Sentence Correction for CAT 2008

[Varun Khullar]

1)Idioms

Such sentences incorporate incorrect usage of idiomatic expressions. There are no rules. Really need good English familiarity.
Overall rule: If it's not one of the previous 7, then it's very likely an idiom expression test question. Watch for the prepositions (to, the, of, at, for, on, in, about, etc.,) changing among the answer choices. This usually implies an Idiomatic problem, if not a Parallel Construction problem


Major Idioms you should be pretty familiar with:
1)a debate over
2)a lot
3)a responsibility to
4)a result of
5)a sequence of
6)acclaimed as is the correct idiom (Acclaimed to be is wrong)
7)accompanied by....
adapted for
9)Adverb twice cannot be an object of proposition 'by'. 'Increase by twice' is incorrect; 'doubled' is correct
10)affect to..
11)agree with
12)Aid in (Aid for is incorrect)
13)Allergy to (Allergy of, allergy for are incorrect)
14)Allocated to is the correct idiom
15)alternative to....
16)as a result of...
17)as an instance of
1as good as...or better than
19)as great as
20)as much as
21)Associate X with Y
22)assume ...to be of...
23)At least as strong as(At least as great as)
24)Attempt to 'do something' (Attempt at doing is incorrect).
25)attend to (someone)
26)attribute X to Y/X is attributed to Y
27)based on
2believe X to be Y
29)Believed to have
30)benefit from...
31)better served by X than Y ..
32)between X and Y
33)Both X and Y (Both X as well as Y is incorrect) Both at X and at Y is correct. Both on X or on Y is correct.
34)Business ethics - Is a singular word
35)call...to consider...
36)centers on
37)Combined X with Y OR Combined X and Y (Both are correct)
3Compensate for
39)Concerned for - worried; concerned with - related/affiliated
40)conform to
41)Consider X to be Y (a little controversial)
42)contrary to...
43)created with
44)Credit X Rupees to Y's account (When money is involved)
45)Credit X with discovering Y (Credit with doing something)
46)decline in....
47)defined as
4depends on whether
49)depicted as
50)Descendent of (Descendent for is incorrect)
51)Different from one another (Different one from the other is wrong)
52)Distinguish between X and Y (2 very different items, distinguished, say red and green colors)
53)Distinguish between X and Y (Distinguish X from Y is incorrect)
54)Distinguish X from Y (Two pretty similar items, say original paintings from fake ones)
55)doubt that
56)either...or
57)enable to
5entrusted with...
59)Estimated to be (Estimated at is incorrect)
60)expected that X would be Y ...
61)expected X to be Y ...
62)extent to ...
63)fascinated by
64)for jobs..
65)for over...XXX years...
66)forbid X to do Y identical with
67)forcing ...to...
6From X to Y (Grow from 2 million to 3 billion) (From X up to Y is wrong)
69)Given credit for being ones - who
70)had better(do)
71)In an attempt to (gain control)
72)in contrast to
73)independent from
74)indifferent towards
75)Intent on
76)interaction of ...
77)Just as - So too
7May be (This is a word) is idiomatic, maybe (This means perhaps) is not idiomatic
79)Mistake X for Y
80)modeled after
81)more than ever
82)more X than Y ...
83)more...than / less...than
84)more...than ever...
85)must have (done)
86)Native of (Native to is also used in some cases)
87)Neither - Nor should have parallel forms associated to it.
8no less....than
89)No sooner than
90)Not in a flash but in a
91)not only...but also
92)Not so much to X as to Y
93)not X ...but rather Y ..
94)noted that ..
95)one attributes X (an effect) to Y (a cause)
96)One X for every ZZ( some numeric number) Y's ...
97)Persuaded X to do Y
9Plead guilty for failing
99)Potential for causing
100)potential to

[Varun Khullar]

Word Usage
Some pairs of words, like fewer and less, are often used incorrectly because they're treated as synonyms. In fact, there is a solid rule that determines which one you should use, and the exam will test your ability to decide which is the correct option. The exam tests four such word pairs with particular frequency, so memorize the rules pertaining to them if you don't know them already.
1.Fewer/Less
Which of the two following sentences is correct?
§The company fired no less than fifty employees.
§The company fired no fewer than fifty employees.
The second sentence is correct. Why? Because you use less when you're talking about things you can't count (less pollution, less violence) but fewer when you're talking about things you can count (fewer pollutants, fewer violent acts).



1.Among/Between
Use between when only two options are available (between the red car and the blue car) and among when more than two options are available (among the five answer choices, among the many books).



1.If/Whether
Whether is correct when you're discussing two options (whether to get chocolate or strawberry ice cream) and if is correct for more than two options (if she should get ice cream, frozen yogurt, or a cookie).
On the CAT, whether will (almost) always beat if
Incorrect: Her client didn't tell her if he had sent his payment yet.
Correct: Her client didn't tell her whether he had sent his payment yet


1.Compared to v/s. Compared with: To show comparison between unlike things, 'compare to' is used. To show comparison between like things, 'compare with' is used.
e.g.
§He compared her to a summer day.
§Scientists compare the human brain to a computer. (Unlike thing)
§The police compared the forged signature with the original. (Like things)


Compare to is used to stress the resemblance. Compare with can be used to show either similarity or difference but is usually used to stress the difference.




