SENTENCE CORRECTION NOTES - EGMAT

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Hi guys, I've made these notes while completing e-gmat course. Hope this helps

DOWNLOAD THE PDF FOR BETTER CLARITY, SINCE NOT ABLE TO PASTE PICTURES AND TABULAR COLUMNS HERE. SENTENCE CORRECTION 1. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT Rule 1: subject and Verb must make sense Eg: After being shut down, the production plant in a small town of Tokyo resulted in severe loss of jobs and hence severe economic degradation of the local community. Yellow – Subject, Green = verb, Grey = prepositional modifier The production plant alone can not result in the loss of jobs. Hence, need to rephrase it. Rephased sentence: Shutdown of the production plant in a small town of Tokyo resulted in severe loss of jobs and hence severe economic degradation of the local community. Here, the shutdown results in the loss of jobs, which makes sense. Steps: 1. Remove prepositional phrases 2. Identify the subject and verb pair 3. Check if the S-V pair make sense together 4. Rewrite if it does not make sense Rule 2: Subject-verb must agree in number Singular Subject = Singular Verb Plural Subject = Plural Verb Eg: Not surprisingly, S-V pairs: 1. Folks – Are taking (Correct) 2. Approach – Stand (Incorrect)  Since the subject is Singular, change the verb to ‘stands’ Rule 3: Countable & Non-Countable subjects Certain words are ALWAYS singular in nature: 1. A Pronoun subject that ends with: -one, body, thing or ever Pronouns | one body thing ever Any Anyone Anybody Anything Whatever Every Everyone Everybody Everything Who ever No No one Nobody Nothing Some Someone Somebody Something 2. EACH a. When acted as a subject, it will always be singular Eg: Each of the students is supposed to be attentive in the class (each as singular) b. When acted after the main subject, it takes the verb according to the subject. Eg: John and Antony each boost voting stakes in general growth of the company (here each is present after the subject and hence Subject decides the nature of the verb) 3. Phrases or Clauses when acts as Subject are ALWAYS Singular Eg: Eating healthy foods is good for physical health. Here, ‘foods’ can not be taken as a subject, rather whole phrase acts as a subject Eg: whoever wants this book is welcome to take it from the stage Here, yellow highlighted is a clause and hence must be followed by singular verb 4. Collective Nouns: a group of items ALWAYS take Singular verb Example: Army Crowd Fruit Jury Society Orchestra Navy Class Family Flock Citrus Furniture Baggage Department Team Company Rule 4: Words that change number of the subject 1. AND a. Only word that can change singular word to plural b. Combine two or more entity Eg: Jack and Jill are going up the hill. (Jack and Jill combine to make it plural subject) 2. EACH/EVERY is used BEFORE AND, to make the subject Singular. a. EACH or EVERY used before the subject Eg: Each condiment and herb brings a distinctive flavour to the dish. Every boy and girl has to participate in annual function (use of ‘each’ and ‘every’ in the above examples, make the subject singular) 3. EACH/EVERY is used AFTER the subject created No Effect on the subject. a. The four largest truck fleets each account for at least 20% of market share. (‘each’ comes after the subject ‘fleets’, which is plural, and hence the verb ‘account’ is plural) 4. Either/Neither is used Before the subject, always makes it Singular. a. Neither of the two lights on the main street is functional. (singular verb used for plural subject) 5. When or/nor/Either…or/neither….nor is used, verb must agree with closed subject. a. Neither the manager nor the employees were present in the office today morning. (Neither-nor is used so the verb ‘were’ agrees with closest subject ‘employees’) 2. VERBS 1. Past Perfect Tense It is used when an earlier event is given, and something happened after that event in past. Eg 1: She had slept – in this example, she slept first and then her phone rang. Eg 2: She slept – this sentence implies, she slept at the same time when her phone rang. Usage of perfect tense changes the meaning of the sentence in that it changes the time frame for the clause it is used in. Eg 3: The paintings that were stolen from the museum this year were bought by the curator of the museum in a coveted action in Paris. In this example two verbs are given and the use of simple past in both means that both the events happened at the same time, i.e. the painting was stolen at the same time when it was bought the curator. Which does not make sense. Clearly, the painting needs to be bought first for them to get stolen later. So, the error can be fixes has below: The paintings that were stolen from the museum this year had been bought by the curator of the museum in a coveted action in Paris. Eg 4: By the time the world war II ended, America had dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. One may notice that this sentence has only 1 verb i.e. ‘had dropped’ but the phrase ‘By the time…” is also giving another timeframe which happened later. So, even though it doesn’t seem like it, but two events are happening here one after another. And hence his sentence is correct. 