Correcting Errors Involving Commonly Confused Words - GMAT Verbal

The use of "familiar" in this sentence is confusing and strange. Familiar means "resembling," when the sentence needs a word meaning "exactly like, or very close." "Looking at a number of convicted criminals who had been charged with similar crimes," is the only answer choice that replaces "familiar" with a word that better gets to the intended meaning of the sentence.

"To" is a preposition. "Too" is an adverb, meaning "also" in this sentence example.

Remember, if "it" owns something, that thing is "its" rather than "it's." Confusing, we know. Likewise, "it is" contracts to "it's."

"Laid" is the past tense of "to lay," which means "to set something down." "Lay" is the past tense of "to lie," as in "to lie down."

"Literally" is often used as an exaggeration in service of a metaphor or image. This is incorrect. Never use this word.

The use of "further" is incorrect in this sentence. The sentence is attempting to convey the amount of distance that Jacob ran on a particular day; the correct word to portray this is "farther." You use "farther" when talking about an actual distance and "further" when talking about a more general/abstract concept of advancement in something. Furthermore, no commas are necessary in the underlined portion of this sentence. The correct answer is, "Jacob ran farther than he ever had before."

The word "irregardless" is not an actual word. The correct word is "regardless," which means "without concern" or "in spite of." The punctuation and everything else is correct in this sentence, so the correct answer is, "She loved to walk through the park, regardless of the constant stormy weather."

The use of "advice" is incorrect here. "Advice" is a noun meaning "a recommendation, but we need the verb in this sentence. The verb for "to give a recommendation" is spelled "advise." The correct choice is, "the consultants in order to advise its staff on the new industry."

The word "good" is used incorrectly, since "good" is an adjective. It is being used in this sentence, however, to modify the verb "did;" therefore, we need an adverb. The correct word is "well." The correct choice is, "They all thought that she did her job well" as it is the clearest and most concise option.

The word "stationery" refers to office supplies. Do not confuse this with "stationary," which means "something that is still." The meaning in this sentence refers to the latter meaning, so the correct choice is, "even though it was stationary."

This sentence misuses the word "peek," which means "to glance at." The meaning in this sentence is to excite, which is the meaning of the word "pique." The correct choice is, "The marketers intended to pique everyone's interest with their new viral ad campaign" since all other punctuation and usage are correct.

This sentence misuses the word "than," which is used to show comparison between two or more things. The correct word here is "then" because the sentence is showing a progression of events. Furthermore, "then" cannot be omitted from the sentence as it would alter the meaning (a semicolon would no longer be appropriate to join the sentences since there would be no indication of the relation between those two phrases. The correct choice is, "obtain your license first; then, you may work in this industry."

This sentence misuses the word "effect," which is a noun. The verb is spelled "affect," which is how the word is being used in this sentence. The choice "The leaders of the company were nervous because they were unsure of how the newest report would affect the stocks" is a little vague, however, as "stocks" in this case may not refer to the company's stocks specifically, but the market in general or maybe the stocks of a supplier or otherwise. The best choice is, "The leaders of the company were nervous because they were unsure of how the newest report would affect the company's stocks" since it is the most clear.

The above sentence misused the word "mute." It is clear that whatever word should go there means something along the lines of "pointless," due to the presence of words like "despite" which indicate that something (the debates) is no longer happening. The correct word here is "moot," which means pointless or impractical. The other choices are antonyms of "moot." The correct choice is: "her pleas, the council thought that it was moot to continue debating the proposed changes."

This sentence misuses the word "you're." This word is a contraction for "you are," when the possessive form is meant here. The correct word is "your." No additional punctuation or changes is needed, so the correct choice is, "to turn in your homework every day."

This sentence misuses the word "there." The possessive form is meant in this sentence, which is "their." The correct answer is, "Their house was huge, compared to the other houses in the neighborhood." No other punctuation or changes is necessary (The comma should appear after "huge" since it separates the dependent clause from the main sentence).

This sentence misuses the word "they're," which is a contraction for "they are." The word is clearly meant to be possessive, which would be "their." The correct answer is, "The projects earned them their peer's respect." Everything else in the sentence is correct.

"Conversate" is not an actual word. The proper word is "converse." While the phrases "desired to have a conversation" and "was wanting to converse" are grammatically correct, these choices are less concise than the option "wished to converse." The correct choice is, "wished to converse."

This sentence misuses the word "affect." The word "affect" is a verb, meaning to cause something to happen. What is meant in this sentence, however, is the noun a result of an action, which is spelled "effect." No additional punctuation is necessary. The correct choice is, "The effect of the company's recent downsizing."