Verbal

Question 1

2-True or False: All GMAT essays will be between four and five paragraphs long.

Answer 1

2-False. GMAT essays can be between one and five paragraphs; usually, test-takers can expect two paragraphs to be short and two to be long.

Question 2

5-In Reading Comprehension, what are Topic and Scope?

Answer 2

5-The Topic is the broad subject of the passage; example: The California condor.

The Scope is the narrow focus within that subject; example: The many culinary uses of the California condor.

Question 3

6-In Reading Comprehension, what are Purpose and Main Idea?

Answer 3

6-The purpose is why the author is writing the passage. This will always begin with a verb.

The Main Idea is what the author is trying to have you believe. If you can sum up the passage in one sentence, this is the Main Idea. Similarly, if the author ha

Question 4

7-What verbs can help you hone in on the author’s purpose?

Answer 4

7-The author will likely be writing the passage for one of the six reasons: the ARCADE verbs. The author is writing in order to:

• Advocate
• Rebut
• Compare
• Analyze
• Describe
• Explain

Question 5

8-When should you think about Topic, Scope, Purpose, and Main Idea?

Answer 5

8-After you’ve finished the passage, but before you answer the first question. Remember, Topic and Scope are usually clear by the end of the first paragraph.

Question 6

9-What is a passage map?

Answer 6

9-A Passage Map is a guide to the organization of the passage.

Question 7

12-What is the biggest trap that test-takers fall into on Reading Comprehension?

Answer 7

12-Reading for details. You should not read these passages the way you read for work, school, or pleasure. The details of these passages are inconsequential. Your focus should be on answering the questions.

Question 8

13-If not details, then what should you be reading for?

Answer 8

13-You should be reading for structure. An understanding of the organization of the passage, along with recognizing the author’s point of view, will be the most helpful when answering the questions.

Question 9

14-What are the most common question types on Reading Comprehension?

Answer 9

14– Global

• Detail
• Inference
• Logic

Question 10

15-In the Reading Comprehension section, what do Global questions ask about, and how can their answers be found?

Answer 10

15-Global questions ask about the passage as a whole. Their answers can be found in your Topic, Scope, Purpose and Main Idea. If you successfully completed step 1 of the Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension, you will already have answered most Global q

Question 11

16-In the Reading Comprehension sections, how can you quickly eliminate wrong answer choices from Global questions?

Answer 11

16-You can quickly eliminate incorrect answers from Global questions by reading the first few words of each answer choice and eliminating verbs or goals inconsistent with your predicted purpose.

Question 12

18-How should you deal with the two common Detail question variants?

Answer 12

18-For Detail EXCEPT questions, search for each answer choice in the text and eliminate that choice when you find it.

For Roman numeral questions, try to find each statement in the text; then eliminate answers based on whether or not you’ve found it.

Question 13

19-What is the biggest mistake a test-taker can make on detail questions?

Answer 13

19-Relying on memory is a big mistake. Wrong answers will be set up to look tempting to people who think they remember what the passage says. The answer will be directly in the text - do the research!

Question 14

22-In the Reading Comprehension section, what do Logic questions ask about, and how can their answers be found?

Answer 14

22-Logic questions ask about the author’s reason for including ideas and details. Their answers can be identified by using your Passage Ma[ and keywords from the text to identify the context of a specific detail or section, and its relationship to the res

Question 15

23-What other types of questions can appear on Reading Comprehension passages, and how should you attack them?

Answer 15

23-Anything that appears as a Critical Reasoning question can theoretically appear as a Reading Comprehension question. These should be attached as if they were Critical Reasoning questions, only with a section of the paragraph as the stimulus.

Question 16

26-What are the common types of Critical Reasoning questions?

Answer 16

26– Assumption

• Strengthen
• Weaken
• Flaw
• Inference
• Explain
• Bolded Statement

Question 17

29-What is a conclusion?

Answer 17

29-The conclusion is the point of the author’s argument. Because the rest of the stimulus supports the conclusion, it can be thought of as the pinnacle of support.

Question 18

30-What is evidence?

Answer 18

30-Evidence is what is provided to support the conclusion. All evidence given on the GMAT is to be taken as true, even if it is to be taken as true, even if it seems to be conjecture.

Question 19

31-What is an assumption?

Answer 19

31-An assumption is something unwritten that must be true for the conclusion to be true. The most important part of this definition is that it must be true. If the assumption is made false, the entire argument falls apart.

Question 20

33-What is the first thing you should look for when trying to figure out what the assumption is?

Answer 20

33-If a term or concept is mentioned in the conclusion but does not show up in the evidence, that means it is unsupported. In this case, the assumption, which must be true, will build a bridge from the evidence to the conclusion in order to support the co

Question 21

34-How do you recognize a Strengthen question?

Answer 21

34-A Strengthen question will ask you for a fact that makes the argument in the stimulus more likely to be true. The correct answer will likely do this by confirming the central assumption.

Question 22

35-How do you recognize a Weaken question

Answer 22

35-A Weaken question will ask you for a fact that makes the argument in the stimulus less likely to be true. The correct answer will likely do this by denying the central assumption.

Question 23

36-How do you recognize a Flaw question?

Answer 23

36-A Flaw question will ask you either what the general flaw in the argument is, or, more specifically, why the argument is vulnerable to criticism. Often this will be due to an unwarranted assumption.

Question 24

37-How do you recognize an Inference question?

