Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Books:
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (any dictionary would do, but this one is preferable) Oxford Concise Edition is also a good choice but Advanced is better. Thesaurus - Roget's Thesaurus or Oxford Thesaurus - Strictly for vocab improvement Cambridge - Series English Grammar for Everday Use - Raymond Murphy or Grammar for Advanced Learners Webword - a free download that acts as a dictionary cum thesaurus. If you buy the latest dictionaries, you generally get a CD with similar functions which will work equally well, if not better.
2) 3) 4) 5)
before FANBOYS )In USA grammar only For (as in because), And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (as in therefore) + brackets additional information joins 2 sentences followed by list of ideas or joins 2 sentences or part sentence. Brackets additional information, Used in between 2 nouns Possessive - (A boys book / All boys school // Jacks / Harris) - Contraction (Its {Its (dogs) tail} versus its {it is raining / it has stopped raining})
(2) Pronoun Usage 1) Subject Pronouns I/You/He, She, It/We/ You/They/ WHO perform action 2) Object Pronouns I/You/Him, Her, It/Us/You/Them/WHOM are impacted by the action or are objects of prepositions 3) Who Subject Pronoun Whom Object Pronoun There may be a comma before these. Which Things That Specifies / Particularizes Noun or Pronoun it is referring to Follows Superlative (The best book that I have ever read) A comma never precedes that 4) One is referred to in the same sentence by ONE; similarly, YOU by you etc. Each / every by his or her etc. (3) Subject Verb Agreement 1) OR / NOR Verb agrees with the subject closest to it. (Sarika or I am to visit her) 2) As well as Verb agrees with the subject preceding the following linkers (as well as, including, accompanied by, with, together with, along with) (Jyothi as well as her mother is coming to the centre) 3) Each / Every Verb Singular 4) All / Any / None / Collective Nouns Verb can be singular or plural Exceptions Police, vermin, poultry, cattle, gentry always Plural 5) 2 entities versus 1 entity The bar and the restaurant are VERSUS The bar and restaurant is Fish and Chips / Bread and Butter is 6) Some / Most followed by Singular Noun Singular Verb Followed by Plural Noun Plural Verb 7) Majority / Minority The majority is in favour of (4) Modifiers Misplaced Modifier Organize ideas so that they are easy to follow and do not allow for ambiguity. Remember the rule that modifiers should be placed close to what they are modifying. Eg. He wanted a suitcase that was light weight when he went shopping and yet was capacious. When he went shopping, he wanted a suitcase that was light weight yet capacious. Dangling Modifier Eg.
(8) Avoid Ambiguity: Sentence should not lead to any misinterpretation. Generally, incorrect pronoun usage is the reason for ambiguity. Eg. He and his brother asked their parents whether they would be leaving right away. He and his brother asked their parents whether the parents would be leaving right away. He and his brother asked their parents whether the brothers would be leaving right away. (9) Be Concise Avoid repetitions and also, daily everyday No double negatives allowed Hardly never vs. Hardly ever
Common Errors
General Pointers : 1. Pronouns - Those is plural and That is singular 2. Was is a singular noun whereas were is a plural noun 3. The word Should means moral obligation Subject / Verb 4. Subject and Verb must agree in number (singular subject with singular verb and plural subject with plural verbs) and make logical sense together 5. Past participle ed oren ; Present participle ing 6. Main clauses (stand on own) ; subordinate clauses (attached to the main sentence) 7. Two singular subjects will become a plural subject and thus require a plural verb 8. Additive phrases do not modify the singular subject they remain singular and require singular verbs 9. Exception Or, Either Or, Neither Nor noun nearest to the verb will make the verb singular or plural 10. If Neither / Either used singly without or / nor, then they remain singular subjects and require singular verbs 11. Collective Nouns ex. Army take on singular verbs 12. Indefinite Pronouns ex. Anyone singular verbs required EXCEPT SANAM PRONOUNS (Some, All, None, Any, More / Most SANAM pronouns - the verb (singular or plural) depends on the noun object after the of word) 13. Each / Every if a noun is preceded by Each / Every, then singular verb 14. Quantity Words & Phrases The number of requires singular verb ; A number of students requires plural verb ; But if quantity phrase, then follow the SANAM rule 15. Subject Phrases and Clauses singular having good friends IS a wonderful thing
