<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Appositive – GMAT</title> <atom:link href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/tag/appositive/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat</link> <description>GMAT Prep Course, Best GMAT Class & Study Books | Manhattan Prep GMAT</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 05 Sep 2019 15:59:59 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2</generator> <item> <title>GMAT Sentence Correction Tests Good Grammar, Not Good Writing</title> <link>https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/gmat-sentence-correction-tests-good-grammar-not-good-writing/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chelsey Cooley]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2016 21:02:35 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[For Current Studiers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT Prep]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sentence Correction]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Verbal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Appositive]]></category> <category><![CDATA[English Grammar]]></category> <category><![CDATA[GMAT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Modifiers]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/?p=11373</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. There’s a type of sentence known among linguists and grammar mavens as a “garden path” sentence. These sentences earned this name by leading readers “down […]</p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/gmat-sentence-correction-tests-good-grammar-not-good-writing/">GMAT Sentence Correction Tests Good Grammar, Not Good Writing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-11374" src="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/04/4-25-2016-blog-3.png" alt="Manhattan Prep GMAT Blog - Sentence Correction Tests Good Grammar Not Good Writing by Chelsey Cooley" width="676" height="264" srcset="https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/04/4-25-2016-blog-3.png 676w, https://cdn2.manhattanprep.com/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/04/4-25-2016-blog-3-300x117.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px" /><strong><em>Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Complete%20Courses%20Plug&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog">Check out our upcoming courses here</a>.</em></strong></p> <hr /> <p>There’s a type of sentence known among linguists and grammar mavens as a “garden path” sentence. These sentences earned this name by leading readers “down the garden path” — you think the sentence is going in one direction, but halfway through, you suddenly realize that it’s saying something else entirely. Here’s the classic example:<span id="more-11373"></span></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>The horse raced past the barn fell</em>.</p> <p>Believe it or not, <strong>this sentence is grammatically correct</strong>. The core of the sentence is <em>The horse fell</em>. “Raced past the barn” is just a modifier describing the horse. The sentence is equivalent to this one:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>The horse that was raced past the barn fell. </em></p> <p>The second sentence is written much more clearly. The phrase “that was” makes it obvious that a modifier is about to start, so you don’t expect <em>raced</em> to be the main verb of the sentence. Yet grammatically, they’re both technically fine. It’s okay to start modifiers with <em>that was</em>, but it’s also okay to start modifiers with just a past participle, like in these examples.</p> <p><em>The man <strong>trampled by the horse</strong> has made a full recovery. </em></p> <p><em> The mural <strong>created last year</strong> won several awards. </em></p> <p>In English grammar, it’s often okay to leave out the <em>that was</em> or <em>who was</em>. Doing so sometimes leads to a poorly written or difficult to read sentence, which is why writers are cautious about it. But the GMAT tests grammar and logic, <em>not</em> clear writing. The right answers to GMAT Sentence Correction questions will sometimes phrase things in awkward-sounding or unclear ways.</p> <p>Another example is the infamous <em>appositive</em>. Here’s a grammatically correct sentence from the GMAC’s GMATPrep software:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Architects and stonemasons, the Maya built huge palace and temple clusters without the benefit of animal transport or the wheel. </em></p> <p>The phrase “architects and stonemasons” at the beginning of the sentence throws many readers off. It seems as if two nouns have been stuck onto the front of the sentence with no attention to how they fit in. This type of modifier — in which a noun, set off by commas, can modify another noun — sounds awkward to many readers. We almost never use appositives in speech, and many writers rarely use them. However, they’re acceptable in formal English grammar, and they’re acceptable on the GMAT.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>In his recent self-help book, the author and diet guru proposed a revolutionary new way of losing weight, <strong>a method that allowed dieters to eat dessert after every meal and do only minimal exercise</strong>. </em></p> <p>The phrase beginning with “a method” is also an appositive. Making matters worse, the appositive contains yet another modifier inside of it: <em>that allowed…</em> modifies <em>method</em>. Yet the sentence is still grammatically correct! You don’t need to memorize the technical details of this type of modifier, but you should remember that even if they sound strange, that’s just because they’re rare. They’re grammatically correct and okay on a GMAT Sentence Corrrection problem.</p> <p>I’ll leave you with one last bizarre sentence. You might think that it’s never possible to have two verbs right next to each other! But this sentence would be correct on the GMAT:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>The threat of dehydration that desert reptiles, such as the northern blue-tongued skink and the red diamond rattlesnake, face results from the dry and hot environment. </em></p> <p>This sentence sounds strange because of the two verbs, <em>face</em> and <em>results</em>, that appear immediately next to each other. It’s also difficult to read because these two verbs can both also be used as nouns! However, structurally and grammatically, the sentence is correct. It actually has two modifiers nested inside of each other. The core is <em>The threat of dehydration results from the dry and hot environment. </em>The next phrase, <em>that desert reptiles face</em>, modifies <em>threat of dehydration</em>. And finally, <em>such as the northern blue-tongued skink and the red diamond rattlesnake</em> modifies <em>reptiles</em>.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>The threat of dehydration that desert reptiles, such as the northern blue-tongued skink and the red diamond rattlesnake, face results from the dry and hot environment. </em></p> <p>That’s a hideous sentence — but it’s not wrong. And what can <em>you</em> do about this? Here are three major ideas to use as you practice Sentence Correction:</p> <ol> <li>Learn the grammatical constructions that tend to sound wrong to <em>you</em>, so that when you see them on the test, you’ll know not to eliminate them by accident.</li> <li>It’s okay to use your ear, but use grammar first. GMAT Sentence Correction tests grammatical and logical rules, not writing style. Your ear might not know the difference between wrong grammar and just plain lousy writing.</li> <li>Don’t ever eliminate an answer choice just because it seems poorly written — unless it’s totally incomprehensible, or you can’t find any more grammatical or logical issues to work with.</li> </ol> <p>To learn all things Sentence Correction, check out our <a href="//www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/store/strategy-guides/sentence-correction/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=GMAT%20Blog%20Sentence%20Correction%20Strategy%20Guide%20Plug&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog">Sentence Correction Strategy Guide</a>. ?</p> <hr /> <p><strong>Want full access to Chelsey’s sage GMAT wisdom? Try the first class of one of <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=CooleyCoursesLinkGMATBlog&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog#instructor/336">her upcoming GMAT courses</a> for absolutely free, no strings attached. </strong></p> <hr /> <p><em><strong><a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/chelsey-cooley/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgre%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=CooleyBioGREBlog&utm_campaign=GRE%20Blog" target="_blank">Chelsey Cooley</a><a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/instructors/chelsey-cooley/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgre%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=CooleyBioGREBlog&utm_campaign=GRE%20Blog" target="_blank"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-10949 size-thumbnail" title="Chelsey Cooley Manhattan Prep GMAT Instructor" src="https://d27gmszdzgfpo3.cloudfront.net/gmat/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2016/01/chelsey-cooley-150x150.png" alt="Chelsey Cooley Manhattan Prep GMAT Instructor" width="150" height="150" /></a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.</strong> 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’s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170/170 on the GRE. Check out Chelsey’s upcoming GMAT prep offerings <a href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/classes/?utm_source=manhattanprep.com%2Fgmat%2Fblog&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=CooleyCoursesLinkGMATBlog&utm_campaign=GMAT%20Blog#instructor/336">here</a>.</em></p> <p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/gmat-sentence-correction-tests-good-grammar-not-good-writing/">GMAT Sentence Correction Tests Good Grammar, Not Good Writing</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat">GMAT</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>