Answer 24

37-An Inference question will ask you what must be true based on the information in the stimulus.

Question 25

38-How do you recognize an Explain question?

Answer 25

38-An Explain question will present you with a paradox or with seemingly contradictory statements, and ask you to explain how to resolve the paradox or how the statements coexist.

Question 26

39-How do you recognize a Bolded Statement question?

Answer 26

39-Besides the bolded text in the stimulus, Bolded Statement questions can be recognized because they ask about the function of different parts of the stimulus.

Question 27

44-What is the representative pattern?

Answer 27

44-The representative pattern occurs when all of the evidence is about an individual or a small group, and the conclusion is about a larger group of which the small group is a part. The pattern can appear in the reverse direction as well, but is less comm

Question 28

45-If the argument depends on representativeness, what is the most common assumption?

Answer 28

45-It is that the individual or small group is indeed representative of the larger group.

Question 29

46-What pattern emerges with plans, proposals, or predictions?

Answer 29

46-Whenever there is a plan, proposal, or prediction in the conclusion, that means there is a temporal shift from the evidence to the conclusion - either the evidence is based on the past and the conclusion is based in the present, or the evidence is base

Question 30

51-What do you want to watch out for in the answer choices for Inference questions?

Answer 30

51-Statements that are out of scope or extreme. Because the correct answer must be true and will be completely supported, no additional information can be necessary to support the correct answer.

Question 31

53-How do you want to approach Bolded Statement questions that contain one bolded statement?

Answer 31

53-Find the conclusion in the stimulus to see if it’s the bolded statement.

If not, determine the bolded statement’s relationship to the conclusion.

Find the answer choice that best describes that relationship.

Question 32

54-What are the most common wrong-answer traps on Critical Reasoning questions?

Answer 32

54-The 180: The answer choice does use terms you may be looking for, but uses them in the opposite way needed.
Faulty use of detail: Something mentioned in the stimulus is used in an incorrect manner.
Extreme: The answer choice goes beyond what is neede

Question 33

55-What are some words that might indicate that an answer choice is too extreme?

Answer 33

55-All, always, definitely, most, must, never, no, none, only, will

Any words that doesn’t allow for a single counterexample should be a red glad as you read the answer choices. It doesn’t mean the choice is definitely wrong, just that you need to watch

Question 34

57-What two keywords, when they appear, will generally precede the most important piece of evidence?

Answer 34

57-Since and Because

Whatever follows one of these words tends to be the piece of evidence that directly leads to the conclusion. In addition, the conclusion will very often be in the same sentence as this piece of evidence, separated by a comma.

Question 35

58-What are the two most common flaws on GMAT Flaw questions?

Answer 35

58-Two common flaws are mistaking correlation for causation, and confusing actual value with percentages.

Question 36

59-What is an example of a flaw that confuses actual value with percentages?

Answer 36

59-In 1995, 20% of all beach visitors purchased an ice cream cone. In 2005, only 15% of all beach visitors purchased an ice-cream cone. Therefore, fewer ice cream cones were sold at the beach in 2005 than were sold n 1995.

It’s possible that twice as ma

Question 37

60-What are the three categories of errors tested on the Sentence Correction section of the GMAT?

Answer 37

60-The GMAT Sentence Correction section tests Grammar, Style, and Idiom Use.

Question 38

61-On Sentence correction, what is always answer choice A?

Answer 38

61-On Sentence correction, answer choice A is always the sentence as written in the original question.

Question 39

62-True or False: Although it’s helpful to spot an error on the first read through a Sentence Correction question, it’s not a big deal if you don’t see one.

Answer 39

62-True. Don’t spend more than a few seconds looking over the question once you’re done reading it, if the error doesn’t jump out at you, you can zero in on it using the Kaplan Method to analyze the answer choices. Plus, sometimes there is no error- and o

Question 40

63-On Sentence Correction problems, what is it helpful to do with the answer choices to identify the grammar at issue to narrow the number of options?

Answer 40

63-On Sentence Correction problems, it is helpful to split the answer choices into groups to identify the grammar at issue and to narrow the number of options. If you notice that half of the choices have it and half have their, you will know pronouns are

Question 41

66-On the GMAT, the word which must be preceded by a comma, and must always refer to what? What prepositional phrases are exceptions to this?

Answer 41

66-On the GMAT, the word which must be preceded by a comma, and always refers to the noun immediately preceding the comma. The exceptions to this are prepositional phrases such as of which, without which, and at which.

Question 42

68-True or False: If there are pronouns in the question stem, you must always figure out the correct way to make those pronouns unambiguous.

Answer 42

68-False. If you use pronouns, they must be unambiguous. However, it is not always possible to give every pronoun a clear antecedent; sometimes there is no choice but to eliminate one or more pronouns to preserve clarity.

Question 43

69-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a descriptive phrase set off by commas, what should you check?

Answer 43

69-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a descriptive phrase set off by commas, check whether the noun that the phrase logically modifies is immediately adjacent to the modifying phrase. If it’s not, then the phrase is probably modifying the wrong th

Question 44

70-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a list, what should you immediately check?

Answer 44

70-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a list, you should immediately check to see if all items in the list are grammatically parallel. If they are not, then eliminate choice A and any other answer choices that repeat this mistake.

Question 45

71-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a two-part construction such as either X or Y, not only X but also Y, or X and Y, what should you immediately check?

Answer 45

71-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a two-part construction, you should immediately check to see if X and Y are grammatically parallel. If they are not, then eliminate choice A and any other answer choices that repeat this mistake.

