Questions pertaining to Sentence Correction make up to about 30% of the Verbal questions in your GMAT. A sizeable number of these questions revolve around idioms, which quite simply are the conventional way of phrasing a sentence in English language and if you ask, remembering so many idioms are not easy.
To begin with, there are literally hundreds of them, and unfortunately many of them are quite arbitrary. There are no definite rules for these idioms, and you might just have to memorize them. Can be quite herculean a task for many.
What’s the silver lining?
You don’t have to learn them all. You are probably going to encounter a few commonly used idioms in your GMAT and familiarizing yourself with them should suffice for this entrance examination at least.
What else you can do inside qs leap ?
Here are a few commonly seen GMAT idioms that we will explain with the help of examples for each one.
Need that X be Y
- Rules require that candidates be subjected to diligent screening – right.
- Rules require that candidates to be subjected to diligent screening – wrong.
Believe X to be Y
- Studies believe the recent changes in weather to be a result of global warming – right.
- Studies believe that the recent changes in weather to be a result of global warming – wrong.
Prohibit X from Y
- It will prohibit those without right papers from buying guns – right.
- It will prohibit those without right papers to buy guns – wrong.
Estimate to be
- That painting is estimated to be more than 300 years old – right.
- That painting is estimated as more than 300 years old – wrong.
X expected to Y
- The prize money is expected to increase next year – right.
- The prize money is expected to be increasing next year – wrong.
Prefer X to Y
- Cats prefer the comfort of a known floor to a new bed – right.
- Cats prefer the comfort of a known floor over a new bed – wrong.
Not only, but also
- Rain was not only heavy but also incessant – right.
- Rain was not only heavy but incessant – wrong.
Neither, nor
- Neither the book nor the journal was very helpful to him – right.
- Neither the book or the journal was very helpful to him – wrong.
Just as, so too
- Just as exercise can help you lose weight, so too can controlled diet – right.
- Just as exercise can help you lose weight controlled diet can also – wrong.
Not that difficult after all. Practice them several times over and you will be able to drive away the fear of idioms. Take free practice tests here.
