The field of grammar is huge and complex–tomes have been written on the subject. This complexity should be no surprise since grammar deals with the process of communication.

GMAT grammar tests only a small part of standard written English. Grammar can be divided into two parts: Mechanics and Usage.

Mechanics concerns punctuation, capitalization, etc. It is not tested on the GMAT nearly as often as is usage. So don’t spend too much time worrying whether the comma is in the right place or whether a particular word should be capitalized.

Usage concerns how we choose our words and how we express our thoughts: in other words, are the connections between the words in a sentence logically sound, and are they expressed in a way that conforms to standard idiom? This is the part of grammar that the GMAT concentrates on. Six major categories of usage are tested:

Pronoun Errors
Subject-Verb Agreement
Misplaced Modifiers
Faulty Parallelism
Faulty Verb Tense
Faulty Idiom

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PRONOUN ERRORS

A pronoun is a word that stands for a noun, known as the antecedent of the pronoun. The key point for the use of pronouns is this: pronouns must agree with their antecedents in both number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third).

Example:

Steve has yet to receive his degree.

Here, the pronoun his refers to the noun Steve.

Following is a list of the most common pronouns:

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PRONOUNS

Singular	Plural	Both Singular and Plural
I, me	we, us	any
she, her	they	none
he, him	them	all
it	these	most
anyone	those	more
either	some	who
each	that	which
many a	both	what
nothing	ourselves	you
one	any
another	many
everything	few
mine	several
his, hers	others
this
that

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Reference

• A pronoun should be plural when it refers to two nouns joined by and.

 

Example:

Jane and Katarina believe they passed the final exam.

The plural pronoun they refers to the compound subject Jane and Katarina.

• A pronoun should be singular when it refers to two nouns joined by or or nor.

 

Faulty Usage

Neither Jane nor Katarina believes they passed the final.

Correct: Neither Jane nor Katarina believes she passed the final.

• A pronoun should refer to one and only one noun or compound noun.This is probably the most common error on the GMAT. If a pronoun follows two nouns, it is often unclear which of the nouns the pronoun refers to.

 

Faulty Usage

The breakup of the Soviet Union has left nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable, nascent countries. It is imperative to world security that they be destroyed.

Although one is unlikely to take the sentence to mean that the countries must be destroyed, that interpretation is possible from the structure of the sentence. It is easily corrected:

The breakup of the Soviet Union has left nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable, nascent countries. It is imperative to world security that these weapons be destroyed.

Faulty Usage

In Somalia, they have become jaded by the constant warfare.

This construction is faulty because they does not have an antecedent. The sentence can be corrected by replacing they with people:

In Somalia, people have become jaded by the constant warfare.

Better:

The people of Somalia have become jaded by the constant warfare.

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Within a sentence there are certain requirements for the relationship between the subject and the verb.

• The subject and verb must agree both in number and person.

 

Example:

We have surpassed our sales goal of one million dollars.

Here, the first person plural verb have agrees with its first person plural subject we.

Note, ironically, third person singular verbs often end in s or es:

He seems to be fair.

• Intervening phrases and clauses have no effect on subject-verb agreement.

 

Example:

Only one of the President’s nominees was confirmed.

Here, the singular verb was agrees with its singular subject one. The intervening prepositional phrase of the President’s nominees has no effect on the number or person of the verb.

• When the subject and verb are reversed, they still must agree in both number and person.

 

Example:

Attached are copies of the contract.

Here, the plural verb are attached agrees with its plural subject copies. The sentence could be rewritten asCopies of the contract are attached.

Example:

The rise in negative attitudes toward foreigners indicate that the country is becoming less tolerant, and therefore that the opportunities are ripe for extremist groups to exploit the illegal immigration problem.

