GMAT GMAT - Graduate Management Admission Verbal: Sentence Correction 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence correctly uses the subjunctive mood?
- The board recommended that the CEO resign immediately. (Correct answer)
- The board recommended that the CEO resigns immediately.
- The board recommended that the CEO resigned immediately.
- The board recommended that the CEO would resign immediately.
Correct answer: The board recommended that the CEO resign immediately.
After verbs of recommendation, demand, or suggestion, the subjunctive requires the base form of the verb (resign), not a conjugated form.
Question 2: Which option corrects the comparison error: 'The profits of Company A are higher than Company B'?
- The profits of Company A are higher than those of Company B. (Correct answer)
- The profits of Company A are higher than Company B's profits are higher.
- Company A's profits are more higher than Company B.
- The profits of Company A are higher as Company B's.
Correct answer: The profits of Company A are higher than those of Company B.
Comparisons must be between parallel elements; 'profits' must be compared to 'profits' (represented by 'those'), not to 'Company B' itself.
Question 3: Which sentence correctly uses 'fewer' vs. 'less'?
- The firm hired fewer analysts this quarter than last. (Correct answer)
- The firm hired less analysts this quarter than last.
- The firm hired fewer amount of analysts this quarter.
- The firm hired less number of analysts this quarter.
Correct answer: The firm hired fewer analysts this quarter than last.
'Fewer' is used with countable nouns like 'analysts,' while 'less' is reserved for uncountable or mass nouns.
Question 4: Which version avoids the redundancy error: 'The reason the merger failed was because of poor integration'?
- The reason the merger failed was poor integration. (Correct answer)
- The reason why the merger failed was because of poor integration.
- The reason was because the merger failed due to poor integration.
- The merger failed for the reason of because of poor integration.
Correct answer: The reason the merger failed was poor integration.
'The reason was because' is redundant; the correct construction is 'The reason was [noun phrase]' or 'The merger failed because.'
Question 5: Choose the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement: 'A number of applicants ___ waiting for the interview results.'
- A number of applicants are waiting for the interview results. (Correct answer)
- A number of applicants is waiting for the interview results.
- The number of applicants are waiting for the interview results.
- A number of applicants was waiting for the interview results.
Correct answer: A number of applicants are waiting for the interview results.
'A number of' is an indefinite expression treated as plural, while 'the number of' is treated as singular.
Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
- The market expanded rapidly; however, profit margins declined. (Correct answer)
- The market expanded rapidly; but profit margins declined.
- The market expanded; rapidly, profit margins declined.
- The market expanded rapidly; profit margins, however declined.
Correct answer: The market expanded rapidly; however, profit margins declined.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses; conjunctive adverbs like 'however' follow the semicolon and are themselves followed by a comma.
GMAT GMAT - Graduate Management Admission Verbal: Sentence Correction 2
Which sentence correctly uses the subjunctive mood?