Sentence Correction Problems Flashcards
Lacking information about energy use, people tend to overestimate the amount of energy used by equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that used by unobtrusive equipment, such as water heaters.
(A) equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate that
(B) equipment, such as lights, that are visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when
(C) equipment, such as lights, that is visible and must be turned on and off and underestimate it when
(D) visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate that
(E) visible equipment, such as lights, that must be turned on and off and underestimate it when
What are/is visible in this sentence? The equipment is visible, so we can eliminate A/B. Turning to the it when / that split, what do people tend to … underestimate in this sentence? What happens when we plug this noun into it or that?
The amount of energy is what is underestimated, but when we plug into C/E the sentence reads … underestimate the amount of energy when used by …, breaking parallelism. Eliminate C/E, answer = D
Evidence of some shifts in the character of violence on television is emerging from a new study of 500 television programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
(A) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonprofit research center in Washington D.C., a study that is underwritten by a number of educational institutions
(B) programs by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
(C) programs underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Centre for Media and Public Affairs, non-profit research center based in Washington D.C.
(D) programs, a study underwritten by a number of educational institutions and conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center in Washington D.C.
(E) programs, a study conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a non-profit research center based in Washington D.C., and it is underwritten by a number of educational institutions.
Logically, this sentence is telling us several facts about the new study: the study looked at 500 TV programs; the study was conducted by the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA); the study was funded (underwritten) by a number of educational institutions. The sentence is also telling us a fact about the CMPA (it’s a nonprofit research center in Washington, D.C.) Which choices introduce ambiguity through the placement of these modifiers?
Choices A/B could be read as saying that the TV programs themselves were “by the CMPA,” and likewise, choice C could be read as saying that the TV programs themselves were “underwritten by a number of educational institutions.” The fix for this ambiguity is to restate the noun a study and then modify that noun, as choices D/E do. Choice E violates parallelism later (and it is underwritten), so answer = D.
A professor at the university has taken a sabbatical to research on James Baldwin’s books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there.
(A) on James Baldwin’s books that Baldwin wrote in France while he was living there
(B) about the books James Baldwin wrote in France
(C) into James Baldwin’s books written while in France
(D) on the books of James Baldwin, written while he lived in France
(E) the books James Baldwin wrote while he lived in France
First glance
The opening words are almost all prepositions: on, about, into. If this isn’t a red herring (a difference that doesn’t matter and is just meant to distract you), then chances are good that this sentence is testing idioms.
Issues
(1) Idiom: to research on / about / into X
It’s important to look at the exact form of the wording here, as the word research can be both a noun and a verb—and the form of a word can change the idioms you are allowed to use. In this case, to research is a verb. How would you use it in a similar but simpler sentence?
He took a break to research on vacation options.
He took a break to research about vacation options.
He took a break to research into vacation options.
He took a break to research vacation options.
The idiom is to research X—in other words, just go straight into what you want to research. Only the last option correctly does this. Eliminate answers (A), (B), (C), and (D).
(When research is used as a noun, it is appropriate to use a variety of prepositions after it. For example - He did research about alligators.)
(2) Meaning
Answer (C) also has a meaning issue. The books were written while Baldwin was in France, but this choice says that the books were written while (they themselves were) in France.
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (E) uses the appropriate idiom: to research X.
Researchers studying the brain scans of volunteers who pondered ethical dilemmas have found that the basis for making tough moral judgments is emotion, not logic or analytical reasoning.
(A) the brain scans of volunteers who pondered ethical dilemmas have found that the basis for making tough moral judgments is
(B) the brain scans of volunteers who pondered ethical dilemmas and found the basis to make tough moral decisions to be
(C) the brain scans of volunteers pondering ethical dilemmas and found that the basis for making tough moral decisions is
(D) volunteers’ brain scans while pondering ethical dilemmas have found the basis to make tough moral judgments to be
(E) volunteers’ brain scans while they pondered ethical dilemmas have found that the basis for making tough moral judgments is
First glance
Nearly the entire sentence is underlined, so keep an eye out for the Big Four: Structure, Meaning, Modifiers, and Parallelism.