Question 46

72-If a GMAT Sentence Correction problem has a comparison word such as like, unlike, or more/less than, what should you check?

Answer 46

72-If a GMAT Sentence Correction has a comparison word, check to see if the items compared are similar grammatically and logically. You can compare the state of California to the state of Massachusetts, and you can compare California’s population to Massa

Question 47

73-What are passive verbs, and should you use them?

Answer 47

73-Passive verbs are verbs where the subject is the one who receives or is affected by the verb, and the object is the one who acts. For example, I was bitten by the dog is passive. You should avoid passive verbs when possible, using active sentences like

Question 48

74-True or False: You should memorize as many idioms as you can before Test Day.

Answer 48

74-False. Even for non-native speakers of English, the majority of idioms tested on the GMAT are intuitive and easily recognized. Focus your studies on the idioms that you get wrong, or the ones that don’t sound natural to your ear.

Question 49

75-On the GMAT, what must where refer to? What must when refer to?

Answer 49

75-On the GMAT, where must refer to a place and when must refer to a time.

Question 50

77-True or False: Phrases set off by commas affect verbs and subjects outside the commas.

Answer 50

77-False. In fact, it can be a good idea to read sentences without paying attention to the phrases in commas to look for subject-verb errors.

Question 51

78-Can a comma be used to join two independent clauses?

Answer 51

78-A comma can be used to join two independent clauses if a coordinating conjunction is present. Examples:

I am going to the carnival, and I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the morning, but we managed to have our track meet anyway.

Question 52

79-When is a semicolon used?

Answer 52

79-A semicolon joins two independent clauses when a coordinating conjunction is not present. Examples:

I am going to the carnival; I intend to stay there.

It rained heavily during the morning; we managed to have our track meet anyway.

Question 53

81-What is an intervening phrase?

Answer 53

81-An intervening phrase is a phrase or a relative clause that adds additional information about the subject of the sentence. The intervening phrase itself is not part of the subject. Example:

You, as well as your brother and I, are invited.

Question 54

83-What is a compound subject?

Answer 54

83-A compound subject is two nouns or groups of nouns joined by and. Example:

Ontario and Quebec contain about two-thirds of the population of Canada.

The only word that can create a compound subject is and; phrases like along with and as well as will

Question 55

84-True or False: When checking for subject-verb disagreement, remember that the subject doesn’t always appear before the verb.

Answer 55

84-True. When checking subject-verb disagreement, remember that the subject doesn’t always appear before the verb.

Question 56

85-What is a gerund?

Answer 56

85-A gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing and is used as a noun. Example:

Cooking is an art.

Question 57

86-What is a modifier?

Answer 57

86-A modifier is a word, phrase, or sentence element that limits or qualifies the sense of another word, phrase, or element in the same construction. Example:

The Black Card, a symbol of high status, is coveted by millions.

Question 58

87-What is a misplaced modifier?

Answer 58

87-A misplaced modifier is a modifying clause or phrase placed so awkwardly as to create ambiguity or misunderstanding.

Question 59

89-What is wrong with this sentence?

That night they sat discussing when the cow might calve in the kitchen.

Answer 59

89-Modifying phrases inside a sentence can also be misplaced. The problem here is the phrase in the kitchen, which seems to refer to where the cow might have her calf.

Question 60

90-What is the antecedent of a pronoun?

Answer 60

90-The antecedent of a pronoun is the word to which the pronoun refers. It can precede or follow the pronoun.
Examples:

Henry David Thoreau went to jail because he opposed the Mexican-American War and the Fugitive Slave Act.

Because he opposed the Mex

Question 61

91-What is wrong with this sentence?

To plaster a wall, a mason puts some on a trowel and smoothes it over the laths.

Answer 61

91-There is no antecedent in this sentence. It’s clear that the pronoun some is intended to refer to the noun plaster, but plaster occurs in this sentence only in the infinitive form to plaster.

Question 62

92-What is wrong with this sentence?

The pro-slavery writer A.C.C. Thompson questioned Frederick Douglass’s authorship of The Narrative, claiming that he was too uneducated to have written such an eloquent book.

Answer 62

92-What’s the antecedent of he? It should be the noun Frederick Douglass, but the sentence contains only the possessive form Douglass’. Avoid using possessives as an antecedent to pronouns.

The correct sentence is: The pro-slavery writer A.C.C. Thompson

Question 63

93-What is a participle?

Answer 63

93-A participle is a word that usually ends in -ing or -ed. It is used as an adjective in a sentence. Examples:

Let sleeping dogs lie.

It is difficult to calm a frightened child.

Question 64

94-What does the subject do in a passive-voice sentence?

Answer 64

94-In the passive voice, the subject is acted upon. It receives the action expressed in the verb. Example:

The girl was bitten by the dog.

Question 65

95-How is the future tense of a verb used?

Answer 65

95-For intended actions or actions expected in the future. Example: The 22nd century will begin in the year 2101.

Question 66

97-What do you use for the earlier of two past events, the past perfect or simple past? What do you use for the later event?

Answer 66

97-Use the past perfect for the earlier of two past events, and the simple past for the later event.

When you’re talking about the past or the future, you often want to indicate that one thing happened or will happen before another. That’s where the pas

Question 67

98-What do you use the future perfect for, the earlier or later of two future events?

Answer 67

98-Use the future perfect for the earlier of two future events.

