Saturday, August 22, 2009

Possessive Apostrophe

I just replied to a post in BTG and so thought of putting the concept of possessive apostrophe here.

The sentence in contention was:

A survey by the National Council of Churches showed that in 1986 there were 20,736 female ministers, almost 9 percent of the nation's clergy, twice as much as 1977.

A. twice as much as 1977
B. twice as many as 1977
C. double what it was in 1977
D. double the figure for 1977
E. a number double that of 1977's

and the question was why option E is wrong.


The apostrophe (’) is one of the most used and misused English punctuation marks. No one is ever quite sure where to put it. You can use it when things are left out (contractions), but it’s the possessiveness that causes the most trouble.
The apostrophe is all about making a statement of ownership. You belong to me. This belongs to that. In grammar speak, the apostrophe shows the possessive of nouns.
There are four ways to use the apostrophe to show ownership or belonging.
1. Add apostrophe s to the end of a singular noun that does not end in s:
the manager’s room
2. Add apostrophe s to the end of a singular noun, even if it ends in s (this practice may vary in some places):
Doris’s scarf
3. Add apostrophe s to the end of a plural noun that doesn’t end in s
the children’s bag
4. If the plural noun ends in s, just add the apostrophe
my friends’ car
Notice that possessive pronouns like yours, his, hers, ours, its and theirs are not followed by the apostrophe.
Finally, if you want to play around with it, Wikipedia has a list of four phrases illustrating how the apostrophe can literally change the meaning of sentences.
my sister’s friend’s investments (I have one sister and she has one friend.)
my sisters’ friends’ investments (I have many sisters and they have many friends.)
my sisters’ friend’s investments (I have many sisters and they have one friend.)
my sister’s friends’ investments (I have one sister and she has many friends.)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Hellllo Frens..

Hi there..

As you must have noticed that I have already taken my exam and so I am not updating this blog anymore. But I am receiving quite a few requests on posting on this blog actively.

I would be more than glad to be of any help to anyone. I would request that if you could send me an email on a specific question or topic on dumb.doofus@gmail.com, then I shall definitely respond to it. If the concept is not already covered in this blog, then I'll post new material/concept for sure.

Sincerely wishing all the best for all of you.

Lucky.


Thursday, July 23, 2009

When "being" is correct to use.. in GMATLand

There are at least two different situations in which being is often the right answer.

Here is the first example of when being is correct:

When the grammar requires it.

Yes, I'm trying to simplify things here, but the idea is this--many ideas can be expressed in more than one way. For example, I can say:

I'm afraid of being late.

I'm afraid that I'll be late.

Each has its own emphasis, but the point is that these two structures exist.

Whether we can express ideas in one or more structures is really related to the word used; in other words, it is idiomatic.

But some idioms allow only one structure. For example:

In addition to being one of the first restaurants to combine Mediterranean and American tastes, Chez Panisse in Berkeley is also one of the Bay Area's most established restaurants.

The idiomatic structure in addition to does not have a counterpart that uses a subject and a verb, so our only option here is to use being, which is grammatically a noun, but is derived from a verb.

The second example of when being is correct is shown in this example:

There are many reasons to get an MBA, with increased career prospects being the most important for many MBA applicants.

Technically this part here:

with increased career prospects being the most important for many MBA applicants

is an absolute phrase, but I think it's also helpful just to memorize the pattern:

with + NOUN + being + NOUN COMPLEMENT

Simply a word or phrase that could logically and grammatically complete this pattern:

NOUN + LINKING VERB + NOUN COMPLEMENT

For example, we could have:

She is a friend.

so "friend" is a noun complement. In this case, we can see that a noun can be a noun complement.

Credit: Erin from Testmagic forum

Ex: Some surveys on the use of graphics in business presentation indicate that proposals incorporating graphics stand a twenty percent better chance of being approved than proposals without graphics.

