GMAT Prep Verbal Grammar Review - Part III

There are several parts of the verb system which function as if they were different parts of speech (in the case of a participle, an adjective). In grammar, the PARTICIPLE is the term for two verb forms, the PRESENT PARTICIPLE (the ``-ing'' participle) and the PAST PARTICIPLE (the ``-ed'' participle, also ending in ``-d' and ``-t''). Both participles may be used like adjectives, but only if the participle indicates some sort of permanent characteristic:``running water'', ``the missing link'', ``lost property''.

The PRESENT PARTICIPLE ends in ``-ing'' and is used in combination with the auxiliary ``be'' for the progressive continuous, as in: ``am driving'', ``has been talking'', etc.

The PAST PARTICIPLE ends in ``-ed'', ``-d'' or ``-t'' for all regular verbs and many irregular verbs, but many irregular verbs end in ``-en'' and ``-n'' (as in, ``stolen'' and ``known'') or with a change in the middle vowel (as in,``sung'').

Present Participle

The present participle ends in -ing. Like an adjective, it may be used to form a predicate with the verb to be:

Her feelings for her GMAT were burgeoning quickly.

She is stunning the class with her GMAT knowledge.

Used as an adjective, it holds the normal adjectival position:

Her burgeoning feelings for her GMAT surprised her.

The stunning GMAT test result shocked me.

Participles are commonly found in phrases alongside the main part of the sentence:

Burgeoning rapidly, her feelings for her GMAT rose to an untenable level.

If there is no appropriate noun, the sentence becomes nonsensical. The falsely assigned participle is known as `dangling' or `misrelated':

Wrong: Burgeoning rapidly, she was soon unable to control her feelings for her GMAT.

As we will discuss in the Sentence Correction section, this is one of the most common errors on the GMAT, so learn to recognize a misplaced modifier (dangling participle), and you will have great success with these questions.

The past participle ends in -(e)d or -t in most verbs. A few archaic strong forms remain; these are verbs which make the past tense by changing the internal vowel, e.g., write, wrote; see, saw. These have participles that end in -(e)n, e.g. written, seen. The past participle forms a compound tense (perfect) with the addition of the verb to have. This denotes the perfected or completed action:

I have decided to take the GMAT.

It is useful to be able to recognize tenses in the Sentence Correction section, because another of the most common errors on the GMAT is changing tenses needlessly in the middle of a sentence. Make sure that the answer you select does not have a change of tense which is not justified by the meaning of the sentence.

Used adjectivally, however, the past participle may also form a predicate with the verb to be.

I have helped you.

You are helped.

As with the present participle, the past participle must be related to its proper noun when forming a modifying phrase:

Embarrassed by her faux pas, the GMAT instructor left the room.

If the participle is misrelated (misplaced), comic results will occur:

Wrong: Covered with aluminum foil, the GMAT instructor popped the lasagna into the oven.

(Here it is the GMAT instructor, and not the lasagna, that is covered with aluminum foil)

Absolute participle constructions are rare, and normally consist of noun and participle - the noun to which the participle refers is actually present, although it does not have a function in the rest of the sentence:

The GMAT being over, the students all went home.

Weather permitting, the GMAT will be held outdoors.

A similar construction has the preposition with:

I returned to GMAT prep with my essay revised.

A few participles have virtually become prepositions in their own right. These are:

barring, considering, excepting, including, owing (to), regarding, respecting, seeing, touching;

and the past forms:

excepted, provided, given.

The GERUND is a verbal noun, in English a word ending in ``-ing''. In fact, many grammarians of English use the term PARTICIPLE to include the gerund. Take the word ``visiting'' in the sentence: “They appreciate my visiting their GMAT study location.”

Like participles, gerunds are verbal elements which take on the role of another part of speech (in this case, that of a noun).

More common is the form ending in -ing, and this is identical with the form of the present participle. The two are distinguished only by function:

Taking this route to the GMAT test center was a mistake. (subject, taking)

Why are we going this way to the GMAT exam venue? (participle, going)

There is no preferred version, but it is important to maintain parallelism in your constructions.

If an ordinary noun can be substituted for the -ing form, then it is a gerund, e.g.,

Taking the GMAT was the fun part.

Its capture was the fun part.

The gerund retains its verbal function by taking an object:

Owning a GMAT prep book is very wise.

Less commonly, the noun function dictates the form:

The wearing of pink by GMAT students is a major fashion crime. (Wearing pink dots)

Where a noun or pronoun is used with a gerund, it should be in the possessive case:

My admonishing him will not change his mind about taking the GMAT.

It was his winning that bothered me, not my losing.

I can't stand my mother's telling my GMAT tutor embarrassing stories about me.