Question 68

99-What is wrong with this sentence?

By the time I write to Leo, he will probably move.

Answer 68

99-The point the author is trying to get across is not that Leo will move when he gets the letter, but that by the time the letter arrives Leo will likely be living somewhere else. The correct answer is:

By the time I write to Leo, he will probably have

Question 69

107-What is wrong with this sentence?

The peaches here are riper than any other fruit stand.

Answer 69

107-This illogical comparison is comparing peaches to fruit stands, even though that’s clearly not the author’s intention. Correct it so that you’re comparing peaches to peaches by inserting the phrase those at:

The peaches here are riper than those at a

Question 70

109-What is redundancy?

Answer 70

109-Redundancy is using two words or phrases that have exactly the same meaning when one would be sufficient to get the point across.

Question 71

110-What is wrong with this sentence?

The school was established and founded by Quakers in 1906.

Answer 71

110-Established and founded both have the same meaning in this sentence: set up, created. One or the other is acceptable - using both results in redundancy.

The school was established by the Quakers in 1906.

OR

The school was founded by Quakers in 1906

Question 72

111-Why is wordiness a problem?

Answer 72

111-Wordiness is a problem because having extra words in a sentence is repetitious when the thought could be expressed more concisely. On the GMAT, versions of Sentence Correction questions can be unacceptable partly or entirely because they’re too wordy;

Question 73

112-Make this wordy sentence more concise:

The supply of musical instrument that are antique is limited, so they become more valuable each year.

Answer 73

112-The supply of antique musical instruments is limited, so they become more valuable each year.

Question 74

113-What is wrong with this sentence?

John Clare, like Edith May and Charles Fenno Hoffman, were confined for decades to an insane asylum.

Answer 74

113-The subject, John Clare, is singular, but the verb, were, is plural. The phrase set off by commas with two other nouns distracts you from the fact that the subject and verb don’t agree.

The correct sentence is: John Clare, like Edith May and Charles

Question 75

114-True or False: And is the only word that makes two singular nouns take a plural verb

Answer 75

114-True. And creates a compound subject that takes a plural verb. Or and nor, and phrases like as well as or in addition to, do not create compound subjects.

Question 76

115-When words in the subject position are connected by either… or or neither… nor, what happens to the verb?

Answer 76

115-The verb agrees with the last word in the pair. Examples:

Neither Thomas Jefferson nor Alexander Hamilton was supportive of Aaron Burr’s political ambitions.

Neither Thomas Jefferson nor the Federalists were supportive of Aaron Burr’s political amb

Question 77

116-What is wrong with this sentence?

Sifting the sand in a riverbed, gold was discovered by prospectors in California in 1848.

Answer 77

116-Because the introductory modifier is next to the word gold, this sentence says that the gold was sifting sand. The author obviously meant to say that the prospectors were sifting sand. Modifying phrases must be as close as possible to the noun or phra

Question 78

117-What is wrong with this sentence?

Pennsylvania Governor William Keith encouraged the young Benjamin Franklin to open his own printing shop because he perceived that the quality of printing in Philadelphia was poor.

Answer 78

117-The sentence is structured such that the pronoun he could refer to either Keith or Franklin, which prevents the reader from knowing what the author intended.

Question 79

121-How is the past perfect tense of a verb used?

Answer 79

121-Past perfect tense is used to represent past actions or states that were completed before other past actions or states. The more recent past event is expressed in the simple past, and the earlier past event is expressed in the past perfect. Example:

Question 80

122-What is wrong with this sentence?

Mozart finished about two-thirds of the Requiem when he died.

Answer 80

122-Putting both verbs of the sentence in the simple past tense makes it sound as if Mozart wrote two-thirds of the Requiem during the moment of his death. If you put the first verb into the past perfect, the sentence makes much more sense: Mozart had fin

Question 81

123-The subjunctive verb of requirement uses what word followed by what form of the verb?

Answer 81

123-A subjunctive verb of requirement used the word that followed by the base form of the verb. The base form of a verb is infinitive without the word to, i.e., be, run, work.

Example: Airlines insist that each passenger pass through a metal detector.

Question 82

124-What is wrong with this sentence?

Byron admired Dryden more than Wordsworth.

Answer 82

124-There are two ways to interpret this unclear comparison: that Dryden meant more to Byron than Wordsworth did, or that Byron thought more highly of Dryden than Wordsworth did. Whichever meaning you choose, the problem can be cleared up by adding more w

Question 83

125-Identify the error.

The amount of protesters who showed up to the rally was astounding.

Answer 83

125-Diction

Amount should be used to refer to a singular or non-countable word. The best word for this sentence would be number, which refers to a plural or countable word.

Question 84

126-When comparing nouns, should you use like or as? When comparing verbs, should you use like or as?

Answer 84

126-Use like to compare nouns, and as to compare verbs.

Question 85

127-Identify the error.

I regard you to be a close friend.

Answer 85

127-Idiom

Regard as is the correct idiom; regard to be is wrong. The sentence should be: I regard you as a close friend.

Question 86

128-Identify the error.

Brigitte Bardot has joined an organization that is concerned in preventing cruelty to animals.

Answer 86

128-Idiom

The correct idiom is concerned about or concerned with, not concerned in.

Brigitte Bardot has joined an organization that is concerned about preventing cruelty to animals.

OR

Brigitte Bardot has joined an organization that is concerned wit

Question 87

129-Identify the error.