Issues
(1) Structure: studying…and found
Answers (B) and (C) both insert the word and before found, changing the sentence structure. (A), (D), and (E) use the helper verb have before found instead. Which sentence structure is correct?
Researchers studying…
(A) …the brain scans…have found that the basis…is emotion
(B) …the brain scans…and found the basis…to be emotion
(C) …the brain scans…and found that the basis…is emotion
(D) …the brain scans…have found the basis…to be emotion
(E) …the brain scans…have found that the basis…is emotion
Studying the brain scans modifies researchers. In one interpretation of (B) and (C), the core subject and verb are researchers and found. In this case, there should not be an and between the subject and verb (researchers found). Alternatively, the word found could be seen as parallel to pondered: volunteers who pondered…and found. In this case, there is no main verb connected with the subject researchers at all, since all of the verbs are contained within modifiers. Under either interpretation, neither (B) nor (C) is a complete sentence; eliminate both. In (A), (D), and (E), the core subject and verb are researchers have found; this is correct.
(2) Idiom: the basis to make
The answer choices flip back and forth between the basis for making and the basis to make.
The correct idiom is the basis for: the basis for doing X is Y. Eliminate answers (B) and (D).
(3) Topic: Modifier / Meaning: while pondering
Pronoun: while they pondered
The opening structure of each choice changes.
(A) & (B) the brain scans of volunteers who pondered
(C) the brain scans of volunteers pondering
(D) volunteers’ brain scans while pondering
(E) volunteers’ brain scans while they pondered
While it is possible to construct a correct option starting with volunteers’ brain scans, in this case choices (D) and (E) are faulty. In (D), the sentence reads: Researchers studying X while pondering Y. This parallel structure indicates that the researchers were pondering ethical dilemmas, not the volunteers. While it is possible in general for researchers to ponder ethical dilemmas, that isn’t what this sentence describes.
Answer (E) reads: Researchers studying volunteers’ brain scans while they pondered ethical dilemmas. In this case, the pronoun is ambiguous. Logically, the volunteers should be the ones pondering. Since both the main subject researchers and the pronoun they are in subject positions, parallelism suggests that they points to the subject researchers.* Between this choice and answer (A), answer (A) is better because the meaning is unambiguous.
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (A) is a complete sentence and unambiguously indicates that the volunteers, not the researchers, are the ones who pondered ethical dilemmas. It also uses the correct idiom the basis for X is Y.
Almost like clones in their similarity to one another, the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease.
(A) the cheetah species’ homogeneity makes them especially vulnerable to disease
(B) the cheetah species is especially vulnerable to disease because of its homogeneity
(C) the homogeneity of the cheetah species makes it especially vulnerable to disease
(D) homogeneity makes members of the cheetah species especially vulnerable to disease
(E) members of the cheetah species are especially vulnerable to disease because of their homogeneity
First glance
The underline starts shortly into the sentence and just after a comma. Different answer choices place a different noun after that comma (homogeneity, species, or members). This choice may be testing an opening modifier.
Issues
(1) Modifier: homogeneity; species
In fact, it is testing an opening modifier! The beginning portion (almost like clones in their similarity to one another) is describing some specific noun. What is it describing?
Logically, the opening modifier should be talking about some specific creatures who are very similar to one another. This noun should be the main noun after the opening modifier.
The main noun after the comma in answers (A), (C), and (D) is homogeneity, but homogeneity can’t be almost like clones in their similarity to one another. Eliminate these three choices.
Choice (B) is closer but still not quite right. The word species refers to the overall group. The opening modifier, however, refers to things that are almost like clones in their similarity to one another. The one another language indicates that the main noun should be the individual creatures in that group. Eliminate (B).
The Correct Answer
Correct answer (E) is the only one that fits the requirement: the individual members of the species are indeed the ones who are almost like clones because they are so similar to one another.
