Sentence Correction

Question 1

What kind of sentence should be between two commas?

Answer 1

A sentence that is not needed to convey the intended meaning

Question 2

What should you look for when you see a comparison? (i.e. Unlike X, Y is…)

Answer 2

In comparisons you should look if what is being compared is similar and if the structure is parallel

Question 3

Describe the characteristics of SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD

Answer 3

Structure used in theoretical sentences or after bossy verbs
The verb should come in BASE FORM

I.e. Demanding THAT X B done

Question 4

What is the problem with an amount that is about 2% of the GDP

Answer 4

This sentence is wordy. Alternatively, an amount about 2% of the GDP

Question 5

What is the number of collective nouns?

Answer 5

Collective nouns are singular
Ex: the team has to work together to win

Question 6

Is each singular or plural?

Answer 6

Each is singular

Ie: Each of the students

Question 7

What is the catch with intended actions?

Answer 7

Preference for base form ferms: “to + [verb in base form]”

“A research TO EXPLORE topic X”

Ask yourself - what does it want to do?

Question 8

What is the issue with “A research that would explore topic X”?

Answer 8

For intended actions use the base form: TO EXPLORE

Question 9

What is the first thing to look for in a SC exercise?

Answer 9

What is the SUBJECT, VERB, COMPLEMENT of the sentence

Question 10

What is the difference between comparisson words BETWEEN and AMONG

Answer 10

Between: 2 elements
Among: multiple elements

Question 11

What is the most important action in fully underlined?

Answer 11

To anotate the SVC, to use it to compare the meaning between alternatives

Question 12

What is the catch with the modifier structure “[phrase] + [comma] + [noun]”

Answer 12

To evaluate if the phrase is modifying the correct noun (right after the comma)

Question 13

Is “that of” correct?
“Softness of soil similar to that of rivers”

Answer 13

Yes, but THAT is referring to the SOFTNESS

Softness is what is being compared; “of soil” is a modifier of softness

Question 14

When is it the case for two actions in the past not requiring past perfect?

Answer 14

If both actions ocurred simultaneously/continuously.
“Even though his army never faced defeat, king carefully planned every battle”

PAST PERFECT: when the first action is on the GREATER PAST, before a second action

Question 15

What words can be used to identify cause and effect, and what word cant?

Answer 15

CAN BE USED: thereby, resulting in

CAN’T BE USED: and

Question 16

Identify the SVC of the passage:

“Farmers should know that by adding more than necessary fertilizers to soil, farmers lower soil’s ability to absorb nutriets, thereby reducing the crop yield.

Answer 16

“[s]Farmers [v] should know [c]that [m]by adding more than necessary fertilizers to soil, [s]FARMERS [v]LOWER [c] SOIL’S ability to absorb nutriets, thereby [m] reducing the crop yield.

Question 17

Identify the SVC and correct the passage:

“Farmers should know that by adding more than necessary fertiliers to soik, soik’s ability to absorb nutriets is lowered resulting in reduced crop yield”

Answer 17

“[s]Farmers [v]should know [c]that [m]by adding more than necessary fertiliers to soil, (1)soil’s ability to absorb nutriets (2)is lowered resulting in reduced crop yield”

(1) Who is the actor that is modified by BY ADDING? Soil? No, should be farmers

(2) passive voice - ability is lowered; who is the actor?

“FARMERS, by adding more than necessary fertilizers to soil, LOWER soils ability to ….

Question 18

How to use PRESENT TENSEto describe a current status vs a quality of a noun? (i.e. GAME)

Answer 18

Status: [VERB + ing]
* A game simulating

Quality: [VERB + ‘s’]
* A game that simulates

Question 19

What is the meaning of:
1) X proves itself
2) X has proved itself

Answer 19

1) continuous action, still proves to date
2) concluded action with effects to date

Question 20

What should you do on a sentence with parallel construction? (i.e. lists or comparissons)

Answer 20

Check:
1) if verbs are parallel,
2) if the comparisson is betweens similar elements

Question 21

What is the catch in “the car was designed for X-purpose and ressembling Y-car”

Answer 21

This is a list of qualities of the car
1) it was designed for X purpose (concluded quality)
2) it ressembles Y car (continuous quality)

Question 22

What is the issue and how to fix the sentence:

“X, whose montlhy circulation totals 1.000”

Answer 22

The sentence is passive voice. To fix it add a verb to the subject “total montlhy circulation”

“X, whose total montlhy circulation is 1.000”

Question 23

What is the issue and how to fix the sentence:

“Rome, from where Italy was ruled”

Answer 23

The sentence is not concise

“Rome, Italy’s capital”

Question 24

What is the marker of the end of a list?