When Walt Whitman’s family moved to Brooklyn, there were no bridges nor tunnels across the East River.

Answer 87

129-Idiom

The phrase no bridges nor tunnels is just not idiomatic - it contains a double negative.

Remove the second negative: … there were no bridges or tunnels across the East River.

Question 88

130-Identify the error.

Neither LeBron James nor his agent were available for comment.

Answer 88

130-Subject-verb agreement

When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb. The sentence should end: … was available for comment.

Question 89

131-Identify the error.

The competition among Barack Obama and John McCain grew intense in the weeks before the presidential election.

Answer 89

131-Diction

In most cases, you should use between for two items and among for more than two.

There are exceptions, however; among tends to be used for less definite or exact relationships: He is always at his best among strangers.

Question 90

132-Identify the error.

After Hurricane Katrina, many people were left without homes, businesses, and huge bills to replace all they had lost.

Answer 90

132-Ambiguity

The preposition without is used in front of only the first member of a series, which implies that people were left without homes, without business, and without huge bills to replace what they had lost, which makes no sense.

The sentence s

Question 91

133-Identify the error.

That suit is as expensive than this one.

Answer 91

133-Idiom

The idiom is as … as: That suit is as expensive as this one.

Question 92

134-Identify the error.

Jenny Lind was said to sing like a nightingale sings.

Answer 92

134-Comparisons

Like is a preposition. It introduces a phrase; therefore the sentence should be just: Jenny Lind was said to sing like a nightingale.

As, when functioning as a conjunction, introduces a subordinate clause. So with as, the correct senten

Question 93

137-Identify the error.

Call between five to six o’clock.

Answer 93

137-Idiom

The idiom is between … and.

The sentence should be: Call between five and six o’clock.

Question 94

138-Identify the error.

If Cleopatra’s nose would have been shorter, the face of the world would have changed.

Answer 94

138-Verb tenses

Contrary-to-fact and improbable conditional sentences use the helping verb would in the then clause, but never in the if clause:

If Cleopatra’s nose had been shorter, the face of the world would have changed.

Question 95

139-Identify the error.

Out of the four televisions in my home, the older one is not able to be repaired.

Answer 95

139-Comparative/superlative

The narrator is comparing four televisions, so the superlative oldest should be used.

Don’t use the form of to be able preceding the passive form of an infinitive: Out of the four televisions in my home, the oldest one canno

Question 96

140-Identify the error.

Harvard’s MBA degree requirements are different than Columbia’s

Answer 96

140-Diction

Different is usually used with the preposition from, usually not than: Harvard’s MBA degree requirements are different from Columbia’s.

Question 97

141-Identify the error.

Neither the teacher nor the students was happy with the result of the pop quiz.

Answer 97

141-Idiom

When a singular subject and a plural one are connected with “or” or “nor”, the verb must agree in number with the closes subject. Here, this is the plural “students.” The sentence should read: Neither the teacher nor the students were happy…

Question 98

142-Identify the error.

To hurry her order, Genevieve must decide between one dessert or the other.

Answer 98

142-Idiom

The sentence should read: … between one dessert and the other.

Question 99

143-Identify the error.

Many bullies pick fights that are as much about their own insecurities than they are about the person being picked on.

Answer 99

143-Parallelism

“As … Then” is always incorrect. The sentence should read: … their own insecurities as they are about …

Question 100

144-Identify the error.

Many personal trainers recommend that their clients should focus as much on nutrition as on exercise.

Answer 100

144-Redundancy

You can recommend that something happen, or state that something should happen, but doing both is redundant and incorrect.

Question 101

145-Identify the error.

Because she didn’t want to hurt either of them, so Emily delayed informing her potential suitors of her decision.

Answer 101

145-Connectors

One and only one connector must be used to connect two clauses. Either “because” or “so” can be removed here, but one of them has to go.

Question 102

146-Identify the error.

Dancers must always remember to practice, eat well, and to respect their teachers.

Answer 102

146-Parallelism

Lists must be parallel, and every term in the list can refer back to the preposition that began the list. The “to”before “respect” is unnecessary and incorrect.

Question 103

147-Identify the error.

People were lined up around the block to buy tickets to the movie which had won “Best Picture” the night before.

Answer 103

147-Modification

“Which” is used only when what follows is not necessary to identify the subject of the clause. It also must always follow a comma. Here, the movie is unknown at first, so the sentence should read: … to buy tickets to the movie that had w

Question 104

148-Identify the error.

Each of the members agree that a vote of no-confidence should be taken.

Answer 104

148-Subject-verb agreement

Even thought “members” is plural, it follows a preposition, and “each “ stands for “each one,” which is singular. The sentence should read: Each of the members agrees …

Question 105

149-Identify the error.

Because their membership had been dwindling for decades, the VFW post was disbanded.

Answer 105

149-Pronoun

Even though the antecedent comes later in the sentence, “their” regress to the VFW post, which is a singular entity. The correct word is “its.”

Question 106

150-Identify the error.

While the show is primarily aimed for children, parents often enjoy it more.

Answer 106

150-Idiom

The sentence should read: … aimed at children …

Question 107

151-Identify the error.

Marlon Brando is considered to be the finest actor of his generation.

Answer 107

151-Idiom

“Considered” doesn’t need anything after it. The sentence should read: … is considered the finest actor …

Question 108

152-Identify the error.

Despite what television commercials say, affluence is different than happiness.

Answer 108

152-The sentence should read: … is different from happiness.

