This is part 4 of a 5-Day Handbook on the Basics of Sentence Correction that will help you brush-up your basic grammar, especially that required to ace the SC section on the GMAT. This is a required pre-read for our Sentence Correction course at CrackVerbal.

1. Sentence Correction Basics
For The GMAT:
A 5-Day Handbook
Day 4
(Please read this Prep Material before attending your
Sentence Correction Classes)

2. Contents of SC Pre-Read
Day 4:
 Subject Verb Agreement --- Slide 3
 Pronouns --------------------- Slide 9
 Modifiers --------------------- Slide 10

3. Subject Verb Agreement
The golden rule of Subject Verb Agreement is this:
A singular subject always takes a singular verb and a plural subject
always takes a plural verb.
Examples:
 The stranger has stolen the lady‟s purse.
 The children are having a lot of fun!
In the first sentence, the singular subject „stranger‟ is
accompanied by a singular verb „has stolen‟.
In the second sentence, the plural subject „children‟
is accompanied by a plural verb „are having‟.
Any mismatch of singular and plural concept will render the sentences incorrect.

4. Subject Verb Agreement (Contd.)
Additive Phrases
Example:
 Nick, along with his brother, are going to attend the seminar. 
The above sentence is incorrect, because „Nick‟ is a singular subject and thus,
requires a singular verb „is‟. The correct sentence is:
 Nick, along with his brother, is going to attend the seminar.
Except „and‟, all other additive phrases keep the subject singular.
For e.g.
 The king, together with his courtiers, was an honored guest at
the artisan‟s home.

5. Subject Verb Agreement (Contd.)
Either…or / Neither…nor
Thumb rules:
 If both subjects are singular, the verb takes the singular form.
 If both subjects are plural, the verb takes the plural form.
 If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb takes the form of the
subject closer to it.
Example:
 Either Mona or her cousins is organizing the party. 
This sentence is incorrect, since the subject closest to the verb („organizing‟) is
plural („her cousins‟). So, the correct sentence will be:
 Either Mona or her cousins are organizing the party.

6. Subject Verb Agreement (Contd.)
Each and Every – always singular!
Consider the following sentences:
 Each of the students are participating in the annual sports day. 
 Every person in the country are working for a better life. 
The above two sentences are incorrect as words „each‟ and „every‟ cannot be
followed by plural verbs. In English grammar, a singular verb is always used with
each and every. The correct form is:
 Each of the students is participating in
the annual sports day.
 Every person in the country is working
for a better life.

7. Subject Verb Agreement (Contd.)
Collective Nouns
 The team is going to play the match
tomorrow.
This sentence is correct because „the
team of 11 players‟ is not seen as a
collection of individuals but as a single
subject, requiring a singular verb „is‟.
 The herd of cattle is moving up the
mountain slope.
This sentence is also correct because we
are looking at the herd as a single
entity.

8. Subject Verb Agreement (Contd.)
Plural Nouns
Some nouns are inherently plural and take a plural verb. For e.g. belongings,
congratulations, earnings, goods, outskirts, particulars (= information), premises
(= building), riches, savings, stairs, surroundings, thanks etc.
Example:
His savings were not enough to tide him over hard times.
“Savings” is a plural noun and therefore, requires
the plural verb form “were”.

9. Pronouns
On the GMAT, there are only two pronoun concepts you need to remember:
1. Pronouns must agree in number with the nouns they replace.
Example:
The plight of the animals after it was chased out of the forest was piteous. 
Plural „animals‟ requires plural pronoun „they‟ and plural verb „were‟.
The plight of the animals after they were chased out of the forest, was
piteous. 
2. Pronouns must have unambiguous antecedents. i.e. it must be clear what noun
each pronoun refers to.
Example:
The tourists are afraid of the leeches as they suck their blood. 
„they‟ and „their‟ have ambiguous antecedents – who is sucking whose blood?

10. Modifiers
A modifier is a non-compulsory constituent in a phrase or a clause. It changes the
meaning of another element in the sentence, on which it is dependent. A modifier
can be long or short. On the GMAT, modifiers can be pretty long.
Basic Rules for Modifiers:
1. The modifier should be placed as close as possible to what it modifies;
otherwise the entire meaning of the sentence gets altered drastically.
Examples:
 Possessing fifteen legs, Shyam had never seen such a creature in his life.
Who has fifteen legs? Shyam or the creature?
The creature, of course!
Thus, the modifier “Possessing fifteen legs” should be placed close to “creature”
and not “Shyam”.
 Possessing fifteen legs, the creature was unlike anything Shyam had ever seen in
his life.

11. Modifiers (Contd.)
2. An adjective can modify only a noun or a pronoun; adverbs can modify
almost anything except a noun or a pronoun.
Examples:
 Adjective modifying nouns and pronouns:
This is a fascinating book.
(the adjective „fascinating‟ modifies the noun „book‟)
 Adverbs modifying verbs:
Her sister danced gracefully.
(the adverb „gracefully‟ modifies the verb „danced‟)
 Adverbs modifying adjectives:
Jim is extremely rich.
(the adverb „extremely‟ modifies the adjective „rich‟)

12. Modifiers (Contd.)
 Adverbs modifying other adverbs:
She decorated the house most beautifully. (the adverb „most‟ modifies another
adverb „beautifully‟)
 Adverbs modifying clauses:
Certainly, his presence was disturbing to the gathered audience. (the adverb
„certainly‟ modifies the clause „his presence was disturbing‟)
 Adverbs modifying whole sentences:
Tomorrow, we will announce the winner. (the adverb „tomorrow‟ modifies the
entire sentence)

13. Modifiers (Contd.)
A modifying phrase can appear not only at the start of a sentence, but also in in
the middle or at the end.
Examples:
 Mrs. D‟ Souza, the tall lady, teaches us English.
 He fell to the floor, his limbs flailing helplessly.
Modifiers are tested very often in GMAT Sentence Correction. So
remember this golden rule: whenever a sentence begins with a
modifier, make sure that the noun or pronoun following the comma is
what the phrase is referring to.

14. Misplaced Modifiers
Example:
 To come first in the race, regular work-outs
were done by the athlete.
In this sentence, „to come first in the race‟ is modifying a subject which is not
mentioned within the phrase. The subject of the sentence is the person who is
aiming to come first. i.e. the athlete.
As the modifier should be as close as possible to what it modifies, the above
sentence is incorrect. Thus, the correct sentence is:
 To come first in the race, the athlete worked out regularly..

15. Dangling Modifiers
Example:
 Using the graphical charts, the concept was explained to
the students.
Though this sentence seems to be correct at first glance,
according to the rule of modifiers, the person using the graphical
charts must be mentioned after the comma.
Thus, this sentence fails to indicate who is using the graphical charts, this is an
example of dangling modifier. We need to add some more words to make this
sentence correct.
 Using the graphical charts, the teacher explained the concept to the students.

16. "That" versus "Which“
On the GMAT, you will come across quite a few modifiers that are linked to the
rest of the sentence using “that” or “which”. Many test-takers get confused
between “that” and “which” and make mistakes.
Use of comma:
Generally “which” is preceded by a comma whereas “that” is not.
Examples:
 The book that lay on the table had a red cover.
 The book, which lay on the table, had a red cover.
“That” is used for an essential modifier – its removal will change the meaning of
the sentence. “Which” is used for a non-essential modifier – its removal will not
affect the meaning of the sentence.

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