A. a twenty percent better chance of being approved than proposals
B. a twenty percent better chance of approval in comparison with those
C. a likelihood they will be approved twenty percent greater than those
D. a twenty percent greater likelihood of approval as compared to proposals
E. twenty percent more likelihood of being approved than do those

Ans A

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Participle Modifier (w/ and w/o comma)

If the comma is not there, the participial modifier must modify whatever noun directly precedes it. If the comma is there, then the participial modifier is taken to modify the preceding clause as a whole (or particularly the verb of that clause).
to wit:
tom received the court order [NO COMMA] restricting his movements outside the city --> the court order itself restricts tom's movements. we can infer that tom's movements are already restricted by the court order, regardless of whether he has received it.
tom received the court order, restricting his movements outside the city --> tom's movements were not restricted until he received the order.

by the way, the second of these sentences isn't that great: tom is the subject of that sentence, so the modifier implies that tom restricted his own movements by receiving the order. to convey the meaning more precisely, you'd say something like tom received the court order, thus activating orbringing into effect restrictions on...'

Ex: One of Ronald Reagan’s first acts as President was to rescind President Carter’s directivethat any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries.
(A) that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries
(B) that any chemical be prohibited from sale to other countries that was banned on medical grounds in the United States
(C) prohibiting the sale to other countries of any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States
(D) prohibiting that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States is sold to other countries
(E) that any chemical banned in the United States on medical grounds is prohibited from being sold to other countries

Ans C

Credit: Ron Purewal, MGMAT instructor

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Though vs Although vs Even Though

Though, although and even though are used to show a contrast between two clauses:

Our new neighbours are quite nice (this is good) though their two dogs bark all day long. (this isn’t good)

We can use though or although with no difference in meaning. But, some differences are:

Though is more common than although in conversation or writing.

Though (but not although) can come at the end of a sentence:

My new bike is really fast. I don’t like the colour, though.

Though (but not although) can be used as an adverb:

I’m not good at maths but I can help you with your geography, though, if you want.

The meaning of though is similar to however, but though is much more common than however in conversation.

Even though can be used to make the contrast between two clauses stronger:

Dad got back from work really late, even though he had promised to take mum to the cinema.

Source: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-grammar-definitions-conjunctions.htm#though

Because vs As vs Since

Because, as and since are used to answer the question: ‘Why?’. They join two clauses in the same sentence:

Joe resigned because he wanted to spend more time with his family.

AND because, as and since show the relationship between the ideas in two clauses:

A: Why did you resign from such a well-paid job, Joe?

B: Because I wanted to spend more time with my family.

Because is more common than as and since when the ‘reason’ is the most important thing. The because-clause usually comes after the main clause:

I went to Cyprus for a holiday last October because I knew it would be warm and sunny every day I was there.

As and since are used when the reason is already well-known and/or less important. The as or since-clause often comes at the beginning of the sentence and is separated from the main clause by a comma:

As my family had finished dinner when I got home, I went to this really good burger bar.

( I’m telling you about the burger bar. It’s not so important ‘why’ I went there).

Since it’s your birthday, I’ll make you breakfast in bed (I’m going to make you breakfast.

(I know, and you know, it’s your birthday)

Note! In conversation, so is often used instead of since and as. Theso-clause comes after the main clause.

My family had finished dinner when I got home, so I went to this really good burger bar.

Source: http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-grammar-definitions-conjunctions.htm#because

Ex: Prospecting for gold during the California gold rush was a relatively easy task, because of erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds thrust to the surface by volcanic activity put gold literally within reach for anybody with a pan or shovel.

A. because of erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds thrust to the surface by volcanic activity put gold literally within reach for
B. because of erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and volcanic activity that thrust ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds to the surface, and putting gold literally within reach of
C. owing to erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and volcanic activity that had thrust ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds to the surface, and putting gold literally within reach of
D. since erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and volcanic activity that thrust ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds to the surface, putting gold literally within reach for
E. since erosion, prehistoric glacier movement, and ancient, gold-bearing riverbeds thrust to the surface by volcanic activity put gold literally within reach of

Ans E

Misplaced, Dangling and Squinted Modifiers

Modifiers are just what they sound like—words or phrases that modify something else. Misplaced modifiers are modifiers that modify something you didn't intend them to modify. For example, the word onlyis a modifier that's easy to misplace.

These two sentences mean different things:

I ate only vegetables.

I only ate vegetables.

The first sentence (I ate only vegetables) means that I ate nothing but vegetables—no fruit, no meat, just vegetables.