Answer 24

the structure “[comma] + and”

Question 25

What to look for when deciding between two potential answers in SC?

Answer 25

Evaluate if the meaning is the same by looking to the SVC and modifiers

Question 26

What is the issue with:

“Its easier to X, rather than to Y”

Answer 26

There is a redundancy in comparisons by using EASIER and RATHER THAN.

Instead, use:
“It’s easy to X, rather than to Y”; or
“It’s easier to X than to Y”

Question 27

What is the SVC of the sentence:

“With X-trait (…), Erope has been (…), its Y-trait (…)”

Answer 27

“[m1] With X-trait (…), [s]Europe [v]has been c, [m1]its Y-trait (…)”

m1: EUROPE, with X-trait
m2: EUROPE, with its Y-trait

Question 28

What is a dangling modifier?

Answer 28

A structure that is modifying something not present in the sentence

“Using good hip movement, V4 routes can be done in less than 3min”

WHO is using good hip movement?
CLIMBERS

Using good hip movement, climbers can do V4 routes in less than 3 min”

Question 29

What to look for when you see WHICH aftert a comma?

“(…), which (…)”

Answer 29

WHICH must be modifing the immediatly preceding word

Question 30

Is “a large number of communities” plural or singular?

Answer 30

It’s plural.
A large number: more than 1
It’s not a collective word

Question 31

What to look for when you see “one another” or “each other”?

Answer 31

The subject must be plural

THEY have respect for one another

Question 32

What are plural noun phrases?

Answer 32

When two singular nouns are connected by AND, forming a PLURAL

A CAT and a DOG were

Question 33

What did you learn with the question “The motive of the crime decides wether the guilty party, …”

Answer 33

1) That despite unusual, “The motive of the crime decides” was the best option among alternatives

2) That between commans should be a sentence that is not core to the meaning

Question 34

Correct the sentence:
“Demanding that the ban should be reverted and the festival takes place”

Answer 34

Subjunctive mood - bossy word “demanding”

Demanding that the ban BE reverted and the festival TAKE palce

[to be reverter] [to take place]

Question 35

What did you learn about the question on Walmart’s growth?

Answer 35

That the verb tense HAS GROWN is used to describe an action started in the past and is ending on this date

Walmart HAS GROWN from X to Y

Question 36

What is the issue with:
““… commanded that it must complete all preparation …

Answer 36

Can’t use MUST under subjunctive mood. It requires the verb in base form only

Question 37

What is the issue with:
“Observed a significant improvement in skills of children in highschool, consistent with …”

Answer 37

The modifier is wrong. What was CONSISTENT? The observation, not the highschool

Modifiers refer to the closest noun:
“observed (..) of children in highschool, an observation consistent with…”

Question 38

Is CHILDREN IN HIGH SCHOOL correct?

Answer 38

HIGH SCHOOL CHILDREN is more concise

Question 39

What is the catch:

Researchers hypothesize that granitic soil is the ideal construction material for the desert tortoise because it is not so hard that it makes burrowing difficult or so soft that it could cause tunnels to collapse.

Answer 39

It’s a parallel structure and it’s correct. Wrong alternatives were:

• hard enough to make burrowing difficult or soft enough as to cause
• as hard as to make burrowing difficult or as soft as to cause
  [The word after the idiom “As X as” needs to be a noun]

Question 40

What must come after the idiom “As X as …”?

Answer 40

It must be a noun, like “rock”, and never a verb.

Correct: As Hard as a rock

Incorrect: As hard as to hurt someone

Question 41

Why can’t you use REDUCED with PLANS?