According to Italy’s top anti-Mafia prosecutor, the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of “The Godfather” and near to those he most trusted.
- the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of “The Godfather” and near to those he most trusted
- famous because of “The Godfather,” the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town near to those he most trusted
- the ailing mobster, famous because of “The Godfather,” came to take refuge in Corleone, a town near to those he most trusted
- near to those he most trusted, the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone, a town famous because of “The Godfather”
- Corleone, famous because of “The Godfather,” was the town that the ailing mobster came to take refuge in because it was near to those he most trusted
The original sentence is correct. “Famous because of ‘The Godfather’“and “near to those he most trusted” correctly modify “a town,” which modifies Corleone. Noun modifiers must be next to the nouns that they describe. This choice contains no other errors.
(A) CORRECT. This answer choice is correct as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) This choice contains a modification error; “famous because of ‘The Godfather’” incorrectly describes the prosecutor. Noun modifiers modify the closest available noun.
(C) This choice contains a modification error; “famous because of ‘The Godfather’” incorrectly describes the mobster. Noun modifiers modify the closest available noun.
(D) This choice contains a modification error; “near to those he most trusted” incorrectly describes the prosecutor. Noun modifiers modify the closest available noun.
(E) The modification is correct in this choice. “Famous because of ‘The Godfather’” correctly modifies “Corleone”. However, this sentence is unnecessarily wordy, “was the town that the ailing mobster came to take refuge in” is much less concise than “the ailing mobster came to take refuge in Corleone” without making the meaning clearer.
Because of less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.
- less availability and greater demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like gold.
- less availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains consistently expensive, like that of gold.
- decreased availability and increased demand in scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.
- decreased availability and increased demand for scientific research, platinum remains expensive, like gold.
- decreased availability and greater demand in scientific research, platinum remains at a consistently high price, like that of gold.
The original sentence contains several errors. First, less availability is incorrect when not used in a direct Comparison: it raises the question Less than what? Decreased availability would be better here. Second, greater demand also raises the question greater than what? Increased demand would be better. Third, demand for scientific research implies that the research is in demand, when in fact it is the platinum. Demand in scientific research would be better. Fourth, remains consistently expensive is redundant. Remains expensive would be enough to convey the idea.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) This choice is incorrect because while it replaces the greater demand with increased demand, it leaves less availability. Demand for scientific research should be changed to demand in. The redundancy of consistently remains, and a illogical comparison is drawn between platinum and that of gold. It is unclear what that refers to.
(C) CORRECT. This choice replaces less availability with decreased availability and greater demand with increased demand. The word consistently is removed, and demand for is changed to demand in.
(D) This choice incorrectly keeps demand for scientific research, which should be changed to demand in scientific research
(E) This choice is incorrect because, while it replaces the less availability with decreased availability, it leaves greater demand. Remains at a consistently high price is redundant. It is also more concise to compare the platinum to the gold, rather than the high price (of platinum) to that of the gold as is attempted in choice (E).
In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive than the world had ever seen; although the project took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was born.
- took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
- would have taken more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been
- took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was being
- would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was
- took more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was about to be
The sentence discusses several actions using the simple past tense: the Society launched a project, the Dictionary was born, and the project took more than 60 years to complete. Logically, these actions cannot all have happened at the same moment, so it is inappropriate to use the simple past tense for every action. The birth and launch are the same thing, and so took place at the same time, but the completion took place 60 years later. Look for a choice that indicates this difference in time.
(A) This choice is incorrect as it uses the simple past tense for actions that must have taken place at different times in the past.
(B) The first verb has changed to would have taken. This conditional form changes the meaning, implying that the books’ completion was only hypothetical; it did not actually occur. Consider this example: the test normally would have taken 3 hours to complete, but she finished early.