The second sentence (I only ate vegetables) means that all I did with vegetables was eat them. I didn't plant, harvest, wash, or cook them. I only ate them.

It's easiest to get modifiers right when you keep them as close as possible to the thing they are modifying. When you're working with one-word modifiers, for example, they usually go right before the word they modify.

Here's another example of two sentences with very different meanings:

I almost failed every art class I took.

I failed almost every art class I took.

The first sentence (I almost failed every art class I took) means that although it was close, I passed all those classes.

The second sentence (I failed almost every art class I took) means that I passed only a few art classes.

Note again that the modifier, almost, acts on what directly follows it—almost failed versus almost every class. In either case, I'm probably not going to make a living as a painter, but these two sentences mean different things.

A similar rule applies when you have a short phrase at the beginning of a sentence: whatever the phrase refers to should immediately follow the comma. Here's an example:

Rolling down the hill, Squiggly was frightened that the rocks would land on the campsite.

In that sentence, it's Squiggly, not the rocks, rolling down the hill because the word Squiggly is what comes immediately after the modifying phrase, rolling down the hill.

To fix that sentence, I could write, “Rolling down the hill, the rocks threatened the campsite and frightened Squiggly.” Or I could write, “Squiggly was frightened that the rocks, which were rolling down the hill, would land on the campsite.”

aardvark hillHere's another funny sentence:

Covered in wildflowers, Aardvark pondered the hillside's beauty.

In that sentence, Aardvark—not the hillside—is covered with wildflowers because the word Aardvark is what comes directly after the modifying phrase, covered in wildflowers.

If I want Aardvark to ponder a wildflower-covered hillside, I need to write something like, “Covered in wildflowers, the hillside struck Aardvark with its beauty.”

Here, the words the hillside immediately follow the modifying phrase,covered in wildflowers.

Or better yet, I could write, “Aardvark pondered the beauty of the wildflowers that covered the hillside.”

Modifiers are so funny! In addition to misplacing them, you can dangle them and make them squint!

A dangling modifier describes something that isn't even in your sentence. Usually you are implying the subject and taking for granted that your reader will know what you mean—not a good strategy. Here's an example:

Hiking the trail, the birds chirped loudly.

The way the sentence is written, the birds are hiking the trail because they are the only subject present in the sentence. If that's not what you mean, you need to rewrite the sentence to something like, “Hiking the trail, Squiggly and Aardvark heard birds chirping loudly.”

And how do you make a modifier squint? By placing it between two things that it could reasonably modify, meaning the reader has no idea which one to choose.

For example:

Children who laugh rarely are shy.

As written, that sentence could mean two different things: children who rarely laugh are shy, or children who laugh are rarely shy.

In the original sentence (Children who laugh rarely are shy) the wordrarely is squinting between the words laugh and are shy. These are called squinting modifiers (or sometimes they are also called two-way modifiers).

Saturday, July 11, 2009

When to use "that"

After a verb of attribution (said, stated, announced, disclosed), the word “that” often can be omitted with no loss of meaning:

He said (that) he was tired. No need for "that." Better to omit.

But if the words that follow “said” (or any verb of attribution) might be mistaken as objects of the verb, omitting “that” might lead the reader down a false trail:

The governor announced his new tax plan would be introduced soon.

Here “that” is needed after "announced. Without it, the reader's first impression is that the plan itself has been put forth. Remember that even momentary confusion provides readers with a handy place to stop — and that's not good. A reader should never have to pause to understand what the writer (or speaker) is trying to convey. If that happens too often (and once may be once too often), a reader stops reading.



Time element: When a time element is linked to the verb of attribution, the conjunction “that” must be used. For example:

The mayor announced June1 the fund would be exhausted.

The reader needs to know if the time applies to the material that precedes or follows it. Did he make the announcement June1? (“...announced June 1 that...”) Or did he say the fund then would be exhausted? (“...announced that June 1...”) In either case, the need for “that” should be obvious. The need remains when the time element is not a date but a day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, today, yesterday, etc.).


“Thats” that travel in pairs

Often a sentence with two parallel clauses requires the expression “and that” to introduce the second clause and link it to the antecedent common to both clauses:

The senator said he might run again and, if he did, Myra Henry would be his campaign manager.

