GMAT Prep Verbal Grammar Review - Part II

There are a few types of prepositions:

• Simple Prepositions: These are the most common prepositions, such as: in, on, of, at, from, among, between, over, with, through, without.
• Compound Prepositions: Two prepositions used together as one, such as: into, onto/on to (on to is British English, onto is American English), out of.
• Complex Prepositions: A two- or three-word phrase that functions in the same way as a simple preposition, as in: according to, as well as, except for, in favor of.

Preposition i.e. pre position. Prepositions always occur before the thing they refer to.

In: I prepared for the GMAT in that room. (Here that room is the object of the preposition in)

Prepositional phrases may be adjectival or adverbial, according to what they modify:

• The girl in my GMAT class kissed me.

Here, in my science class qualifies girl, and it is adjectival, but in

• The girl kissed me in my GMAT class

In my GMAT class modifies kissed, indicating where the kiss took place, and it is therefore adverbial.

Between refers to two things only; for more than two, use among.

• I sat between two very large people in my GMAT class.
• We split the GMAT sections among the four of us.

You should use prepositions carefully. Some prepositions are used interchangeably and carelessly.

For example:

Beside vs. Besides

• Beside - at the side of someone or something
• Frank stood beside Henry in line to enter the GMAT exam room.
• Besides - in addition to
• Besides his Official Guide to the GMAT preparation book, he has other preparation books.

Exception: some idioms do not refer directly to either direct meaning.

• She was beside herself with emotion leaving the GMAT test.

The use of `of'

Phrases such as: could of, must of are incorrect forms for could have, must have etc.

Use the preposition among in situations involving more than two persons or things and use between in situations involving only two persons or things.

• The money was divided among the GMAT tutors.
• The money was divided between the two GMAT tutors.

At vs. With: Usually at a thing but with a person. Exceptions include throw something at somebody with something, be angry at someone, be pleased with something, and others.

For example:

• I went at Roger, my GMAT proctor, with a bat.

What's wrong with this sentence? Nothing actually, it is grammatically correct. It is simply an odd usage of the prepositions.

Be careful to use the right preposition for the meaning you want; agree with differs in meaning from agree to, compare with is distinct from compare to, and so on.

The expressions superior to, preferable to and different from are the only standard forms.

You should use prepositions carefully. Some prepositions are used interchangeably and carelessly. Here are some idioms with prepositions commonly misused:

You should use prepositions carefully. Some prepositions are used interchangeably and carelessly. Here are some idioms with prepositions commonly misused:

• be familiar with
• be fascinated by
• be hindered by
• be identical with, be identical to
• be independent from
• be indifferent towards
• inherit from
• instill something in someone (not instill someone with)
• invest in
• involve in (not by)
• insist on, insist that someone do something
• be isolated from

You should use prepositions carefully. Some prepositions are used interchangeably and carelessly. Here are some idioms with prepositions commonly misused:

• judge by (not on)
• mistake for
• native to
• a native of
• necessity of, necessity for
• a need for
• be oblivious of, oblivious to
• participate in
• preferable to
• prevent from
• profit by (not from)
• prohibit from
• protest against (not at)

You should use prepositions carefully. Some prepositions are used interchangeably and carelessly. Here are some idioms with prepositions commonly misused:

• tendency to (not for)
• tinker with (not at, although this is British English usage)
• be tolerant of (not to)
• wait for - to spend time in waiting for someone or something
• wait on – to serve someone, typically used in a restaurant setting

Verb

A class of words that serve to indicate the occurrence or performance of an action, or the existence of a state or condition. English verbs are normally expressed in the infinitive form, together with ``to''. For example, to run, to walk, to work, etc.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

A verb is said to be transitive if it needs an object to complete the meaning:

John kicked his GMAT instructor. It is intransitive if the meaning is complete in itself:

• I smiled.
• The rain falls.

Some verbs may be either transitive or intransitive (meaning that they do not require an object to be complete, but they can take one to add detail):

• I studied.
• I studied for the GMAT.

Transitive verbs may appear in active or passive constructions. In active verb constructions, the subject is directly concerned with the verbal process; it is the agent:

• The GMAT killed me.

When an active construction is made passive, the object becomes the subject, and the relationship is reversed, so that the subject is now acted upon, `passive':

• I was killed by the GMAT.

Major Tenses

You will not have to memorize all of the commonly used tenses for the GMAT, but a quick review of the tenses and their respective meanings will help you make sense of what can be a confusing topic.

Tense Example

• Simple Present (action ongoing at this moment) - He laughs. They laugh.
• Perfect Progressive (action frequently happening in the present) - He is laughing. They are laughing.
• Present Perfect (action started previously and completed thus far) - He has laughed.They have laughed.
• Simple Past (completed action) - He laughed. They laughed.
• Present Perfect Progressive (action started previously and ongoing at the moment) - He has been laughing. They have been laughing.
• Past Perfect (action completed before another past time) - He had laughed. They had laughed.
• Future (action to occur later) - He will laugh. They will laugh.
• Future Progressive (action ongoing at a later time) - He will be laughing. They will be laughing.
• Future Perfect (action regarded as completed at a later time) - He will have laughed. They will have laughed.
• Future Perfect Progressive (action started at a later time and ongoing) - He will have been laughing. They will have been laughing.

Mood is a set of verb forms expressing a particular attitude. There are three main types of mood in English:

• Indicative
• Imperative
• Subjunctive

The indicative mood is the most common one, used to express factual statements.

• I love studying for the GMAT.

The imperative mood is used to express commands.

• Please study for the GMAT immediately!

The subjunctive mood expresses possibilities and wishes.

• If I were you, I would tell him my feelings about the GMAT.

When the subjunctive is used after verbs expressing some kind of wish, recommendation, proposal, desire, regret, doubt, or demand, there is a degree of uncertainty related to the final outcome.

Wrong:

• She recommended that John should take the GMAT.
• She recommended that John takes the GMAT.
• She recommended that John had taken the GMAT.

Correct:

• She recommended that John take the GMAT.

Note that you should ALWAYS just use the base form of the verb in such a subjunctive construction involving that clause.

Regarding a list of words that are associated with the subjunctive mood, unfortunately, there's no hard and fast principle for it. This is what the linguists would call a lexical issue; the particular word and its meaning determine whether or not it can take an infinitive complement.