Parallelism 1. Comparable sentence parts must be structurally and logically similar 2. The most important words in the sentence must be parallel to each other ie. We do not generally have to make every word parallel but only the important words 3. Parallel markers and, but, or spot these markers and the parts of the sentence after the marker will have some parallel issues ; 4. Parallel clauses should start with the same word. However, in certain cases, some verbs like was, can, to these words count across all of the parallel elements 5. Parallelism assumes more importance over principle of concision 6. Idioms have built in parallel structures 7. Do not assume that all verbs and verbal forms in a sentence must be parallel there should be actual parallelism instead of superficial parallelism. 8. Treat linking verbs as parallel markers as well the two sides of a linking verb should be parallel in meaning Pronouns : 1. The antecedent of the pronoun must exist ; nouns used as adjectives cannot be antecedents of pronouns
Modifiers - adjectives and adverbs are one word modifiers - sentences might contain adj + adj + noun OR Adverb + adj + noun - these two phrases do not mean the same thing - go with meaning of the author - noun modifiers - a noun and it's modifier should touch each other - "the touch rule" - dangling modifiers - the modifier should refer to a noun - If the noun is not there we have a dangling modifier - insert a reasonable noun into the sentence to correct the same - modifiers cannot normally modify nouns in the possessive case - rephrase by replacing possessive noun with the actual noun - Do not use both the Possessive and the preposition of at the same time - who and whom pronouns should only modify people ; pronoun "that" cannot modify people - pronoun "which" must modify things only - pronoun "whose" can modify people or things - pronoun - "where" can only modify a physical place and not a "metophorical" place like a condition etc - pronoun "when" can be used to modify noun event or time - commas for non essential modifiers and no commas for essential modifiers - 'which' and commas for non essential modifiers and 'that' with no commas for essential modifiers - verb modifiers can generally be placed further away from what they modify in comparison with where noun modifiers can be placed - "which" can only refer to a noun preceding it and NEVER to entire clause - Subgroup modifiers SOME OF WHICH WERE, SOME OF THEM, SOME (you can even use SANAM Pronouns here) Verb tense - simple past, present and future tense - progressive past, present and future tenses - try to keep verb tenses consistent in a sentence - past perfect tense and present perfect tense - present perfect = have / has + past participle ; it has one foot in the past and one in the future - it indicates continued action or continued effect of a completed action - use of "since" should be with present perfect - present perfect should be used in phrases containing the word "within"
Verb mood - indicative mood to express facts - imperative moods to express commands - subjunctive mood is of two types - first type is the hypothetical subjunctive - used in unreal or unlikely conditions ; the word "were" is used here - if - then constructions - the words should and would should not be used in the "if" part of the sentence ; donot use the word "should" in the if... Then sentence - command subjunctive - is the second type of the subjunctive mood - it uses bossy verbs - bossy verb + THAT + subject + command subjunctive - if a sentence includes a demand, look either for an infinitive or for "that" followed by command subjunctive - active v/s. Passive voice - in active voice - the subject is the doer of the action - in passive voice, the subject of a sentence has an action performed on it by someone or something else - transitive verbs can be used in the passive voice - passive voice is sometimes correct on the GMAT Comparisons - if you see words - like, unlike, as, than - check for comparisons - look for what the sentence is comparing - use the word "like" to compare two nouns, pronouns or noun phrases - Donot use "like" to compare two clauses - the word "as" can be used as either a preposition or conjunction ; you can use "as" to compare two clauses - comparisons must make sense - the two items being compared must be logically comparable - comparisons must follow the rules of "parallelism" learnt earlier - feel free to omit unnecessary words in the second part of the comparison - however sometimes it is also correct to include them ( use of helping verbs like be, do and have ) - comparative and superlative forms - when comparing two things use the comparative form and when comparing more than two things use the superlative form. - always use the word "than" with comparative forms - Do not use LIKE to introduce examples, instead use Such as
