GMAT SC Tips

Fewer/LessWhich of the two following sentences is correct?1. The company fired no less than fifty employees.2. The company fired no fewer than fifty employees.The second sentence is correct. Why? Because you use less when you're talking about thingsyou can't count (less pollution, less violence) but fewer when you're talking about things you canGMAT Study Strategy Page 22 of 50http://home.comcast.net/~dave.kim/GMAT_Study_Strategy.htm 6/7/2005count (fewer pollutants, fewer violent acts).2. Number/AmountThese words follow the same rule as less and fewer. Number is correct when you can count thething being described (a number of cars, a number of people) and amount is correct when youcannot (amount of love, amount of pain).3. Among/BetweenUse between when only two options are available (between the red car and the blue car) andamong when more than two options are available (among the five answer choices, among themany books).Between may be used with more than one things are involved. as in handshakes between people. Here essence is that handshakes take place mutually between every two people. or in relations between nations...4. If/WhetherWhether is correct when you're discussing two options (whether to get chocolate or strawberryice cream) and if is correct for more than two options (if she should get ice cream, frozen yogurt,or a cookie).-------------"The number" is singular as in The number of boys is not known."A number" is plural as in A number of boys are going.-----------The only time when less is associated with countable objects is when fractions/percentages or other numbers are involved.Less than one quarter of all people amounts to less than one percentcount is less than 1000--------Idom:Grounds for + nounor Grounds to + verbboth are correctAs in: By establishing that the new waste processing plant would contribute to pollution as well as economic impoverishment of the region, Lowell shows that the city council has strong fiscal grounds for opposing of the plant proposal. -----------------------Idiom:Consider:There is no preposition added to consider.Historians consider Mona Lisa a great work of art.not consider to be not consider asRegarded as:Due to the critical acclaim generated by his recent exhibit, the artist is currently regarded as the most promising sculptors in America.Many scholars regard the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru as the most impressive in South America.(A) regard the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru as(B) regard the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru to be(C) regard the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru to have been(D) consider that the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru are(E) consider the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru asA is correctthink of ...as---------------------Lie-Lay-Lain - To assume a reclining positionLay-Laid-Laid - To put something----------------------Semicolon: Any sentence after a semicolon (, should be an independent clause. ----------------------Object v/s. Subject: If you need participle and need to decide between present or past participle, use this rule.If a noun is the object of a verb, the verb should end with ‘ed’. If a noun is the subject of a verb, the verb should end with ‘ing’. (e.g. ‘local times determined’ when the noun is object of the verb ‘determined’) (e.g. determining the local times – where the noun local times is the subject of the verb determining).Somebody determined times – times is object of determinedTimes differing – Times is the subject of differed---------------------One of the Group: The pattern to remember is ‘one of the NOUN (this noun will always be plural) + that/who + PLURAL VERBExample : He is one of the persons who make money. This is one of the cars that run on hydrogen.A number of people are waiting for the bus.The number of cars in the city is decreasing.Any of the stockholders who disapprove – is the right useThree cats, each eatThree cats, each of which eats A sentence like ‘X is one of the Y that are. Are is the correct use. Such a sentence always should have a subject verb agreement with Y and not with X.With its plan to develop seven and a half acres of shore land, Cleveland is but one of a large number of communities on the Great Lakes that is looking to its waterfront as a way to improve the quality of urban life and attract new businesses.(A) is looking to its waterfront as a way to improve the quality of urban life and attract(B) is looking at its waterfront to improve the quality of urban life and attract(C) are looking to their waterfronts to improve the quality of urban life and attract(D) are looking to its waterfront as a way of improving the quality of urban life and attracting(E) are looking at their waterfronts as a way they can improve the quality of urban life and attractC is correct.------------------Less (Also used for sums of money as in above sentence, periods of time and distance, or while citing numerical or statistical data)• There is less traffic on the road, because fewer people drive these days.• It's less than twenty miles to Dallas. • He's less than six feet tall. • Your essay should be a thousand words or less. • We spent less than forty dollars on our trip. • The town spent less than four percent of its budget on snow removalWith a total population of less than two hundred and xfewer breeding females than ever before, the American crocodile seemed a decade ago to be in danger of disappearing.Correct: (A) of less than two hundred and fewerAnother thumb rule with Use “fewer” to modify a plural noun.Example: I have fewer papers to write than last year.Use “less” to modify a singular noun.Example: You’ll need less paper if you type your report.A description about 'fewness' from dictionary.comThe traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted (fewer than four players), while less should be used with mass terms for things of measurable extent (less paper; less than a gallon of paint). However, less is used in some constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were being followed.Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance:less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nounsin the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter) and or less (as in Give your reasons in 25 words or less).---------------Subject Verb Agreement:exchange subject and object and see that verb still matches in numberOne Important Example : All the choices but D contain ambiguities.Among the various emotions on display was anger….Among the various things found were statues….--------------USE of OR: When there are 2 or more options separated by ‘OR’, both should equally apply to the following clause. e.g. Slowing the growth or damaging forests (Both slowing the growth and damaging apply to forests. Now, consider the clause ‘slowing the growth forests’ and ‘damaging forests’.The first one, does not seem fine. As, it should be ‘slowing the growth of or damaging forests).Damaging or slowing the growth of forests – Is the correct usage (Damaging forests or slowing the growth of forests).-----------------------------------------------------------------------Compare to vs Compare with:To compare two dissimilar things use compare toTo compare two similar things use compare with-----------------------------------------------------------------------Because v/s. In That: When ETS puts ‘because’ and ‘in that’ in a sentence, more often than not,‘in that’ would be correct. ‘In that qualifies’ the previous sentence, while ‘because’is just used to show a simple causal relationship.Teratomas are unusual forms of cancer because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone not normally found in the organ in which the tumor appears.A. because they are composed of tissues such as tooth and boneB. because they are composed of tissues like tooth and bone that areC. because they are composed of tissues, like tooth and bone, tissuesD. in that their composition , tissues such as tooth and bone, isCorrect E. in that they are composed of tissues such as tooth and bone, tissues------------------------------------------------------------------------Usual v/s. Is Usual: He is faster than is usual for any human being – Is correct.He is faster than usual today – is correctA Mercedes is more expensive than usual for a car – IncorrectA Mercedes is more expensive than is usual for a car – CorrectWhen something is compared to a subgroup to which it belongs, is usual should be used. When something is compared to itself, usual is finee.g. He is nicer than usual.------------------------------------------------------------------------Native to Vs Native of:Native of v/s. Native to: Native of can be used when referring to human beings.Native to usage is otherwise correct.------------------------------------------------------------------------CHIEF of WHICH v/s. CHIEF among which: Jamieson's proposal was rejected for several reasons, the chief among which was cost.(A) the chief among which was cost(B) among which the chief was its cost© the main one was cost(D) the chief reason of which was its cost(E) the chief of which was costchief means main or principal, and all three words mean the top one. And when we refer to a member of a group, we use of. For example,if we want to name our best friend, we'd say He is the best of my friends, but not He is the best among my friends.Now, run these through your head to see how they sound: • The main reason of all the reasons. • The main reason among all the reasons.I think the first sounds better and is more precise.Also A can be rephrased to main reason among which was cost. Which doesnot refer to all the reasons and hence A is wrongE can be rephrased to main reason of which was cost. Here which refers to rejection of the proposal.