Course (Part 703)

Lesson

Topic: Break Away: GMATerbal - Sentence

Learning Outcomes

• Identify and distinguish simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
• Detect and correct common GMAT sentence errors: run-ons, fragments, misplaced modifiers, and parallelism failures.
• Apply strategies for clarity, concision, and variety under timed conditions.
• Translate key concepts into Bengali for bilingual reinforcement.

Conceptual Explanation

Core definitions

A sentence expresses a complete thought and is built from clauses: independent (can stand alone) and dependent (cannot stand alone). Effective GMAT sentence correction requires rapid parsing of clause roles, verb agreement, pronoun reference, and modifier placement.

Sentence types — quick table

Common GMAT traps

• Run-on (comma splice) — two independents not properly joined.
• Fragment — missing subject or verb, or dependent clause standing alone.
• Misplaced modifier — modifier not adjacent to the word it describes.
• Non-parallel lists — inconsistent grammatical form in series.

Bilingual (EN → বাংলা)

Key terms

• Sentence — বাক্য
• Independent clause — স্বাধীন কর্তন (স্বতন্ত্র বাক্যাংশ)
• Dependent clause — অনুসরিত কর্তন (আধারিত বাক্যাংশ)
• Modifier — সংশোধক
• Parallelism — সমান্তরালতা

Short concept translations

Clarity (স্পষ্টতা): বাক্যটি যেন বিভ্রান্তি তৈরি না করে।

Conciseness (সংক্ষেপ): অতিরিক্ত শব্দ বাদ দিন — "He succeeded because he worked hard."

Misplaced modifier example: "She almost drove her kids..." → স্পষ্ট: "She drove her kids almost every day."

Important Notes

• On the GMAT, prefer choices that improve clarity and concision while preserving original intent.
• Always check pronoun reference, verb tense/number, modifier placement, and parallel structure.
• When in doubt, break complex choices into clauses and test each clause independently.
• Time management: spend ~1–1.5 minutes per sentence correction item; eliminate clearly wrong options fast.

Exercises

True / False

1. “A compound sentence may contain subordinating clauses.”
   Answer

   True — a compound sentence can include subordinating clauses; then it becomes compound-complex.

2. “Removing a modifier always makes the sentence clearer.”
   Answer

   False — removing necessary modifiers can create ambiguity; only remove unnecessary words.

3. “Pronoun-antecedent agreement is irrelevant in sentence correction.”
   Answer

   False — it is essential; mismatched number or unclear antecedent cause errors.

Fill in the Blanks

1. Complete: “______ the rain, we proceeded with the picnic.”
   Answer

   Although the rain, we proceeded with the picnic. ⇒ Correct: "Despite the rain, we proceeded..." or "Although it rained, we proceeded..." (preferred: "Despite the rain, ...")

2. Fix fragment: “Because the test was hard.” → Complete the thought.
   Answer

   Because the test was hard, many students studied all night.

3. Parallelize: “She likes to swim, running, and to bike.” → Correct version.
   Answer

   She likes swimming, running, and biking. (Alternatively: To swim, to run, and to bike.)

Multiple Choice (MCQ)

1. Choose the best revision: “The manager, along with her team, are planning the event.”
   1. The manager, along with her team, are planning the event.
   2. The manager, along with her team, is planning the event.
   3. The manager along with her team are planning the event.
   4. The manager with her team planning the event.
   Answer

   B — “is” agrees with the subject "The manager" (the phrase "along with her team" is parenthetical).

2. Identify the misplaced modifier: “Walking to class, the rain drenched Maria.”
   Answer

   Misplaced modifier — it incorrectly modifies "the rain." Correct: "Walking to class, Maria was drenched by the rain." or "As Maria was walking to class, the rain drenched her."

3. Which choice is most concise and preserves meaning? Original: “The reason why he succeeded is because he worked hard.”
   1. The reason why he succeeded is because he worked hard.
   2. He succeeded because he worked hard.
   3. It is because he worked hard that the reason he succeeded exists.
   4. Because of hard work he succeeded was the reason.
   Answer

   B — concise and clear: “He succeeded because he worked hard.”

Matching

Match error type → example number (A–D)

Descriptive

Explain briefly (1–2 sentences): Why is parallelism important in lists on the GMAT?

Creative

Rewrite the following into a clear compound-complex sentence: “He studied for months. He failed twice. He still applied again.”

Activities

• Timed sentence-correction drills: 10 items × 10 minutes; review with explanations.
• Peer editing: exchange five sentences and identify errors + rewrite for clarity.
• Recasting practice: take complex official questions and rewrite in two simpler forms.

Vocabulary

• Subordinate / dependent clause — পূরক- or নির্ভরশীল কর্তন
• Parallelism — সমান্তরালতা
• Modifier — সংশোধক
• Antecedent — পূর্বপ্রচলিত (প্রোনাউনের পূর্ববর্তী নাম)

Homework

1. Complete 20 official GMAT Sentence Correction problems. For each: identify error type and rewrite the sentence. Use timed 1.5 minutes per question.
2. Write 5 compound-complex sentences on any academic topic; exchange with a peer for feedback.

Practice Task

Daily micro-task (10 minutes): pick one paragraph from an article; identify all sentence types, mark any errors, and rewrite one sentence to improve clarity and concision.

End of lesson. Focus on clarity, concision, and targeted practice — combine English → বাংলা reinforcement for durable learning.