Idiom Flashcards
“that are not foreseeable”; vs “that cannot be foreseen”.
Correct - “That cannot be foreseen”
Do you need “do” , “does” in below question.If not why ?
Judge Lois Forer’s study asks why do some litigants have a preferred status over others in the use of a public resource, the courts, which in theory are available to all but in fact are unequally distributed among rich and poor.
A. do some litigants have a preferred status over others in the use of a public resource, the courts, which in theory are available to all but in fact are unequally distributed among
B. some litigants have a preferred status over others in the use of a public resource, the courts, which in theory are available to all but in fact are unequally distributed between
C. do some litigants have a preferred status over another in the use of a public resource, the courts, in theory available to all but in fact are unequally distributed among
D. some litigants have a preferred status to another in the use of a public resource, the courts, in theory available to all but in fact not equally distributed between
E. does one litigant have a preferred status over the other in the use of a public resource, the courts, in theory available to all but in fact they are not equally distributed among
Ans = B
The word do between why and some is unnecessary here. It would be used if we were to present the question in quotation marks, for example: “Why do some litigants …?” However, when simply reporting that a person has asked the question, we simply say X asks why some litigants.
Issue with D - When comparing two items, even if one is better/more advantaged than another, the two things need to be similar. In this sentence, the writer is comparing the plural “some litigants” to the singular “another.”
I missed the question because I did not properly think if “disappearance of lifestyle is inevitable” makes sense or “disappearance of lifestyle is inevitably doomed”
Also I somehow thought that doomed was not underlined
What is the subject of this sentence and is it singular or plural
In a crowded, acquisitive world, the disappearance of lifestyles such as those once followed by southern Africa’s Bushmen and Australia’s Aboriginal people, requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seem inevitably doomed.
A. requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seem inevitably doomed
B. requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seems to be inevitably doomed
C. which require vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seem to be inevitably doomed
D. lifestyles that require vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seem inevitable
E. lifestyles requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seems inevitable
disappearance - singular
ans = E
Despite vs Inspite of
In despite of is wrong
In spite of - correct
despite - correct
Simple question but got wrong as I was only focussed on neither/nor did not read option B properly
what other construction is fine like neither/nor
“preoccupied X…the reasons” and
“curious X the reasons.”
Another very interesting part comma with C and E - what is wrong there ?
Is there any other issue in choices
A study of children of divorced parents found that ten years after the parents’ divorce, children who had been under six years of age at the time of the settlement were not preoccupied, nor even very curious, about the reasons that led to their parents’ divorces.
A. not preoccupied, nor even very curious, about the reasons that led to their parents’ divorces
B. not preoccupied with, or even very curious about, the reasons for their parents’ divorce
C. neither preoccupied, nor even very curious, with the reasons that led to their parents divorce
D. neither preoccupied with the reasons that led to their parents’ divorces or even very curious about them
E. neither preoccupied with the reasons that their parents divorced nor even very curious about it
The correct forms are neither … nor and not … or.
“preoccupied with…the reasons” and
2) “curious about the reasons.”
The commas after “preoccupied” and after “curious” seem to act as parentheses–they are there to indicate extra, nonessential information.
But watch what happens if we get rid of the comma-separated part in (C): “children were neither preoccupied with the reasons that led to their parents divorce.” This sentence now doesn’t make sense on it’s own.
In (B), however, if we get rid of the comma-separated part, we have: “…children were not preoccupied with the reasons…”, which is totally fine. This is another vote in favor of (B) over (C).
E has pronoun issue -
What does “it” refer to here? The only logical referent is “the reasons,” but “it” has to refer to a singular noun, so this is a definitive error. Now I’m perfectly happy giving (E) the boot.
The takeaway: Anytime you’re unsure about a rule, accept the possibility that there might be no rule, and look for either concrete grammatical errors or problems with logic and meaning.
Ans = B
Exempted <>?
of
from
The correct usages are: exemption from, exempt from, and exempted from.
The large populations and impressive cultural achievements of the Aztecs, the Mayas, and the Incas could not have come about without corn, which was not only nutritious but also was able to be dried, transported, and stored for long periods.
D. not only nutritious but it could also be
Wrong option but good learning
This choice uses a slight variation on the not only … but also construction. It is idiomatically acceptable to separate the but and also; for instance, rather than writing but also could be, you could correctly write but could also be. This variation, however should function in essentially the same way as not only … but also does. Grammatically parallel structures must be associated with both not only and but … also …. But that is not the case in this choice: what is associated with not only is an adjective (nutritious), but what is associated with but … also … is an independent clause (it could also be dried, …). Therefore, this choice is not correct.
Recover X _ Y
It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater, but at present this process is prohibitively expensive.
A. It may someday be worthwhile to try to recover uranium from seawater
B. Someday, it may be worthwhile to try and recover uranium from seawater
C. Trying to recover uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
D. To try for the recovery of uranium out of seawater may someday be worthwhile
E. Recovering uranium from seawater may be worthwhile to try to do someday
Incorrect idiom: recover X out of Y
Correct idiom: recover X from Y
Ans A
B -> TRY AND RECOVER is wrong
The use of gravity waves, which do not interact with matter in the way electromagnetic waves do, hopefully will enable astronomers to study the actual formation of black holes and neutron stars.
A. in the way electromagnetic waves do, hopefully will enable
B. in the way electromagnetic waves do, will, it is hoped, enable
C. like electromagnetic waves, hopefully will enable
D. like electromagnetic waves, would enable, hopefully
E. such as electromagnetic waves do, will, it is hoped, enable
Ans = B
While the use of hopefully, as used in the sentence as written, to mean I hope that or let’s hope that, is well established, this use is considered to be informal. For this reason, it is generally avoided in writing.
When it is used in this way in writing, however, it must be used at the beginning of a sentence or at the beginning of an independent clause, and be set off by the use of commas. In any case, the use of hopefully in this sentence is incorrect: in a technical sense, it implies that the enabling of the astronomers will be hopeful.
Hopefully is an adverb and things cannot act or behave hopefully.Generally “Hopefully” is incorrect on GMAT, whenever we stumble upon it, ask who is hopeful. If we can get the answer, then only we can use it
In the traditional Japanese household, most clothing could be packed flatly, and so it was not necessary to have elaborate closet facilities.
A. flatly, and so it was not necessary to have elaborate closet facilities
B. flat, and so elaborate closet facilities were unnecessary
C. flatly, and so there was no necessity for elaborate closet facilities
D. flat, there being no necessity for elaborate closet facilities
E. flatly, as no elaborate closet facilities were necessary
Although the word flat is a standard adjectival form, it functions in this context as the more appropriate adverb, indicating the manner of packing clothing. That is, stated correctly, the clothing would be packed flat.
Note, however, that the adverb flatly is correctly used in different contexts, such as he flatly denied it.
This choice incorrectly uses the adverb flatly. Furthermore, the phrase it was not necessary is unnecessarily wordy.
Next month, state wildlife officials are scheduled to take over the job of increasing the wolf population in the federally designated recovery area, the number of which will however ultimately be dictated by the number of prey in the area.
(A) area, the number of which will however
(B) area; the size of the population, however, will
(C) area, however the number of wolves will
(D) area; the number of which will, however,
(E) area, when the size of the population will, however,
However as an interjection = must use commas on both sides, and typically comes after the subject of a sentence/clause.
The new teacher, however, is lenient about using cell phones during class.
However at beginning of sentence = put a comma after the word however.
I don’t mind that you wear shoes in the house. However, your sneakers scuffed my newly installed wood floors!
However as a conjunctive adverb = semicolon goes before it, and comma goes after it / both clauses are independent
She was a great piano player; however, she ended up with carpal tunnel syndrome a few years ago and had to quit.
Now that we know more about how to punctuate the word “however” correctly, let’s see how each option stacks up:
A. area, the number of which will however –> WRONG
(This is an example of using “however” as an interjection. Therefore, it needs commas on both sides)
B. area; the size of the population, however, will –> OK
C. area, however the number of wolves will –> WRONG
(This is an example of using “however” as a conjunctive adverb. It must have a semicolon before and a comma after the word!)
D. area; the number of which will, however, –> OK
E. area, when the size of the population will, however, –> OK
Reputation of vs Reputation for
had a reputation of X = X needs to be a verb phrase He had a reputation of being late to class every Wednesday. My dog has a reputation of going to the door every time I get home from work.
had a reputation for Y = Y needs to be a noun
He had a reputation for procrastination.
My cat has a reputation for nastiness.
To distinguish X from Y — Used to distinguish among things that are opposites.
vs
To distinguish between X and Y —- Used to distinguish among elements with things in common.
Both are correct
Can vs Could
No vs Not
P but Q is used for sharp contrast, which is appropriate here, but the idiom not only P but also Q is for joining two elements that amplify each other
