GRE Grammar Preparation 2023: Grammar Use, Books, Tips to Avoid Mistakes, Sample Questions

GRE Grammar Preparation comprises grammar concepts building, learning proper punctuation and grammar rules.The GRE verbal reasoning section tests the English grammar, reading comprehension, and critical thinking skills of a candidate. Thus, GRE grammar PDFs are an absolute necessity to practice GRE verbal reasoning questions. Both native and non-native speakers are benefitted from GRE grammar practice.

How Important Is English Grammar for your GRE Scores?

If you want to master the GRE, you cannot overlook the importance of English grammar to your overall score.You will need an advanced understanding of English grammar for GRE, not just for the verbal sections, but also for the reasoning and critical thinking sections as well.

GRE Analytical Writing: Grammar Use

There are three types of questions in the verbal reasoning section: Reading comprehension, Text completion, and Sentence equivalence. These 3 sections require immense GRE grammar practice.

According to ETS, the GRE verbal reasoning section measures your ability to do the following:

• Analyse and draw conclusions from discourse; reason from incomplete data; identify author’s assumptions and/or perspective; understand multiple levels of meaning, such as literal, figurative, and author’s intent;
• Select important points; distinguish major from minor or relevant points; summarise text; understand the structure of a text; and
• Understand the meanings of words, sentences and entire texts; understand relationships among words and among concepts

You can ace your GRE vocabulary practice by following the basic grammar tips:

• Avoid redundant words. Keep your sentences short and to the point.
• Use every sentence in your essay to establish your argument.
• Do not waste word space using fancy anecdotes and phrases.
• Avoid using first-person pronouns.
• Place your pronouns in accordance with the noun.
• Avoid using familiar phrases even if they sound good. Find better and newer words.
• Do not use everyday expressions used in conversations like ‘dummy’, or ‘dope’.
• Avoid using contractions like ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’, ‘won’t’, etc

GRE Analytical Writing Objectives

The GRE assesses students' preparedness to pursue graduate or business school. The examination is devoted to the analytical writing portion, which comprises two timed essay prompts. GRE grammar practice helps you solidify your understanding of language rules you'll need to know when constructing your essays. These section specifically includes:

• Proper comma usage
• Using colons and semicolons
• Determining correct subject-verb agreement (including in relation to prepositional phrases, helping verbs, and unusual singular and plural nouns)
• Identifying and avoiding misplaced modifiers
• Distinguishing between dependent and independent clauses
• Understanding different types of pronouns (personal, reflexive, possessive, etc.)

The analytical writing segment of the GRE involves two 30-minute writing exams. For one, students compose a position paper agreeing or disagreeing with an issue prompt. For the other, students are asked to examine a given argument and produce an essay denoting its strengths and weaknesses.

Best English Grammar Book for GRE

A solid understanding of English grammar will help you immensely on the GRE—and in your daily life as well. Below are top 5 online grammar books that are great resources:

1. The Purdue Owl– This is a great resource for GRE AWA. It contains GRE grammar tips on articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement.
2. Grammar Girl– If grammar bores you, this site is perfect for you. It provides tips on common topics and misconceptions using funny templates.
3. University of Illinois’ Center for Writing Studies’ Grammar Handbook– This is one of the most renowned GRE grammar pdf and provides the best GRE grammar practice for analytical writing.
4. George Washington University’s ESL Study Hall Grammar– If you are a non-native english speaker then this is the place for you to enhance your GRE grammar skills with quizzes and puzzles.
5. The Oatmeal.com, Grammar Comics- This site provides tips on common mistakes made by candidates. The comic strips are interesting enough to study in your leisure time.

Common Mistakes made in GRE grammar

The use of correct English grammar for GRE determines how well you will perform in the GRE exam. GRE grammar is crucial for every part of GRE verbal and analytical writing. You must go through extensive GRE grammar practice and avoid common mistakes.

• Use appropriate tenses, otherwise, the event sequence gets disrupted and it is very difficult for the reader to understand.
• Use ‘who’ and ‘whom’ correctly. ‘Who’ is used to replace a subject and ‘whom’ is used to replace an object in a sentence.
• Maintain parallel structure in a sentence. Example: She is good at singing and dancing.
• Place the modifiers in a sentence in correct places. Dangling modifiers make the meaning of the sentence unclear.
• Use ‘fewer’ with countable nouns and ‘less’ with uncountable nouns.
• Keep your sentences short and simple.

Sample GRE English grammar question

A lot of GRE verbal practice tests are available online. Here are a few samples which show how important English grammar is for GRE verbal:

Question

The travel writer’s ______________ towards others he met on his cross-country trip most likely endeared him only to those readers with a misanthropic bent.

Select the answer.

1. diffidence
2. humility
3. cynicism
4. garrulity
5. obsequiousness

Question

Unlike the performances of her youth, in which she seamlessly inhabited a role, the performances of her later years were ____________, as though she were calling out to audiences, “look how convincingly I can portray my character.”

Select the answer.

1. decrepit
2. comical
3. volatile
4. mechanical
5. contrived

Also check GRE Vocabulary Preparation

Double blank text completion Questions

Question

The gossip columnist’s ____________ was ____________ the number of her published columns–the more articles she wrote, the more untruths she spread.

Select the answer for BLANK i.

1. calumny
2. ardor
3. flattery

Select the answer for BLANK ii.

1. commensurate with
2. inverse to
3. unconnected to

Triple Blank Text Completion Questions

Question

James Maxwell once remarked that the best scientists are the (i) ____________ ones; not hemmed in by the (ii) ____________ of their respective fields, they are able to approach problems with a(n) (iii) ____________ mind, so to speak.

Select the answer for BLANK i.

1. adaptable
2. revolutionary
3. ignorant

Select the answer for BLANK ii.

1. myopia
2. preconceptions
3. inertia

Select the answer for BLANK iii.

1. fertile
2. rational
3. empty