A “that” is needed after “and” to make it clear for the reader. Therefore, a “that” must be inserted after “said” because of a rule called parallelism — if you've got one “that” referring to the same antecedent, you need another. The “that” after “said” is required even though none would be required had the sentence ended after “again.”

The senator said that he might run again and that, if he did, Myra Henry would be his campaign manager.

So, just remember. If you need one “that” for clarity, make sure you put in another “that” in any compound sentence.


To use “that” or not to use “that”?
That is the question.

The decisio nto use or omit “that” is not always a simple one. Sometimes it's a judgment call. But don't let your desire to lop off unnecessary words lead you into bad judgment.
As a rule of thumb in questionable cases, remember: Using “that” is never really wrong, though it may be unnecessary; omitting “that” in some cases indeed may be wrong.


Source: http://web.ku.edu/~edit/that.html

Friday, July 10, 2009

Using the past perfect

The past perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first. Imagine that two things happened in the past:

I went to see the movie.
We discussed the movie in class.

Here, we don't know which order the events happened in. That may be important -- perhaps I went to see the movie after the discussion, or maybe I saw the movie before the discussion. There are many ways to make this sequence clear, and the past perfect is one of them. This is how we do it:

I went to see the movie. We had discussed it in class.

Here, we KNOW that the discussion took place FIRST -- even though the sentence describing it comes afterwards. We discussed the movie, and THEN I went to see it. This can be very useful when you are telling a story or relating a sequence of events. At any point in your story, you can jump BACK to a previous event, and your reader will not be confused, because the past perfect will make it clear that the event happened previously. Here is another example:

I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there.
(Judy was probably still living in Japan when I called her.)

I wanted to live in a foreign country, so I applied for a job in Japan. Judy had lived in Japan, so I called her to find out more about the culture and lifestyle there.
(Judy no longer lived in Japan -- she returned from there before I applied for the job.)


USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Examples:

  • I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
  • I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
  • Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
  • Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
  • She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
  • Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
  • We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
  • A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
    B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)

With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

Examples:

  • We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
  • By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
  • They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.

IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect

Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.

Example:

  • She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

MOREOVER

If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and "after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason, both sentences below are correct.

Examples:

  • She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.
  • She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in 1996.

HOWEVER

If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional. Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.

Examples:

  • She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
  • She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

  • You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
  • Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

  • George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. Active
  • Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's license. Passive

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Resumptive Modifiers

By adding modifying phrases to the end of a sentence, a writer can take the reader in new, sometimes unexpected directions. A resumptive modifier picks up a word or phrase from a sentence that seems to be finished and then adds information and takes the reader into new territory of thought. Because resumptive modifiers are, by nature, repetitive, they tend also to add a sense of rhythm to a sentence.

Ex: The Swiss watchmakers' failure to capitalize on the invention of the digital timepiece was both astonishing and alarmingastonishing in that the Swiss had, since the beginnings of the industrial revolution in Europe, been among the first to capitalize on technical innovations, alarming in that a tremendous industrial potential had been lost to their chief competitors, the watchmakers of Japan.

1. Since the 1930's aircraft manufacturers have tried to build airplanes with frictionless wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly that the air passing over them would not become turbulent.

(A) wings, shaped so smoothly and perfectly
(B) wings, wings so smooth and so perfectly shaped
(C) wings that are shaped so smooth and perfect
(D) wings, shaped in such a smooth and perfect manner
(E) wings, having been shaped smoothly and perfectly so

Ans B

2. In a crowded, acquisitive world, the disapperance of lifestyles such as those once followed by southern Africa's Bushmen and Australia's aborigines, requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seem inevitably doomed.

(B) requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seems to be inevitably doomed
(C) which require vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seems to be inevitably doomed
(D) life-styles that require vast wild spaces and permit little accumulation of goods, seem inevitable
(E) life-styles requiring vast wild spaces and permitting little accumulation of goods, seems inevitable

Ans E

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Inverse of an Argument

Source: http://regentsprep.org/regents/math/relcond/Linvers.htm

Converse of an Argument



Source: http://regentsprep.org/regents/math/relcond/Lconvers.htm

Contrapositive Arguments - Important

The contrapositive of a conditional statement is formed bynegating both the hypothesis and the conclusion, and then interchangingthe resulting negations.
In other words, the contrapositive negates and switches the parts of the sentence. It does BOTH the jobs of the INVERSE and the CONVERSE.

