GMAT® All the Verbal This essential guide takes the guesswork out of grammar by presenting all of the major grammatical principles and minor grammatical points known to be tested on GMAT Sentence Correction. It also teaches you all of the critical and logical reasoning you need for the Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning sections of the GMAT. GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council™. Manhattan Prep is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with GMAC. Acknowledgements A great number of people were involved in the creation of the book you are holding. Our Manhattan Prep resources are based on the continuing experiences of our instructors and students. The overall vision for this edition was developed by Stacey Koprince and Andrea Pawliczek, who determined what strategies to cover and how to weave them into a cohesive whole. Stacey Koprince (SC, RC), Andrea Pawliczek (CR), and Daniel Fogel (SC) were the primary authors; they were supported by a number of content experts. Chelsey Cooley and Daniel Fogel served as the primary editors during the writing phase. Mario Gambino, Helen Tan, and Patrick Tyrrell served as a sounding board during the writing phase, vetting both ideas and content. Patrick Tyrrell deserves special mention as the source of multiple new ideas for the CR unit of the guide. Mario Gambino managed production for all images, with Derek Frankhouser and Israt Pasha lending their design expertise. Matthew Callan coordinated the production work for this guide. Once the manuscript was done, Naomi Beesen and Emily Meredith Sledge edited and Cheryl Duckler proofread the entire guide from start to finish. Carly Schnur designed the covers. Retail ISBNs: 978-1-5062-4904-9, 978-1-5062-6255-0 Retail eISBN: 978-1-5062-4905-6 Course ISBN: 978-1-5062-4906-3 Course eISBN: 978-1-5062-4907-0 Copyright © 2019 MG Prep, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or web distribution—without the prior written permission of the publisher, MG Prep, Inc. GMAT® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admissions Council™. Manhattan Prep is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with GMAC. GMAT® Strategy Guides GMAT All the Quant GMAT All the Verbal GMAT Integrated Reasoning & Essay Strategy Guide Supplements Math Verbal GMAT Foundations of Math GMAT Foundations of Verbal GMAT Advanced Quant September 3, 2019 Dear Student, Thank you for picking up a copy of All the Verbal. I hope this book provides just the guidance you need to get the most out of your GMAT studies. At Manhattan Prep, we continually aspire to provide the best instructors and resources possible. If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us. Email our Student Services team at [email protected] or give us a shout at 212- 721-7400 (or 800-576-4628 in the United States or Canada). We try to keep all our books free of errors, but if you think we’ve goofed, please visit manhattanprep.com/GMAT/errata. Our Manhattan Prep Strategy Guides are based on the continuing experiences of both our instructors and our students. The primary authors of the 7th Edition All the Verbal guide were Stacey Koprince, Andrea Pawliczek, and Daniel Fogel. Project management and design were led by Matthew Callan, Mario Gambino, and Helen Tan. I’d like to send particular thanks to instructors Chelsey Cooley, Emily Meredith Sledge, and Patrick Tyrrell for their content contributions. Finally, we are indebted to all of the Manhattan Prep students who have given us excellent feedback over the years. This book wouldn’t be half of what it is without their voice. And now that you are one of our students too, please chime in! I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks again and best of luck preparing for the GMAT! Sincerely, Chris Ryan Executive Director, Product Strategy Manhattan Prep www.manhattanprep.com/gmat 138 West 25th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212-721-7400 Fax: 646-514-7425 TABLE OF CONTENTS UNIT ONE: Sentence Correction Chapter 1: The Sentence Correction Process Question Format The Sentence Correction Process “Best” Does Not Mean Ideal Sentence Correction Timing Using and Improving Your Ear for Sentence Correction How to Get Better at the Sentence Correction Process Chapter 2: Grammar and Meaning Grammar: A Closer Look Meaning: A Closer Look Connect, or Match, the Words Say It Once: Avoid Redundancy Place Your Words Choose Your Words Problem Set Solutions Chapter 3: Sentence Structure Subject and Verb Must Both Exist Subject and Verb Must Agree in Number Eliminate the Middlemen and Skip the Warm-Up Use Structure to Decide Mid-Chapter Quiz: Test Your Skills The Sentence Core Two Independent Clauses Adding Modifiers Problem Set Solutions Chapter 4: Modifiers Adjectives and Adverbs Modifier vs. Core: Part 1 Noun Modifiers Noun Modifier Markers: Which, That, Who, and More Adverbial Modifiers Modifier Markers: Prepositions Modifier Markers: –ing and –ed Words Modifier vs. Core: Part 2 Modifier Markers: Subordinators Quantity Problem Set Solutions Chapter 5: Parallelism Markers and Elements The Root Phrase Closed vs. Open Markers The Many Parallel Structures of the Word And Idioms with Built-In Parallel Structure Problem Set Solutions Chapter 6: Comparisons Comparison Markers Omitted Words Like vs As The Many Uses of the Word As Comparative and Superlative Forms Problem Set Solutions Chapter 7: Pronouns The Antecedent Must Exist and Be Sensible The Antecedent and Pronoun Must Agree in Number The Deadly Five: It, Its, They, Them, Their This, That, These, and Those Some Ambiguity Is Acceptable Problem Set Solutions Chapter 8: Verbs Simple Tenses Make Tenses Reflect Meaning The Perfect Tenses: An Introduction Past Perfect: The Earlier Action Present Perfect: Bridging Past and Present –ing Modifiers: Follow the Main Verb Present to Future or Past to Conditional Active and Passive Voice Problem Set Solutions Chapter 9: Idioms Spot–Extract–Replace Idiom List Problem Set Solutions UNIT TWO: Reading Comprehension Chapter 10: The Foundation How Reading Comprehension Works Find the Simple Story 4 Steps to the Simple Story Answer the Question Chapter 11: Breaking Down the Passage Engage with the Passage Passage Components Language Clues Optional Strategy: Breaking Down Complex Sentences Problem Set Solutions Chapter 12: Mapping the Passage Why Use a Passage Map? Making the Passage Map Common Notations Problem Set Solutions Chapter 13: General Questions 4 Steps to the Answer Practice Passage: Insect Behavior Primary Purpose Questions Paragraph Questions Primary Purpose Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 14: Specific Questions 4 Steps to the Answer Practice Passage: Electroconvulsive Therapy Detail Questions Inference Questions Specific Purpose Questions EXCEPT Questions Specific Question Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 15: Extra Problem Set Problem Set Solutions UNIT THREE: Critical Reasoning Chapter 16: Argument Structure The Core Building Blocks of an Argument Signal Words Intermediate Conclusions and the Therefore Test Common Argument Types Answers to Pop Quiz Argument Structure Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 17: Methodology Step 1: Identify the Question Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument Step 3: State the Goal Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right Exercise: Identify the Question Methodology Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 18: Structure-Based Family Describe the Role Describe the Argument Exercise: Understanding Answer Choices Describe the Role Cheat Sheet Describe the Argument Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 19: The Assumption Family: Find the Assumption How Assumptions Work Exercise: Brainstorm Assumptions Assumption Family Questions Find the Assumption Questions The Negation Technique Find the Assumption Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 20: The Assumption Family: Strengthen and Weaken Strengthen and Weaken: The Basics Strengthen the Argument Questions Weaken the Argument Questions EXCEPT Questions Strengthen the Argument Cheat Sheet Weaken the Argument Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 21: The Assumption Family: Evaluate the Argument and Find the Flaw Evaluate the Argument Questions The Strengthen/Weaken Strategy Find the Flaw Questions Evaluate the Argument Cheat Sheet Find the Flaw Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Chapter 22: Evidence Family What Are Inferences? Inference Questions Explain a Discrepancy EXCEPT Questions Inference Cheat Sheet Explain a Discrepancy Cheat Sheet Problem Set Solutions Appendix A: Idioms Appendix B: Glossary The GMAT Mindset The GMAT is a complex exam. It feels like an academic test—math, grammar, logical reasoning—but it’s really not! At heart, the GMAT is a test of your executive reasoning skills. Executive reasoning is the official term for your ability to make all kinds of decisions in the face of complex and changing information. It makes sense, then, that graduate management programs would want to test these skills. It’s crucial for you to understand how they do so because that understanding will impact both how you study for the GMAT and how you take the test. You do need to know various math and grammar facts, rules, and concepts in order to do well on the GMAT—and this makes the test feel similar to tests that you took in school. There’s one critical difference though: When your teachers gave you tests in school, they tested you on material they expected you to know how to handle. Your teachers wouldn’t put something on the test that they expected you to get wrong. That would be cruel! Well, it would be cruel if the main point of the exam was to test your mastery of those facts, rules, and concepts. But that isn’t the main point of the GMAT. Rather, the GMAT wants to know how well you make decisions regarding when to invest your limited time and mental energy—and when not to.