Verbal Flashcards
Independent clause
Contains subject and finite verb
Can stand alone as a sentence
Every sentence on GMAT must have at least 1 independent clause
Absolute phrase
Phrase comprised of a noun and its modifiers that modifies an entire clause, adding info that is descriptive or explanatory
When comparing statistics, use “greater than”
The standard deviation of the test scores of the students in group A was greater than that of the test scores of the students in group B
Future tense
Used when discussing events that have not yet occurred but will occur in the future.
The little boy will go to kindergarten next year
The form “to be” + “going to” can be used to create future tense expressions. The future tense expressed in this way is generally used in sentences about future events that are planned or seem likely to occur
I am going to go to the beach later today
When “since” means “from the time of? or “from the time when”, the present perfect tense, or the past perfect tense, is strongly preferred
Since he went to that seminar last week, he has been much more motivated.
She has worked with a vocal coach ever since her early years as a singer
“THE number of…” vs “A number of…”
Subjects that begin with “THE number of take singular verbs”
Subjects that begin with “A number of take plural verbs”
What precedes the first part of a CC is understood to carry over
Carry over begins after the “but also” or whatever the second part of the CC is
Matt eats not only avocados but also bananas
She wrote him not only a love letter but also a poem
Elements that follow the first part like “not only” are not understood to carry over to after the “but also”
Verbs that are in different tenses can be parallel
The school opened to voters at 7AM and has been packed all day
Present Tense
Typically use present tense to describe things that happen routinely or to discuss facts and universal truths that dont change over time
Also used to discuss events in a literary book
The dogs enjoy running in the woods
In The Canterbury Tales, the Monk is a fat, gluttonous character
Nouns that name quantities of time, money, or weight are treated as uncountable nouns
Ten minutes is generally too much time to spend on one quant question when one is taking the GMAT.
Eight kilograms is not much more than the weight of an average sized cat
Other structures that demand parallelism
X rather than Y mistake X for Y prefer X to Y range from X to Y more X than Y (in certain contexts)
The team traveled by rail rather than flew to the tournament
In a 3 part list, when the third element is not parallel with the first 2, one way to fix the broken sentence is to take the 3rd element out of the list. If the 3rd element is no longer in the list, it need not be parallel to other items. Make it a nested list
Incorrect: Kelly is my best friend because she is smart, loyal, and keeps my secrets.
Correct: Kelly is my best friend because she is smart and loyal and keeps my secrets
Greater than vs more than
“greater than” is used to compare sizes, levels, degrees, magnitudes, or extents of things. It is synonymous with “larger than” or “higher than”
Sara has more space than Olivia has.
The amount of space that sara has is greater than the amount of space that olivia has
The word “like” is strictly a comparison word and cannot be used to introduce examples. To introduce examples, we can use “such as” or “including”
When traveling through the everglades, one may see animals, such as/including snakes, mammals, and alligators.
If a sentence is about the units of time, money, or weight, then the nouns are countable
How many minutes are left?
Many Euros have been spent on the repairs of the cathedral
Plural indefinite pronouns always take on plural verbs (4)
Both, few, many, several
Imperative mood
Used in giving commands and supplying directions
Future in the past
Used when sentences about past events refer to events that were in the future when past events occurred
Can be formed either via the use of the past tense (would) or via the use of a paste tense form of “to be” +going to (was going to)
At the rally, the candidate said that he would take campaign donations only from individuals.
The cast was going to have a party after the final show
It is acceptable to use simple future in the past if the prediction made in the past is about events expected to occur in a time period that is after the time in which the statement is made
The head of the organization said that they will be able to restore the wetland without using any public financial resources.
Abstract Appositives
Rather than rename and modify specific words or phrases, they rename and modify entire ideas presented in clauses
Lookout for something that is mistakenly compared with itself
Incorrect: Julie is more skilled at singing than any singer I’ve encountered
A list consists of 2 or more items in a series, often separated by commas. The items must be parallel
When a list is introduced, each of the elements must work logically with the part of the sentence that introduces the list.
Future perfect tense is used for indicating that a future event will have occurred by the time another event occurs.
The fear of many scientists is that, by the time the reductions are fully realized, a catastrophic rise will have already occurred.
The subjunctive form of the verb “to be” used in command sentences is always “be”. Additionally, certain expressions followed by “that” should be followed by command subjunctive
I demand that you be respectful.
I insist that he respect me at dinner tonight
The general requires you be at your command post
Correlative Conjunctions
Both...and not only...but also not only...but...as well not...but either...or neither...nor
Both parts must appear in a sentence in which the CC is used. Do not accept correct sentences that partially use CC’s
Must always be on the lookout for errors in parallel structures
When connecting a word or phrase such as “once”, “as soon as”, “as long as”, “until”, “when”, “after”, or “before” is used to connect a present tense clause to a future tense clause, the present tense clause is understood to be about a condition that will exist in the future, and the future clause is about an even related to that condition
As soon as the bride arrives, the procession will start.
The team will keep working until the problem is solved.
Our hope is that the archeologists will be able to retrieve the artifacts before they are destroyed by the elements
Items must be logically compared. Locate the items compared and make sure it is logical to compare these items
Incorrect: The cost of summer camp is much higher than summer school
Abstract Appositives
Rather than rename and modify specific words or phrases, they rename and modify entire ideas presented in clauses
Relative clauses “that” vs “which”
“That” introduces restrictive clauses. It somehow restricts the meaning of the noun
“Which” introduces nonrestrictive clauses. It does not restrict the meaning of the noun
To determine the right one, eliminate it from the sentence. If it can be eliminated without the meaning of the sentence changing, it will be nonrestrictive (which).
Non restrictive clauses must always be set off by a comma and followed by a comma or period
Relative clauses
Clauses that relate or connect parts of a sentence to each other and begin with relative pronouns
Common RP’s-that, which, who, whom, whose
That and which refer to nouns that represent things other than people. Who and whom are used only to refer to people. Entities like groups or teams are considered things and use “that” and “which”
Sometimes, in order for a sentence including a list to clearly convey a logical meaning, it’s necessary to repeat the word “that” by placing it before every item
Breck said that John will be the new class president and that Peter will be the new secretary.
A subject that begins with “THE percent of…”
Always takes on singular verb
Relative clause (7)
That, which, who, whom, whose, where, when
Unable to stand alone as a sentence
Relative pronoun acting as a subject + finite verb
Relative pronoun non acting as subject + subject + finite verb
Relative clauses “who” vs “whom”
The subject pronoun “who” performs the action in a clause. The object pronoun “whom” is acted upon.
Who is a subject and whom is used as an object
Another form of the subjunctive that can appear is formed via the combination of “were” and an infinitive
You act as if getting off were the end of the world
If Sheri were to arrive early, the surprise would be ruined
Bankruptcy could be avoided if the city were to manage its finances better
If the owner were to decide to fix it up, the entire neighborhood would benefit
Noun clause vs relative clause
A clause that follows a noun and modifies that noun is a relative clause
A clause that acts as a noun is a noun clause
Appositives restrict vs nonrestrict
To determine, remove from the sentence to see if sentence still works. If it still works, it is nonrestrictive and requires to be set off by a comma
Logical comparisons can be created via the substitution of “does” or “do” for repeated present tense verbs and “did” for past tense
FDR held the office of president for longer than Teddy Roosevelt did (did is substituted for held the office)