Answer 41

Plans dont reduce, implementation of plans does

Question 42

Whare are the issues with:

In the mid-1970’s, birds had been overcome by pollution and routinely fell from the sky above Los Angeles freeways, prompting officials in California to devise a plan that reduced

Answer 42

Perfect past: “HAD BEEN” is parallell to “routinely fell”, therefore missing the greater past; The sequence of actions must be clear

Logical inferece: PLANs dont REDUCE, the implementation does

Question 44

What is the function od THAT on a sentence?

Answer 44

To connect to SVC

SVC, that SVC

“farmers should know that, by doing X, farmers (…)”

Question 45

What is the issue with A PROCESS WHERE X IS REMOVED FROM Y

Answer 45

A process IN WHICH

Where can only refer to physical places

Question 46

Is THE ROMAN EMPIRE singular or plural

Answer 46

THE ROMAN EMPIRE is singular -> in conquering greece, it never extinguished….

Question 47

What are the conjunctions and what is their role?

Answer 47

FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Conjunctions connect two SVC

Question 48

What are baked ladies and why are they useful? How to use them?

Answer 48

What: not underlined parts
Why: they hint the SVA, singular/plural, etc

Question 49

How to compare the probability? (comparison structure)

Answer 49

X times as likely as (…)

“minorities are four times as likely as other groups to plan on practicing yoga”

Question 50

How to compare quantities using “as many”?

Answer 50

“yesterday there were 10, but today there are fewer than 5 as many”

Question 51

What are preposition? Give examples

Answer 51

What: prepositions start modifiers
Examples: by, since, for, to, with, as

Question 52

What are you looking for while reading a reading comprehension passage?

Answer 52

What is the author writting about? (main idea, SVC)
Why is he writting? (his argument is to prove a point or to show something new )
How he feels? (positive/negative)
How did he structure the argument? (what goes on each paragraph?)

Question 53

What is the meaning of each of these verbs in RC?
Criticize
Evaluate
Offer a critique
Compare
Explain
Analyze

Answer 53

Criticize: talk negatively
Evaluate: give opinion
Offer a critique: give opinion
Explain: argue/reason
Analyze: study/induction/conclusion

Question 54

Is “The company management” singular or plural?

Answer 54

The company management is singular
(the management)

The company management was pessimistic about the outlook…

Question 55

What is the parallel construction to compare verbs?

Answer 55

Use RATHER THAN instead of Instead OF

Rather than accept, he sailed…

Question 56

elephan brains (…) any other land animals

Answer 56

are larger than those of any other land animals

Question 57

What is wrong with:
The judge can command that the witness recorded the statement in absence of the acused.

Answer 57

Subjunctive mood: record
Meaning: the witness record the statement is ok

the witness record the statement in absence of

Question 58

What was the catch with the Credit card popularity question?

Answer 58

“Reasons for credit card popularity (…)” is different from “Were made popular because of …”
The second implies that it was an active action, not a trait

Question 59

What did you learn with the question on volcanic eruoptions?

Answer 59

Habit: If you are suspicious of the SVA, check with your eyes what is the subject of the verb

Volcanic Eruptions empty their stores of lava so swiftly that they cause (…)

Question 60

So X (…) Y
So swiftly (…) they cause

Answer 60

So X that Y
So [CAUSE] that [EFFECT]

Question 61

What is the catch:
A recent study concluded that regular exercise has a greater effect on cognitive abilities than the previous estimation and moderate exercise can directly improve bain functioning.

Answer 61

Lists: regular exercise and moderate exercise
Comparisson: Has greater effect than ESTIMATED PREVIOUSLY

Question 62

What is the catch with:
Off-shoring technology has been blamed for greatly increasing the unemployment rate.

Answer 62

It’s correct
Action -> increasing unemp. rate

What was wordy: causing great increase in the unemployment rate

Question 63

What was the catch with the CR question about average spending per government project going up?

Answer 63

Many low-budget gov. projects being shelved doesn’t mean that high-budget weren’t -> in this case would cancel out and not increase the average

On the other hand, alternative C mentioend that high budget continued to receive goverment funding

Question 64

What is the furthermore test for CR?