Question 109

153-Identify the error.

Jed’s head, while bigger than most cats, is still in proportion to his body.

Answer 109

153-Comparisons

When two things are being compared, it’s important to make sure that they make sense logically as well as grammatically. Here it’s highly unlikely that Jed’s head is bigger that most other whole cats. The sentence should read: … while bi

Question 110

154-Identify the error.

Waiting for Christmas morning is to be reminded of the joy of being a child.

Answer 110

154-Parallel structure

Analogies, metaphors, similes, and other comparisons all require parallel structure. The sentence should read: To wait for Christmas morning is to be …

Question 111

155-Identify the error.

The purchase of balloons, decorating the backyard, and hiring the clown were all done the day before Alex’s birthday party.

Answer 111

155-Parallel structure

All of the terms in a list must be parallel. The sentence should read: Purchasing the balloons …

Question 112

156-Identify the error.

Attempting to reconcile their differences quickly, arbitration was agreed to by both parties.

Answer 112

156-Modification

A modifying phrase must go directly next to the thing i8t modifies. Here, “arbitration” is not attempting to reconcile their differences, “both parties” are. The sentence should read: … quickly, both parties agreed to arbitration.

Question 113

157-Identify the error.

Whenever Dyer and Jon argue, he comes away feeling mentally exhausted.

Answer 113

157-Pronoun

A pronoun must clearly refer to an antecedent. Because “he” could refer to either Dyer or Jon, it cannot be used. The correct answer would likely remove the pronoun entirely and use the individual’s name: Whenever Dyer and Jon argue, Jon come

Question 114

158-Identify the error.

In order for an athlete to perform at his peak, it is imperative that he does regular exercise.

Answer 114

158-Modification.

Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Here, “regular” is an adjective so it is describing the type of exercise: “regular” exercise as opposed to “weird” exercise. The sentence should read: … that

Question 115

159-Identify the error.

Whenever my friend quotes their favorite author, they sound extremely pretentious.

Answer 115

159-Pronoun

A pronoun must agree in number with its antecedent, so because only one friend is referenced, “their” and “they” are incorrect. They should be replaced with “his” and “he” or “her” and “she” depending on the gender of the friend. Alternately

Question 116

160-Identify the error.

The football team’s playoff chances have looked good until their recent loss in overtime.

Answer 116

160-Verb tense

The past perfect tense is used to indicate something that happened before something else in the past. Because the team’s loss was in the past, their chances looking good has to be placed before that. The3 sentence should read: … had looked

Question 117

161-Identify the error.

The aggregate of recent polling numbers suggest that the upcoming election will be tough for incumbents.

Answer 117

161-Subject-verb agreement

A prepositional phrase between a subject and a verb does not change the verb. Because “aggregate” is singular, a singular verb is needed. The sentence should read: The aggregate … suggests …

Question 118

10-What is the most useful format for a Passage Map?

Answer 118

“10-Why; What.

As in, Why is the paragraph here? followed by What does the paragraph say? Another way to think of this is What is the paragraph doing? And What is the paragraph saying? Of these two, the why, or the doing, is much more important than the what, or the saying.”

Question 119

11-How does the Passage Map relate to Topic, Scope, Purpose, and Main Idea?

Answer 119

11-Purpose and Main Idea can be seen as the Why and What for the whole passage. Conversely, Why and What can be seen as the Purpose and Main Idea for an individual paragraph.

Question 120

17-In the Reading Comprehension section, what do Detail questions ask about, and how can their answers be found?

Answer 120

17-Detail questions ask about specific parts of the passage. They will use categorical language such as “the author makes which of the following statements” or “according to the passage.” Their answers can be found by researching the passage, by the Passage Map you wrote in Step 1 of the Kaplan Method will narrow the search for the detail.

Question 121

20-In the Reading Comprehension section, what do Inference questions ask about, and how can their answers be found?

Answer 121

20-Inference questions are about things that must be true from the passage, but that aren’t explicitly stated. They will use language such as “likely,” “probably,” or “suggests” to let you know the answer is not directly stated. Their answers can be found by checking the answer choices one at a time against your Scope, Purpose, Passage Map, or the passage itself.

Question 122

21-Name some common wrong-answer traps on Inference questions in the Reading Comprehension section.

Answer 122

“21-Extreme: The answer is too strong to be supported by the passage. Beware of words such as always and never, they may indicate this trap.
Out of Scope: Check answers against the scope you wrote down in Step 1 of the Kaplan Method. An answer inconsistent with the Scope will not be the correct answer to an Inference question.
The 180: Some answers can be tempting because they have all the right details but they are connected in a way opposite to that of the passage.
Distortion: These ““trap”” answer choices take a detail out of context to make an answer that sounds good but is incorrect. These answers prey on people who rely on their memory, so remember to do your research when answering!”

Question 123

32-How do you recognize an Assumption question?

Answer 123

32-An Assumption question will very often have the term “assumption” or “presupposition” in it; but even if it doesn’t, it will ask what is needed for the argument.

Question 124

40-What two types of question can the word “support” in the question stem indicate? How can you tell the difference?

Answer 124

40-“Support” can be used in a Strengthen question or an Inference question. In a Strengthen question, the correct answer choice will support the stimulus. In an Inference question, the stimulus will support the correct answer choice.

Question 125

41-If the argument depends on causation, what is the most likely assumption?

