GMAT Verbal Online Practice – GMAT Coaching Classes Dubai
Rules of Sentence Correction – GMAT Verbal Class Part-2
II) Pronoun Agreement
Rule 1 : PRONOUN AGREEMENT
Each pronoun must agree with the noun it replaces. The noun a pronoun replaces is called the antecedent.
Usage :
- The students were playing in their school.
- The boy ate his breakfast.
- The Queen gave her property to charity home.
There should also be an agreement between pronoun-noun , pronoun-pronoun and pronoun – gender .
Usage :
- If one wants to succeed , one has to work hard.
- She works everyday and her hard work is appreciated.
- Sam is studying well and his parents are happy about his performance at school.
Rule 2 : PRONOUN AMBIGUITY
A pronoun must clearly refer to only one noun. If it refers to more than one noun then there is an ambiguity.
Usage :
- Sam , Leo and Katy are playing in the garden and it felt thirsty .( wrong )
- Sam , Leo and Katy are playing in the garden and they felt thirsty .( correct )
Rule 3 : Which
Which refers to animals and things
Usage :
- The sheep, which were left to graze , never came back.
- The bag, which was red in color, was lost.
Rule 4 : That
That can refer to group and things. Sometimes that is used for people.
Usage :
- I have kept the bag that you gave me yesterday.
- This is not the test that we recommend to students.
- Most of the students that come to us are British nationals.
Rule 5 : Who
Who is used for people or person.
Usage :
- We enrolled a girl who had 6 years of experience.
Exception : Who can be used for animals when the animal is treated as a person.
Example :
- The mouse, who is called Stuart in the movie, is cute .
Rule 6 : In Which
In which can be used for place , phenomenon , situations , and time period.
Usage :
- He lives in a village , in which there are no cars.
- Can you tell me any institute in which the trainers are friendly ?
Rule 7 : Who vs Whom
Usage :
- Who met you yesterday ? (Questioning the Subject )
- Whom did you meet yesterday? ( Questioning the Object )
Rule 8 : That vs Which
That introduces what is called an essential clause in the sentence. Essential clauses add information that is vital to the point of the sentence.
Which introduces a non-essential clause which adds supplementary information.
Usage :
- Please get me the book that is mine.
- All things , which are not necessary should be avoided.
III) GMAT- SC- Parallelism
Parallelism means using the same grammatical structure of words in a list to show that two or more ideas have the same function in the sentence.
Rule 1 : Parallel Structure
When connected words or phrases have the same grammatical function in a sentence.
Usage :
- I admire students who are honest, reliable , and sincere.
- Sam likes playing guitar, singing hymns and dancing .
- The kids played on the swing , the slide , and the seesaw.
- Jasmine is simple , calm , and austere in her personality.
- This car runs efficiently , quietly , and smoothly.
- What you see is what you get .
- Reading , writing , and speaking are important skills to learn.
Rule 2 : Some words appear in pairs and follow parallelism.
Usage :
- There is no competition between X and Y.
- Both A and B
- Whether A or B
- Not only A but also B
- Either A or B
IV) GMAT- SC- SENTENCE STRUCTURE
Rule 1 : RUN ON
A run on sentence occurs when two complete sentences are connected together without a correct punctuation or a linking word.
Usage :
- He went to the grocery store he purchased vegetables. (Wrong usage )
- He went to the grocery store. He purchased vegetables. (Correct usage )
Rule 2 : Comma Splice
A comma splice error occurs when two sentences are connected together only with a comma.
Usage :
- He went to the grocery store , he purchased vegetables.( Wrong Usage )
- He went to the grocery store. He purchased vegetables. (Correct Usage )
Rule 3: How to fix a Run-on Sentence / a comma splice error ?
Use a period / full stop :
- He went to the grocery store. He purchased vegetables.
Use a semicolon :
- He went to the grocery store; he purchased vegetables.
Use a comma and a coordinating conjunction:
- He went to the grocery store, and he purchased vegetables.
Use a subordinating conjunction:
- Because he went to the grocery store, he purchased vegetables.
WhatsApp us