Gmat sentence correction 30 , 31

30). Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate.

A). Famed for his masterful use of irony, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics due to the author slowly revealing at the end of each piece a tragic twist of fate.

B). Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of how he famously and masterfully uses irony, evident in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

C).Famed for using irony in a masterful way, many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author slowly revealing a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

D). Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because of the author's famed and masterful use of irony, evidenced in the slow revelation of a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece.

E). Many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories have become classics because he slowly revealed a tragic twist of fate at the end of each piece, demonstrating his famed and masterful use of irony.

31). Teachers in this country have generally been trained either to approach mathematics like a creative activity or that they should force students to memorize rules and principles without truly understanding how to apply them.

A). to approach mathematics like a creative activity or that they should force students to memorize rules and principles

B). to approach mathematics like a creative activity or to force students to memorize rules and principles

C). to approach mathematics as a creative activity or to force students to memorize rules and principles

D). that they should approach mathematics as a creative activity or to force students to memorize rules and principles

E). that they should approach mathematics like a creative activity or that they should force students to memorize rules and principles

Answers -

30). D is the correct answer

A - Incorrect - sentence begins with the modifier "Famed for his masterful use of irony," which requires a person as its subject. However, in the sentence, "many of Guy de Maupassant's short stories" is the subject. Moreover, the phrase "due to the author slowly revealing" is awkward.

B - incorrect - The pronoun "he" must have a person as its antecedent, yet there is no person in the sentence. Remember that "he" cannot refer to "Guy de Maupassant" here, since the name is part of a possessive phrase: "Guy de Maupassant's short stories". The author himself is not grammatically present in the sentence.

C - incorrect - The opening modifier "famed for using irony in a masterful way" incorrectly modifies "short stories" instead of Guy de Maupassant himself. It also contains the awkward phrase "because of the author slowly revealing."

E - incorrect - This choice incorrectly uses the pronoun "he" without a grammatical antecedent in the sentence.

31). C is the correct choice - The construction "either X or Y" requires parallelism between X and Y. In choice C, both X and Y are parallel infinitive phrases ("to approach . . ." and "to force . . .").

A - incorrect - incorrectly pairs an infinitive ("to approach") with a clause ("that they should...") in the construction "either X or Y." Moreover, the use of "like" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity" is incorrect. :"As" should be used instead.

B - While this choice does contain proper parallel structure, it incorrectly uses "like" instead of "as" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity".

D - This choice incorrectly pairs a clause ("that they should...") with an infinitive ("to approach") in the construction "either X or Y."

E - While this choice does create a parallel construction, it awkwardly begins the parallel elements with the words "that they" instead of the infinitive "to." Moreover, this choice incorrectly uses "like" instead of "as" in the phrase "to approach mathematics like a creative activity".