(A) indicate that the country is becoming less tolerant, and therefore that
(B) indicates that the country is becoming less tolerant, and therefore
(C) indicates that the country is becoming less tolerant, and therefore that
(D) indicates that the country is being less tolerant, and therefore
(E) indicates that the country is becoming less tolerant of and therefore that

Choice (A) has two flaws. First, the subject of the sentence the rise is singular, and therefore the verb indicate should not be plural. Second, the comma indicates that the sentence is made up of two independent clauses, but the relative pronoun that immediately following therefore forms a subordinate clause.

Choice (C) corrects the number of the verb, but retains the subordinating relative pronoun that.

Choice (D) corrects the number of the verb and eliminates the subordinating relative pronoun that. However, the verb being is less descriptive than the verb becoming: As negative attitudes toward foreigners increase, the country becomes correspondingly less tolerant. Being does not capture this notion of change.

Choice (E) corrects the verb’s number, and by dropping the comma makes the subordination allowable. However, it introduces the preposition of which does not have an object: less tolerant of what?

Choice (B) both corrects the verb’s number and removes the subordinating relative pronoun that. The answer is (B).

MISPLACED MODIFIERS

• As a general rule, a modifier should be placed as close as possible to what it modifies.

  Example:

  Following are some useful tips for protecting your person and property from the FBI.

  As written, the sentence implies that the FBI is a threat to your person and property. To correct the sentence put the modifier from the FBI next to the word it modifies, tips:

  Following are some useful tips from the FBI for protecting your person and property.

• When a phrase begins a sentence, make sure that it modifies the subject of the sentence.

 

Example:

Coming around the corner, a few moments passed before I could recognize my old home.

As worded, the sentence implies that the moments were coming around the corner. The sentence can be corrected as follows:

As I came around the corner, a few moments passed before I could recognize my old home.orComing around the corner, I paused a few moments before I could recognize my old home.

Example:

By focusing on poverty, the other causes of crime–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.–have been overlooked by sociologists.

(A) the other causes of crime–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.–have been overlooked by sociologists.
(B) the other causes of crime have been overlooked by sociologists–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.
(C) there are other causes of crime that have been overlooked by sociologists–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.
(D) crimes–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.–have been overlooked by sociologists.
(E) sociologists have overlooked the other causes of crime–such as the breakup of the nuclear family, changing morals, the loss of community, etc.

Choice (A) is incorrect since it implies that the other causes of crime are doing the focusing.

Choice (B) has the same flaw.

Choice (C) is incorrect. The phrase by focusing on poverty must modify the subject of the sentence, but there cannot be the subject since the construction there are is used to introduce a subject.

Choice (D) implies that crimes are focusing on poverty.

Choice (E) puts the subject of the sentence sociologists immediately next to its modifying phrase by focusing on poverty. The answer is (E).

FAULTY PARALLELISM

• For a sentence to be parallel, similar elements must be expressed in similar form.
• When two adjectives modify the same noun, they should have similar forms.

 

Example: The topology course was both rigorous and a challenge.

Since both rigorous and a challenge are modifying course, they should have the same form:

The topology course was both rigorous and challenging.

• When a series of clauses is listed, the verbs in each clause must have the same form.

 

Example: During his trip to Europe, the President will discuss ways to stimulate trade, offer economic aid, and trying to forge a new coalition with moderate forces in Russia.

In this example, the first two verbs, discuss and offer, are active. But the third verb in the series, trying, is passive. The form of the verb should be active:

During his trip to Europe, the President will discuss ways to stimulate trade, offer economic aid, and try to forge a new coalition with moderate forces in Russia.

• When the first half of a sentence has a certain structure, the second half should preserve that structure.

 

Example: To acknowledge that one is an alcoholic is taking the first and hardest step to recovery.

The first half of the above sentence has an infinitive structure, to acknowledge, so the second half must have a similar structure:

To acknowledge that one is an alcoholic is to take the first and hardest step to recovery.

Example: This century began with war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution well-established, and a nascent communication age.

