OG 11 V Notes

OG 8

When V/s If

Rising inventories, if not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, can lead to production cutbacks that would hamper economic growth.

Rising inventories, when not accompanied by corresponding increases in sales, can lead to production cutbacks that would hamper economic growth.

"When" should be used in accordance to time of action and not as a condition - "If" is preferable here.

OG 12

Particle Phrase

OG 23

Idiom

Adjective "difficult/easy" should be followed by infinitive and not phrases.

... difficult to analyze .... [OK]

... difficult for analysis ...[NOK]

... easy for eating ...[NOK]

... easy to eat ........ [ OK]

OG 29

Structure/Idiom

Along with the drop in producer prices announced yesterday, the strong retail sales figures released today seem like it is indicative that the economy, although growing slowly, 

is not nearing a recession. 

The IDIOM is : seem + infinitive ..... , seem to ...

Also, Subordinate clause that completes the statement should be introduced by a

relative pronoun ( who, which , that ) OR by a  conjunction , but never by a 

preposition ( like etc . )

OG 43

Structure

Five fledgling sea eagles left their nests in western Scotland this summer, bringing to 34 the number of wild birds successfully raised since transplants from Norway began in 1975. 

(A) bringing 

(B) and brings 

(C) and it brings 

(D) and it brought 

(E) and brought

Five fledgling sea eagles left their nests in western Scotland this summer, and brings to 34 the ...

Subject of the first verb should be same as the subject of the second verb , so

Five fledgling sea (subject ) eagles left  .... , and brings to 34 the ...

Subject ( sea eagles ) don't match brings.

OG 45

Structure

To Josephine Baker, Paris was her home long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate, and she remained in France during the Second World War as a performer and an intelligence agent for the Resistance

A. To Josephine Baker, Paris was her home long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate
B. For Joshephine baker, long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate, paris was her home
C. Joshephine baker made Paris her home long before to be an expatriate was fashionable expatriate
D. Long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate, Josephine Baker made Paris her home
E. Long before it was fashionable being an expatriate, Paris was home to Josephine Baker

Two sentence have been coordinated with "and" , and the second sentence has a pronoun "she" . The

construction making Josephine subject will be preferred.

In a A and B , her is redundant.

OG 50

[SC]That educators have not anticipated the impact of microcomputer technology [MV]can hardly be said [SC]that it is their fault.

The statement has two SC running on each other. The best way to fix this problem is to put in the correct order of IC-DC.

[IC]It can hardly be said [DC]that educators are at fault for not anticipating the impact of microcomputer technology

OG 51

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

in that = overly formal and out-dated.
(B) world, proclaiming a sacred truce during the festival’s month

Its not clear who would be doing the proclaiming ?
(D) world, for a sacred truce was proclaimed during the month of the festival
OK

OG 65

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before warmer weather returns and rots the fruit .

OK:The cause-and-effect relationship is well established between warm weather and rottin using "before" 

The only way for growers to salvage frozen citrus is  to have it quickly processed into juice concentrate before the fruit  rots when warmer weather returns. NOK

OG 85

Dirt roads may evoke the bucolic simplicity of another century, but financially strained townships point out that dirt roads cost twice as much to maintain as paved roads do.

to maintain --> relates to both roads in above example. hence - ||

OG 86

Although early soap operas were first aired on evening radio in the 1920's, they had moved to the daytime hours of the 1930's when the evening schedule became crowded with comedians and variety shows.

||ism: ... in the 1920's....in the 1930's.....

OG 92

state health officials have ordered that the levels of bacteria in seawater at popular beaches be 

measured and [that] the results [be] published.

= THAT and BE need not be repeated in the second part !!!

OGVR Notes

OGVR 4

Parallelism

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. 

The not .... but .... shows contrast. They should be parallel.

=> not X but Y : X and Y should be ||.

In original sentence:

X : in a flash of inspiration ( PP )

Y : evolved                          ( V )

Correct option :

did not spring to life in a flash of inspiration but evolved slowly

X: spring (V)

Y: evolve (V)

OGVR  5

Usage

A Labor Department study states that the numbers of women employed .....

The "numbers" means a larger crowd or multitude.

"number" refers to specific quantity of individual.

OGVR  28

Clause Analysis

Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently expressed anxiety about their prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit.

=>"about" cannot be used to introduce a clause , a conjunction as THAT is required.

Referring to the current hostility toward smoking, smokers frequently express anxiety that their 

prospects for being hired and promoted are being stunted by their habit.

OGVR 36

Parallelism

Development of the compact disc has been no less remarkable as has been the use of the new technology to revitalize, in better sound than was ever efore possible, some of the classic recorded performances of the pre-LP era.

Without the use of "The" , development is not parallel with "the use".

OGVR 73

Usage

Analysts blamed May's sluggish retail sales on unexciting merchandise as well as the weather, colder and wetter than usually in some regions, which slowed sales of barbecue grills and lawn furniture.

=> usually (adverb) cannot be used to modify the noun weather.  The correct is :

colder and wetter than USUAL in some regions ....

OGVR 80

Construct

Under a provision of the Constitution that was never applied, whereby Congress is required to call a convention to consider possible amendments to the document when formally asked to do so by the legislatures of two-thirds of the states.

=>" whereby" makes a DC. "Under" also makes a DC.

DC,DC - NOK.

OGVR 107

Logical

The physical structure of the human eye enables it to sense light of wavelengths up to 0.0005millimeters;however, infrared radiation has a wavelength of 0.1 millimeters that is too long for the eye to register, thus making it invisible

The restrictive clause with THAT means there are some 0.1 mm wavelengths which are also visible

to eyes - NOK logically.

Revision

[1]

Sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain, is an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system’s ability to deal with all other pollutants.

(A) an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the respiratory system’s ability to deal
(B) an especially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system’s capability of dealing
(C) an especially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system in dealing
(D) a specially serious pollutant because it diminishes the capability of the respiratory system to deal
(E) a specially serious pollutant because of diminishing the respiratory system’s ability to deal

The correct answer is 'A'. How we reached at it ?

there definitely isn't a firm distinction between the two; their definitions overlap to a great extent, if not completely.

what i would take from this example is that the gmat considers 'capability of X-ing' wordy/awkward, and prefers 'ability to X'. as a native english speaker, i would agree with the gmat makers on this: 'capability of dealing with' just sounds horrible to me.

so memorize this as a matter of idiomatic usage. there doesn't necessarily have to be a good reason; that's just the way it is.

sorry there's no concrete reason!

[2]

Prohibit from + gerund ....CORRECT USAGE

A...prohibit from + the sale ( the sale is a noun)...WRONG USAGE

d

[3]

His campaign for sanitary conditions in operating rooms finally successful, Sir Joseph Lister lent his name to the company that developed Listerine, the first antibacterial liquid.

A. His campaign for sanitary conditions in operating rooms finally successful
[ This option misses the verb, thus it can only act as a modifier to something. So here
it does modify Sir Lister. Its less expensive and clear]

B. Since his campaign for sanitary conditions in operating rooms had been eventually successful
C. Because of the eventual success of his campaigning for sanitary conditions in operating rooms
[ B and C try to use
Because/Since IC, IC kind of format. Which can also be correct ( I don't agree to people who say
it is not a cause-effect relation). But B uses "had been" were simple past can be used. And C uses
campaigning - campaign it self suggest a on going process. "of his campaigning" is akward.]
Even if B and C would have been correct, they are wordier than A !!
D. His campaign for sanitary conditions in operating rooms being eventually successful
[ being ]
E. Campaigning, eventually successfully, for conditions to be sanitary in operating rooms
[ changes the meaning of the sentence]
ACTIVE vs PASSIVE

The three women, liberal activists who strongly support legislation in favor of civil rightsand environmental protection, have consistently received labor’s unqualifying support.

A. have consistently received labor’s unqualifying support ( PASSIVE )

C. have consistently received the unqualified support of labor (ACTIVE ) => CORRECT

OG 10 V Notes

Transitive Verb And Direct Object
With transitive verbs (taking an object), adverbs may come after the object, but never between verb and object.

"He told the story rapidly." [Correct]
"He slowly told the story."[Correct]
"He told rapidly the story ." [Incorrect]
"He told slowly the story."[Incorrect]

OG10 - 92

Never before had taxpayers confronted so many
changes at once as they had in the Tax Reform Act
of 1986.
C) at once as many changes that there were with

Option C , incorrectly places adverb at-once in between
transitive verb ( confronted ) and its direct object (changes).


OG10-97


Iguanas have been an important food source in
Latin America since prehistoric times, and it is
still prized as a game animal by the campcsinos,
who typically cook the meat in a heavily spiced
stew.
[E] being still prized as a game animal

The sentence logical structure is
IC,and IC,modifier.

In oprtion E , staring the sentence with being .....
the sentense is changed to PP and then next IC
becomes who .... spiced stew. This is not what the
sentence is suppose to mean.

OG101
Less Vs Lower

Even though the direct costs of malpractice disputes
amounts to a sum lower than one percent of the $541
billion the nation spent on health care last year,
doctors say fear of lawsuits plays a major role in
health-care inflation.

C) amounted to less
D )amounted to lower
E )amounted to a lower sum

For the object of preposition to ( amounted to ..... ) we need a
noun (less) and not a adjective (lower).

OG 108
Adj+Adj+Noun


Reporting that one of its many problems had been
the recent extended sales slump in women's
apparel, the seven-store retailer said it would start
a three-month liquidation sale in all of its stores.
C] its many problems is the recently


The adverb recently distorts the
meaning of the sentence by illogically suggesting that
what was recent was only the extension of the slump,
and not the slump itself.

OG 109
Legislation in the Canadian province of Ontario requires of both public and private employers that pay be the same for jobs historically held by women as for jobs requiring comparable skill that are usually held by men.

(C) to pay the same in jobs historically held by women as in jobs of comparable skill that are 

After "requires of employers" we have to have a "that"... (if we had "require employers" we could use a "to"). 
OG 110
Cause Effect Reversals

It has been estimated that the annual cost to the United
States of illiteracy in lost industrial output and tax
revenues is at least $20 billion a year.

E)lost industrial output and tax revenues cost the
United States at least $20 billion a year because of
illiteracy


Choice E is particularly
garbled in reversing cause and effect, saying that it is lost
output and revenues rather than illiteracy that costs the
United States over $20 billion a year.


OG113
Cluase Analysis

Visitors to the park have often looked up into the
leafy canopy and saw monkeys sleeping on the
branches, whose arms and legs hang like socks on a
clothesline.

The whose correspondes to Branches. The best way to
correct this problem is to remove relative clause.

....monkeys sleeping on the branches, with arms and legs ....


OG132
Countable Vs Non-Countables
According to a study by the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching, companies in
the United States are providing job training and
general education for nearly eight million people,
about equivalent to the enrollment of the nation's
four-year colleges and universities.
A )equivalent to the enrollment of
E )as many as are enrolled in


As quantitative expressions, equivalent and equal
often modify nouns referring to uncountable things,
as in

"an equivalent amount of resistance" or
"a volume of water equal to Lake Michigan."

To establish numerical comparability between
groups with countable members, the phrase
as many as is preferable.

OG134
Will Vs Should

The canadian scientists have calculated that a meteorite

should/will strike a human ......

Should carries a suggestion , where as the scientists mean

it is ought to happen. So WILL is correct over here.

OG135

Structure

Intar, the oldest Hispanic theater company in New

York, has moved away from the Spanish classics and

now it draws on the works both of contemporary

Hispanic authors who live abroad and of those in the

United States.

The above is a run-on sentence :

it intrudes between the halves of the

compound verb has moved... and [now] draws to introduce

a new grammatical subject, thereby creating a run-on

sentence:

the inclusion of it requires a comma after classics to set off

the new independent clause.

===>

Intar, the oldest Hispanic theater company in New

York, has moved away from the Spanish classics [IC] and,

now it draws on the works both of contemporary

Hispanic authors who live abroad and of those in the

United States.[IC]

OG155

Structure

Federal authorities involved in the investigation

have found the local witnesses are difficult to locate,

reti cent. and are suspicious of strangers.

A) the local witnesses are difficult to locate, reticent,

and are

B )local witnesses to be difficult to locate, reticent,

and are

A and B convert the third element into

a second, coordinate predicate for the object clause by

repeating the verb are.

C )that local witnesses are difficult to locate, reticent,

and = OK

D )local witnesses are difficult to locate and reticent,

and they are

E) that local witnesses are difficult to locate and

reticent, and they are

D and E convert the third element

into a second, coordinate object clause by introducing the

words they are.

The "local witnesses are difficult to locate,

reti cent. and are suspicious of strangers" is a clause and must be

introduced by a relative pronoun "that".

OG205

Structure

The peaks of a mountain range, acting like rocks in a streambed, produce ripples in the air flowing over them; the resulting flow pattern, with crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are known as "standing waves." 

(A) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are 
(B) crests and troughs that remain stationary although they are formed by rapidly moving air, are 
(C) crests and troughs that remain stationary although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, is 
(D) stationary crests and troughs although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, are 
(E) stationary crests and troughs although they are formed by rapidly moving air, is

For E,

....,[PP]with stationary crests and troughs [DC]although the air that forms them is moving rapidly, ....

OG> incorrectly introduces a dependent

adverbial although clause into a prepositional phrase

(with crests ...)

For C,

...,....,with [IC]crests and troughs that remain stationary [DC]although the air that forms them is moving rapidly,....

OG>correctly puts the although clause inside the predicate

of the relative clause (that... rapidly)