Answer 125

41-“There is no other possible cause.” This applies whether the causation is in the evidence or the conclusion.

Question 126

49-What is the Why question that is used to answer Explain questions?

Answer 126

49-“Why, even though [Thing One], is it true that [Thing Two]?” The answer choice that answers this question will be the correct one.

Question 127

50-How do you approach Inference questions?

Answer 127

“50-(1) Catalog the information in the stimulus.

(2) Go through each answer choice, asking ““Based on the information in the stimulus, is this completely supported and does it have to be true?””
(3) Find the answer choice about which you can answer ““Yes”” to both questions.”

Question 128

56-What are keywords that indicate the conclusion is to follow?

Answer 128

“56-Thus, Therefore, In conclusion, So, Hence, Clearly

On some of the harder questions you might see, the test-makes will use ““dummy”” keywords to indicate an intermediary conclusion that is then used as evidence to support the final conclusion. Despite that, looking for keywords it the most efficient first step to unraveling the stimulus. Just know that the ultimate conclusion will always be the pinnacle of support!”

Question 129

67-On the GMAT, collective noun phrases such as “group of students,” “chain of restaurants,” or “collection of coins” usually take which pronouns and verbs: singular or plural?

Answer 129

67-On the GMAT, collective noun phrases such as “group of students,” “chain of restaurants,” or “collection of coins” usually take singular pronouns and verbs.

Question 130

“82-Which words in the underlined portion are NOT part of the subject?

The Geneva Bible, which was first published in 1560, was the version of the Bible that Shakespeare knew best. “

Answer 130

“82-The phrase “” which was first published in 1560”” is not part of the subject.

When a set of words is set off from the rest of the sentence by commas, those words are not part of the subject. That makes checking for subject-verb agreement much easier: just ignore the words set off by commas and concentrate on the subject and the verb.”

Question 131

“118-““The number”” is always plural or singular?

““A number”” is always plural or singular?”

Answer 131

“118-““The number”” is always singular. ““A number”” is always plural.

The number of cookies he ate was impressive.
A number of turkeys were gathered outside the shed.”

Question 132

119-How is the present tense of a verb used?

Answer 132

“119-A verb’s present tense is used:

(1) To describe a state or action occurring in the present time: Congress is debating about health policy this session
(2) To describe habitual action: Many Americans jog every day
(3) To describe ““general truths””: The earth is round and rotates on its axis”

Question 133

“135-Identify the error.

The reason many high schools use metal detectors is because some children bring weapons to school.”

Answer 133

“135-Wordiness

Reason is because is a redundancy. Because already means ““for the reason that.””

The correct sentence is: The reason many high schools use metal detectors is that some children bring weapons to school.

OR

Many high schools use metal detectors because some children bring weapons to school.”

Question 134

“136-Identify the error.

Beside the team, there are often reporters in a locker room.”

Answer 134

“136-Diction

Beside, which means ““next to,”” doesn’t make sense in this sentence. The correct word is to use is besides, which means ““in addition to.”””

Question 135

1-What is the Kaplan Method for Reading Comprehension?

Answer 135

“1-(1) Read the passage strategically

(2) Analyze the question Stem
(3) Research the relevant text in the passage
(4) Make a prediction
(5) Evaluate the answer choices”

Question 136

3-What is the approximate breakdown of Reading Comprehension passage topics?

Answer 136

"3-30% Social Science
25% Biological Science
25% Business
10% Physical Sciences
10% Other (Humanities, Law, etc.)"

Question 137

4-When reading strategically, what three sets of questions do you want to ask yourself?

Answer 137

“4-(1) Predictive questions throughout the entire passage, so you’re one step ahead of the author

(2) Questions at the end of each paragraph to help build the Passage Map
(3) What are the Topic, Scope, Purpose and Main Idea?”

Question 138

24-True or False: You should look at the question first to save the time of reading the passage.

Answer 138

24-False! This will only lead to careless reading. Focus on structure and points of view. Don’t let yourself get bogged down with details, and the passage will go fast enough ( and the question will go even faster).

Question 139

25-What is the Kaplan Method for Critical Reasoning?

Answer 139

“25-(1) Identify the question type

(2) Untangle the stimulus
(3) Predict the answer
(4) Evaluate the choice”

Question 140

27-Which Critical Reasoning question types make up the “assumption family?”

Answer 140

“27– Assumption

• Strengthen
• Weaken
• Flaw”

Question 141

28-What are the first three steps toward untangling the stimulus for questions in the Assumption family?

Answer 141

“28-(1) Identify the conclusion.

(2) Identify the evidence.
(3) Figure out the assumption”

Question 142

42-What are the three most common assumption patterns in the assumption family of questions?

Answer 142

“42-(1) Causation

(2) Representativeness
(3) Plans, proposals, and predictions”

Question 143

43-What are the alternate possibilities to a causation assumption?

Answer 143

“43-(1) Reverse causation, in which instead of X causing Y, Y causes X

(2) Correlation, in which both X and Y are caused by Z
(3) Coincidence, in which X and Y happened to occur at the same time but are unrelated”

Question 144

47-If the conclusion is a plan, proposal, or prediction, what is the most common assumption?

Answer 144

47-Whenever there is a temporal shift, the assumption is that conditions will remain ( or have remained) the same.

Question 145

48-What are the steps for answering Explain questions?

Answer 145

“48-(1) Find the two seemingly contradictory facts.

(2) Plug them into the Why question.
(3) Find the answer to the Why question in the answer choices.”

