Sentence correction questions are designed to measure your knowledge of both grammar and effective style.
Chances are you already know most of these rules and guidelines even if you don’t know how to articulate
them. You can often tell when something sounds wrong, even if you don’t know exactly why it is wrong. That
is good news because on the GMAT® exam you do not have to identify the grammar rule that has been bro-
ken or what makes the writing ineffective. Rather, you will simply have to identify which sentence is free of
errors and written most effectively.
That said, you can still benefit a great deal from a review of the basic rules of grammar and guidelines
for effective style, especially if you feel that grammar is not your strong suit. You may find some sections here
more basic than you need, but give yourself the opportunity to review everything in this section.You may find
that you have forgotten some rules and guidelines, and a review of the rules and terminology can give you
more confidence on the exam.
CHAPTER
Sentence
Correction
7
109
24 Rules for Grammar and Style
Throughout this chapter, you will learn about and review each of these rules in depth. After you have completed
the chapter, use the following list as a checklist as you review for the GMAT exam:
1. Follow the basic subject-predicate word order for sentences: subject, verb, indirect object, and direct
object.
2. Make sure sentences have both a subject and a predicate and express a complete thought.
3. Respect sentence boundaries. Do not let two or more independent clauses run together.
4. Keep modifiers as close as possible to the words they modify.
5. Use parallel structure for any series of actions or items or the not only/but also construction.
6. Make sure verbs agree in number with their subjects.
7. Keep verb tenses consistent.
8. Use the correct subject or object form of personal pronouns. Determine whether a pronoun is function-
ing as a subject or object in the sentence.
9. Use apostrophes with pronouns to show contraction only. Pronouns do not need apostrophes to show
possession.

Subjects, Predicates, and Objects
The sentence is the basic unit of written expression. It consists of two essential parts
—
a subject and a pred-
icate
—
and it must express a complete thought. The subject of a sentence tells the reader who or what the sen-
tence is about
—
who or what is performing the action of the sentence. The predicate tells the reader something
about the subject
—
what the subject is or does. Consider the following sentence:
The clock is ticking.
The word clock is the subject. It tells you what the sentence is about
—
who or what performs the action
of the sentence. The verb phrase is ticking is the predicate. It tells you the action performed by (or informa-
tion about) the subject.
The subject of a sentence can be singular or compound (plural):
I
slept all day. Kendrick and I worked all night.
singular subject compound subject (two subjects performing the action)
The predicate can also be singular or compound:
I r
eceived a bonus.I received a bonus and got a raise.
singular predicate compound predicate (two actions performed by the subject)
Subject-predicate is the fundamental word order of sentences. When this order is reversed, the result is
an awkward and perhaps unclear sentence such as the following:
A bonus I received.

Dependent clause: Because she was excited.
Notice that the dependent clause is incomplete; it needs an additional thought to make a complete
sentence:
S
he spoke very quickly because she was excited.
The independent clause, however, can stand alone. It is a complete thought.
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SENTENCE CORRECTION
–
112
S
UBORDINATING
C
ONJUNCTIONS
A subordinating conjunction such as the word because makes a dependent clause dependent. Subordinating
conjunctions connect clauses and help show the relationship between those clauses. The following is a list of
the most common subordinating conjunctions:
after even though that when
although if though where
as, as if in order that unless wherever
because once until while
before since
When a clause begins with a subordinating conjunction, it is dependent. It must be connected to an
independent clause to become a complete thought:
I never knew true happiness until I met you.
independent clause dependent clause
After Johnson quit, I had to work extra overtime.
dependent clause independent clause
C
ONJUNCTIVE

C
ONJUNCTIONS
When two independent clauses are combined, the result is a compound sentence such as the following:
He was late, so he lost the account.
The most common way to join two independent clauses is with a comma and a coordinating con-
junction: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Independent clauses can also be joined with a semicolon if the ideas in
the sentences are closely related:
I am tall, and he is short. [IC, coordinating conjunction ϩ IC]
I am tall; he is short. [IC; IC]
I was late, yet I still got the account. [IC, coordinating conjunction ϩ IC]
Sentence Boundaries
Expressing complete ideas and clearly indicating where sentences begin and end are essential to effective writ-
ing. Two of the most common grammatical errors with sentence boundaries are fragments and run-ons.
I
NCOMPLETE
S
ENTENCES
(F
RAGMENTS
)
As stated earlier, a complete sentence must (1) have both a subject (who or what performs the action) and
a verb (a state of being or an action) and (2) express a complete thought. If you don’t complete a thought,
or if you are missing a subject or verb (or both), then you have an incomplete sentence (also called a sentence
fragment). To correct a fragment, add the missing subject or verb or otherwise change the sentence to com-
plete the thought.
Incomplete: Which is simply not true. (No subject. Which is not a subject.)
Complete: That is simply not true.
Incomplete: For example, the French Revolution. (No verb.)
Complete: The best example is the French Revolution.
Incomplete: Even though the polar icecaps are melting. (Subject and verb, but not a

