The key here is to realize that not... but... is conjunction. We use conjunctions when we

• Pucci is not a dog but a cat.

• Not Todd but Taka will be studying with us today.

• I not was sad but happy to learn that Megumi was moving to Paris for abetter job.

You should notice that the words in bold are "linguistically equivalent," or, as we

Now compare one of these sentences if I try to use rather than:

Pucci is a cat rather than a dog.

Now, let's look at a similar sentence, one in which rather than is okay:

I want a cat rather than a dog.

This sentence is okay because we are expressing a preference for one thing over

Targeted at is the correct idiom

Targeted to is WRONG

Due to means "caused by" It should only be used if it can be substituted with "caused by"

Incorrect: The game was postponed due to rain.

Correct: The game was postponed because of rain.

Correct: The game's postponement was due to rain.

Neither the prosecutor’s eloquent closing argument nor the mountains of incriminating evidence were

able to convince the jury to find the defendant guilty.

In neither … nor sentences, the verb has to agree with the subject following nor - in this case mountains,

which is plural. Likewise in either .. or sentences, the verb must agree with the subject following or.

When you see .. neither .. or .. nor in a sentence, see if it fits this sequence

Neither (A or B), nor C !!! also, not (A or B), nor C is fine too.

Correct: Her debts are so extreme as to threaten the future of the company

“So as” is never correct on the GMAT

Incorrect: He exercises everyday so as to build his stamina

Correct: He exercises everyday in an effort to build his stamina

There are two rules which you should consider. First read the usage notes from dictionary.com:

Compare usually takes the preposition to when it refers to. the activity of describing the resemblances

between unlike things:

• He compared her to a summer day.

• Scientists sometimes compare the human brain to a computer.

Compare takes with when it refers to the act of examining two like things in order to discern their

similarities or differences:

• The police compared the forged signature with the original.

• The committee will have to compare the Senate's version of the bill with the version that was

passed by the House.

When compare is used to mean “to liken” (one) with another, with is traditionally held to be the correct

preposition: That little bauble is not to be compared with (not to) this enormous jewel. But “to” is

Rule 1: Compare to compares unlike things, whereas compare with compares like things.

Rule 2: Compare to is used to stress the resemblance. Compare with can be used to show either

similarity or difference but is usually used to stress the difference.

Incorrect: Her client didn’t tell her if he had sent his payment yet.

Correct: Her client didn’t tell her whether he had sent his payment yet.

This question tests one use of "each" which most of us ignore. The traditional rule still holds true i.e. "the

subject of a sentence beginning with each is grammatically singular".

But there is another rule which says that: When each follows a plural subject, the verb and subsequent

pronouns remain in the plural: e.g. the apartments each have their own private entrances (not has its own

private entrance)

1. Three cats each eat ...

2. Three cats, each of which eats ...,

In 1, each is postpositive Adj, whereas in 2, it is distributive determiner.

Television can be superficial, as when three major networks each broadcast exactly the same.

Adverb clause of manner with temporal adverb clause:

Television can be superficial, as [TV is superficial] when three networks each broad cast the

same.

Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three major

networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

(A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks

(B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks

(C) superficial if the three major networks all

(D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks

(E) superficial, as when the three major networks each

First of all, each, if it's a pronoun (as it is in A), is singular. In fact, each is almost

always singular, but there's at least one exception, which we will see in just a

minute. So, A can be faulted for using a plural verb, broadcast, with a singular

subject, each.

What I really like about A is that it uses such as, which we use to give examples. All

the other incorrect answer choices use words that mean something different from for

example.

The best answer, E, maintains the same meaning as A, and corrects the subject/verb

agreement problem. Please note that one of the accepted meanings of as is for

instance, and with this meaning, as is an adverb and can therefore be followed by

parts of speech other than simply nouns.

B is not only awkward, it also incorrectly uses if in the subordinate clause connected

with can in the main clause.

I think this is the part that is confusing people (it certainly is what has confused

TestMagic students in the past), so let's flip the sentence around to see a bit more

clearly that it's not correct to use if with can:

This sentence should read:

In other words, it's not correct to use can after if (in the context of what we've been

talking about). Let's look at a simpler example:

If the temperature drops below 0 degrees celsius, distilled water can or will freeze.

