Papgust's GMAT SENTENCE CORRECTION FLASHCARDS directory

This topic has expert replies
Legendary Member
Posts: 768
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:46 am
Thanked: 21 times
Followed by:7 members

by GMATMadeEasy » Thu Jul 22, 2010 4:44 am
papgust wrote:"As a means to" is the CORRECT idiom.

Incorrect Idioms:
* "As a means of"
* "As a means for"

--> [Refer OG11, Qn. # 60] <--
Attention : OG qualifies the usage of "As a means of" based on the context . "As a means of" can be used for sure.

Legendary Member
Posts: 768
Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 3:46 am
Thanked: 21 times
Followed by:7 members

by GMATMadeEasy » Thu Jul 22, 2010 5:13 am
papgust wrote:For measurements (such as amount, quantity), use "twice" or similar kind of words for comparison. DO NOT use "double" or similar kind of words.
Could you provide an example of this please .

In general, many of us have issues when it comes to quantity or quantity related comparisons , such as twice, double, as much as , as many as, limitations, equal etc. Could someone put more stuff this with examples to real get into depth of the issue.

Thanks in advance :) .

User avatar
Community Manager
Posts: 1048
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:26 am
Location: India
Thanked: 51 times
Followed by:27 members
GMAT Score:670

by arora007 » Thu Jul 22, 2010 9:52 pm
ballubalraj wrote:Thanks a ton Papgust.

Guys, Here is the consolidated document with all the flashcards that Papgust has uploaded so far.

-Balraj.
Thanks balraj thanks papgust!!

papgust especially liked the concrete / abstract noun topics.... never thought of nouns in so much depth!
Last edited by arora007 on Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
https://www.skiponemeal.org/
https://twitter.com/skiponemeal
Few things are impossible to diligence & skill.Great works are performed not by strength,but by perseverance

pm me if you find junk/spam/abusive language, Lets keep our community clean!!

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 11:55 pm
Thanked: 4 times

by surajgarg » Thu Jul 22, 2010 11:49 pm
papgust wrote:"Chances of a collision increase greatly with the continually increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellites".


"continually increasing" clearly refers to "amount of space debris". But the sentence fails to indicate that the number of satellites is ALSO growing. (In essence, it should also refer to satellites).



--> [Refer Verbal Review 2nd Ed., Qn. # 31] <--
So what should be the correct form of the sentence?

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 62
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 1:57 am
Thanked: 4 times

by rashmi.kaushal » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:35 am
Dear Pagust,

Your quick simple short notes are very helpful.

thanks a lot, keep posting more :-)

User avatar
Community Manager
Posts: 1048
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:26 am
Location: India
Thanked: 51 times
Followed by:27 members
GMAT Score:670

by arora007 » Sun Jul 25, 2010 2:02 am
Rashmi.... a "Target GMAT Score: 800+ " ??
https://www.skiponemeal.org/
https://twitter.com/skiponemeal
Few things are impossible to diligence & skill.Great works are performed not by strength,but by perseverance

pm me if you find junk/spam/abusive language, Lets keep our community clean!!

Legendary Member
Posts: 2330
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:14 am
Thanked: 56 times
Followed by:26 members

by mundasingh123 » Fri Jul 30, 2010 10:29 pm
Its a good thread.Please continue posting

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:10 am
Thanked: 13 times

by shekhar.kataria » Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:06 pm
papgust wrote:Pronoun WHICH:

"Which" is used as a relative pronoun ONLY to refer to the NOUN immediately preceding it.

In other words, "Which", by default, refers to the noun that is closest to the left of the comma.

WHAT TO DO if "Which" seems to refer to the action of the preceding clause??

Do one of the following,
(i) Link "which" properly to an antecedent NOUN.
(ii) Rework the sentence to avoid its use entirely.
Hie pap gust.

Can u explain the same about "that " and "it".

User avatar
Community Manager
Posts: 1537
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:10 pm
Thanked: 653 times
Followed by:252 members

by papgust » Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:11 am
surajgarg wrote:
papgust wrote:"Chances of a collision increase greatly with the continually increasing amount of space debris and the number of satellites".


"continually increasing" clearly refers to "amount of space debris". But the sentence fails to indicate that the number of satellites is ALSO growing. (In essence, it should also refer to satellites).



--> [Refer Verbal Review 2nd Ed., Qn. # 31] <--
So what should be the correct form of the sentence?
Sorry. I'm far from the book right now. You may refer to the Verbal Review 2nd Edition Qn. #31 for the correct form of the sentence.
Download GMAT Math and CR questions with Solutions from Instructors and High-scorers:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/download-gma ... 59366.html

-----------

GO GREEN..! GO VEG..!

Daily Quote:
"Stop feeling sorry for the Butcher if you had to go Veg. The butcher can find another job but the poor animal cannot get back its life"

User avatar
Community Manager
Posts: 1537
Joined: Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:10 pm
Thanked: 653 times
Followed by:252 members

by papgust » Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:17 am
shekhar.kataria wrote:
papgust wrote:Pronoun WHICH:

"Which" is used as a relative pronoun ONLY to refer to the NOUN immediately preceding it.

In other words, "Which", by default, refers to the noun that is closest to the left of the comma.

WHAT TO DO if "Which" seems to refer to the action of the preceding clause??

Do one of the following,
(i) Link "which" properly to an antecedent NOUN.
(ii) Rework the sentence to avoid its use entirely.
Hie pap gust.

Can u explain the same about "that " and "it".

I have PMed Ron (GMAT Instructor) to answer your query. Sorry for the delay in responding.
Download GMAT Math and CR questions with Solutions from Instructors and High-scorers:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/download-gma ... 59366.html

-----------

GO GREEN..! GO VEG..!

Daily Quote:
"Stop feeling sorry for the Butcher if you had to go Veg. The butcher can find another job but the poor animal cannot get back its life"

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Tue Aug 03, 2010 2:55 am
papgust wrote:
shekhar.kataria wrote:
papgust wrote:Pronoun WHICH:

"Which" is used as a relative pronoun ONLY to refer to the NOUN immediately preceding it.

In other words, "Which", by default, refers to the noun that is closest to the left of the comma.

WHAT TO DO if "Which" seems to refer to the action of the preceding clause??

Do one of the following,
(i) Link "which" properly to an antecedent NOUN.
(ii) Rework the sentence to avoid its use entirely.
Hie pap gust.

Can u explain the same about "that " and "it".

I have PMed Ron (GMAT Instructor) to answer your query. Sorry for the delay in responding.
the short answer:
if "that" or "it" seems to refer to the action of the preceding clause, then it's wrong!

the above is really all you have to know -- i think all this emphasis on how to fix the sentences is wrongheaded, since you won't actually be called upon to fix the sentences. as long as you are aware of the fact that pronouns are not allowed to stand for anything other than nouns*, that's all the knowledge you really need.
sentence correction is already extremely complicated; it's not a good idea to complicate the issue even further by worrying about how to fix errors. as long as you can identify what is an error and what is not an error, you are good to go.

--

*for the one exception to this rule that will actually show up on the test, see the following post:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/og-12-52-t53380.html#263671
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:07 am
Location: Bangalore
Thanked: 9 times
GMAT Score:730

by ballubalraj » Tue Aug 03, 2010 5:03 am
papgust wrote:Relative Pronouns:

Such pronouns refer to something already mentioned in the sentence.

"Who", "Whom" --> People
"Which" --> Things
"That" --> People/Things
"Whose" --> Who or What something belongs to

As per MGMAT SC book, 'THAT' can not refer to people. I myself have not seen a single correct answer in which THAT refers to people.

Any insight on this?

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 3380
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:20 am
Thanked: 2256 times
Followed by:1535 members
GMAT Score:800

by lunarpower » Tue Aug 03, 2010 5:27 am
ballubalraj wrote:
papgust wrote:Relative Pronouns:

Such pronouns refer to something already mentioned in the sentence.

"Who", "Whom" --> People
"Which" --> Things
"That" --> People/Things
"Whose" --> Who or What something belongs to

As per MGMAT SC book, 'THAT' can not refer to people. I myself have not seen a single correct answer in which THAT refers to people.

Any insight on this?
correct.
for people, you must use "who/whom", not "that" or "which".

--

however, note that "whose" can be used for either people or things, since "whose" is also the possessive form of "which"/"that".

for instance:
the person that i saw yesterday --> wrong
the person whom i saw yesterday --> correct
the person whose son i taught last year --> correct

the table that i bought yesterday --> correct
the table whom i bought yesterday --> wrong
the table whose legs i replaced yesterday --> correct
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

--

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi

--

Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.

Yves Saint-Laurent

--

Learn more about ron

User avatar
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:07 am
Location: Bangalore
Thanked: 9 times
GMAT Score:730

by ballubalraj » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:32 am
Thanks for clarifying this, Ron.

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:22 pm

by aniriddha » Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:43 am
Hi All
Can't we have all of the baove as a document . it would really help.
Thanks for the notes
Aniriddha