PUNCTUATION CORRECTED SENTENCE
period The debate is over. Now it is time to vote.
comma ؉ conjunction The debate is over, and now it is time to vote.
semicolon The debate is over; now it is time to vote.
dash The debate is over—now it is time to vote.
subordinating conjunction Since the debate is over, it is time to vote.
Rule #3: Respect sentence boundaries. Do not let two or more independent clauses run together.
Phrases and Modifiers
Sentences are often “filled out” by phrases and modifiers. Phrases are groups of words that do not have both
a subject and predicate; they might have either a subject or a verb, but not both, and sometimes neither. Mod-
ifiers are words and phrases that qualify or describe people, places, things, and actions. The most common
phrases are prepositional phrases, which consist of a preposition and a noun or pronoun (e.g., in the attic).
Modifiers include adjectives (e.g., slow, blue, excellent) and adverbs (e.g., cheerfully, suspiciously). In the fol-
lowing examples, the prepositional phrases are underlined and the modifiers are in bold:
He was very late f
or an important meeting with a new client.
He brazenly looked thr
ough her purse when she got up from the table to go to the ladies’ room.
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SENTENCE CORRECTION
–
115
P
LACEMENT OF
M
ODIFIERS
As a general rule, words, phrases, or clauses that describe nouns and pronouns should be as close as possible
to the words they describe. The relaxing music, for example, is better (clearer, more concise, and more pre-
cise) than the music that is relaxing. In the first sentence, the modifier relaxing is right next to the word it mod-
ifies (music).

PART OF SPEECH FUNCTION EXAMPLES
noun names a person, place, thing, water, Byron, telephone, Main Street,
or concept tub, virtue
pronoun takes the place of a noun so that I, you, he, she, us, they, this, that,
noun does not have to be repeated themselves, somebody, who, which
verb expresses an action, occurrence, wait, seem, be, visit, renew
or state of being
helping verb combines with other verbs (main forms of be, do and have; can,
(also called auxiliary verb) verbs) to create verb phrases that could, may, might, must, shall,
help indicate tenses should, will, would
adjective modifies nouns and pronouns; can green, round, old, surprising; that
also identify or quantify (e.g., that elephant); several (e.g.,
several elephants)
adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, other dreamily, quickly, always, very, then
adverbs, or entire clauses
preposition expresses the relationship in time in, on, around, above, between,
or space between words in a sentence underneath, beside, with, upon
Prepositions are extremely important; they help us understand how objects relate to each other in space and
time. Recognizing them can help you quickly check for subject-verb agreement and other grammar issues. The
following is a list of the most common prepositions. See pages 127–128 for notes about the most common
prepositional idioms.
about above across after
against around at before
behind below beneath beside
(continued)
Parts of Speech: A Brief Review
117
Parts of Speech: A Brief Review
besides between beyond by
down during except for

mar and usage:
■
subject-verb agreement
■
consistent verb tense
■
pronoun cases
■
pronoun agreement
■
pronoun consistency
■
adjectives and adverbs
■
idioms
Agreement
In English grammar, agreement means that sentence elements are balanced. Verbs, for example, should agree
in number with their subjects. If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular; if the subject is plural,
the verb should be plural.
Incorrect: Robin want to meet us later. (singular subject, plural verb)
Correct: Robin wants to meet us later. (singular subject, singular verb)
Incorrect: He do whatever he want. (singular subject, plural verbs)
Correct: He does whatever he wants. (singular subject, singular verbs)
Of course, to make sure subjects and verbs agree, you need to be clear about who or what is the subject
of the sentence. This can be tricky in sentences with indefinite pronouns and in inverted sentences. Use the
following guidelines for proper subject-verb agreement:
■
Remember that subjects are never found in prepositional phrases, so the subject must be elsewhere in the
sentence. Sometimes the subject is the antecedent of a noun found in a prepositional phrase, as in the
following example: