Jump To Content

GRE Sentence Completion


Life, as the play demonstrates , is too complex for _________ endings.

 A) facile
 B) straight
 C) intricate
 D) complicated
 E) involute

This type of sentence completion question will be encountered in the verbal section of GRE. Can you guess the answer?

Photo 5131


Even if not, don't worry!! Read on to learn some simple tips to answer these questions.

Before I explain the strategy to solve these questions, let me tell the format of sentence completion questions.

These questions test your vocabulary and your ability to understand what sentence intend to express.
 

Format
These questions will have a sentence with either one or two blanks. It will be followed by five words or set of words out of which you will have to choose the correct word(s), to fill the blank.

As per the recent changes introduced in 2007 there may be a question with three blanks. The options will not be grouped together for three blanks. There will be separate set of choices for each blank. (This a little bit trickier than the initial with one or two missing blank. But you should not worry, since there will be none or at most one question of this type.)

e.g. After conducting  ______ trials, the team was  _____ to see the results which indicated that the medicine was functioning as __________.

Even with the missing blank you can understand what the sentence intends to convey and thus find out the word or at least the kind of the word that could fit in the blank.

Careful! There may be more than one choice that could fill the blank but there will be only one BEST choice. Select the BEST possible choice as you will not get scores for choosing the second best option.

Since you have 30 minutes to answer 28 questions on verbal section, so to pace up, you should not take more than 40-45 seconds to answer one SC question.

Here’s the strategy you need to follow.......
Photo 5118

1) Don't look at the answer choices. First read the sentence carefully and try to perceive the overall meaning of the sentence. The missing blanks will not make the sentence incomprehensible. Figure out the meaning of the sentence and then think of the possible words that could fill in the blanks without looking at the answer choices.

Do not look at the answer choices unless you have figured out the meaning of the sentence and the words or at least the kind of words that could fit in the sentence. Otherwise, it might lead you into trouble.


The following clues will help you figure out the possible words for the missing blank.

I  Does the sentence contain any of the following words?
       AND            ALSO           IN ADDITION TO                   FURTHERMORE 
       LIKEWISE     SINCE          FOR              INDEED            SIMILARLY           TRULY
  
These are support indicators.

The use of these words in the sentence indicates that first part of the sentence supports the second part of the sentence and the answer will be synonym of word(s) in the sentence.


e.g: Since the Sensex is falling down, the traders are _____________ about the huge losses they may incur.               

      a) perturbed
      b) calm
      c) unconcerned
      d) relaxed
      e) apathetic

Explanation: The word Since supports the two clauses of the sentence. Since the sensex is falling down so it is obvious that the traders will be worried. The missing blank would be similar to the word concerned or worried. Perturbed (meaning worried) is the answer.

 II  Does the sentence contain Contrast indicators?
      ALTHOUGH        HOWEVER       DESPITE         IN CONTRAST TO          BUT
      YET                 UNLESS          WHILE            NEVERTHELESS.

If the sentence contains any of these words that sets up contrast between two parts of the sentence, the answer will  convey the opposite meaning of a word or words in the sentence.

e.g: Despite the heavy fall in Sensex,the traders were _____________ about the huge losses.
 
      a) unperturbed
      b) vexed
      c) concerned
      d) apprehensive
      e) fretful

Explanation: Here the word Despite sets up a contrast and the word would be opposite to what the traders will be feeling  about if the sensex is falling down. The traders are unconcerned about the huge losses in spite of the fall in sensex. The word unperturbed fits in the sentence.

III Does the sentence contain  cause and effect indicators ?
         BECAUSE        FOR           THUS             HENCEFORTH         THEREFORE
         If...Then
    
The _________  requirements by client for approval of  new design, do not ________ designers when it comes  to research & development because of the profit potential.
      
      A) toilsome....provoke
      B) onerous....dissuade
      C) complex....encourage
      D) vague....support
      E) arduous....incite

Explanation: Because of the profit potential the designers will be highly encouraged i.e they will not be dissuaded.Looking through the options one can find out that word dissuade seems to be a good match for second blank.Now let's see if onerous(burdensome)could fit in.The burdensome requirements do not discourage designers due to profit potential.

IV Does the sentence have Apposition structure?
In the apposition structure sentence the second clause clarifies or gives evidence of the first clause which is separated by comma,semicolon,hyphen or parenthesis. Also the comma is not followed by words like and,for,yet that gives you an indication of the appositional structure.

e.g: He is  ____ speaker,his discourses are always informative and inspirational.
 
      A) an eloquent                                    
      B) an amateur
      C) a novice
      D) an inarticulate
      E) a prolix

Explanation: The second clause describes the discourses of a person as informative and inspirational, which gives us a clue that the missing blank should relate to informative and inspirational discourses. An eloquent speaker is the one whose discourses are informative and inspirational.Hence A is the answer.


2) Review the answer choices: After thinking of the possible words that could fit in, review the given choices and look for synonyms of your words.

3) Use Elimination Strategy: If the missing word is a positive one you can simply eliminate all the negative words and vice-versa. In dual-blank questions, always work with the easier blank first. Then narrow the choices down to the ones that work with that easier blank and eliminate the remaining choices. Now use the harder blank to decide on the best possible answer choice.

4) Don't let unfamiliar words intimidate you.(Don't know what intimidate means? What are you waiting for. Look for its meaning and note it down in your notebook. This will help you increase your vocabulary.): Even if you find options with the words you are unfamiliar with, don't panic! Try to infer the meaning of the word by looking at prefix and suffix. If still you are not able to get its meaning, move on to the next choice. If none of the choices fit in except the one with unfamiliar words, don't worry about using this option as the best answer.

Now since we have read on the steps we need to follow to arrive at the answer, let's discuss the answer to the first question.

Life, as the play demonstrates , is too complex for _________ endings.

It is very obvious that complex endings will be complicated but here the word too is used which implies that one will find  only something that is simple and smooth to be too complex. The word too suggests that the word in blank is opposite to complex.So the missing blank could be something related to  simple,smooth etc.Since we have guessed the word for the blank,its time we look at the answer choices.The options intricate,involute,complicated all meaning complex can be crossed out.Now we  are left with two options facile and straight.Facile, meaning simple, is the exact opposite of complex and  fit in the best.


Tips:

    Photo 5253
  
  1. Do not look at the answer choices at the first glance. First try to infer the sentence overall meaning.
  2. Look for  transitional words (like although and likewise) that will help you in suggesting the possible answer choices that may fit in the blank.
  3. After you have thought of the word that could possibly be the solution, look at the answer choices. Consider all the answers to make the best choice.
  4. Try to first fill in the easy blank in sentences with two missing blanks. Eliminate the choices if the word does not fit for either first or second blank.Fitting in one blank alone doesn't make sense in the sentence.
  5. With the remaining choices, find out the one that fits in best are most logical.
  6. Practice, Practice, Practice!
rigzin
  • Authority 38
Post Body
rigzin said:

nicely done..keep it up

  • Quote
  • Posted 3 months ago.
mouni
  • Authority 0
Post Body
mouni said:

Thanks. Great info. Can I add this: Similar strategies, time management techniques are found here : www.grevocabulary.org

  • Quote
  • Posted about 1 month ago.
hiteshpednekar
  • Authority 54
Post Body
hiteshpednekar said:

thanks…it was g8….helped me a lot….

  • Quote
  • Posted about 1 month ago.
niwsa
  • Authority 0
Post Body
niwsa said:

Amazing… How linguistics plays a key role here….

  • Quote
  • Posted about 1 month ago.
bantu24
  • Authority 16
Post Body
bantu24 said:

thanks it was good

  • Quote
  • Posted 22 days ago.
prashanthpnu
  • Authority 12
Post Body
prashanthpnu said:

Good techniques. Very well presented. Thanks :)

  • Quote
  • Posted 15 days ago.
jackdawson
  • Authority 8
Post Body
jackdawson said:

quite pragmatic and appreciable…......Thnx

  • Quote
  • Posted 10 days ago.
techfest
  • Authority 0
Post Body
techfest said:

best way 2 familiar a begineer wid solving tips ….

  • Quote
  • Posted 2 days ago.
techfest
  • Authority 0
Post Body
techfest said:

best way 2 familiar a begineer wid solving tips ….

  • Quote
  • Posted 2 days ago.
  • Your comment will be modifiable for 10 minutes after posted.

Page Author

Avatar
deepa mittal
Name
deepa mittal

From Here You Can…

Information

  • 1458 Views
  • 9 Comments
  • Ratings Likes 10 Negative 0

Most Recent Related Content

Published In…

This work is public domain.