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VJ25
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Hi,

In the Idioms section of MGMAT SC, the book claims that the below usages to be correct/incorrect.

Correct: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price WILL FALL.
Wrong: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price SHOULD FALL.

Correct: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS DRIVING fast cars.
Wrong: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS TO DRIVE fast cars.

Correct: She drank coffee IN ORDER TO STAY awake.
Wrong: She drank coffee FOR STAYING awake.

Although, I do understand the idiom usage, still need to understand why the wrong options are incorrect gramatically.
Thanks

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The idioms are the way they are in GMAT SC, without any logic why the correct one is correct and why incorrect is incorrect. We have to remember them. But we can identify the common patterns GMAT test makers used in SC.

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vallabhjadhav
Hi,

In the Idioms section of MGMAT SC, the book claims that the below usages to be correct/incorrect.

Correct: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price WILL FALL.
Wrong: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price SHOULD FALL.

Correct: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS DRIVING fast cars.
Wrong: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS TO DRIVE fast cars.

Correct: She drank coffee IN ORDER TO STAY awake.
Wrong: She drank coffee FOR STAYING awake.

Although, I do understand the idiom usage, still need to understand why the wrong options are incorrect gramatically.
Thanks
Show more

There are no particular reasons why these usages are grammatically wrong. Always try to understand the meaning of the sentence and use idioms as the last way to cancel out the answer option.
hope this helps!
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vallabhjadhav
Hi,

In the Idioms section of MGMAT SC, the book claims that the below usages to be correct/incorrect.

Correct: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price WILL FALL.
Wrong: IT IS EXPECTED THAT the price SHOULD FALL.

Correct: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS DRIVING fast cars.
Wrong: Matt enjoys intense activities, SUCH AS TO DRIVE fast cars.

Correct: She drank coffee IN ORDER TO STAY awake.
Wrong: She drank coffee FOR STAYING awake.

Although, I do understand the idiom usage, still need to understand why the wrong options are incorrect gramatically.
Thanks
Show more
Hello, vallabhjadhav, and welcome to the community. I could not agree more with what either of the two earlier members have written. Idioms offer one of those strange cases in which correct written English follows popular spoken English from earlier in time, since standardized test question-writers pretty much feel that English was frozen in its usage by around 1950. Is there a reason we can only say points at if there is physical pointing involved? No, not really. To me, a sentence such as All the evidence points at his guilt makes just as much sense as the correct version, All the evidence points to his guilt, but to a grammarian, the former is an abomination. Since there are tens of thousands of idioms in English, you should do your best to take in what you can from the context of a sentence you read or hear and move on.

In the original examples you posted, I will say that the reason behind the first idiom is that an expectation creates a what condition rather than a what if, and will conveys a sense of certainty--namely, about that which is expected--that should does not. That is, something is expected, not something could be expected.

In the second example, you need to deliver on the main clause with a different type of noun, a direct object: Matt enjoys _____. Subject-verb-direct object. What does Matt enjoy? You cannot fill in the blank with to drive, since the infinitive form of a verb cannot follow an active verb. Note that you could use the infinitive with a linking verb instead, as in, To drive is one of Matt's favorite activities. A good way to test these constructs is to see whether you can invert the two parts of the sentence around the linking verb. Here, One of Matt's favorite activities is to drive is just as valid.

In the final example, for can be used to modify a noun, as in, For alertness, she drank coffee (even if I would still prefer an infinitive construct in this particular case), but here, it is modifying an action instead, even if staying awake could be used as a gerund.

To be clear, there is nothing grammatically wrong with any of the sentences, but idiomatically, there is another story, and you would have to reach back through time to find the real answers.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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Hi Vallabh, on that note, thought I will mention that our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses most prominently tested "idioms", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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Hi folks,

Pardon for a dumb question.

I was wondering was wrong with this sentence which the Manhattan guide mentions as incorrect.

INCORRECT: SHE DRANK COFFEE FOR STAYING AWAKE

I see a subject, verb, and prepositional phrase but I'm unable to figure out what is incorrect.
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please help me understand the basic issue
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rafa90
Hi folks,

Pardon for a dumb question.

I was wondering was wrong with this sentence which the Manhattan guide mentions as incorrect.

INCORRECT: SHE DRANK COFFEE FOR STAYING AWAKE

I see a subject, verb, and prepositional phrase but I'm unable to figure out what is incorrect.
Show more
Hello, rafa90. This is not a dumb question at all. It is odd that the guide does not mention why the sentence is incorrect, but the reason is that the idiom is off, specifically the prepositional phrase. To explain why someone chose to drink coffee, the infinitive is used to convey in order to.

Correct: She drank coffee [in order] to stay awake.

The explanation could just as easily introduce the sentence, but such is not the case with the incorrect phrase:

a) To stay awake, she drank coffee.

b) For staying awake, she drank coffee.

If the idiom does not make sense, it is probably better to simply memorize this case and move on to the next sentence. Still, a verb in this case will use the infinitive form, while a noun will use the prepositional phrase:

c) For long-lasting energy, drink Product X.

d) To lead a healthy lifestyle, drink tea.

I hope that helps.

- Andrew

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