indian elephants. (CORRECT)

-Another type of comparison involves the phrase as…as.

The lab lasted as long as the class did.

There weren't as many people at the meeting as I had thought there would be.
 The words like/alike and unlike/not alike can also be used to express comparison:

Like A, B Unlike X, Y
A, like B, X, unlike Y,
A is like B. X is unlike Y

A special kind of comparison is called a proportional statement. A proportional statement follows this pattern: The
more A ... the more B.

The higher the humidity, the more uncomfortable people feel.

Sample Items

1. Subtropical zones ______ temperate zones, but they still 1.Choice (A) creates a relative clause, which is not
have distinct summer and winter seasons. appropriate in this sentence; also, the choice lacks the
(A) that are warmer word than. Choice (B) lacks both a verb and the word
(B) warmer than. (C) incorrectly uses as in place of than.
(C) are warmer as
(D) are warmer than 2. Choice (A) is used only in the pattern "A and B are
not alike." (C) and (D) are not used in comparisons;
unlikely is an adjective meaning "not probable"; dislike
2. ______ other mammals, whales do not have a sense of smell. is a verb meaning "not enjoy, not admire."
(A) Not alike
(B) Unlike 3. The correct pattern for a proportional statement is
(C) Unlikely the more A ... the more B. Only choice (B) follows this
(D) Dislike pattern.

3. ______ the diameter of a circle, the larger its circumference

is.
(A) Greater than
(B) The greater
(C) Great as
(D) As great as

MISSING CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions are connecting words; they join parts of a sentence. Coordinate conjunctions are used to join equal
sentence parts: single words, phrases, and independent clauses. When two full clauses are joined, they are usually
separated by a comma. The coordinate conjunctions you will most often see in Structure problems are listed in the
chart below:
  Conjunctive adverbs (moreover, therefore, however, nevertheless, and so on) are also used to join clauses,
but in Structure problems, these words are most often used as distractors-they seldom appear as correct
answers.

 Correlative conjunctions are two-part conjunctions. Like coordinate conjunctions, they are used to join clauses,
phrases, and words.

Sample Item

1. The automobile began as a toy ______ developed into a 1.There is a contrast in this sentence; the role of the
powerful force for social change. automobile as a toy in its early days is contrasted with its
(A) it later role as a force for social change. The only word
(B) but among the four choices that indicates contrast is choice
(C) when (B), but.
(D) or
2. The correct structure for this sentence is both…and.
2. Singer Marian Anderson trained ______ in the United States Choices (A), (B), and (D) do not follow this pattern. (In
and abroad. choice (D), not only must be paired with but also to be
(A) not just correct.)
(B) and
(C) both
(D) not only

MISSING NEGATIVE WORDS

The answer choices for this type of item are four negative expressions, such as the ones listed below:
Sample Items

1. There is almost ______ vegetation in the Badlands, a 1. Choices (A), (B), and (C) cannot be used before nouns
barren region of South Dakota. as adjectives.
(A) not
(B) nor
(C) none
(D) no