Example:

Conditional:
"If 9 is an odd number, then 9 is divisible by 2."
(true) (false)
Contrapositive:
"If 9 is not divisible by 2, then 9 is not an odd number."
(true) (false)


An important fact to remember about the contrapositive, is that it always has the SAME truth value as the original conditional statement.

**If the original statement is TRUE, the contrapositive is TRUE.
If the original statement is FALSE, the contrapositive is FALSE.

They are said to be
logically equivalent.

ConditionalContrapositive

Source: http://regentsprep.org/regents/math/relcond/Lcontrap.htm


Example:

If A, then B.

If B, then C.

If C, then D.

If all of the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?

(A) If D, then A.

(B) If not B, then not C.

(C) If not D, then not A.

(D) If D, then E.C

(E) If not A, then not D.

Ans: C

Totally Killer CRs

1. http://www.beatthegmat.com/gmatprep-volume-of-cigarettes-and-sales-tax-t37931.html#167185

2. Odysseus answered well when the priests showed him a picture of those who had honored the gods and then escaped shipwreck, and asked him whether he did not now acknowledge the power of the gods—"Yes," he asked, "but where are those pictured who were drowned after their prayers?" And such is the way of all superstitions; wherein humans, having a delight in such vanities, mark the events where they are fulfilled, but where they fail, though this happens much oftener, neglect and pass them by.

Which one of the following contains the error of reasoning described by the author in the passage?

(A) I have discovered that Friday the 13th really is a day of misfortune. Just this past Friday, the 13th, I locked myself out of the house.
(B) Although Napoleon and Alexander the Great were short, Abraham Lincoln and Charles de Gaulle were tall. So short people seek leadership in order to overcome feelings of inferiority.
(C) Every semester for the past 15 years, an average of 10 percent of Ms. Elliot's history students have dropped her course before the exam. So, it seems likely that we can expect 10 percent to drop out this year.
(D) No reliable observer has ever actually seen a yeti. The strongest evidence seems to be some suspicious tracks. So I think this search for a yeti is probably a wild-goose chase.
(E) I cannot trust my lucky shirt any longer. I wore it to the game today and our team lost.

Ans: We know if A => B and not B => not A (contrapositive).

The logic in the stem -- if A leads to B, then B must lead to A.
If all the people survived have prayed, then praying must be sure to make you survive. This is logically WRONG. In fact, B (praying) may or may not lead to A (survive). It is the same with choice A. Friday the thirteen may or may not leads to unlucky events even if one unlucky event happened on Friday the thirteenth.


2. Press Secretary: Our critics claim that the President ' s recent highway project cancellations demonstrate a vindictive desire to punish legislative districts controlled by opposition parties. They offer as evidence the fact that 90 percent of the projects canceled were in such districts. But all of the canceled projects had been identified as wasteful in a report written by respected nonpartisan auditors. So the President ' s choice was clearly motivated by sound budgetary policy, not partisan politics.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the press secretary ' s argument depends?

A. Canceling highway projects was not the only way for the President to punish legislative districts controlled by opposition parties.
B. The scheduled highway projects identified as wasteful in the report were not mostly projects in districts controlled by the President ' s party.
C. The number of projects canceled was a significant proportion of all the highway projects that were to be undertaken by the government in the near future.
D. The highway projects canceled in districts controlled by the President ' s party were not generally more expensive than the projects canceled in districts controlled by opposition parties.
E. Reports by nonpartisan auditors are not generally regarded by the opposition parties as a source of objective assessments of government projects.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Killer SCs

1. Trying to learn some of the basics of programming is the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager: some people end up going to engineering school, and others, twenty years later, remember nothing of the experience.
(A) the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager
(B) similar to a teenager tinkering with a car
(C) like tinkering with a car as a teenager
(D) the same as a teenager tinkering with a car
(E) like the teenager’s tinkering with a car


2. The Western world’s love affair with chocolate is well-documented: few people have been known to have tasted it for the first time without requesting more.
(A) few people have been known to have tasted it
(B) few having been known to taste it
(C) it has been tasted by few people
(D) few people have been known to taste it
(E) few people having tasted it


3. Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete them.

A. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete them
B. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete it
C. took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete
D. 700,000 artisans took more than 36 years to complete
E. to complete them took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years


4. Minivans carry as many as seven passengers and, compared with most sport utility vehicles, cost less, get better gas mileage, allow passengers to get in and out more easily, and have a smoother ride.

A. Minivans carry as many as seven passengers and, compared with most sport utility vehicles, cost less,
B. Minivans, which carry as many as seven passengers, compared with most sport utility vehicles, they cost less,
C. Minivans carry as many as seven passengers, in comparison with most sport utility vehicles, and have a lower cost, they
D. Minivans, carrying as many as seven passengers, compared with most sport utility vehicles, cost less,
E. Minivans, which carry as many as seven passengers, compared with most sport utility vehicles the cost is lower, and they


5. After the Colonial period’s 50 percent mortality rate, life expectancy improved for children, but as late as the nineteenth century about one child in three died before reaching the age of six.
(A) After the Colonial period’s 50 percent mortality rate, life expectancy improved for children, but
(B) Even though children’s life expectancy, which improved over the Colonial period’s 50 percent mortality rate,
(C) Although life expectancy for children improved after the Colonial period, during which the mortality rate was 50 percent,
(D) While there was an improvement in life expectancy for children after the 50 percent mortality rate of the Colonial period, still
(E) Despite children’s life expectancy improvement from the Colonial period’s 50 percent mortality rate,

Ans: http://www.beatthegmat.com/1000sc-68-t40248.html

6. The Olympic Games helped to keep peace among the pugnacious states of the Greek world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival’s month.
(A) world in that a sacred truce was proclaimed during the festival’s month
(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival’s month
(C) world when they proclaimed a sacred truce for the festival month
(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed during the month of the festival
(E) world by proclamation of a sacred truce that was for the month of the festival

Ans:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/olympic-games-t12944.html

7. The voluminous personal papers of Thomas Alva Edison reveal that his inventions typically sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly from previous works.
(A) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(B) sprang to life not in a flash of inspiration but were slowly evolved
(C) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly
(D) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but had slowly evolved
(E) did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but they were slowly evolved

Ans:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/62-voluminous-personal-papers-t39978.html

8. Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also caused erosion and very quickly deforested whole regions.

A. Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also

B. Not only did the systematic clearing of forests in the United States create farmland (especially in the Northeast), which gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but also

C. The systematic clearing of forests in the United States, creating farmland (especially in the Northeast) and giving consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but also

D. The systematic clearing of forests in the United States created farmland
(especially in the Northeast) and gave consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it also

E. The systematic clearing of forests in the United States not only created farmland (especially in the Northeast), giving consumers relatively inexpensive houses and furniture, but it

Ans: D

9. It may be another fifteen years before spacecraft from Earth again venture to Mars, a planet now known to be cold, dry, and probably lifeless.
(A) again venture to Mars, a planet now known to be
(B) venture to Mars again, a planet now known for being
(C) will venture to Mars again, a planet now known as being
(D) venture again to Mars, a planet that is known now to be
(E) will again venture to Mars, a planet known now as being


10.

Cooperative apartment houses have the peculiar distinction of being dwellings that must also operate as businesses.

(A) of being dwellings that must also operate as businesses
(B) of dwellings that must also operate like business
(C) that they are dwellings that must operate like business
(D) that, as dwellings, they must also operate like businesses
(E) to be a dwelling that must also operate as a business

Ans A

11. One of Ronald Reagan’s first acts as President was to rescind President Carter’s directivethat any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries.
(A) that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States be prohibited from sale to other countries
(B) that any chemical be prohibited from sale to other countries that was banned on medical grounds in the United States
(C) prohibiting the sale to other countries of any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States
(D) prohibiting that any chemical banned on medical grounds in the United States is sold to other countries
(E) that any chemical banned in the United States on medical grounds is prohibited from being sold to other countries