(A) war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution well-established, and a nascent communication age.
(B) war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution surging, and a nascent communication age.
(C) war in Europe, the industrial revolution well-established, and a nascent communication age.
(D) war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution well-established, and the communication age beginning.
(E) war brewing in Europe, the industrial revolution well-established, and saw the birth of the communication age.

Choice (A) is incorrect. Although the first two phrases, war brewing in Europe and the industrial revolution well-established, have different structures, the thoughts are parallel. However, the third phrase, and a nascent communication age, is not parallel to the first two.

Choice (B) does not make the third phrase parallel to the first two.

Choice (C) changes the meaning of the sentence: the new formulation states that war already existed in Europe while the original sentence states that war was only developing.

Choice (E) is not parallel since the first two phrases in the series are noun phrases, but saw the birth of the communication age is a verb phrase. When a word introduces a series, each element of the series must agree with the introductory word. You can test the correctness of a phrase in a series by dropping the other phrases and checking whether the remaining phrase agrees with the introductory word. In this series, each phrase must be the object of the preposition with:

This century began with war brewing in Europe

This century began with the industrial revolution well-established

This century began with saw the birth of the communication age

In this form, it is clear the verb saw cannot be the object of the preposition with.

Choice (D) offers three phrases in parallel form. The answer is (D).

FAULTY VERB TENSE

A verb has four principal parts:

1. Present Tense
a. Used to express present tense.

He studies hard.

b. Used to express general truths.

During a recession, people are cautious about taking on more debt.

c. Used with will or shall to express future time.

He will take the GMAT next year.

2. Past Tense
a. Used to express past tense.

He took the GMAT last year.

3. Past Participle
a. Used to form the present perfect tense, which indicates that an action was started in the past and its effects are continuing in the present. It is formed using have or has and the past participle of the verb.

He has prepared thoroughly for the GMAT.

b. Used to form the past perfect tense, which indicates that an action was completed before another past action. It is formed using had and the past participle of the verb.

He had prepared thoroughly before taking the GMAT.

c. Used to form the future perfect tense, which indicates that an action will be completed before another future action. It is formed using will have or shall have and the past participle of the verb.

He will have prepared thoroughly before taking the GMAT.

4. Present Participle (-ing form of the verb)
a. Used to form the present progressive tense, which indicates that an action is ongoing. It is formed using is, am, or are and the present participle of the verb.

He is preparing thoroughly for the GMAT.

b. Used to form the past progressive tense, which indicates that an action was in progress in the past. It is formed using was or were and the present participle of the verb.

He was preparing for the GMAT.

c. Used to form the future progressive tense, which indicates that an action will be in progress in the future. It is formed using will be or shall be and the present participle of the verb.

He will be preparing thoroughly for the GMAT.

PASSIVE VOICE

The passive voice removes the subject from the sentence. It is formed with the verb to be and the past participle of the main verb.

Passive: The bill was resubmitted.

Active: The Senator has resubmitted the bill.

Unless you want to de-emphasize the doer of an action, you should favor the active voice.

Example:

In the past few years and to this day, many teachers of math and science had chosen to return to the private sector.

(A) had chosen to return to the private sector.
(B) having chosen to return to the private sector.
(C) chose to return to the private sector.
(D) have chosen to return to the private sector.
(E) have chosen returning to the private sector.

Choice (A) is incorrect because it uses the past perfect had chosen, which describes an event that has been completed before another event. But the sentence implies that teachers have and are continuing to return to the private sector. Hence, the present perfect tense should be used.

Choice (B) is incorrect because it uses the present progressive tense having chosen, which describes an ongoing event. Although this is the case, it does not capture the fact that the event began in the past.

Choice (C) is incorrect because it uses the simple past chose, which describes a past event. But again, the sentence implies that the teachers are continuing to opt for the private sector.

Choice (D) is the correct answer because it uses the present perfect have chosen to describe an event that occurred in the past and is continuing into the present.

Choice (E) is incorrect because it leaves the thought in the sentence uncompleted.

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