SC - Grammar & Rhetorical Structure

Question 1

How do we fix this sentence for Parallelism in an Omit Structure?
Many doctors had elected early retirement rather than face the threats of lawsuits

Answer 1

1) Many doctors had elected early retirement rather than faced the threats of lawsuits
2) Many doctors had elected to retire early rather than face the threats of lawsuits

Question 2

T or F: An unusually strong cyclist can, it is hoped, provide enough power to set a new distance record for human-powered aircraft in MIT’s diaphanous construction of graphite fiber and plastic.

Is this structure prefer to the above sentence? - An unusually strong cyclist [is hopeful to set] / [hopes setting] a new distance record…..

Answer 2

T - its reverse sentence structure
It is hoped that an unusually strong cyclist can…..

No - the new structure changes the intended meaning of the author’s writing: “It is hoped”

Question 3

T or F: The government predicts that, for consumers and businesses that make a large number of long-distance calls, the Federal Communications Commission’s recent telephone rate cuts will greatly reduce costs.

Answer 3

T - its reverse sentence structure
….that the FCC’s recent telephone cuts will greatly reduce costs for consumers and businesses that make…..

Question 4

T or F: According to a study by the Agricultural Research Service, confinement buildings must be adapted to animals, rather than animals to buildings, if farmers want to breed their stock more successfully.

Answer 4

T - it has elliptical construction
… rather than animals [must be adapted] to buildings

Question 5

T or F: For many people, household labor remains demanding even if they can afford household appliances their grandparents would have found miraculous

Answer 5

T - It has elliptical construction
For many people, household labor remains demanding even if they can afford household appliances [that] their grandparents would have found miraculous

Question 6

T or F. The following sentence is a fragment sentence: “That the charge was true was the worst part.”

Answer 6

F- It is a complete sentence under reverse structure
i.e: The worst part was that the charge was true

Question 7

T or F. The plant has the possibility of causing damage.

Answer 7

Grammatically Correct but Avoid if Possible on GMAT
Fix: The plant can cause damage

Question 8

T or F. Cheese is not so great as people say

Answer 8

Grammatically Correct but Avoid if Possible on GMAT
Fix: Cheese is not as great as people say

Question 9

T or F. I consider illegal the law passed last week by the new regime

Answer 9

T. Inverted structure (to help with clarity in long convoluted sentence) - I consider the law [passed last week by the new regime] illegal

Question 10

T or F. The judge considers the law to be illegal.

Answer 10

Grammatically Correct but Avoid if Possible on GMAT

Question 11

T or F. She didn’t eat mangoes but other kinds of fruit

Answer 11

F - lack of parallelism -> Ambiguity
She didn’t eat mangoes but ate/devoured/preferred other kinds of fruit

Question 12

T or F. A tomato is not a vegetable but rather a fruit.

Answer 12

T - elliptical construction
A tomato is not a vegetable but [is] rather a fruit

Question 13

T or F. There is a requirement that work be done

Answer 13

Grammatically Correct but Avoid if Possible on GMAT
Ambiguous pronoun “there” -> whose requirement?

Question 14

T or F. In this hostel, there is a requirement of work.

Answer 14

Grammatically Correct but Avoid if Possible on GMAT

Question 15

It seems as if this result demonstrates a new theory

Answer 15

T.
“It seems as if” acts as impersonal construction

Question 16

T or F. This result seems as if it demonstrates the new theory

Answer 16

Expressions that the GMAT seems to avoid if possible.
Fix: This result seems to demonstrate the new theory

Question 17

T or F. This result seems to be a demonstration of the new theory

Answer 17

Expressions that the GMAT seems to avoid if possible.

Question 18

T or F. The book was short enough for me to read in one night.

Answer 18

T

Question 19

T or F. I do not know whether or not i will go

Answer 19

Expressions that the GMAT seems to avoid if possible.

Question 20

T or F. I do not know if I will go.

Answer 20

F. (if requires a consequence)

Question 21

T or F. For most consumers, choosing a new car over a second-hand one mostly depends on if they have enough money.

Answer 21

F.
Since sentence indicates option/alternative, we use “whether”

Question 22

T or F. The CEO of Ergon, a multi-million dollar company, asked the consultant for an economical forecast of the entire sector, so that he would be able to plan business strategy for coming year.

Answer 22

F. “would be able” should be replaced as “could” in GMAT.
economical is not the right use. It should be economic

Question 23

T or F. As its reputation for making acquisitions of important masterpieces has grown, the museum has increasingly turned down gifts of lesser-known paintings THAT PREVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED IN THE PAST.

