{"id":14195,"date":"2017-07-06T20:20:13","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T20:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/?p=14195"},"modified":"2019-09-05T15:53:42","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T15:53:42","slug":"gmat-sentence-correction-for-native-english-speakers-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/blog\/gmat-sentence-correction-for-native-english-speakers-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Sentence Correction for Native English Speakers (Part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gmat-sentence-correction-native-english-speakers-part-1-chelsey-cooley-social\"Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

<\/i><\/b>If you\u2019re a non-native English speaker who wants to excel on GMAT Sentence Correction, there are a lot of resources out there for you. (I\u2019d recommend starting with the excellent <\/span>Foundations of Verbal<\/span><\/a>.) But what if you <\/span>are<\/span><\/i> a native English speaker? <\/span>This article is especially for you.<\/b> By leveraging the skills you already have, you can take your GMAT Sentence Correction performance to the next level and improve your overall score. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s check out a couple of sentences. These sentences have the same logic error:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The pinnacle of the biologists\u2019 achievements came when they used a previously-untested humane-capture technology to successfully net a giant Pacific octopus, rising close to the surface of the south Pacific in a rarely-observed display of mating behavior.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Chelsey walked the dog, wearing a collar. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If your ear is anything like mine, the second sentence will make you laugh. It sounds like I, not my dog, was wearing the collar. The interesting thing, though, is that the first sentence is wrong for <\/span>exactly the same reason. <\/b>Technically, in the first sentence, it was the biologists (\u201cthey\u201d) that were displaying mating behavior! However, it doesn\u2019t sound nearly as ridiculous as the second one. Why? Let\u2019s dive in. <\/span><\/p>\n

    Native English speakers don\u2019t actually make that many grammar mistakes. You wouldn\u2019t say, or write, a sentence like #2. You wouldn\u2019t write any of these sentences, either:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The babysitter are looking after our kids. <\/span><\/li>\n
    2. I like to eat kale and for broccoli. <\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Unlike bananas, fruit salad contains apples. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Nonetheless, you might make all of these mistakes, and more, when you take the GMAT. That\u2019s because GMAT Sentence Correction problems are designed to make things difficult for your ear. They often contain simple errors that you already know are wrong; the difficulty comes from how the test writers hide those errors from you. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Consider that first sentence again. It\u2019s tough for your ear for two reasons. First, it\u2019s <\/span>long<\/b>. Your ear has a very limited attention span. Second, it\u2019s <\/span>boring<\/b>. What does <\/span>previously-untested humane-capture technology<\/span><\/i> look like? Who knows!<\/span><\/p>\n

      Here\u2019s the first tool to add to your toolkit: the <\/span>micro-sentence<\/b>.<\/span> You\u2019re going to use your ear, but not in the typical way. Instead, you\u2019re going to pull one issue out of the sentence and make it simpler. Here\u2019s how it looks.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The pinnacle of the biologists\u2019 achievements came when they used a previously-untested humane-capture technology <\/span>to successfully net a giant Pacific octopus, rising close to the surface of the south Pacific in a rarely-observed display of mating behavior<\/u><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) to successfully net a giant Pacific octopus, rising close to the surface of the south Pacific in a rarely-observed display of mating behavior.
      \n<\/span>(B) to successfully net a giant Pacific octopus that rose close to the surface of the south Pacific in a rarely-observed display of mating behavior. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s ignore the entire first section of the sentence (\u201cThe pinnacle\u2026came when\u201d). Let\u2019s also change some of the words to simpler ones. Keep as much of the grammar intact as you can, but get rid of the jargon.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Biologists caught an octopus, rising close to the surface. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Biologists caught an octopus that rose close to the surface. <\/span><\/p>\n

      At this point, your ear may be telling you that the second option is correct. If they still both sound okay, and <\/span>if you have time<\/b>, try changing the content to something more exciting, too. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Biologists caught an octopus, turning purple.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Biologists caught an octopus that turned purple.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The first one sounds as if the biologists were turning purple! (B) was the right answer. My ear already knew that\u2014I just had to give it a chance. Let\u2019s try it again.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Although it is conventionally referred to as a nut, and it takes its place in culinary traditions alongside nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews, one of the most widely-grown legumes is in fact the peanut, which originated in South America and has been cultivated by humans for at least three thousand years.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) Although it is conventionally referred to as a nut, and it takes its place in culinary traditions alongside nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews, one of the most widely-grown legumes is in fact the peanut, which originated in South America and has been cultivated by humans for at least three thousand years.
      \n(B) Despite being conventionally referred to as a nut, and taking its place in culinary traditions alongside nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews, the peanut, which originated in South America and has been cultivated by humans for at least three thousand years, is in fact one of the most widely-grown legumes. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s replace the clunky phrasing at the beginning of the sentence:<\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) Although <\/span>we call it a nut, and it tastes like a nut<\/b>, one of the most widely-grown legumes is in fact the peanut, which originated in South America and has been cultivated by humans for at least three thousand years. <\/span><\/p>\n

      Let\u2019s also ignore the modifier at the end of the sentence. It\u2019s placed correctly\u2014the word <\/span>which<\/span><\/i> is close to the noun <\/span>peanut<\/span><\/i>\u2014but it\u2019s making things harder.<\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) Although we call it a nut, and it tastes like a nut, one of the most widely-grown legumes is in fact the peanut.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Finally, let\u2019s replace the ear-boggling phrase <\/span>one of the most widely-grown legumes<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) Although we call it a nut, and it tastes like a nut, a <\/span>popular legume<\/b> is in fact the peanut.<\/span><\/p>\n

      This is starting to sound a little bit strange, right? Let\u2019s apply the same steps to answer choice (B). <\/span><\/p>\n

      (B) Despite being called a nut, and tasting like a nut, the peanut is in fact a popular legume.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Your ear might be telling you that (B) is correct. If it isn\u2019t, take one last step: think of a sentence with more interesting content, but the same grammar. <\/span><\/p>\n

      (A) Although we call him a genius, a fool is in fact the man.
      \n<\/span>(B) Despite being called a genius, the man is in fact a fool.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The second sentence is correct, and answer choice (B) was correct all along.<\/span><\/p>\n

      As you practice GMAT Sentence Correction, remember that as a native English speaker, <\/span>you already know most of the grammar rules<\/b>. Most grammar mistakes on the GMAT actually aren\u2019t the same ones that you\u2019d make in real life. Instead, they\u2019re simple errors that you would normally spot right away, but they\u2019re dressed up in a way that makes them hard for your ear to notice. So, try simplifying sentences to make things easier on your ear. This has the double benefit of making you better at understanding sentence structure! And of course, look out for <\/span>situations where your ear makes the wrong choice<\/span><\/a>\u2014we\u2019ll talk more about those in the next article. <\/span><\/p>\n

      \n

      Want more guidance from our GMAT gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free! We\u2019re not kidding. <\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

      \n

      Chelsey Cooley<\/a>\"Chelsey<\/a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170\/170 on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. If you\u2019re a non-native English speaker who wants to excel on GMAT Sentence Correction, there are a lot of resources out there for you. (I\u2019d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[873,929,52871,930,2,26,9,10],"tags":[341,53115,53114],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-14195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-current-studiers","category-gmat-prep","category-gmat-strategies","category-gmat-study-guide","category-how-to-study","category-sentence-correction","category-taking-the-gmat","category-verbal-on-gmat","tag-gmat-sentence-correction","tag-gmat-sentence-correction-for-native-english-speakers","tag-native-english-speakers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14195"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14294,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14195\/revisions\/14294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14195"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=14195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}