Please post back with questions if you need clarification on this.

Finally, it's better to use each than it is to use all, since each network is operating

independently--all implies that the networks were working together.

First, here's an important GMAT pattern:

X has half the chance that Y has.

Think of x as y ----- correct idiom (not ‘to be’)

First, memorize the pattern:

Second, "curfew" is a singular count noun and therefore requires a determiner (the).

I agree with you that skill can be both a count noun as well as a non-count noun. it

all depends upon the context.

Have a look at the example below:

1. Harry knows quite a few driving skills.

Conversely, if were to ask Harry about his driving skills, I would ask.

2. How much skill do you have in driving a car, Harry?

So you see, the word "skill" remains the same but depending on the context, skill

can be a non-count or a count noun?

Concerned for = worried or anxious.

Concerned with = related to.

so the correct one should be "He is concerned for investor relations "

This is concerned with investor relations is probably the right usage.

such = nominal equivalent to the foregoing clause.

Clause1 and as such, Clause2 = clause1, and as clause1, clause2.

Caesarea was Herod’s city, founded as a Romanized counterweight to Hebraic Jerusalem, and

as such it was regarded with loathing by the devout.

The meaning of the above sentence is similar to the following:

Because Caesarea was Herod’s city, founded as a Romanized counterweight to Hebraic

Jerusalem, it was regarded with loathing by the devout.

Reduced Costs = Reduction IN costs (result of reduction)

"Reduction of" is used when reducing by a certain amount. e.g. reduction of 20%.

Second, for all means despite, and along with means in addition to. I'm sure you'll agree

that the meanings are different, right?

For example:

I haven't visited Bora Bora, and neither has Kerry [visited Bora Bora].

In this case, I can omit visited Bora Bora because it already appears in the sentence.

Let's look at another example:

This is wrong, at least on the GMAT, since visited and visit are different.

quote:

Hi, can someone explain the following questions to me? Thanks.

1) Why the answer is E? I chose A

Schliemann determined at the age of seven to find the site of ancient Troy and (devoted his subsequent career to

do it).

a)...

b) has devoted his subsequent career to do that

c) devoted his subsequent career to such an end

d) has devoted his subsequent career for that

e) devoted his subsequent career to that end

Hi, Linda! Nice to see you here!!

First off, and you'll get used to this pretty quickly, every single time you see a

This question is a favorite one--using "it" to replace a sentence. In GMATland, "it"

must always replace a noun.

For example, this sentence would be wrong in GMATland:

My little brother said I took his cookies, but I didn't do it.

"it" doesn't replace any noun; it "tries" to replace a sentence: "I took his cookies."

The correct phrase is

helpful in demonstrating

help to demonstrate

A lot of people choose A.

"until" is used to express a point of time in the future, as Deepa has pointed out. So,

(A) would mean that the sale will continue until a certain point in time, and that

point in time is when the sale "lasts." That doesn't make sense; if we wanted to use

"until" in that sentence, we should say something like "the sale will continue until

customers stop coming in."

"as long as" implies that one thing will occur while another thing is still true; for

example, "we will stay outside as long as it's light out."

Quote:

This was a question that was posted a little while ago. The answer was said to be D, but it seems that it should

be E.

The domesticated camel, which some scholars date around the twelfth century B.C., was the key to the

development of the spice trade in the ancient world.

a. The domesticated camel, which some scholars date

b. The domesticated camel, which some scholars have thought to occur

c. Domesticating the camel, dated by some scholars at

d. The domestication of the camel, thought by some scholars to have occurred

e. The camel's domestication, dated by some scholars to have been

In D, it seems that "thought by some scholars..." modifies camel, rather than domestication

Okay, I checked out the other topic, and there was no explanation of the answer.

Okay, to be honest, I didn't catch the mistake in E the very first time I read the

question, either. I picked D, because somehow it sounded better, but I wasn't sure

why.

Later, when a student asked me specifically what was wrong with E, I looked at the

question a little more carefully. E has a classic mistake, albeit a well disguised one!

I teach this mistake frequently in my SAT II classes for high school students. Let me

show you an example of what my high school students might write:

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

Can you see the mistake in this sentence?

Let me try again, with a little hint:

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

Can you see it now?

Okay, just in case, let me give you one more sentence (I'm pretty much doing now

what I do in class to explain this grammar point.)

"Target Team Member" to TestMagician:

This pen is a bargain because it's only ten cents.

Hint again:

This pen is a bargain because it is only ten cents.

Okay, got it yet?

Let's work backward. The last sentence is incorrect because it is incorrectly saying

that the pen and the ten cents are the same thing; a pen cannot be ten cents; it can

be a writing instrument, it can be a bargain, it can even be a weapon in some cases,

but it cannot be ten cents. One-tenth of a dollar is ten cents, a dime is ten cents, but

a pen is not.

Are you getting it? Probably, but since I've already started, please let me finish...

Okay, now let's look at the immigration sentence:

The greatest change in my life was when I immigrated to the US.

This sentence means that "change" and "when I immigrated..." are the same thing;

they in fact are not.

Like I said, this is a classic mistake, and the classic correction is:

The greatest change in my life occurred/happened when I immigrated to the US.

(Do you see where I'm heading now???)

So, in our original question, E says:

The camel's domestication was around the twelfth century B.C....

GMAT cleverly hides this mistake by using "to have been" instead of a simple beverb,

but "to have been" is one of the many variants of was, were, is, are, am, etc.

The funny thing is that GMAT uses the classic correction as well:

domestication... occurred... when...

Finally, I just have to comment: I imagine that if GMAT had to explain this grammar

point, they would say in their typical, cryptic fashion something like this:

E incorrectly uses an adverb clause as the noun complement of the subject

"domestication."

Okay, what have we learned???

This:

For example:

The change was good for me.

The change was a good one for me.

The change was an important step for me in my life.

BUT NEVER

The change was when I came to the US.

In other words, noun complements (the words that come after a be-verb and modify

nouns) should only be nouns or adjectives (although we often use adverbs when we

want to describe location, but more on that later, if you like; this explanation is

getting pretty long!!).

I think that's it. I hope what I've said makes sense and is clear, but please be sure to

post back with questions or doubts!!

Erin

Quote:

6. Why the answer is A? I picked E

The central issue before the court was how far the regulatory agencies should go in requiring better working

conditions in factories.

a. in requiring better working conditions in factories

b. as far as requiring better working conditions in factories

c. in their requirement that factories should have better working conditions

d. as far as requiring that factories should have better working conditions

e. to require factories to have better working conditons

Thanks

Whew! What a tricky question! Both A and E are grammatically correct, but they

have a very slight difference in meaning. For this question, we most likely want the

meaning in A, not the meaning in E. And, whenever we have two options that are

both grammatically correct, and the only difference is one of meaning, we MUST go

with the original meaning. In other words, if A is grammatically correct, not wordy,

redundant, awkward, etc., and another answer choice is also grammatically correct,

not wordy, redundant, awkward, etc., we must go with A.

But I'm sure you want to know the meaning difference and the rule, right? Okay,

here you go:

I know you won't like this, but with this meaning, we use "in." For example:

I want to know how far you will go in helping me.

I think you remember from class that we talked about "helpful" + "in," right? Well,

this is very similar--"helping me" is a process. In this sentence, I am wondering how

long you would stay with me while you are helping me, how many different things

you would do to help me. For example, would you break the law while you are

helping me if you thought I would benefit? Would you ignore your friends and family

while you are helping me? Again: During the process, how much would you do?

(A) has a similar meaning in this sentence. Let's now look at the meaning of E.

I want to know how far you will go to help me.

In this sentence, we are using the infinitive of purpose, which we use to express a

goal. If I use this structure, I am wondering how much effort you would expend to

help me. In other words, would you come to me at midnight? Would you travel 50

miles, 100 miles, 1,000 miles to help me? Would you spend all your time and money

to come to help me? Would you give up your job, health, and family to help me?

Again: How much would you do to be able to be in a situation to help me??

I know that these two are very, very close in meaning, but read what I've written

very carefully, and be sure to post back with any further questions!

• Rule

• Be careful!!

