Sentence corrections practice with answers and
explanations for GRE, GMAT and SAT and IBA examination.
1. In the thirties and forties, devotees of Willa Cather’s maintained
that her writing has all the qualities found in the highest order of American
writers of the nineteenth and twentieth century.
A. Cather’s maintained that her writing has
B. Cather’s maintained that her writing had
C. Cather’s have maintained that her writing
had
D. Cather maintained that her writing had
E. Cather maintained that her writing has
The best answer is D. The phrase devotees of Willa Cather presents a
complete possessive without adding an apostrophe to her last name. Because the
sentence describes a past event, the verb has
in the present tense is incorrect.
2. Robinson is a botanist whose dream is to reestablish an authentic
pre-human piece of Hawaii, a place now awash with introduced species of plants
and animals.
A. who has the dream to reestablish an
authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
B. whose dream it is to reestablish an
authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
C. who it is his dream to reestablish an
authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
D. that is dreaming to reestablish an
authentic pre-human piece of Hawaii,
E. whose dream is to reestablish an authentic
pre-human piece of Hawaii,
The best answer is E. The pronoun whose is
the best way to link the dream with
Robinson is a botanist.
3. As literary criticism grows more complex, students majoring in
specialized areas like those of post-colonialism and Marxist discourse have
been becoming increasingly successful at finding positions in the faculties of
top universities.
A. majoring in specialized areas like those of
post-colonialism and Marxist discourse
have been becoming increasingly
B. who major in such specialized areas as
post-colonialism and Marxist discourse are becoming more and more
C. who majored in specialized areas such as
those of post-colonialism and Marxist discourse are being increasingly
D. who major in specialized areas like those
of post-colonialism and Marxist discourse have been becoming more and more
E. having majored in such specialized areas
as post-colonialism and Marxist discourse are being increasingly
The best answer is B. The phrase As literary criticism grows more complex introduces an ongoing condition that leads to consequences
described in the rest of the sentence, which should be expressed with simple
present-tense or present progressive. The use of like rather than such
as is incorrect. In A, C, and D, those of is too wordy.
4. The woodland sub-species were in isolation from contact with
humans longer than either their marsh cousins or the tree-dwelling sub-species.
A. in isolation from contact with humans
longer than
B. isolated from contact with humans longer
than
C. in isolation from contact with humans
longer than were
D. isolated from contact with humans longer
than were
E. in isolation and without contacts with
humans longer than
The best answer is D. The phrasing of the
comparisons in choices A, B, and E is incomplete, so the comparisons are
ambiguous. Choice D employs concise, idiomatic phrasing to express a logically
complete comparison.
5. Drinking milk enriched with vitamin D may significantly reduce the
risk of rickets and also aid for sufferers of heart disease, according to
studies recently completed at the University of California in San Francisco.
A. significantly reduce the risk of rickets
and also aid for
B. be significant in reducing the risk of
rickets and aid for
C. significantly reduce the risk of rickets
and aid
D. cause a significant reduction in the risk
of rickets and aid to
E. significantly reduce the risk of rickets
as well as aiding
The best answer is C. Choices A, B and D each
produce a clearly unintended meaning: by using aid as a noun rather than a verb, each creates a
misleading parallel with the noun risk. Choice E lacks grammatical parallelism.
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