Answer 64

On Weakening or Strengthening questions, use furthermore to see if the alternative fits within the main passage

Question 65

What is the difference between through and throughout?

Answer 65

Through: by the means of; por meio de
Throuhgout: during the time/space

Greg family became more hopeful through his transformation and demise (after it was done)

Question 66

Rust can deteriorate a steel pipe to such an extent that it will snap easily, as though it was a
twig.

Answer 66

theoretical scenario:

will snap easily, as though it were a twig

the expression “as though” introduces a supposition that is contrary to fact (the pipe
is not a twig). Such suppositions must be expressed in the subjunctive mood. For
example, in the phrase “I wish I were rich,” the verb “were” is in the subjunctive

Question 67

Until Antoine Lavoisier proved otherwise in the eighteenth century, [many scientists had
believed that combustion released phlogiston, an imaginary substance whose properties
were not fully understood.]

Answer 67

past perfect is ok

Question 68

Many analysts have recently predicted that democratic institutions will develop in China, as the
growth of democracy [has generally followed industrial development] in other countries
throughout the 20th century.

Answer 68

Correct: generally followed industrial development

Have followed: happened in past, effect to date
Had followed: requires another verb in the simple past

The non-underlined portion of the sentence utilizes the present perfect tense “have . .
. predicted” to indicate that the analysts have and continue to predict the development
of democratic institutions in China. In the original sentence, the present perfect tense
is also utilized in “has . . . followed” to describe the pattern of democracy following
industrial development. However, the sentence clearly refers to the past with the
phrase “throughout the 20th century,” making the use of the present perfect tense
incorrect, as the activity cannot be continuing if it occurred in the past and ended at
the end of the 20th century.

Question 69

The health commissioner said that the government had implemented strict measures to
eradicate the contaminated food and, despite the recent illnesses, [it will try] to prevent the
outbreak from recurring in the future.

Answer 69

Correct: that it would try

In the original sentence, the verb “had implemented” is in the past perfect tense,
indicating that this event occurred at some point before the commissioner spoke. The
verb “will try”, however, is in the simple future. When the future is indicated from the
point of view of the past, the simple future is not used. Instead, the conditional is
required. For example, “The man said that he would buy a new car” is preferable to
“The man said that he will buy a new car.” We need to find a conditional
verb. Moreover, the pronoun “it” begins a new clause and thus requires repetition of
“that” in order to make clear, using parallel structure, that this new clause is still
something that the commissioner said. For example, “The man said that he would
buy a new car and that he would drive it everywhere” is preferable to “The man said
that he would buy a new car and he would drive it everywhere.”

Question 69

In 1860, the Philological Society launched its effort to create a dictionary more comprehensive
than the world had ever seen; although the project [would take more than 60 years to
complete, the Oxford English Dictionary had been] born.

Answer 69

Correct: would take more than 60 years to complete, the Oxford English Dictionary was

The past perfect (“had been born”) is used when there are two past actions and we
want to indicate which one happened first. In the underlined portion of the sentence,
however, the other verb, “would take,” is not in the past tense, so we need to use the
simple past “was born.” (Remember that we always use the most simple tenses
allowed; the perfect tenses, and other complicated tenses, are used only when
required by the sentence structure.) The second half of the sentence stands in
contrast to the first half, in which the simple past “launched” is correctly paired with
the past perfect “had seen.

Question 69

[A recent study has cited overcomplexity, increasing worker mobility between companies, and
poor financial planning in estimating that less than half of eligible American workers had
contributed the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans.]

Answer 69

Correct: Citing overcomplexity, increasing mobility of workers between companies, and poor financial
planning, a recent study has estimated that less than half of eligible American workers
contribute the maximum amount to their employer-offered retirement plans

The original sentence incorrectly utilizes the past perfect tense in its use of “had
contributed.” The past perfect tense demands that the simple past tense also be used
in the sentence to refer to another action that occurred in the past but after the action
referred to by the past perfect tense. Here, the sentence uses the present perfect
tense “has cited” and the present participle “estimating,” but does not use the simple
past tense to refer to another action in the later past.