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There are a few different types of wrong answers on the GRE. Some wrong answers are just there in hopes that you’ll guess incorrectly: they actually don’t make much logical sense, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, they look just as good as any other option. Other wrong answers are meant to trick test-takers who make particular mistakes. If you pick an answer on a Text Completion problem that’s exactly the opposite of the correct one, because you missed a critical word like despite or although, this is the type of wrong answer you’ve fallen for. Read more

The verbal portion of the GRE presents many opportunities to test us on our understanding of idiomatic language. Such language can come in the form of expressions or constructions that mean something different than what the individual words might mean on their own. Alternatively, we may be looking at a secondary or more rare definition of a word. This kind of language can be tested both on vocab questions (text completion and sentence equivalence) and on reading comprehension.

First, try this problem (© Manhattan Prep). Select the answer choice that most closely represents the meaning of the original sentence.

The experiment only looks like a success.

(A) It is not possible to see the experiment as anything other than a success.

(B) The experiment might be successful, but we don’t know for sure.

(C) The experiment has the appearance of a success, but really is a failure.

Have you picked your choice? Great, let’s talk about it!

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