1.1 Exception to past perfect tense eg 1: The scientists learned about the changes in earth that happened after the last ice age had destroyed the life on earth. Notice the use of word ‘after’ here. It already states the timeframe of one event with respect to other and hence the use of past perfect is OPTIONAL is this case. Same is the case if word ‘before’ etc. Eg 2: Recently scientists learned about the changes in the earth that had happened during the last ice age. Here, even though two separate events are shown and one may tend to use past perfect to arrange the sequence of the event, but these two are independent events. And hence, one must use a past simple tense here. Recently scientists learned about the changes in the earth that happened during the last ice age. 2. Future Perfect Tense It refers to the two events are will take place in future at two different time frames. FUTURE Earlier Event Later Event Future Perfect Tense Simple Present / Simple Future tense Eg 1: By the time Sam reaches home, Mary will have prepared dinner. Here, First Mary would have prepared the dinner before Sam reaches home. Eg 2: When Sam gets home, Mary will prepare dinner. This sentence is not using a perfect tense, and hence the meaning intends that Mary will start preparing the dinner at the same time when Sam gets home. 2 events will take place at 1 time. ¬¬¬¬ 3. If – Then Construction (used to express conditions) Construction: o If + Clause 1 (condition), Then + Clause 2 (outcome), or o If + Clause 1 (condition), Clause 2 (outcome), or o Clause 1 (outcome), If Clause 1 (condition) eg: If you exercise regularly, then you will stay healthy, if you exercise regularly, you will stay healthy, You will stay healthy if you exercise regularly. Rules for if-then construction: Simple Present Simple Past Past Perfect Simple present or Simple Future Simple past or “would” verb. “would have” verb A. Simple present eg: 1. If Sam plays with any toy, it is his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause simple present (is) is used, which states Sam’s habit or a fact. 2. If Sam plays with any toy, it will be his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause simple future (will be) is used, which states a Certainty. 3. If Sam plays with any toy, it may be his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause ‘may be’ is used, which states a Possibility. B. Simple Past eg: 1. If Sam played with any toy, it was his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause simple past (was) is used, which states Sam’s habit or a fact. 2. If Sam played with any toy, it would be his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause simple future (will be) is used, which states a Uncertainty. 3. If Sam plays with any toy, it may be his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause ‘may be’ is used, which states a Possibility. C. Past Perfect eg: 1. If Sam had played with any toy, it would have been his remote-controlled airplane Here, in the outcome clause simple past (was) is used, which states an event not occurred. 4. Subjunctive Verb Subjunctive verb same as regular verb but it will always be Plural eg: The company board of directors demanded that CEO resign immediately. Here, as per the normal S-V agreement, the verb should have been ‘resigns’ since it belongs to the subject ‘CEO’, but notice the presence of verb ‘Demanded’ and hence the verb (resign) becomes subjective and is to be used in plural form The subjunctive verb is ALWAYS used with ‘THAT’. The construction is as follows: Demand/request/Recommended word + That + Subject + Subjunctive verb Eg: The recommendation THAT each division submit the sales figures by end of each month will be provided in next division meeting. Here, the trigger word ‘recommendation’ (to use subjunctive verb) is given followed by THAT and the subjunctive verb ‘submit’. Note that even though the subject ‘division’ is singular in nature, still plural verb form is to be used. Subjunctive words required for Demand, Recommendation or Request verbs Demand Dictate Insist Suggest Propose Recommend Request Mandate Stipulate Some of