Answer 23

F.
previously + in the past = redundant

Question 24

T or F: Be on the look out for sentences that insert a word between “to” and the “verb”

Answer 24

Logical Predication & Rhetorical Construction

Question 25

T or F. The foundation works to cooperate with governments to improve access for farmers to productive resources such as land and credit

Answer 25

works to cooperate = redundancy

Question 26

T or F. We adopted new procedures with the aim of reducing theft.

Answer 26

F - Ambiguous meaning: “with the aim” can modify
1) “we”
2) “new procedures”

Question 27

T or F. They avoided the arcade and RATHER went to a movie

Answer 27

F -instead is used for replacing of something else
They avoided the arcade and INSTEAD went to a movie

Question 28

T or F. The Luquiens believed that everything had both a physical dimension and a spiritual dimension, and many Luquiens claimed to have communication with the latter directly through a psychedelic awakening

Answer 28

Suspect on GMAT due to rhetorical construction - directly intends to modify communicate
Fix: have direct communication with the latter
or communicate directly with the latter

Question 29

Parallelism is missing in this sentence:
“As the etched lines on computer memory chips have become thinner and the chips’ circuits more complex”

Answer 29

F- elliptical structure
“have become” can be omitted
Ex: He will travel by plane and she by train.
He is good with words and she with numbers.

Question 30

T or F:
Castor oil served not only as a laxative but also as a skin-softening lotion and as a construction lubricant

Answer 30

T
Parallelism structure is correct: not only as… but also as.. and as

Question 31

Find the error & redundancy - The car’s potential energy, a gain achieved as they are lifted by a chain drive has been converted to a kinetic energy

Answer 31

“They” for “the car”
a gain is redundant -> gained/ achieved

Question 32

What is strange in this sentence structure?
Only 36% of the nation’s 607 HMO’s were profitable last year; this year 73% will be

Answer 32

a part of clause is omitted: 73% [of the nation’s 607 HMO’s]

Question 33

How do these two sentences differ?
1) Alex intends to quit football rather than become a champion as Ronaldo does.
2) Alex intends to quit football rather than become a champion, as Ronaldo does.

Answer 33

1) Both Ronaldo and Alex intend to quit football rather than become a champion. “as without comma” compares the whole actions of two subjects.
2) Alex intends to quit football, but Ronaldo doesn’t do so and instead becomes a champion.

Question 34

What is strange about this sentence?

Over the course of time, the mind has developed through the movements of the lips, tongue, jaw, and soft palate a sense of articulate speech, which has been integrated in the mind with rhythmical modulated sounds conveyed to the brain by the auditory nerves.

Answer 34

It has a split reverse phrase to aid the modifier “which” in becoming less confusing
In other words:
“…,the mind has developed a sense of articulate speech through the movements of the lips, tongue,jaw, and soft palate…”

Question 35

T or F: “they” pronoun doesn’t agree with the indefinite pronoun “anyone”

Writing about the prosecution of Owen Lattimore and John Paten Davies for espionage on behalf of China and the Soviet Union, Harry Truman stated that the proceedings were “a shameful persecution, and that if anyone ought to be indicted, they are not the ones.”

Answer 35

1) Neither T nor F due to genderless ways of referring to a singular person (bisexual/bigender)
2) On GMAT, this topic is not tested

Question 36

T or F:
Scientists have found that skin tissue is more resistant to toxic substances than is lung tissue, and uses sweat glands to protect the immune system from possible invaders.

Answer 36

F- No comma after “and” because “uses” is connected to “skin tissue”
“,and” will create confusion because “uses” is then connected to “scientists” -> Illogical

Question 37

This is a run-on sentence:
Nervousness has been found to be not an organic disease but a functional one; this distinction is critical, for an organic disease implies impairment of the tissues of the organ, while a functional disease indicates only a disruption of its role

Answer 37

F - “for” is a coordinating conjunction & “while” is correct subordinating conjunction
i.e: Charles gained more weight than his wife, for (because) he ate nine enormous burritos every morning, while she only ate three.

Question 38

T or F: Errors are in “were” & “as though”
The impostor eluded detection for so long because she conducted herself as though she were a licensed practitioner.

Answer 38

F
1) For hypothetical situation, “were” is correct form instead of “was”
2) “as though” is appropriate alternative for “as if”

Question 39

James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with Englishman Francis Crick discovered the double helix in 1953, the basic structure of DNA, when the two were young scientists.

A. James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project, along with Englishman Francis Crick discovered the double helix in 1953, the basic structure of DNA, when the two were young scientists.

B. The double helix, the basic structure of DNA, was discovered in 1953 by two young scientists, the Englishman Francis Crick and James Watson, who later headed the Human Genome Project.

Answer 39

Prefer B over A even though it has passive voice structure; B) has non-ambiguous meaning

Question 40

T or F:
Q. Sigmund Freud developed his theory of psychoanalysis by establishing a conception of the human subconscious and he applied that idea to the interpretation of dreams.

