Category: GMAT Grammar

IMPORTANT NOTE: The GMAT used to have a grammar-based question type, and it was called Sentence Corrections. BUT! That question type was dropped from the exam when the GMAT updated its timing, structure, and format back in November 2023. So, if you took an older version of the exam and are considering taking the test…

The word “however” is a tricky word with an interesting history. First, a couple practice questions in which this word appears.

After answering a question on GMAT Club, I realized that one type of error is not on every student’s radar. Many students are attuned to parallelism and are vigilant about eradicating modification errors. Same goes for the more typical grammar errors—students know about subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement. But double negatives have floated below the…

This is a funny grammar topic.  It’s so basic, that it would not be tested directly on a GMAT Sentence Correction question, and yet getting clear on these issues can clear up some confusion about grammar questions.   Direct Object The direct object is the noun that receives the action of the verb.  The subject…

Prepositions in English display a powerful diversity of uses.  In the previous preposition article, we talked about the proposition “to”.  Here, we will look, at the preposition “with.”   The preposition “with” The word “with” is a preposition.  This means, it must be followed by a noun — or by something playing the role of…

First, a hard Sentence Correct for practice. 1 The term “Immaculate Conception”, a doctrine that the Roman Catholic Church formally proclaimed in 1854, not referring to the conception of Jesus, which, according to Christianity, occurred miraculously despite his mother Mary being a virgin, but to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother,…

Friends, Romans, countrymen: It is time to learn about appositive phrases!  But first, a practice sentence: 1. Being America’s national bird, the Bald Eagle has little natural predators like the Great Horned Owl, and their population dwindling to almost nothing up to the point of DDT being banned. (A) Being America’s national bird, the Bald…

On the GMAT Sentence Correction, the “-ing” form of a verb will sometimes act as part of the main verb: in this case, it is part of one of the Progressive Tenses of a verb.  Sometimes the “-ing” form of a verb will modify a noun: in this case, it is a participle.  Sometimes, though,…

Introduction: parallelism Parallelism is one of the GMAT’s favorite grammatical structures.  Probably almost half of all SC questions involve parallelism of some kind.  Of course, one can put nouns or adjectives into parallel, but what’s the fun of that?  Parallelism only gets interesting when you put entire verbs or verb phrases (e.g. infinitive phrases, participial…

This post is about a patently obvious rule of grammar.  Sometimes the most obvious rules are not so obvious in the midst of complexity.  First, try this practice question about the famous 16th century Japanese military leader Oda Nobunaga.   Practice Question In the 1560 Battle of Okehazama, in which the warlord Imagawa Yoshimoto was…