• List of prepositions

the most important rule for prepositions is:

This is the TestMagic list of most of the prepositions you will ever see on the TOEFL.

There are a few more prepositions in English that are not listed here, but you will

probably not see them on the TOEFL since they are fairly uncommon.

This list is very important-you should know at least 90% of this list. And don't forget,

after every preposition, we must have a noun, and only a noun; NEVER can we have

a verb after a preposition.

Six (6) of these prepositions can also be subordinating conjunctions . In other words,

they can be followed by a noun or by a sentence, depending on the meaning.

Huh? Can you show me some examples??

Sure, no problem. Look:

• After lunch, I felt sleepy.

o In this sentence, After is a preposition and is therefore followed by

only one noun, lunch (no verb here!!).

• After I worked twelve hours, I felt tired.

o In this sentence, After is a subordinating conjunction and is followed

by a sentence, I worked twelve hours.

• I worked until midnight.

o Here, until is a preposition and is followed by a noun, midnight. No

verbs, please!!!

• I worked until I felt tired.

o In this sentence, until is a subordinating conjunction and is followed

by a sentence, I felt tired.

1. aboard

2. about

3. above

4. absent

5. according to

6. across

8. against

9. ahead of

10. all over

11. along

12. alongside

13. amid or amidst

14. among

15. around

17. as of

18. as to

19. as + ADVERB OF TIME + as

20. as early as

21. as late as

22. as often as

23. as much as

24. as many as, etc.

25. aside

26. astride

27. at

28. away from

29. bar

30. barring

31. because of

33. behind

34. below

35. beneath

36. beside

37. besides

38. between

39. beyond

40. but

41. by

42. by the time of

43. circa

44. close by

45. close to

46. concerning

47. considering

48. despite

49. down

50. due to

51. during

52. except

53. except for

54. excepting

55. excluding

56. failing

58. for all (this means despite)

59. from

60. given

61. in

62. in between

63. in front of

64. in keeping with

65. in place of

66. in spite of

67. in view of

68. including

69. inside

70. instead of

71. into

72. less

73. like

74. minus

75. near

76. near to

77. next to

78. notwithstanding

79. of

80. off

81. on

82. on top of

83. onto

84. opposite

85. other than

86. out

87. out of

88. outside

89. over

90. past

91. pending

92. per

93. plus

94. regarding

95. respecting

96. round

97. save

98. saving

99. similar to

101. TestMagic List � 2002

102. than

103. thanks to (this means because of)

104. through

105. throughout

106. till

107. to

108. toward or towards (both forms are correct, but toward is considered

slightly more formal)

109. under

110. underneath

111. unlike

113. unto

114. up

115. upon

116. up to

117. versus

118. via

119. wanting

120. with

121. within

122. without

quote:

3. Why A is correct? I chose C

Although about 99 percent of the more than 50 million Turks are Muslims, the republic founded by Mustafa Kemal

Ataturk in 1923 is resolutely secular.

a...

b. Although about 99 percent of over 50 million of the

c. Although about 99 percent of more than 50 million

d. Despite the fact that about 99 percent of more than 50 million

e. Despite the fact that about 99 percent of over 50 million

Whew! This is one of the most commonly asked questions... I think it's going to take

a while to explain, and I don't think I can do it tonight since I've got class in the

morning.

Here's the short answer: if we use "the," we are saying that there are only 50 million

Turks in the whole world; if we don't use "the," we are saying that there are possibly

more than 50 million Turks in the world.

This one's similar to the one in the Official Guide, the one about the "Thomas

Jefferson... setting free the more than 500 slaves..."

All things being equal, I'd have to say that "invest in" is slightly preferable to "invest

into."

I think there's also a very slight difference in meaning--"invest in" would be the

better choice for such traditional investments as stocks and bonds, while "invest

into" could be used in more metaphorical investments, such as the time, energy, and

love you might shower upon your children.

First of all, I should say that just about any GMAT grammar rule will have some

exception. For this reason, I prefer not to refer to "English grammar rules" but to

"GMAT patterns." As I'm sure you're aware, it's very difficult to give a pattern that

applies in every case.

I would say that generally speaking, your summary is good, but just to be sure, I

want to restate:

Use like when you want to focus on two nouns;

Use as when you want to focus on two nouns doing two actions.

Another little trick is that "just as" can replace "in the same way that..."

Let's compare two very similar sentences that could cause confusion:

My Siamese cat moved across the floor just like a lion stalking its prey.

To me, this sentence stresses how two different cats are similar. I know this is

confusing because we have a noun, "lion" and a participle "stalking," which would

seem to indicate that we should use "as," but it's just not so.

In this sentence, do you think we're tying to say

My Siamese cat moved across the floor in the way that a lion stalks its prey.

I don't think so...

My Siamese cat moved across the floor just as a lion stalks its prey.

This one sounds bad to me, I think because we are not explaining how the cat is

moving. Furthermore, at some point, we are going to run into some ambiguity--"as"

does also mean "at the same time," and I also think that the sentence above does

sound a bit like two things are happening at the same time.

Let's look at a better sentence:

My Siamese cat moved across the floor just as a lion stalking its prey moves.

This one sounds very good to me; it explains how a my cat moved.

Furthermore, it has the same meaning as:

My Siamese cat moved across the floor in the way that a lion stalking its prey

moves.

quote:

5. I chose A, but the correct answer is B.

The majority of the talk was devoted to an account of the experimental methods used by investigators in the

field.

a. ...

b. The greater part of the talk was

c. The bulk of the talk has been

d. A large amount of the talk has been

e. A predominance of the talk was

Good one!! "majority" should be used with count nouns only.

Make sense? Hope so!!

Erin

The majority of the water is dirty.

Is "unidiomatic," because "water" is a non-count noun.

Just in case, count nouns can be counted (bottle, idea, person, brush, etc.);

noncount

nouns cannot be counted (water, furniture, information, soap, luggage, etc.).

There is, however, a lot of overlap between the two--beer, coke, coffee, material,

love, etc. can all be either count or non-count, depending on our meaning, context,

or level of formality.

One of the most common questions is something like this:

Do I say:

"Most of the people is/are...?"

"Most of the water is/are...?"

Here's the rule:

quantifier + of + NOUN + verb

The NOUN determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

For example:

Most of the people is/are...

because the quantifier "most" refers to "people," (a plural noun) so "most" is plural

in this sentence.

Most of the water is/are...

because the quantifier "most" refers to "water," (a non-count noun) so "most" is

plural in this sentence.

So, from these examples, you should notice that we are looking mainly at whether

the object of the preposition is count or non-count because the quantifier will take on

this property from the object of the preposition.

In other words, in these sentences:

Most of the people are...

"Most" becomes a count noun because "people" is a count noun.

Most of the water is...

"Most" becomes a non-count noun because "water" is a non-count noun.

So, this rule tells us only whether the quantifier is count or non-count.

To figure out whether the quantifier is singular or plural, we need to check one more

thing...

Sometimes, a quantifier refers only to one thing, not many things. For example,

each, every, and one always refer to one thing, but 10%, half, all, and most

would refer to more than one thing if the object of the preposition is count (with one

possible exception that I will show you in a second).

Of course, if the quantifier is always singular, then the verb must always be singular,

too. (Let's not forget our common sense in grammar, okay?? ) For example, we

say:

• One of the people is...

• Each of the students is...

Of course, when I first wrote out these rules, I imagined a situation like this:

• 1% of the 100 people is/are...

because, of course, 1% of 100 is one, and that's singular, right? And there's

invariably some student in my class who will try to find an exception (that's what I

do in class, too!! My teachers hated it!! )

Anyway, I think most people would say that this is simply a bad sentence and should

be rewritten. This sentence I've shown you is more of a grammar puzzle than a real

sentence.

But I know that somebody out there will want to know the "answer." Well, you can't

go wrong if you write it in the singular, can you?

6. The teacher together with the student IS (or ARE) going to...?

7. The teacher and the student ARE (or IS)going to?

Generally speaking, we need a conjunction to create a plural subject from more than

one singular noun.

"together with" is NOT a conjunction, and therefore cannot create a plural subject.

"and," on the other hand, IS a conjunction and CAN create a plural subject.

I'm concluding:

"a number of ..." always takes plural verbs.

"the number of ..." always takes singular verbs.

Eg: the number of people has increased

A number of people have gone

The important thing here is that the number in the first example (the

number of women employed outside the home) is an actual number--35,000,

for example. Even if you add more women to the original number, there will

still be one number, right?

The second usage of "numbers" is also correct, and means that there are

many people in that group. For example, it is correct to say:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The visiting doctors concluded that the present amalgram is probably as good as or better than, any other

system that might be devised for the patients.

This is correct. One of the answer choices used 'might' instead of 'may'... what's the difference between may and

might?

Whew, hard question. In general, may has more of a concrete meaning, so should

therefore be used more in statements of fact, whereas might is a bit less tangible,

and tends to be used more in expressions of things that don't yet exist (hypothetical

situations). Also, a bit more simply, since might is the past tense form of may, we

use might more in the past tense.

All that said, we often use them interchangeably in many constructions--there is a lot

of overlap between may and might.

• credit SB with STH (verb): give responsibility for. Thomas Edison is credited with

• credit X to Y (verb): give money or credit to. The bank credited $1 million to

• credit for (noun): money received for or in exchange for something. The

So there are a few things you need to know here for GMAT Sentence Correction.

First is this--you should know that GMAT likes to test you on "thinking words." These are

words that indicate some sort of mental process, such as believe, belief, idea, theory, notion,

concept, etc. Please note that both verbs and nouns can be considered "thinking words."

GMAT typically likes to follow these words with that and a sentence. For example, on the

GMAT it's better to say:

• Lucise's belief that the Earth is flat was easily accepted.

than to say:

• Lucise's belief of the Earth being flat was easily accepted.

It is okay to use of if we want to indicate only a noun. That's why, for example, we say theory

of relativity.

In this case, if we choose answer choices that use of instead of that, we seem to be talking

more about theories of land mammals; we are not identifying the action of those land

mammals. In other words, with the that, we are leaving out what it is that the theory purports

the mammals did.

In SAE, we generally use do to replace "regular" verbs, i.e., verbs that are not linking

verbs, verbs that use modals, etc.

For example:

But you already knew that, I'm sure.

Look at the following examples for something (perhaps) new:

We can use have again because have is an auxiliary verb here.

Here, has is NOT an auxiliary verb, and in SAE, we cannot use the verb have in the

second bit.

Here's what you need to know:

is used to express actions that are finished and to show that one thing comes after

another. Furthermore, there is usually a "because relationship between the two. For

example:

Having eaten already, I turned down Megumi's invitation to dinner.

This sentence is okay.

But this next sentence is NOT okay, because the two things should be happening at

the same time (basically the same grammar point found in this question):

Having been sick and having felt tired, Alan did not want to go to work.

All the things in this sentence are happening at the same time, so we should NOT

use the "having + past participle" construction here.

And this sentence is incorrect because there's no "because relationship" between the

two parts of the sentence:

Having set, the Sun rose some hours later.

The Sun will set and rise no matter what; setting doesn't cause rising, so we

shouldn't use the "having + past participle" construction here.

“Modeled After” is the correct idiom

Usage Note: Writers who use hopefully as a sentence adverb, as in Hopefully the

measures will be adopted, should be aware that the usage is unacceptable to many critics,

including a large majority of the Usage Panel. It is not easy to explain why critics dislike

this use of hopefully. The use is justified by analogy to similar uses of many other

adverbs, as in Mercifully, the play was brief or Frankly, I have no use for your friend.

And though this use of hopefully may have been a vogue word when it first gained

currency back in the early 1960s, it has long since lost any hint of jargon or

pretentiousness for the general reader. The wide acceptance of the usage reflects popular

recognition of its usefulness; there is no precise substitute. Someone who says Hopefully,

the treaty will be ratified makes a hopeful prediction about the fate of the treaty, whereas

someone who says I hope (or We hope or It is hoped) the treaty will be ratified expresses

a bald statement about what is desired. Only the latter could be continued with a clause

such as but it isn't likely. �It might have been expected, then, that the initial flurry of

objections to hopefully would have subsided once the usage became well established.