IDIOMS Go through Snehas idiom list Using your Ear Spot Extract Replace method for idiom SC questions Some commonly used idioms : o ABILITY TO o ALLOWS maria TO WATCH ; ALLOWED TO WATCH ; ALLOWS FOR new construction o AS . o AS AS o AS . SO (AS you practice, SO shall you play) o BEING (Being infected does not make you sick) ; The judges saw the horses BEING led to the stables o BECAUSE o BELIEVE o BOTH AND (She was interested BOTH in plants AND in animals) ; She was interested in BOTH plans AND animals o BUT o CAN o COMPARED TO ; COMPARED WITH (no distinction former is for similarities and the later is for emphasizing differences) o CONSIDER (VERY IMPORTANT) - I CONSIDER her a friend o DOUBT that o EITHER OR o EXPECT (We EXPECT the price TO FALL) ; We EXPECT THAT the price WILL FALL o EXTENT Thumbs part up is the EXTENT TO WHICH we enjoyed the film o FIND The scientist FOUND THAT the reaction WAS unusual o FROM TO The price fell FROM 10 euros TO 3 euros ; The price fell TO 3 euros FROM 10 euros o IF I can eat icecream, PROVIDED THAT my doctor approves o IN ORDER TO She drank coffee IN ORDER TO STAY awake ; She drank coffee TO STAY awake o INDICATE A Report INDICATES THAT unique bacteria LIVE on our skin o JUST AS SO (same as AS SO) o LIKE (Matt drives fast cars LIKE his sisters) o LIKELY IT IS LIKELY THAT my friend WILL EAT worms o NATIVE The Kangaroo is NATIVE TO Australia ; My friend is A NATIVE OF Australia o NOT BUT A tomato is NOT a vegetable BUT a fruit o NOT ONLY BUT ALSO We wore NOT ONLY boots, BUT ALSO sandals ; We wore NOT JUST boots BUT ALSO sandals o NUMBER A NUMBER of dogs are barking ; THE NUMBER OF dogs IS large o ONLY Her performance is exceeded ONLY by theirs (the word ONLY modifies by theirs) do not put ONLY before the verb ex. Exceeded o OR ; I do not want water OR milk o ORDER The state ORDERS that the agency COLLECT taxes ; The state ORDERS the agency TO COLLECT taxes o PROHIBIT The Law PROHIBITS any citizen FROM VOTING twice o REQUIRES She REQUIRES OF her friend THAT work BE done o RESULT The RESULT OF our work WAS THAT our wealth grew
Connecting words / Conjuctions Connecting words or conjunctions can link two clauses for, nor, yet, so, and, but, or. These coordinating conjunctions together with a comma can link two main clauses to form a grammatical sentence. (look out for run on sentences) Subordinators are other kinds of connecting words ex. Because, although. They can be used to attach subordinate clauses to the main clause in a sentence Be sure to choose a connector that logically fits in with a given sentence Conjunction As appears with a clause and is generally used for comparison
Punctuation Comma Do not use a comma before and to separate two verbs that have the same subject. Either eliminate the comma or add a subject to the second verb, creating a second main clause. Ex. Earl walked to school, AND HE later ate his lunch. A comma by itself cannot connect two complete sentences (main clauses)
Semi colon Colon : What comes before the colon must be able to stand alone as a sentence. What comes after the colon does not have to be able to stand alone Use a colon to explain something further. Make sure that the part in front of the colon can stand-alone. The semicolon connects two closely related statements each statement must be able to stand alone as an independent sentence If you use a transition expression such as therefore in the second half of a sentence, make sure to use a semicolon Do not use a comma to connect two related main clauses, use a semi colon instead
Quantity words Rule 1 - Words used for countable things (ex. Hats) V/s. words used for uncountable things (patience) Use the counting test to determine whether a particular item is countable or uncountable Uncountable Modifiers MUCH patience LITTLE patience AMOUNT of patience GREAT patience
Countable Modifiers MANY hats FEW hats NUMBER of hats NUMEROUS hats
The words - More, most, enough and all work with both countable and uncountable nouns. DONOT USE the word LESS with countable items ; instead use the word FEWER EXCEPTION - BE CAREFUL WITH UNIT NOUNS SUCH AS DOLLARS AND GALLONS. BY THEIR NATURE, UNIT NOUNS ARE COUNTABLE. HOWEVER, SINCE THEY REPRESENT UNCOUNTABLE QUANTITIES LIKE MONEY, VOLUME, we use the word LESS than instead of FEWER THAN.