the verbs do not follow subjunctive construction but follow construction “To verb” for example: To Verb' Required Advise Allow Forbid Persuade Want Some of the verbs follow both subjunctive construction and “To verb” construction, for example: Use either 'subjunctive' or 'To verb' Ask Beg Desire Intend Order Prefer Require Urge 3. PRONOUNS Pronouns are the word used in the place of nouns, which is known as the antecedent of the pronoun. Eg: Amy likes to keep fit, so she goes for jogging every morning. Here, she is the pronoun used for its Antecedent/noun ‘Amy’ **Each pronoun MUST refer to ONLY 1 NOUN** Rule 1: Wherever there is an ambiguity, use Noun instead. Eg: In the accident, the car hit the tree, but it was not damaged. We are not sure what the pronoun ‘it’ refers to. And hence, avoid using pronoun here and use ‘car’ instead. Rule 2: Avoid Prepositional phrase to check clearly what the pronoun refers to. Eg 1: The teacher included the pronoun handout in the grammar folder so that the students can refer to it later. What does ‘it’ refer to? The Handout or the Folder? Clearly, by eliminating the prepositional phrase we get to know that the focussed subject here is the Handout and hence the placement of pronoun is correct. Eg 2: Jennie selected Pink colour from the palette, since she thought it would match the furniture. Here two pronouns are given: 1. She – Clearly, she refers to Jennie, with the verb ‘thought’ 2. It – It refers to the ‘Pink colour’ and not ‘the palette’ since palette is in prepositional phrase. Rule 3: The Pronoun and its Antecedent MUST agree in number (Singular/Plural) Eg 1: The biggest economic advancement that US and South Korea have attempted – a free trade agreement signed in April 2007 – has not been completed because it awaits ratification from its respective lawmakers. Here, ‘it’ refers to A Free Trade agreement and hence agreeing in number. While, ‘its’ refers to US and South Korea and hence the use of ‘Its’ is incorrect and ‘Their’ must be used a pronoun. 4. MODIFIERS • Modifiers in a sentence provides additional information about a Noun / Verb or a Main Clause. • A modifier can either be a word, phrase, or a clause. Approach to solve Modifier errors: Eg: Black bookcase contains all the books that Amy likes to read, an avid reader. Note the 2 modifiers here: 1. Black, and 2. ‘An avid Reader’ Let us do the checklist to see if all the above boxes are fixed or not. Black An avid Reader Spot the modifier: Black Spot the modifier: An avid reader What is being modified: Bookcase What is being modified: Amit Is it placed correctly? Yes Is it placed correctly?: No Is it worded correctly? Yes Is it worded correctly?: Yes Correct modifier errors: Not required Correct modifier errors: Misplaced error Fix the sentence: Black bookcase contains all the books that Amy, an avid reader, likes to read Look how the placement of the 2nd modifier is changed to move it closer to the noun that it modifies. Types of Modifiers: CORRECTING MODIFIER ERRORS 1. Reposition In some cases, the modifier is place far away from the noun/pronoun/entity it tends to modify. As a rule, the modifier shall be placed as close as possible to the noun it modifies. Eg: Rural dwellers can get satellite internet, but it is far slower than the ambitious satellite services that were being developed a decade ago, with longer lag times. Here, the modifier ‘with longer lag times’ is wrongly modifying decade ago. And neither it modifies ‘the ambitions satellite services’ but it does make sense to use it with ‘satellite internet’. Make it closer to it: Rural dwellers can get satellite internet, but with longer lag times, it is far slower than the ambitious satellite services that were being developed a decade ago. 2. Reword Eg: Based on eating high calorie food, Joe gained 20 pounds. The verb+ed modifier clause is supposed to modify the verb ‘gained’ but it is modifying ‘Joe’ in this case, which in incorrect. Solution 1: Modified entity + helping verb + Modifier Joe +is+ Based on eating high calorie food, gained 20 pounds. It doesn’t make sense, so move to solution 2. Solution 2: Use verb+ing form in the Modifer + modified entity. Eating high calorie food, Joe gained 20 pounds. Here, because of verb+ing form, it now modifies the whole clause. 3. Change Voice Eg: Kept on the top-most shelf of the rack, John Snow wrote these books. Here, the modifier seems to be modifying ‘John Snow’, rather it should modify ‘these books’. It can be solved by change the voice of the modified entity from active to passive. Kept on the top-most shelf of the rack, these books were written by John Snow. (John Snow knows nothing, still writing books huh?)

Verb-ed MODIFIERS The Verb-ed modifiers, modifies the closest noun. Eg: Designed to withstand low earth orbit radiation by 20 years, the spaceship can not be made with poor quality materials. Here the modifier correctly modifies the intended noun ‘the spaceship’, and hence this sentence is correct. Verb-ing & MODIFIERS 1. Without comma S+V + noun + verb-ing modifier In this case, the modifier modifies only the preceding noun. Eg: Joe killed the snake sleeping behind the house. There modifier modifies only the noun ‘snake’ here 2. With comma Construction 1: S+V + noun , verb-ing modifier. In this case, the modifier modifies the complete clause before it, and not the noun. eg: Joe killed the snake, using the stick The modifier ‘using the stick’ modifies the complete clause before comma and the sentence intends that ‘Joe killed the snake by a stick’ Construction 2: verb-ing modifier , S+V + noun Here the modifier can modify the either the complete clause after comma or the immediate subject, depending on the meaning intended. Eg: Using the stick, Joe killed the snake. The construction 1 can do two things” a. Describing the clause, it modifies 1. Eg: Joe killed the snake, using the stick. – It explains how the snake was killed b. Showing Result of the clause 1. Eg: Joe killed the snake, ending its misery – Here, it explains the result of killing the snake RELATIVE PRONOUN MODIFIERS 1. People vs Things: Eg 1: The detective who solved the sniper case will be interviewed by CNBC new channel. The word ‘who’ correctly refers to the detective. We can not use ‘which’ and ‘that’ for people. Eg 2: The knife who was used in the sniper murders is part of the evidence kit. The usage of the word ‘who’ is incorrect here. For non-living things, ‘which’ or ‘that’ is more appropriate here. Eg 3: The phone whose battery died is of no use now. | The girl whose purse was stolen is upset. The word ‘whose’ can be used to both People and Things. 2. Who vs Whom Eg 1: Susie will offer employment to the girl who she interviewed last Friday. The modifier is modifying ‘the girl’ but in the modifying clause ‘she’ acts as subject and ‘the girl’ as object, therefore, instead of ‘who’, whom should be used. Eg 2: Susie will offer employment to the girl who works in another department. The modifier is modifying ‘the girl’ and in the modifying clause ‘the girl’ acts as subject, therefore, ‘who’ is correct. 3. Exceptions for usage Eg: I killed the snake with eggs, which lived in the burrow behind my house. Here, the modifier already refers to ‘the snake’. Also, after comma ‘which’ is mentioned as another modifier. It will not make sense if ‘which modifier’ modifies ‘the eggs’, rather, it will make sense for it to modify ‘snake’ The example states that, ‘which’ does not always modifies the closed noun.

lynnglenda · Answer

Thank you for sharing

Best, Lynn

Loser94 · Answer

Thank you for sharing. This will help me to revise my concepts for SC.

chirag7 · Answer

Thank you.
Indeed, this is really helpful.

VerbalBot · Answer

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SENTENCE CORRECTION NOTES - EGMAT

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