Answer 40

F - the main reason is the ambiguity for two scenarios, so we have to pick a correct answer choice either:
1) Supplement missing comma before “and” for FANBOYS conjunction
2) Create parallelism: and applying that idea

Question 41

T or F:
The Christmas holiday brought a brief respite to opposing armies during World War I, for an unofficial ceasefire spread along the Western Front on Christmas Eve, 1914.

Answer 41

T - “for” is “because”

Question 42

In 1646, William Stafford published The Reason of the War, with the Progress and Accidents Thereof, Written by an English Subject, arguing in a pamphlet that Charles I give more power to Parliament and for peace on the basis of constitutional monarchy.

A) arguing in a pamphlet that Charles I give more power to Parliament
B) arguing in a pamphlet for more power to Parliament from Charles I
C) a pamphlet advocating greater parliamentary powers from Charles I
D) a pamphlet advocating that Charles I give more power to Parliament
E) a pamphlet that argued for Charles I to give more power to Parliament

Answer 42

1) Eliminate A, C & D due to missing parallelism “for”
2) Prefer E to B due to RS: “arguing” is too far from “for” and “from Charles I” is awkward

Question 43

Measuring the brain waves of human beings while they are engaged in different types of thought hopefully will enable neuropsychologists better to understand the relationship between the structures of the brain and thinking.

(A) hopefully will enable
(B) hopefully might enable
(C) will, it is hoped, enable
(D) would hopefully enable
(E) will, it is to be hoped by all, enable

Answer 43

1) Eliminate E due to change of meaning by all
2) A, B & D are grammatically correct but LP is wrong: measuring the brain wave can’t feel hopefully
3) C is the correct answer

Question 44

T or F: This is incorrect for but
Foraging at all times of the day and night, but interspersing their feeding with periods of rest, sperm whale could eat as much as a ton of quid a day

Answer 44

F
structure is parallel: but acts as an adverb rather than a conjunction

Question 45

It is X that ___

Answer 45

It is X that does Y

Question 46

Find the error:
Shopping at an amber market in northern Myanmar, scientists have found a partially preserved dinosaur tail which demonstrates a much more direct relationship between the feathers of dinosaurs and birds than that previously thought

Answer 46

than that was previously thought

Question 47

Defense attorneys have occasionally argued that their clients’ misconduct stemmed from a reaction to something ingested, but if criminal or delinquent behavior is attributed to an allergy to some food, the perpetrators are in effect told that they are not responsible for their actions.

T or F: IF is incorrect use in this sentence since there is no WILL/SHALL/MIGHT in subsequent clause

Answer 47

F: IF here still means a conditional statement , which doesn’t necessarily require will, shall, might
i.e: If that was a joke, it was a poor one.
If you are hungry, we can eat now.

Question 48

T or F: As business grows more complex, students who major in specialized areas like those of finance and marketing are becoming more and more successful in the job market.

Answer 48

those are redundant because finance and marketing are areas
Fix: specialized areas like/such as finance and marketing
or such specialized areas as finance and market

Question 49

T or F:
There are three groupings of naturally occurring radiation, mostly based on where the radiation comes from: radioactive material in the environment, such as in soil, rock, or building materials; cosmic rays; and substances in the human body, such as radioactive potassium in bone and radioactive carbon in tissues

Answer 49

T- though complicated with the semicolon split. and after semicolon is alright

Question 50

T or F:
Emboldened by the success of the first moon landing, some scientists claimed that a Mars landing was imminent and vastly underestimated the difficulties such a feat had entailed

Answer 50

Grammatically Correct but Logically Ambiguous
- The sentence can have two meanings:
1) Mars landing was imminent and vastly underestimated the difficulties..
2) some scientist claimed that…. and vastly underestimated the difficulties…

Question 51

As a result of medical advances, many people that might at one time have died as children of such infections as diphtheria, pneumonia, or rheumatic fever now live well into old age.

(A) that might at one time have died as children
(B) who might once have died in childhood
(C) that as children might once have died
(D) who in childhood might have at one time died
(E) who, when they were children, might at one time have died

Answer 51

1) Due to RS, once is preferred to at one time -> Eliminate A, D & E
2) Betwen B & C, prefer B due to rhetorical: in childhood and into old age

Question 52

In a lengthy court battle, the judge decided that the woman’s ex-husband remained indebted to her for the property he stole when he vacated their home.

(A) that the woman’s ex-husband remained indebted to her for the property
(B) that the woman’s ex-husband remained indebted to her because of the property

Answer 52

1) B is grammatically correct but logically incorrect - remained indebted because of the property!?
Fix: remain indebted because he stole the property when he vacated their home
2) A is a better choice with omit structure: for the property [that] he stole