(C) The present participle being is used with the progressive tense to indicate a continuing or ongoing action. Logically, however, the Dictionary’s start must have been at a single point in time, rather than over the course of the book’s development. The sentence also illogically implies that the launched and took 60 years actions occurred simultaneously.
(D) CORRECT. This choice uses an unusual (but completely acceptable) construction. Would take is an example of a future tense written from the point of view of the past. For example, consider this conversation: “I will go to the movies with you.” “What? I didn’t hear you.” “I said I would go to the movies with you.” In the last sentence, the word would is an example of a future tense from a past point of view: I said (in the past) that I would (in the future) go to the movies with you. This timeframe fits the actions given in the problem: the Dictionary was born (at a point in time in the past) and would take more than 60 years (from that point in time forward) to complete.
(E) This choice incorrectly adopts the construction was about to be born, which conflicts with the non-underlined portion of the sentence. The first half of the sentence indicates that the project was launched in 1860 in the past tense, making any reference to the book being about to be born at some future point in time incorrect.
Residents of Iqaluit, the largest town in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, pay as much as four times the prices paid for grocery items by residents of large Canadian cities, most of which enter the town only by sealift.
- the prices paid for grocery items by residents of large Canadian cities
- the price of what large Canadian city residents pay for grocery items
- what residents of large Canadian cities pay for grocery items
- of what large Canadian city residents pay for grocery items
- the cost of the grocery items purchased by large Canadian cities’ residents
According to this sentence, residents of the Arctic town of Iqaluit pay much higher prices than do their counterparts in Canada’s large cities. To make a proper comparison, four times… must be followed by a noun, or equivalent phrase, for the price paid by Canadians living in cities. Also, it is clear from context that the modifier most of which… describes grocery items, so grocery items must come directly before that modifier.
(A) In this choice, most of which enter… is attached to large Canadian cities, illogically suggesting that entire cities are sealifted into Iqaluit.
(B) What … residents pay already signifies a price, so the price of what… illogically suggests that this price itself has a price. Large Canadian city residents seems to refer to large people living in Canadian cities, rather than to residents of large cities as intended.
(C) CORRECT. The noun phrase what residents … pay represents the price paid by city residents, so four times what residents … pay is properly constructed. The modifier most of which enter… correctly modifies grocery items.
(D) Four times of… is unidiomatic. Large Canadian city residents seems to refer to large people living in Canadian cities, rather than to residents of large cities as intended.
(E) In this choice, most of which enter… is attached to large Canadian cities’ residents, illogically suggesting that Canadians from larger cities, rather than groceries, are sealifted into Iqaluit. The construction the grocery items purchased by… illogically suggests that residents of Iqaluit and of larger cities are somehow paying for the same items (not just identical items).
The emerging field of architectural climatology centers on the potential of as-yet-undeveloped architecture and landscaping to alter, redirect, or dissipate weather systems; for instance, hurricanes prevented from forming by artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms.
- systems; for instance, hurricanes prevented from forming by artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms
- systems; for example, artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms that could prevent hurricanes from forming
- systems, such as hurricanes, which artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms prevent forming
- systems, such as artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms that can prevent hurricanes from forming
- systems; for example, hurricanes could be prevented from forming by artificial “reefs” of precisely shaped marine platforms
(A) The portion after the semi-colon (for instance, … platforms) is not a complete sentence.
(B) The portion after the semi-colon (for example, … forming) is not a complete sentence.
(C) Which … “reefs” … prevent forming is unidiomatic; from is needed between prevent and forming. Prevent appears in the present tense, illogically implying that the artificial reefs—which don’t yet exist, according to the earlier part of the sentence—already prevent the formation of hurricanes.
(D) The construction such as artificial “reefs” illogically implies that artificial reefs are weather systems. Additionally, the use of can in the present tense (as opposed to could) illogically implies that the artificial reefs—which don’t yet exist, according to the earlier part of the sentence—do already exist.
(E) CORRECT. The semicolon is properly used to separate two complete sentences. Could is correctly used to describe a hypothetical consequence.