Instead, critics appear to have become more adamant in their opposition. In the 1969

Usage Panel survey, 44 percent of the Panel approved the usage, but this dropped to 27

percent in our 1986 survey. (By contrast, 60 percent in the latter survey accepted the

comparable use of mercifully in the sentence Mercifully, the game ended before the

opponents could add another touchdown to the lopsided score.) It is not the use of

sentence adverbs per se that bothers the Panel; rather, the specific use of hopefully in this

way has become a shibboleth.

None is one of the indefinite pronouns that is singular or plural. There

used to be a old rule that defined that none is less than zero so it

inherits a singular verb. However it is used in different context many

times, and I would agree with you that since 'pregnancies' is plural, it

should take a plural verb, but with the choices given...D is definitely

the best answer, and that is what ETS will look for.

Example: In this question I think none of the answers are correct.

--> With fractions, percentages and indefinite quantifiers, the verb agrees with the

preceding noun or clause. With singular or non-count nouns or clauses, use a

singular verb:

One third of this article is taken up with statistical analysis.

All of the book seems relevant to this study.

Half of what he writes is undocumented.

About fifty percent of the job is routine.

All the information is current.

With plural nouns, use plural verbs:

One third of the students have graduate degrees.

Fifty percent of the computers have CD-ROM drives.

Many researchers depend on grants from industry.

With collective nouns, use either singular or plural, depending on whether you want

to emphasize the single group or its individual members:

Half of my family lives/live in Canada.

All of the class is/are here.

Ten percent of the population is/are bilingual.

This is another reason, and this one's a bit harder to explain. In a nutshell, though, we can't

use a that noun clause with the word directive, just as we cannot with order, as hellogmat has

pointed out.

10. However much United States voters may agree that there is waste in government and that the government

as a whole spends beyond its means, it is difficult to find broad support for a movement toward a minimal state.

(A) However much United States voters may agree that

(B) Despite the agreement among United States voters to the fact

(C) Although United States voters agree

(D) Even though United States voters may agree

(E) There is agreement among United States voters that

This is a very commonly asked question. The reason C is not the answer is that C

changes the meaning.

Look at these simplified sentences:

However much you complain, I will not change my mind.

This sentence means no matter how much you complain, I will not change my mind.

Or, to put it in a more precise way, my resolve to stick to my decision will not wane even if

the degree of your complaining increases.

This meaning is quite specific.

Now compare it to this sentence:

Although you complain, I will not change my mind.

This sentence means even though you complain, I will not change my mind.

This meaning is pretty simple, and doesn't need any more explanation, I think.

So, even though the two meanings are quite close, they are in fact different, and

between two grammatically correct and plausible sentences, we must go with the

one that doesn't change the meaning of A.

4. What does "that which" refer to in this sentence. (correct answer is D)

The inhabitants of Somalia greeted the measures outlawing polygamy with a similar defiance that welcomed the

prohibition of alcohol in the United States in the nineteen-twenties.

a...

b. a similar defiance which welcomed

c. a similar defiance to what welcomed

d. a defiance similar to that which welcomed

e. the same defiance welcoming

In English, instead of saying something like "that that" we say "that which." For

example:

The number we recorded this week is greater than that which we recorded last week.

is preferable to

The number we recorded this week is greater than that that we recorded last week.

In this sentence

The number we recorded this week is greater than that which we recorded last week.

that = number

and

which = number

Notice that this sentence equals

The number we recorded this week is greater than the number that we recorded last

week.

So in our sentence here, we want to say:

The inhabitants of Somalia greeted the measures outlawing polygamy with a defiance

that was similar to the defiance that welcomed the prohibition of alcohol in the United

States in the nineteen-twenties.

This is a great SC trick!

Adjectives modify nouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Sometimes in SC we must choose which to use according to the meaning.

supposed Mediterranean predecessors.

This sentence means that we are not sure whether these things are actually

predecessors.

supposedly Mediterranean predecessors.

This sentence means that we are not sure whether these things are actually

Mediterranean.

The answer is B, not D.

"during" + time period is WRONG. For example:

During two hours, I felt sleepy.

but

During the last two hours, I have felt sleepy.

To make our sentence correct with "during," we'd need to add some information that

would identify which two decade-period we are talking about. For example: