GMAT Sentence Correction: Where Do I Start? - Part 3
Welcome to the third part of our series focusing on the First Glance in Sentence Correction. If you havent read the previous installments yet, you can start with how to find a starting point on a Sentence Correction problem when the starting point doesnt leap out at you.
Try out the First Glance on the below problem and see what happens! This is a GMATPrep problem from the free exams.
* Most of the purported health benefits of tea comes from antioxidantscompounds also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C that inhibit the formation of plaque along the bodys blood vessels.(A) comes from antioxidantscompounds also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C that
(B) comes from antioxidantscompounds that are also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C, and they
(C) come from antioxidantscompounds also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C, and
(D) come from antioxidantscompounds that are also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C and that
(E) come from antioxidantscompounds also found in beta carotene, vitamin E, and vitamin C, and they
The First Glance definitely helps on this one: comes vs. come is a singular vs. plural verb split, indicating a subject-verb agreement issue. Now, when you read the original sentence, you know to find the subject.
So what is the subject of the sentence? Its not the singular tea, though its tempting to think so. The subject is actually the word most, which is a SANAM pronoun.
The SANAM pronouns: Some, Any, None, All, More / Most
These pronouns can be singular or plural, depending on the context of the sentence. Consider these examples:
Most of the cake was gobbled up immediately.
Most of the cakes were sold today.
Both sentences use most as the subject and both are correctly written, but in the first, most is singular and in the second, most is plural. Why?
The singular vs. plural question is answered by the noun describing most of what? Most of the (one) cake that I baked yesterday was gobbled up by my voracious family immediately.
On the other hand, most of the (many) cakes made by the bakery shop did actually sell today.
Lets go back to our original sentence; is most singular or plural?
Most of the purported health benefits of tea
Hmm. There are two prepositional phrases here. Should we go with benefits or with tea?
As a general rule, go with the first one. Of the purported health benefits directly modifies most. Of tea modifies benefits.
All right, the subject is plural! Eliminate answers (A) and (B) for using a singular verb. Now what?
Find a new starting point. If you spotted anything else during your read of the original sentence, go back to it. Otherwise, vertically compare the three remaining answer choices, looking for splits (differences).
Lets try that second approach. There is always a difference at the beginning of the underlineweve already dealt with that oneand theres also always one at the end, so look there next.
The split is and vs. and that vs. and they. Whats the significance of these words?
I dont know exactly how to fix this yet, but I do know the word and requires parallelism (X and Y), so now I have something else to examine. Find the parallel structures in the last three answers (make sure to include some of the non-underlined text at the end of the sentence):
(C) antioxidantscompounds also found in B, E, and C, and inhibit the formation of plaque(D) antioxidantscompounds that are also found in B, E, and C and that inhibit the formation of plaque
(E) antioxidantscompounds also found in B, E, and C, and they inhibit the formation of plaque
(Note: Ive abbreviated beta carotene, etc, because they are all paralleland identical in each choiceso ignore them.)
Bingo. Okay, (C) isnt parallel. The Y portion has to start with inhibit, a verb, so that verb would have to match with found. This construction would mean that the word compounds applies to both X and Y:
antioxidantscompounds found in B, E, and C
antioxidantscompounds inhibit the formation of plaque
Superficially, that might look okay, but theres actually a big difference in usage. In the first half, compounds found in is a modifier, describing antioxidants. How do you know? Compounds found in A, B, and C is not a complete sentence.
In the second half, however, compounds inhibit is a complete sentence!
A non-complete-sentence cant be parallel to a complete sentence. Eliminate (C) and try the same test with (D) and (E). Heres (D):
antioxidantscompounds that are also found in B, E, and C
antioxidantscompounds that inhibit the formation of plaque
Nice! The introduction of that at the end of the answer choice gives a very clear parallel structure: compounds that (modifier). No parallelism problems here.
Heres (E):
antioxidantscompounds also found in B, E, and C
antioxidantsthey inhibit the formation of plaque
Answer (E) has the same problem as answer (C): the first parallel component is not a complete sentence but the second one is. Eliminate (E).
The correct answer is (D).
Key Takeaways: The First Glance in Sentence Correction
(1) Weve now used the First Glance on a series of questions. Some had very clear splits, such as comes vs. come on this problem. Some were less obvious but still gave us something to think about while reading the original sentence, such as up to vs. speeds of up to on last weeks problem. Sometimes, as on the first problem in this series, the First Glance yields nothing.
(2) Still, take the First Glance every time! More than 50% of the time, that first look will either clearly tell you one issue the problem is testing or it will give you an idea of what the problem might be testing. This is hugely beneficial to know before you start reading the original sentence.
(3) When the First Glance doesnt immediately put an idea into your mind, just move on to the next step in the SC process. After youre done with the problem, though, do analyze your work. Take a look at the beginning of each answer again and ask yourself whether you can actually spot something that youd want to notice the next time you see a problem with the same split.
* GMATPrep questions courtesy of the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Usage of this question does not imply endorsement by GMAC.