Ex. Amount is used for uncountable quantities. Fines are countable, and so number
should be used.
Rule 2 - Between V/s. Among Use BETWEEN to relate two things. Among to relate more than two things
Rule 3 The Number, Number Of V/s. A Number or The Numbers Of The number of is singular ; A number of is plural The expression The numbers of is almost always incorrect ; Stick to the expression The number of However, the word numbers are possible in a few contexts ; If you wish to make a comparison with this word, then use GREATER than instead of more than
CONCISION Concept of VAN A verb is better than an Adjective or Adverb ; Adverby / Adjective better than Noun ; Verb > Adjective > Noun Pattern 1 Prefer a verb to an action noun - Her Decision was to go (bad) ; She decided to go (better) Pattern 2 Prefer a That clause with verbs to a series of Phrases (with Nouns) ; The hypothesis ABOUT THE COMPOSITION OF the universe AS largely dark energy seems strange (bad) ; The hypothesis THAT the universe IS largely COMPOSED OF dark energy seems strange Pattern 3 Prefer a verb to an adjective ; The artist WAS INFLUENTIAL TO the movement (bad) ; The artist INFLUENCED the movement Pattern 4 Prefer an Adjective to a noun ; THERE IS AN ABUNDANCE OF funds for school construction (bad) ; Funds for school construction ARE ABUNDANT (good) Pattern 5 prefer an adverb to a prepositional phrase ; Oil prices have fallen, but prices at the gasoline pump have not fallen TO A COMPARABLE EXTENT (bad) ; Oil prices have fallen, but prices at the gasoline pump have not fallen COMPARABLY (better) Pattern 6 Prefer an Adjective to an Adjective Clause with Be Marcos is a professor WHO IS ADMIRABLE (bad) ; Marcos is an ADMIRABLE professor Pattern 7 Remove IT IS . THAT ; IT IS without fear THAT children should play (bad) ; Children should play without fear Dont make it too short keep the prepositional phrase if you need to ; I talked to the Boston Soldier (bad) ; I talked to the soldier FROM BOSTON (better) If the prepositional phrase involves of, then you can make it concise by putting the adjective before the noun ; Else, stick to the long form (as given in the soldier example above) Keep the prepositional phrase even incase of phrases that involve time period, quantity or other measurements avoid using possessive case Keep that of or those of if you need to ; The face I see in ads every day is a famous actor (wrong) ; The face I see in ads every day is THAT OF a famous actor (correct) Keep the word THAT after a reporting VERB (examples of reporting verbs indicate, claim, contend, report) ; Exception to this is the word say - The winter was so cold that people SAID polar bears would shiver. Concrete Nouns V/s Action Nouns avoid making concrete and action nouns parallel with each other Simple Gerunds Phrases V/s. Complex Gerund Phrases Never make simple gerund phrases parallel with complex gerund phrases ; I enjoyed drinking the water AND the wine tasting (wrong) ; I enjoyed drinking the water AND tasting the wine In any list of action nouns, always chose the complex gerund phrase (that comprises of the articles and the word Of) over the simple gerund phrase