Idioms Gist for GMAT | Verbal for GMAT PDF Download

Introduction

The GMAT will test your knowledge of idioms in several ways: from the correct use of a specific preposition to word order to forms of comparison, or a specific grammar rule. In other words, your job will be to identify incorrect usage, then identify the correct idiom in the right answer!

Your mastery of idioms must satisfy two criteria:
1) Recognition - You must be able to notice these idioms on an actual question. To do that, burn the trigger word into your memory. For example, with “regard as”, burn the word “regard” into your memory so that you can spot it on an actual GMAT question.
2) Memorization - You must memorize the matching word in the idiom pair, so that you can either correct it, or recognize that it’s already correct

What is an Idiom?

• An idiom is a phrase that, when taken as a whole, has a meaning you wouldn’t be able to deduce from the meanings of the individual words. It’s essentially the verbal equivalent of using the wrong math formula but still getting the correct answer. 
• The phrase “kill two birds with one stone” is an example of an idiom. Fluent and native English speakers understand that this doesn’t refer to harming birds or using stones, but that someone is completing two tasks at once. 

How Idioms Are Tested On the GMAT

1. Preposition Usage

• Prepositions are words that establish relationships between pronouns or nouns and other parts of a sentence. These include terms like "of," "to," "for," and "with," as well as various words indicating direction or location, such as "above," "under," and "below."
• Idiomatic expressions often hinge on the precise and accurate application of specific prepositions. On the GMAT, it is common to encounter instances where these prepositions are misused.
• Example:
  While larger banks can afford to maintain their own data-processing operations, many smaller regional and community banks are finding that the cost associated with upgrading data-processing equipment and with the development and maintenance of new products and technical staff are prohibitive.
  A) cost associated with
  B) costs associated with
  C) costs arising from
  D) cost of
  E) costs of
  Solution: 
  This sentence correction problem involves two errors: an idiomatic issue and a subject-verb agreement mistake. The subject of the verb "are" is "cost(s)," and since "are" is the plural form of the verb "to be," it should be used with a plural subject. Therefore, "costs" is the correct form, leading to the elimination of answer choices A and D.
  With answer choices narrowed down to B, C, and E, attention is turned to the idiomatic errors. The correct idiom is "associated with," making choices C and E inappropriate, as they feature "arising from" and "of," which do not fit the context. Additionally, a matching of the correct prepositions is necessary. The "with" following "associated" should be followed by another "with," ruling out choices C and E as they pair "with" with "of" and "from."
  A crucial hint is found in the later part of the sentence where "with" appears again. The consistent use of "with" is necessary, avoiding the mixing of prepositions. Consequently, answer choice B emerges as both grammatically and idiomatically correct.

2. Correlatives

• Correlatives are words that work together to serve a single function in a sentence, though they might be separated from each other within the sentence. You can think of these words as “married pairs.” Some examples are “both/and,” “either/or,” and “neither/nor.”
• Example:
  A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that even Theodore C. Sorensen, the White House counsel, did not know it existed.
  A) A recording system was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office that
  B) So secret was a recording system installation and operation in the Kennedy Oval Office
  C) It was so secret that a recording system was installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office
  D) A recording system that was so secretly installed and operated in the Kennedy Oval Office
  E) Installed and operated so secretly in the Kennedy Oval Office was a recording system that
  Solution: 
  The appropriate correlative for this sentence is "so x that y" (refer to the idioms list below).
  Answer choices B and D are immediately ruled out due to the absence of the pairing "so" with "that."
  Answer choices C and E exhibit illogical constructions. In option C, the pronoun "it" is ambiguous, lacking clarity about what it refers to. Despite the use of "so/that" in the sentence, the pronoun usage makes it an incorrect choice. In option E, the sentence's word order creates logical inconsistency; commencing with "installed and operated" does not align with the sentence's subject, "a recording system."
  In contrast, option A correctly starts with the subject "a recording system" and employs the appropriate correlative construction "so x that y." Therefore, option A is the correct choice.

3. Forms of Comparison

• In English, there are certain rules about how we compare things to each other and which words we use to do so. For example, take a look at these three sentences. Which one is correct?

  Between the two candidates, she was the better one.
  Among the two candidates, she was the better one.

  The first sentence is the correct one. When we compare two items (in this case, two candidates), we use the word “between” rather than “among.” So sentence #2 is incorrect because it uses “among” to refer to a comparison of two candidates.
  The first sentence correctly uses “between” to compare two candidates, making it the correctly phrased one.

• So now that we’ve selected “between” over “among” to compare two candidates, let’s go over another potential idiomatic error that you might encounter in comparison questions.
  Between the two candidates, she was the better one.
  Between the two candidates, she was the best one.
  Superlatives (words like “best” and “worst”) are used when three or more items are compared. When there’s a comparison between only two items, “better” or “worse” would be correct. So sentence #1 is correct in this regard, using “better” to compare the two candidates.

• Example: 

  The financial crash of October 1987 demonstrated that the world’s capital markets are integrated more closely than never before and events in one part of the global village may be transmitted to the rest of the village—almost instantaneously.
  A) integrated more closely than never before
  B) closely integrated more than ever before so
  C) more closely integrated as never before while
  D) more closely integrated than ever before and that
  E) more than ever before closely integrated as

  Solution: 
  We can tell this sentence might include an idiomatic comparison error because of the clue word “more.” The correct idiom to use in this comparison is “more x than ever,” not “more than never.” So we can eliminate answer choices A and C immediately.
  Next, we can eliminate answer choices B and E, which include the correct phrasing (“more than ever”) but in the wrong order. “Closely integrated,” which is what’s happening “more than ever before,” comes before the idiom in answer choice B and after the idiom in answer choice E.
  Answer choice C contains the correct idiomatic expression with the words in the correct order; “closely integrated” (x) comes after “more” and before “than ever.”

The World’s Most Comprehensive GMAT Idiom List 

1. AS

perceive as, regarded as, such as [example], think of as, treat as, used as, view as

2. BY
determined by, fascinated by, hit by

3. FOR
allows for, craving for, except for, mistake A for B, provide for, rates for, responsible for, sacrifice A for B, sympathy for

4. FROM
differ from, differs from, different from, discourage from, distinguish A from B, divergent from, independent from, isolated from, prohibit A from B-ing, prohibit from, results from cause, separating from

5. IN
acquiesce in, consistent in, failed in (attempt), result in, results in effect

6. ON
based on, centers on, depend on, dependent on, lavished on, talk on, decide on (noun)

7. OVER
argument over, debate over, dispute over, quarrel over

8. THAN
better than, less than, more A than, ever more than, contend that, demand that, doubt that, enough A that B, insist that, mandate that, noted that, require that, so A that [noun]

9. TO
failed to (perform), forbid to, A identical to, intended to, linked to, native to, oblivious to, opposition to, permit A to B, persuade A to B, potential to, prefer A to B, preferable to, prior to, range from A to B, resistance to, seem to, indicate similar to, so A as to [verb], subscribe to, superior to, the right to, try to, whether to, A enough to B, a responsibility to, able to, access to, addicted to, agree to (course of action), agreed to, analogous to, appeal to, as a result of, attend to, attribute to, averse to, aversion to, cater to, compare to (if similar), compared to, conform to, contrast to, correspond to (non-human), decide to (verb), enable A to B, encourage A to B, equal to, expect to

10. OF
a consequence of, A instead of B, a sequence of, afraid of, an instance of, approve/disapprove of, capable of, Composed of, consists of, danger of, desirous of, in search of, interaction of, native of, out of, relieved of, result of B

Lets take a look at the comprehensive list of Idioms: