Test: Sentence Correction- 4 - GMAT MCQ

There is an ambiguity that arises without the use of an appropriate pronoun in this sentence. Choice A compares the adults to the formation. In choice D it is not clear to what the ‘they’ refers. D also changes the meaning. Choice C does not maintain parallel structure as it has ‘among’, which is not parallel to the earlier ‘of’ in the sentence. Choice E is not as efficient as choice B. B, by using the word that, refers to the correct comparison: the formation of social groups by two different age groups. Choice B is the correct answer.

Do you use the word economic or economical? Economical means thrifty. Economic is correct. ‘The shipping of raw materials being improved’ in D is idiomatically incorrect. Choice E is the correct answer.

The first thing you have to look at is whether to use the singular or plural pronoun. ‘The puffin’ is singular. So you will need to use the singular. That eliminates choices A and B. In E there is no clear connection between the items listed and the puffin. Ms. Kardon could very well be studying social organization in general. Therefore eliminate E as it changes the meaning. Now you have to pick between choices C and D. Choice D unnecessarily adds a second ‘about’. Choice C is the correct answer.

D and E incorrectly use the past and past perfect tenses, implying that the increase has occurred and is finished. The sentence as written implies that an increase may continue to occur. Choices A and C imply a degree of conscious agency which is inappropriate for the sentence. They imply that someone or something may quite deliberately increase fatal accidents. Choice B is the correct answer.

Choices A and B use the singular pronoun ‘that’ with the plural verb form ‘remain’. ‘Almost as much in value’ in C and D is idiomatically incorrect. Choice E is the correct answer.

Choice A has the wrong tense. It is incorrect to say that she will be forced to do something now. She will be forced to do something in the future or she has to do something now. B and D have the same problem. Choice E separates ‘is’ and ‘forced’ by placing several words in between to make a very clumsy construction. Choice C is the correct answer.

What is the comparison being made here? It is between the Americans and the French. Choice A does not compare the Americans and the French because it incorrectly adds the word ‘that’. ‘Unlike’ is simpler and shorter than ‘dissimilar to’ and ‘lacking similarity to’. Eliminate D and E. The simple present is necessary to describe a habitual action. ‘Lingering’ in option C implies the French are lingering now. Choice B is the correct answer.

The first thing you have to determine is whether to use the simple past or the present perfect. Because you are talking about a period of time which started in the past and continues in the present you need the present perfect. If you were talking about a specific point in the past you could use the simple past. Eliminate A and E. B also has the wrong tense. C unnecessarily splits the verb ‘has been’. Choice D is the correct answer.

'Equally high or more so’ is idiomatically incorrect. B is also idiomatically incorrect. The incidence of something somewhere could be equal to the incidence of something somewhere else, but not just equal to somewhere else. In choice C, or more what? Choice D is also incomplete. Equal to what? The only answer choices which is clear is choice E, the correct answer.

The easiest way for you to deal with this sentence is to look for any glaring grammatical errors that might eliminate several choices. In fact, choices B, C and D all make the same mistake in tense agreement. The caregivers enjoy. This is present tense. Hence ‘recover’ is correct, not ‘recovered’. That leaves choices A and E. A is shorter and simpler than E. Choice A is the correct answer.

This question has to do with the words that we use in combination with countable and non-countable nouns. Do you say a quantity, amount or number of people? Quantity and amount are used with non-countable nouns. In other words, you can only have a number of people (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) but not a quantity such as 9 and a half people. This makes the correct answer, C, quite obvious. It is also unnecessary to use both ‘both’ and ‘alike’ in options B and D. D changes the meaning by using the active voice. Please note that ‘great numbers of’ is equivalent to ‘a great number of’.

If you use words such as combine and mix, you should use the preposition ‘with’. In other words, you don’t mix x to y, you mix x with y. The only choice that uses ‘with’ is D.

To answer this question it helps to simplify the situation. Ask yourself, would you say: this is a competition where two people fight, when two people fight or in which two people fight? If you say where, it implies a physical location, not a characteristic of the competition. When implies a period of time, also not a characteristic of the competition as a competition. Eliminate A and B. C changes the meaning by using ‘pitched’ as a verb instead of as an adjective. C also has an incorrect order of words. D could mean that there are only two competitors who engage in fencing. In reality, while only two competitors are involved in each bout, there are many people who practice the sport. The end of option D, ‘that has’, is also not as precise as ‘with’ in the correct option, E. ‘That has’ implies that the battle, rather than the competitor, has the swords. Choice E is the correct answer.

This question deals with parallel structure. Scientists have determined that people have been found to have (present perfect tense throughout). That leaves us with choices B and E. Should it be ‘increasing’ or ‘increased’? ‘Increasing’ implies that the difficulties are increasing over a period of time. This would change the meaning of the original sentence. Choice B is the correct answer.

The sentence introduces a contrast. Although x is not certain, Montreal does y. This contrast is not as easy to see if the phrase ‘even if’ is used. Eliminate A, B and C. The use of the future in B changes the meaning. E is not idiomatically correct. Choice D is the correct answer.

Do you pick ‘which may limit’ or ‘an effect that may limit’? The relative pronoun ‘which’ must refer to the word immediately before it. In this sentence it is meant to refer to the fact that the drugs are addictive. However, it is incorrectly placed next to patients. Eliminate A, B and C. That leaves us with choices D and E. Now another ambiguity arises. In choice D, it is unclear what the ‘their’ refers to. Choice E is the best answer.

"Up to three times of’ in C is idiomatically incorrect. The use of the past tense in D and E is incorrect. The sentence is referring to the present. Do not be confused by the use of the word ‘consumed’ in option A. This is not a use of the past tense. Rather it is a reduced relative clause. You could say ‘that which is consumed’. In this way option A can be seen to be using the passive voice, present tense. That only leaves us with choices A and B. Now it is simply an issue of parallel structure. The sentence as written refers to food consumed in America, so you will also say ‘consumed in Japan’. Choice A is the correct answer.

The second ‘not’ in option B is unnecessary and incorrect. The ‘no’ in E is similarly unnecessary and incorrect. Option D is not parallel. Option C is more efficient than option A. C is correct.

'Have insisted’ in B is the incorrect tense. It implies an action which has occurred up to the present time. However, the sentence as written implies that the civil libertarians still insist something. The sentence can be simplified to a choice among ‘the way is to reduce’, ‘the way is the reduction’ or ‘the way is reducing’. Only the first is correct. Eliminate C and D. A is more efficient than E. A is correct.

The first thing you have to determine is who or what was unchallenged? The Native Americans or the white man? The white man was unchallenged. Therefore that phrase should go first after the word ‘firearms’. That leaves choices C, D and E. The second thing you have to determine is who or what feared the thunder sticks? The Native Americans. So you need a pronoun which refers correctly to the Native Americans. Choice C is the correct answer.

The sentence is not complete as it is written. There would have to be an ‘and’ between taught and imparted for it to be correct. B is incorrect as it unnecessarily repeats the subject by using ‘he’. Therefore you must use ‘imparting’. The final clause should have parallel structure within it. Therefore E is correct, not C or D. ‘Imparting’ and ‘encouraging’ are parallel.

Once again you have to figure out whether to use the simple past or the present perfect. The action has a consequence in the present so the present perfect should be used. Eliminate B, C and E. In addition, did the smoking damage her lungs only once or over a period of time? Clearly over a period of time. That eliminates choices B, C and E right away. Now you have to determine whether serious modifies an adjective or noun. It refers to damage, so it should be left as an adjective. Choice D is the correct answer.

The sentence is not correct as written. The damage has occurred but the second part of the sentence talks of preventing the damage. Eliminate A. What can be prevented? Is it the damage or the fact that deer cause damage. It is the damage that can be prevented. Eliminate C. D has the same problem as A. The word ‘which’ is misplaced in E. As it is written ‘which’ refers incorrectly to the plants. B is the correct answer.

This is clearly a question of a dangling modifier. Who or what was upset by the litter? Jane. Therefore, Jane should go immediately after the comma, otherwise the sentence implies that something or someone else was upset by the litter. That leaves us with choices C and D. Choice D changes the meaning and sounds like detention is favored. The word ‘as’ in D is also incorrect. The correct expression is ‘substituted for’. Choice C is the correct answer.

The only correct idiom offered among the options is to distinguish x from y. Choice A is the correct answer.

This question looks complicated, but it is largely a question of sorting out very simple grammatical mistakes. If you say child, then everything has to be singular. If you say children, it has to be plural. All you are looking for is consistency of singular or plural forms. A doesn’t have it. It uses the singular ‘child’ and the plural ‘themselves’ and ‘their’. C also has a lack of agreement, this time between ‘child’ and ‘themselves’. D and E incorrectly use ‘families where’. ‘Where’ is used for locations. Therefore, choice B is the correct answer.

If you are not a native speaker of English, you might have some problems with this one. It is simply a language and style check, involving the usage of the idiom, no less an x than y. It is common to say in English media, for example, no less a superstar than Mrs. Jones. The correct answer choice here is A.

This is a question of parallel structure. Because you have ‘but because’ not underlined, you need a parallel form using the word because. The correct idiom not because x, but because y appears in two answers: D and E. Now you have to go to the second mistake in parallel structure. Not because they are x, but because they are y. Choice E does not have this structure. Choice D is the correct answer.

This is a question of parallel structure. You already have the non-underlined form: as much by wearing. Now you need to find match to that structure. The idiom in English is as much by x as by y. That leaves you with choices D and E. Choice D violates parallel structure by using the word disregard instead of disregarding, to match wearing. Choice E is the correct answer.

The first thing you have to untangle is a simple grammatical mistake. What does the excess or exceeding refer to? It refers to the number, not the tourists. Number is singular, so you would not say ‘the number were’ in excess, nor would you say ‘number numbered’. That means choices A and D are wrong. What else does number refer to? Does the number of tourists exceed local customers or the number of customers? Remember, you can’t compare apples and oranges. Choice C refers to the wrong thing. Also, the numbers didn’t have anything, per se, so choice B is incorrect. Choice E is the correct answer.