1.Each
This question tests one use of "each" which most of us ignore. The traditional rule still holds true i.e. "the subject of a sentence beginning with each is grammatically singular".
But there is another rule which says that:
When each follows a plural subject, the verb and subsequent pronouns remain in the plural:
e.g. the apartments each have their own private entrances (not has its own private entrance)

§Three cats each eat ...
§Three cats, each of which eats ...,

In 1, each is postpositive Adj, whereas in 2, it is distributive determiner.


based on above solve this



Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

(A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks
(B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks
(C) superficial if the three major networks all
(D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks
(E) superficial, as when the three major networks each




1.That Vs Which
Most often than not, in CAT, which would be preceded by a comma in the sentence.
e.g. Get me the book, which is mine. Which is used to qualify the book i.e. which is mine. There may be many books in the room, but I want my book.
'Which' should always refer to a noun. E.g. Get me the book, which is mine. So, 'which' here refers to the noun 'book'.



·Which should apply to things
·The other thing--which must replace a noun, not a sentence or idea.


another problem
Sales of United States manufactured goods to non-industrialized countries rose to $167 billion in 1992, which is 14 percent more than the previous year and largely offsets weak demand from Europe and Japan.

§which is 14 percent more than the previous year
§which is 14 percent higher than it was the previous year
§14 percent higher than the previous year's figure
§an amount that is 14 percent more than the previous year was
§an amount that is 14 percent higher than the previous year's figure



However, CAT is very tricky at times, and can of course create a question in which this rule does NOT apply. In fact, I've seen a question that used which without a comma, but ALL the answer choices violated the rule. I.e., none of the answer choices used that; they all used which without a comma.



1.Usual v/s. Is Usual: He is faster than is usual for any human being – Is correct.
He is faster than usual today – is correct
A Mercedes is more expensive than usual for a car – Incorrect
A Mercedes is more expensive than is usual for a car – Correct
When something is compared to a subgroup to which it belongs, is usual should be used. When something is compared to itself, usual is fine.
e.g. He is nicer than usual.

Can v/s. Could: If you are just assuming something, 'could' should be used
Could is used for: possibility (John could be the one who stole the money), condition (If I had more time, I could travel around the world), suggestion (You could spend your vacation here), polite request (Could I have something to drink?)




1.Like vs. Such As
Question: What's the difference between like and such as?
Example of the "mistake" that we make in everyday speech: Can you buy me some fruit like oranges or grapefruit?
Using like in this answer choice mistakenly suggests that the utterer of the request does in fact not want oranges or grapefruit, but rather some other kind of fruit that is similar to oranges or grapefruit.

like means similar to, and such as means for example. Take a look at these examples:

·Can you buy me some fruit such as oranges or grapefruit?
Yes, this is what we're supposed to say in CAT -- oranges and grapefruit are examples of the type of fruit we want.

[Unhappy_Demon]

can you try this ...

Sold over the counter at the turn of the century, the government now prohibits the sale of cocaine derivatives.
A. Same as above
B. While sold over the counter at the turn of the century
C. Being sold over the counter at the turn of the century
D. Although they were selling them over the counter at the turn of the century
E. Although they were sold over the counter at the turn of the century

[dhanu_25]

Originally Posted by Unhappy_Demon

can you try this ...

Sold over the counter at the turn of the century, the government now prohibits the sale of cocaine derivatives.
century

C. Being sold over the counter at the turn of the century

[Unhappy_Demon]

thanks for the reply.

anybody else want to try that SC ?

I'll share the OA next .....let me wait for 2 more posts

[masoom]

Originally Posted by Unhappy_Demon

thanks for the reply.

anybody else want to try that SC ?

I'll share the OA next .....let me wait for 2 more posts

moi take is also C..

[raghav507]

Originally Posted by Unhappy_Demon

can you try this ...

Sold over the counter at the turn of the century, the government now prohibits the sale of cocaine derivatives.
A. Same as above
B. While sold over the counter at the turn of the century
C. Being sold over the counter at the turn of the century
D. Although they were selling them over the counter at the turn of the century
E. Although they were sold over the counter at the turn of the century

hi,
my take is C...

[jaymz_hamett]

my take is E

[devils_own]

Posted by Varun Khullar.... Pg 132

Although it claims to delve into political issues, television can be superficial such as when each of the three major networks broadcast exactly the same statement from a political candidate.

(A) superficial such as when each of the three major networks
(B) superficial, as can sometimes occur if all of the three major networks
(C) superficial if the three major networks all
(D) superficial whenever each of the three major networks
(E) superficial, as when the three major networks each

@varun: my ans is highlighted in bold. is this correct?

[devils_own]

Originally Posted by Unhappy_Demon

can you try this ...

Sold over the counter at the turn of the century, the government now prohibits the sale of cocaine derivatives.
A. Same as above
B. While sold over the counter at the turn of the century
C. Being sold over the counter at the turn of the century
D. Although they were selling them over the counter at the turn of the century
E. Although they were sold over the counter at the turn of the century

i will go with c...