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Subject-verb agreement is fundamental to correct sentence construction. It’s commonly tested on the GMAT, but is overlooked far too often. Today, we’re going to focus on the subject of the sentence in GMAT grammar.

The subject is the actor of the sentence. It performs the action described by the verb. For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to use “subject” to mean the main subject of the sentence, used in an independent clause, though, of course, a sentence can contain multiple actors/subjects. For example: Read more

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Last time, we talked about how to read for meaning and spot redundancy traps on GMAT Sentence Correction.

I’ve got another trappy SC for you; this one is from the GMATPrep® free exams. Go for it! Read more

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Possessive Pronouns

Pronouns are nifty little tools for consolidating your writing. Instead of repeating a noun over and over within the same sentence, you can simply replace it with a pronoun. The meaning stays clear and the message is concise. Compare the following sentences: Read more

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If you’re a non-native English speaker, you know that you’ll need to be extra careful with idioms and other constructions that native speakers just “know.” If you’re a native speaker, though, don’t think that you have a huge advantage! The GMAT test writers know the kinds of common errors that have crept into spoken language, and they’re going to try to trap you, too!

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On Verbal, we’re asked for the “best” answer—not the “objectively correct” answer that we need to find on Quant—so it can be really easy to fall for tempting traps, especially on Critical Reasoning (CR) and Reading Comprehension (RC).

Learn to work super-systematically, though, and you’ll navigate through those tempting traps to land on the right answer. (Well…most of the time, anyway. ?) Here’s what to do. Read more

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Welcome to the fourth installment of our series on the new Official Guides for GMAT® Review (2017 edition). If you haven’t seen the earlier installments yet, start here and work your way back to me.

I know that some people have already worked through the 2016 editions of the books and want to know which questions in the 2017 editions are the new ones. I’ve got the scoop for you! Read more

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They’re alive! (Cough. Er.) Well, they’re published anyway: the new Official Guide books are here! In Part 1 and Part 2, we talked about the Quant portions of the new Official Guides, aka the OGs. It’s time to dive into Verbal. We’ll be talking about the verbal sections of The Official Guide for GMAT® Review 2017, aka the OG or the big book, as well as The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2017, aka the verbal review or the verbal supplement. Read more

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The word “that” is one of the most flexible words that the GMAT tests. It can take several roles and could easily be misused. More commonly, it serves as a red herring that forces readers to stop and think about the wrong things. That said, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of how “that” can be used and why. Read more

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In short; passive voice is acceptable on the GMAT.

If only it were that easy. Read more

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There’s a type of sentence known among linguists and grammar mavens as a “garden path” sentence. These sentences earned this name by leading readers “down the garden path” — you think the sentence is going in one direction, but halfway through, you suddenly realize that it’s saying something else entirely. Here’s the classic example: Read more