CAT Grammar and Sentence Error Questions

CAT Grammar and Sentence Error Questions

Success in the Sentence Error questions on the CAT depends strongly on your grasp of the English grammar. While it can take a long time to get a good grasp of English grammar, there is no point in going through a whole lot of 'Wren and Martin' types of grammar books.

For the CAT, it is sufficient to know a few basic rules and principles of the English grammar.

Let us look at the 'Sentence' to start with:

THE SENTENCE

A sentence is an assemblage of words so arranged as to convey a determinatesense or meaning, in other words, to express a complete thought or idea.No matter how short, it must contain one finite verb and a subject or agentto direct the action of the verb.

"Birds fly;" "Fish swim;" "Men walk;"--are sentences.

A sentence always contains two parts, something spoken about and somethingsaid about it. The word or words indicating what is spoken about form whatis called the _subject_ and the word or words indicating what is said aboutit form what is called the _predicate_.

In the sentences given, _birds_, _fish_ and _men_ are the subjects, while_fly_, _swim_ and _walk_ are the predicates.

There are three kinds of sentences, _simple_, _compound_ and _complex_.

The _simple sentence_ expresses a single thought and consists of onesubject and one predicate, as, "Man is mortal."

A _compound sentence_ consists of two or more simple sentences of equalimportance the parts of which are either expressed or understood, as,"The men work in the fields and the women work in the household," or "Themen work in the fields and the women in the household" or "The men andwomen work in the fields and in the household."

A _complex sentence_ consists of two or more simple sentences so combinedthat one depends on the other to complete its meaning; as; "When hereturns, I shall go on my vacation." Here the words, "when he returns"

are dependent on the rest of the sentence for their meaning.

A _clause_ is a separate part of a complex sentence, as "when he returns"in the last example.

A _phrase_ consists of two or more words without a finite verb.

Without a finite verb we cannot affirm anything or convey an idea,therefore we can have no sentence.

Infinitives and participles which are the infinite parts of the verbcannot be predicates. "I looking up the street" is not a sentence, for itis not a complete action expressed. When we hear such an expression as "Adog running along the street," we wait for something more to be added,something more affirmed about the dog, whether he bit or barked or felldead or was run over.

Thus in every sentence there must be a finite verb to limit the subject.

When the verb is transitive, that is, when the action cannot happenwithout affecting something, the thing affected is called the _object_.

Thus in "Cain killed Abel" the action of the killing affected Abel. In"The cat has caught a mouse," mouse is the object of the catching.

ARRANGEMENT OF WORDS IN A SENTENCE

Of course in simple sentences the natural order of arrangement issubject--verb--object. In many cases no other form is possible. Thus inthe sentence "The cat has caught a mouse," we cannot reverse it and say"The mouse has caught a cat" without destroying the meaning, and in anyother form of arrangement, such as "A mouse, the cat has caught," we feelthat while it is intelligible, it is a poor way of expressing the factand one which jars upon us more or less.

In longer sentences, however, when there are more words than what arebarely necessary for subject, verb and object, we have greater freedom ofarrangement and can so place the words as to give the best effect. Theproper placing of words depends upon perspicuity and precision. These twocombined give _style_ to the structure.

Most people are familiar with Gray's line in the immortal _Elegy_--"Theploughman homeward plods his weary way." This line can be paraphrased toread 18 different ways. Here are a few variations:

Homeward the ploughman plods his weary way.The ploughman plods his weary way homeward.Plods homeward the ploughman his weary way.His weary way the ploughman homeward plods.Homeward his weary way plods the ploughman.Plods the ploughman his weary way homeward.His weary way the ploughman plods homeward.His weary way homeward the ploughman plods.The ploughman plods homeward his weary way.The ploughman his weary way plods homeward.

and so on. It is doubtful if any of the other forms are superior to theone used by the poet. Of course his arrangement was made to comply withthe rhythm and rhyme of the verse. Most of the variations depend upon theemphasis we wish to place upon the different words.

In arranging the words in an ordinary sentence we should not lose sightof the fact that the beginning and end are the important places forcatching the attention of the reader. Words in these places have greateremphasis than elsewhere.

In Gray's line the general meaning conveyed is that a weary ploughman isplodding his way homeward, but according to the arrangement a very slightdifference is effected in the idea. Some of the variations make us thinkmore of the ploughman, others more of the plodding, and still others moreof the weariness.

As the beginning and end of a sentence are the most important places, itnaturally follows that small or insignificant words should be kept fromthese positions. Of the two places the end one is the more important,therefore, it really calls for the most important word in the sentence.Never commence a sentence with _And_, _But_, _Since_, _Because_, andother similar weak words and never end it with prepositions, small, weakadverbs or pronouns.

The parts of a sentence which are most closely connected with one anotherin meaning should be closely connected in order also. By ignoring thisprinciple many sentences are made, if not nonsensical, really ridiculousand ludicrous. For instance: "Ten dollars reward is offered forinformation of any person injuring this property by order of the owner.""This monument was erected to the memory of John Jones, who was shot byhis affectionate brother."

In the construction of all sentences the grammatical rules must beinviolably observed. The laws of concord, that is, the agreement ofcertain words, must be obeyed.

(1) The verb agrees with its subject in person and number. "I have,""Thou hast," (the pronoun _thou_ is here used to illustrate the verbform, though it is almost obsolete), "He has," show the variation of theverb to agree with the subject. A singular subject calls for a singularverb, a plural subject demands a verb in the plural; as, "The boywrites," "The boys write."

The agreement of a verb and its subject is often destroyed by confusing(1) collective and common nouns; (2) foreign and English nouns; (3)compound and simple subjects; (4) real and apparent subjects.

(1) A collective noun is a number of individuals or thingsregarded as a whole; as, _class regiment_. When the individualsor things are prominently brought forward, use a plural verb;as The class _were_ distinguished for ability. When the idea ofthe whole as a unit is under consideration employ a singularverb; as The regiment _was_ in camp. (2) It is sometimes hardfor the ordinary individual to distinguish the plural from thesingular in foreign nouns, therefore, he should be careful inthe selection of the verb. He should look up the word and beguided accordingly. "He was an _alumnus_ of Harvard." "Theywere _alumni_ of Harvard." (3) When a sentence with one verbhas two or more subjects denoting different things, connectedby _and_, the verb should be plural; as, "Snow and rain _are_disagreeable." When the subjects denote the same thing and areconnected by _or_ the verb should be singular; as, "The man orthe woman is to blame." (4) When the same verb has more thanone subject of different persons or numbers, it agrees with themost prominent in thought; as, "He, and not you, _is_ wrong.""Whether he or I _am_ to be blamed."

(2) Never use the past participle for the past tense nor _vice versa_.This mistake is a very common one. At every turn we hear "He done it" for"He did it." "The jar was broke" instead of broken. "He would have went"for "He would have gone," etc.

(3) The use of the verbs _shall_ and _will_ is a rock upon which eventhe best speakers come to wreck. They are interchanged recklessly.Their significance changes according as they are used with the first,second or third person. With the first person _shall_ is used in directstatement to express a simple future action; as, "I shall go to thecity to-morrow." With the second and third persons _shall_ is used toexpress a determination; as, "You _shall_ go to the city to-morrow,""He _shall_ go to the city to-morrow."

With the first person _will_ is used in direct statement to expressdetermination, as, "I will go to the city to-morrow." With the second andthird persons _will_ is used to express simple future action; as, "You_will_ go to the city to-morrow," "He _will_ go to the city to-morrow."

A very old rule regarding the uses of _shall_ and _will_ is thusexpressed in rhyme:

In the first person simply _shall_ foretells,In _will_ a threat or else a promise dwells._Shall_ in the second and third does threat,_Will_ simply then foretells the future feat.

(4) Take special care to distinguish between the nominative and objectivecase. The pronouns are the only words which retain the ancient distinctivecase ending for the objective. Remember that the objective case followstransitive verbs and prepositions. Don't say "The boy who I sent to seeyou," but "The boy whom I sent to see you." _Whom_ is here the object ofthe transitive verb sent. Don't say "She bowed to him and I" but "Shebowed to him and me" since me is the objective case following thepreposition _to_ understood. "Between you and I" is a very commonexpression. It should be "Between you and me" since _between_ is apreposition calling for the objective case.

(5) Be careful in the use of the relative pronouns _who_, _which_ and_that_. Who refers only to persons; which only to things; as, "The boywho was drowned," "The umbrella which I lost." The relative _that_ mayrefer to both persons and things; as, "The man _that_ I saw." "The hat_that_ I bought."

(6) Don't use the superlative degree of the adjective for the comparative;as "He is the richest of the two" for "He is the richer of the two."Other mistakes often made in this connection are (1) Using the doublecomparative and superlative; as, "These apples are much _more_ preferable.""The most universal motive to business is gain." (2) Comparing objectswhich belong to dissimilar classes; as "There is no nicer _life_ than a_teacher_." (3) Including objects in class to which they do not belong;as, "The fairest of her daughters, Eve." (4) Excluding an object from aclass to which it does belong; as, "Caesar was braver than any ancientwarrior."

(7) Don't use an adjective for an adverb or an adverb for an adjective.Don't say, "He acted nice towards me" but "He acted nicely toward me,"and instead of saying "She looked _beautifully_" say "She looked_beautiful_."

(8) Place the adverb as near as possible to the word it modifies. Insteadof saying, "He walked to the door quickly," say "He walked quickly to thedoor."

(9) Not alone be careful to distinguish between the nominative andobjective cases of the pronouns, but try to avoid ambiguity in their use.

The amusing effect of disregarding the reference of pronouns is wellillustrated by Burton in the following story of Billy Williams, a comicactor who thus narrates his experience in riding a horse owned byHamblin, the manager:

"So down I goes to the stable with Tom Flynn, and told the man to putthe saddle on him."

"On Tom Flynn?"

"No, on the horse. So after talking with Tom Flynn awhile I mountedhim."

"What! mounted Tom Flynn?"

"No, the horse; and then I shook hands with him and rode off."

"Shook hands with the horse, Billy?"

"No, with Tom Flynn; and then I rode off up the Bowery, and who shouldI meet but Tom Hamblin; so I got off and told the boy to hold him bythe head."

"What! hold Hamblin by the head?"

"No, the horse; and then we went and had a drink together."

"What! you and the horse?"

"No, _me_ and Hamblin; and after that I mounted him again and went outof town."

"What! mounted Hamblin again?"

"No, the horse; and when I got to Burnham, who should be there but TomFlynn,--he'd taken another horse and rode out ahead of me; so I toldthe hostler to tie him up."

"Tie Tom Flynn up?"

"No, the horse; and we had a drink there."

"What! you and the horse?"

"No, me and Tom Flynn."

Finding his auditors by this time in a _horse_ laugh, Billy wound upwith: "Now, look here,--every time I say horse, you say Hamblin, andevery time I say Hamblin you say horse: I'll be hanged if I tell youany more about it."

SENTENCE CLASSIFICATION

There are two great classes of sentences according to the generalprinciples upon which they are founded. These are termed the _loose_ andthe _periodic_.

In the _loose_ sentence the main idea is put first, and then followseveral facts in connection with it. Defoe is an author particularlynoted for this kind of sentence. He starts out with a leading declarationto which he adds several attendant connections. For instance in theopening of the story of _Robinson Crusoe_ we read: "I was born in theyear 1632 in the city of York, of a good family, though not of thatcountry, my father being a foreigner of Bremen, who settled first atHull; he got a good estate by merchandise, and leaving off his tradelived afterward at York, from whence he had married my mother, whoserelations were named Robinson, a very good family in the country and fromI was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual corruption of words inEngland, we are now called, nay, we call ourselves, and write our nameCrusoe, and so my companions always called me."

In the periodic sentence the main idea comes last and is preceded by aseries of relative introductions. This kind of sentence is oftenintroduced by such words as _that_, _if_, _since_, _because_. Thefollowing is an example:

"That through his own folly and lack of circumspection he should havebeen reduced to such circumstances as to be forced to become a beggar onthe streets, soliciting alms from those who had formerly been therecipients of his bounty, was a sore humiliation."

On account of its name many are liable to think the _loose_ sentence anundesirable form in good composition, but this should not be taken forgranted. In many cases it is preferable to the periodic form.

As a general rule in speaking, as opposed to writing, the _loose_ form isto be preferred, inasmuch as when the periodic is employed in discoursethe listeners are apt to forget the introductory clauses before the finalissue is reached.

Both kinds are freely used in composition, but in speaking, the _loose_,which makes the direct statement at the beginning, should predominate.

As to the length of sentences much depends on the nature of thecomposition.

However the general rule may be laid down that short sentences arepreferable to long ones. The tendency of the best writers of the presentday is towards short, snappy, pithy sentences which rivet the attention ofthe reader. They adopt as their motto _multum in parvo_ (much in little)and endeavor to pack a great deal in small space. Of course the extreme ofbrevity is to be avoided. Sentences can be too short, too jerky, toobrittle to withstand the test of criticism. The long sentence has its placeand a very important one. It is indispensable in argument and often is verynecessary to description and also in introducing general principles whichrequire elaboration. In employing the long sentence the inexperiencedwriter should not strain after the heavy, ponderous type. Johnson andCarlyle used such a type, but remember, an ordinary mortal cannot wield thesledge hammer of a giant. Johnson and Carlyle were intellectual giants andfew can hope to stand on the same literary pedestal. The tyro incomposition should never seek after the heavy style. The best of allauthors in the English language for style is Addison. Macaulay says: "Ifyou wish a style learned, but not pedantic, elegant but not ostentatious,simple yet refined, you must give your days and nights to the volumes ofJoseph Addison." The simplicity, apart from the beauty of Addison'swritings causes us to reiterate the literary command--"Never use a big wordwhen a little one will convey the same or a similar meaning."

Macaulay himself is an elegant stylist to imitate. He is like a clearbrook kissed by the noon-day sun in the shining bed of which you can seeand count the beautiful white pebbles. Goldsmith is another writer whosesimplicity of style charms.

The beginner should study these writers, make their works his _vade mecum_,they have stood the test of time and there has been no improvement uponthem yet, nor is there likely to be, for their writing is as perfect asit is possible to be in the English language.

Apart from their grammatical construction there can be no fixed rules forthe formation of sentences. The best plan is to follow the best authorsand these masters of language will guide you safely along the way.

THE PARAGRAPH

The paragraph may be defined as a group of sentences that are closelyrelated in thought and which serve one common purpose. Not only do theypreserve the sequence of the different parts into which a composition isdivided, but they give a certain spice to the matter like raisins in aplum pudding. A solid page of printed matter is distasteful to the reader;it taxes the eye and tends towards the weariness of monotony, but when itis broken up into sections it loses much of its heaviness and theconsequent lightness gives it charm, as it were, to capture the reader.

Paragraphs are like stepping-stones on the bed of a shallow river, whichenable the foot passenger to skip with ease from one to the other untilhe gets across; but if the stones are placed too far apart in attemptingto span the distance one is liable to miss the mark and fall in the waterand flounder about until he is again able to get a foothold. 'Tis thesame with written language, the reader by means of paragraphs can easilypass from one portion of connected thought to another and keep up hisinterest in the subject until he gets to the end.

Throughout the paragraph there must be some connection in regard to thematter under consideration,--a sentence dependency. For instance, in thesame paragraph we must not speak of a house on fire and a runaway horseunless there is some connection between the two. We must not writeconsecutively:

"The fire raged with fierce intensity, consuming the greater part of thelarge building in a short time." "The horse took fright and wildly dasheddown the street scattering pedestrians in all directions." These twosentences have no connection and therefore should occupy separate anddistinct places. But when we say--"The fire raged with fierce intensityconsuming the greater part of the large building in a short time and thehorse taking fright at the flames dashed wildly down the street scatteringpedestrians in all directions,"--there is a natural sequence, viz., thehorse taking fright as a consequence of the flames and hence the twoexpressions are combined in one paragraph.

As in the case of words in sentences, the most important places in aparagraph are the beginning and the end. Accordingly the first sentenceand the last should by virtue of their structure and nervous force,

compel the reader's attention. It is usually advisable to make the firstsentence short; the last sentence may be long or short, but in eithercase should be forcible. The object of the first sentence is to state apoint _clearly_; the last sentence should _enforce_ it.

It is a custom of good writers to make the conclusion of the paragraph arestatement or counterpart or application of the opening.

In most cases a paragraph may be regarded as the elaboration of theprincipal sentence. The leading thought or idea can be taken as a nucleusand around it constructed the different parts of the paragraph. Anyonecan make a context for every simple sentence by asking himself questionsin reference to the sentence. Thus--"The foreman gave the order"--suggests at once several questions; "What was the order?" "to whom did hegive it?" "why did he give it?" "what was the result?" etc. Thesequestions when answered will depend upon the leading one and be anelaboration of it into a complete paragraph.

If we examine any good paragraph we shall find it made up of a number ofitems, each of which helps to illustrate, confirm or enforce the generalthought or purpose of the paragraph. Also the transition from each itemto the next is easy, natural and obvious; the items seem to come ofthemselves. If, on the other hand, we detect in a paragraph one or moreitems which have no direct bearing, or if we are unable to proceedreadily from item to item, especially if we are obliged to rearrange theitems before we can perceive their full significance, then we arejustified in pronouncing the paragraph construction faulty.

No specific rules can be given as to the construction of paragraphs. Thebest advice is,--Study closely the paragraph structure of the bestwriters, for it is only through imitation, conscious or unconscious ofthe best models, that one can master the art.

1.        A rectangular airport runway is x feet long and y feet wide. If its length is to be made 100 feet longer, by how many square feet will its area be increased?(A) xy + 100y        (B) xy + 100        (C) 100 ly        (D) 100l         (E) 100 y

2.        The probability of A’s winning a hockey match is 3/2 times the probability of B’s winning a cricket match. The probability of C’s winning a race is twice the probability of B’s winning the cricket match. What is the maximum probability of A’s winning the hockey match?(A) ¼                (B) ½                (C) 2/3          (D)¾                (E) 1

3.        In a certain city, the number of commuters decreased 15 per cent from June to July and decreased 10 per cent from July to August. By approximately what per cent would the number of commuters have to increase from August to September for the number of commuters in September to be equal to the number of commuters in June?(A) 80%        (B) 77%        (C) 75%        (D) 31%        (E) 24%

4.        If the distance required for an automobile to stop varies directly as the square of its speed, what is the distance required for an automobile driven at 60 km/hr to stop if it takes 10 meters to stop the automobile moving at 20 km/hr.(A) 30m        (B) 36m        (C) 60m        (D) 90m        (E) 120m

5.        Technological advances in manufacturing radios reduced the manufacturing cost of parts by 50 per cent and the cost of labour by 60 per cent. If labour originally accounted for 3 times as much of the manufacturing cost as parts and it is assumed that total cost consisted only of labour and parts, what was the per cent decrease in the total cost, resulting from these advances?(A) 30%        (B) 42.5%        (C) 55%        (D) 57.5%        (E) 70%

6.        Of the following, which is the closest to 1?(A) 1 + 0.04        (B) (1 – 0.04)2        (C) 1- (0.04)½        (D) 1 + 0.042        (E) 1- 0.043

7.        Of the following, whish is the greatest amount of money that a person can borrow at an annual interest rate of 6.5 per cent if the loan and interest are to be paid off at the end of one year with the money from a check of Rs. 1,600?(A) Rs. 2,460        (B) Rs. 1,704        (C) Rs. 1,520        (D) Rs. 1,500        (E) Rs. 1,040

8.        An 8 gram object is attached to a balance beam at a point 22 cm. from the centre of the beam. If the beam is to remain horizontally balanced how many grams must be attached to the other end of the beam 10 cms away from the centre?(A) 27.5        (B) 17.6        (C) 3.6                (D) 1.8                (E) 0.06

9.        X can clean the garage in half the time it takes B. If they cleaned it together in 3 hours, how many hours would it take form A to clean the garage all by himself?(A) 6                (B) 5.5                (C) 5                (D) 4.5                (E) 4

10.        An office has two copying machines> Machine X can reduce the size of a page and produces copies, in either the reduced or original size, at the rate of 1 page per second. Machine Y cannot reduce pages and produces copies at the rate of 1 page every 2 seconds. What is the least amount of time required for the two machines together to make 60 copies of a 120 page if exactly half of the pages of each copy of the report must be reduced?(A) 1 hour        (B) 1 hour 20 minutes        (C) 1 ½ hour        (D) 2 hours        (E) 3 hours

11.        If 13 + x3 + 83 = 93, then x = ?(A) -1                (B) 0                (C) 1                (D) 6                (E) 9

12.        At a certain firm 81 per cent of the investments will mature in more than 1 year and 27 per cent of the investments will mature in more than 2 years. What per cent of the investments of the firm will mature in more than 1 year but nor in not more than 2 years?(A) 19%        (B) 22%        (C) 33%        (D) 54%        (E) 73%

13.        If x is the greatest four- digit number such that the sum of the digits is 23 and no two digit are the same, which of the following is NOT a digit of x?(A) 9                (B) 8                (C) 7                (D) 6                (E) 0

14.        On a 200 question test the total score is the number of questions correctly minus 1/5th of the total number of questions answered incorrectly or left unanswered. What is the minimum number of questions that must be answered correctly to receive a total score of at least 100?(A) 75                (B) 116        (C) 117         (D) 125        (E) 175

15.        The averages speed of an automobile for the first half of a 100 km. trip was 60 km/hr and from the second half was 90 km/hr. What was the average speed in km/hr for the entire distance?(A) 68                 (B) 72                (C) 75                (D) 78                (E) 80

16.        On a certain day, an employee worked from 8:02 a.m. until 4:27 p.m. and took off ¾ hour for lunch. If the employee did not take any other breaks, how many hours did the employee work for?(A) 4.4                (B) 7.15        (C) 7.25        (D) 7.65        (E) 8.4

17.        In stack A, invoices are assigned consecutive numbers, beginning with 1. In stack B, invoices are assigned consecutive odd numbers, beginning with 1. In stack C, invoices are assigned consecutive multiples of 

3. If there are 25 invoices in each of these stacks, how many assigned numbers are common to all three stacks?(A) 1                (B) 4                (C) 8                (D) 12                (E) 25

18.        If the sum of all the positive divisors of an integer n is equal to 2n, then n is called a perfect number. Which of the following is a perfect number?(A) 4                (B) 8                (C) 12                (D) 24                (E) 28

19.        The average of a list of positive numbers is 20 per cent of the sum of the numbers. How many numbers are there in the list?(A) 5                (B) 20                (C) 80                (D) 100        (E) Cannot be said.

20.        If k is the constant in the expression x2 – x + k  and the expression has a value of 0 when 3 is substituted for x, what is the value of the expression when 2 is substituted for x?(A) -4                (B) -2                (C) 6                (D) 8                (E) Cannot be found.