Any word may be used as an attributive (adjective) if placed before a noun. A gerund may be used this way (called a gerundive); its form is identical with the present participle, but the meaning will be different:

A building reputation - participle (a reputation that is building)

Some building blocks - gerund (blocks for building with)

A working appliance - participle (an appliance that works)

Working papers - gerund (papers which allow you to work)

The infinitive form of a verb has a ``to'' proceeding it:

to + verb

The infinitive form may be used in this function:

To err is human, to forgive, divine.

(= Error is human, forgiveness, divine.)

Care must be taken not to use a mixture of the two forms:

Talking to my GMAT instructor was one thing, but kissing him was entirely another!

To talk to my GMAT instructor was one thing, but to kiss him was entirely another!

Not: Talking to my GMAT instructor was one thing, but to kiss him was entirely another!

Do avoid inserting a word or a phrase between the to and the verb in the infinitive form. This error is known as a split infinitive.

Wrong:

I asked my GMAT tutor to quickly clean the table.

Correct:

I asked my GMAT tutor to clean the table quickly.

Conjunctions are used to connect words or constructions. You should simply keep in mind that the most common conjunctions are AND, BUT, OR, which are used to connect units (nouns, phrases, gerunds, and clauses) of equal status and function. The other conjunctions, BECAUSE, IF, ALTHOUGH, AS, connect a subordinate clause to its superordinate clause, as in ``We did it BECAUSE he told us to.''

Generally don't begin sentences with conjunctions- however is better than but for this, but it goes best after semicolons. Or use the adverb instead.

Correlative expressions such as either/or, neither/nor, both/and, not only/but also and not/but should all correlate ideas expressed with the same grammatical construction.

Special care has to be taken with clauses: only clauses of the same kind can be joined with a conjunction. Similarly, a phrase cannot be joined to a clause.

American usage is extremely fastidious in making constructions parallel, and this is another one of the common tricks in the Sentence Correction questions. Keep a lookout for conjunctions and lists, and you will be able to catch these errors.

Punctuation:

• Punctuation is the practice in writing of using a set of marks to regulate texts and clarify their meanings, mainly by separating or linking words, phrases and clauses. Currently, punctuation is not used as heavily as in the past. Punctuation styles vary from individual, newspaper to newspaper and press to press, in terms of what they consider necessary.

Improper punctuation can create ambiguities or misunderstandings in writing, especially when the comma is misused.For example, consider the following examples:

“They did not go to GMAT prep, because they were lazy.'' In this case, the people in question did not go for one reason: “because they were lazy.'' But consider the sentence again:

“They did not go to GMAT prep because they were lazy.''  In this case, without the comma, the people probably DID go, but not because they were lazy, for some other reason (they did not go because they were lazy, they went because they were tired).

Periods and Commas:

• Periods and Commas are the most common form of punctuation. The period ends a sentence, whereas the comma marks out associated words within sentences. Commas are used for pauses, prepositional phrases, and appositive clauses offset from the rest of the sentence to rename a proper noun (Thomas, a baker,); they are the rest stop in English language.

Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes (or Hyphens): Many people avoid the use of colon and semicolon, because of uncertainty as to their precise uses. In less formal writing, the dash is often used to take the place of both the colon and the semi-colon. The rule is that both colons and semicolons must follow a complete independent clause. A semicolon must be followed by another complete clause, either dependent or independent. A colon may be followed by a list or phrase, or by a complete clause.

• The APOSTROPHE (') used to show possession: Those GMAT books are Thomas's books.
• The COLON (:) is normally used in a sentence to lead from one idea to its consequences or logical continuation. The colon is used to lead from one thought to another.
• The SEMICOLON (;) is normally used to link two parallel statements.

Consider the following examples:

• COLON: “There was no truth in the accusation that they cheated on their GMAT: they rejected it utterly.” Points to a cause/effect relationship, as a result of ...
• SEMICOLON: ``There was no truth in the accusation; it was totally false.'' (Here two parallel statements are linked ``no truth'' and ``totally false''. In the COLON example, the consequence is stated after the insertion of the colon). Re-states initial premise, creates relation between disparate parts. Technically, these sentences could be broken down into two separate sentences and they would remain grammatically sound. But two sentences here would suggest separateness (which in speech the voice would convey with a longer pause) that is not always appropriate.
• HYPHENS or DASHES: The hyphen or dash is perhaps most important in order to avoid ambiguity, and is used to link words. Consider the following example: ``Fifty-odd GMAT students'' and ``Fifty odd GMAT students'' When the hyphen is used, the passage means ``approximately fifty GMAT students.'' But the second passage means ``fifty strange GMAT students. Otherwise, the use of the hyphen is declining. It was formerly used to separate vowels (co-ordinate, make-up), but this practice is disappearing. For example: House plant, house-plant, and houseplant