Question 146

52-How do you want to approach Bolded Statement questions that contain two bolded statements?

Answer 146

“52-(1) Determine whether the statements are going in the same or opposite directions, and eliminate answer choices that say otherwise.

(2) Determine the purpose of the first statement and eliminate answer choices that contradict it.
(3) Determine which of the remaining answer choices matches the purpose of the second statement.”

Question 147

64-What are the classic verb errors in GMAT Sentence Correction?

Answer 147

“64-(1) The verb must agree with the subject of the sentence; plural subjects take plural verbs and singular subjects take singular verbs.

(2) The verb tense must match the meaning of the sentence as a whole.”

Question 148

65-What are the classic pronoun errors in GMAT sentence Correction?

Answer 148

“65-(1) The pronoun must refer unambiguously to a single noun elsewhere in the sentence.

(2) The pronoun must agree in number with the noun it replaces.”

Question 149

76-What is a run-on sentence, and how can you fix one?

Answer 149

76-A run-on sentence is a sentence where clauses (subject-verb phrases) are not connected properly. They can be fixed by adding a connecting word or by changing a comma to a semicolon.

Question 150

80-What are the two ways to fix a run-on sentence?

Answer 150

“80-(1) Join the two clauses with a conjunction (usually preceded by a comma): Because Nietzsche planned to teach classical philology, he moved to Basel in 1869.

(2) Change the comma to a semicolon: Nietzsche moved to Basel in 1869; he planned to teach classical philology.”

Question 151

“88-What is wrong with this sentence?

Desiring to free his readers from superstition, the theories of Epicurus are expounded in Lucretius’ poem De rerum nature.”

Answer 151

88-The introductory modifying phrase is a dangling modifier. It is modifying theories, the noun after the comma, but this is the wrong noun to modify. In this sentence there is nowhere the modifier can be placed to make it work properly, and no noun to which it can reasonably refer. (Lucretius’, the possessive, is functioning as an adjective modifying poem.)

Question 152

96-How is the future perfect tense of a verb used?

Answer 152

“96-For a future state or event that will take place before another future event. Example:

By the time the next election is held, the candidates will have debated at least once. (Note that the anticipatory future is used in the first clause.)”

Question 153

100-What is subjunctive mood?

Answer 153

“100-A subjunctive mood represents a wish, probability, thought, condition contrary-to-fact, or requirement.

The subjunctive form were is used in statements that express a wish or situations that are contrart to fact.
Example:

I wish I were rich. (But I’m not)”

Question 154

101-What is parallelism (or parallel structure)?

Answer 154

101-Parallelism is the expressing of ideas of equal importance and function in the same sentence and setting them all in the same grammatical form (that is, all nouns, all adjectives, all gerunds, all clauses, or whatever).

Question 155

102-Besides conjunctions and verbs, what are some other types of words to which parallelism applies?

Answer 155

“102-(1) Prepositions (in, on, by, with, etc.)

2) Articles (the, a, an
(3) Helping verbs (had, has, would, etc.)
(4) Possessive pronouns (his, her, etc.)”

Question 156

103-What are some two-part constructions that require parallelism?

Answer 156

"103-both … and
either … or
neither … nor
not only … but (also)
just as … so …
whether … or …"

Question 157

“104-What is wrong with this sentence?

Isaac Newton not only studied physics but also theology.”

Answer 157

“104-The problem here is that the author intends to coordinate the two nouns physics and theology, but makes the mistake of putting the verb of the sentence (studied) after the first element of the construction (not only). The solution to an error like this is usually to move the verb:

Isaac Newton studied not only physics but also theology.”

Question 158

“105-What is wrong with this sentence?

To drive while intoxicated is risking grave injury and criminal charges.”

Answer 158

“105-When an infinitive is the subject of the sentence, don’t use a gerund after the verb (and vice versa).

To drive while intoxicated is to risk grave injury and criminal charges.”

Question 159

106-To be considered correct, a sentence that makes a comparison must do what two things?

Answer 159

“106-(1) It must make clear what is being compared.
(2) It must compare things that logically can be compared.

A sentence that makes an unclear, illogical, or incomplete comparisons is grammatically unacceptable.”

Question 160

“108-What is wrong with this sentence?

Astaire danced better than any man in the world.”

Answer 160

“108-This is wrong because the phrase any man in the world presumably includes Astaire, and even Fred Astaire couldn’t have danced better than himself.

An incomplete comparison occurs when one things is being compared to a group of which it is a part. This error is corrected by inserting either the word other or the world else (however, else will not help with this sentence):

Astaire danced better than any other man in the world.”

Question 161

120-How is the present perfect tense of a verb used?

Answer 161

“120-Present perfect tense is used:

(1) For actions and states that started in the past and continue up to and into the present time: Hawaii has been a state since 1959.
(2) For actions and states that happened a number of times in the pas and may happen again in the future: The Modern Language Association has awarded a prize for independent scholars every year since 1983.
(3) For something that happened at an unspecified time in the past: Susan Sontag has written critical essays about Leni Firenstahl.”

Question 162

“162-Identify the error.

A diagram is when a sketch is made to illustrate the parts of something.”

Answer 162

“162-Idiom

When on the GMAT must always refer to a literal time. When is incorrect if it used to describe a situation or a definition; in those cases it can be replaced either by a prepositional which phrase (in which, at which) or by the word that: A diagram is a ketch that is made to illustrate the parts of something.”