Question

It’s surprising that the President overruled the recommendations of the Committee. A. It’s surprising that the B. It surprises that the C. It surprises the D. It’s surprising the E. It takes a lot to surprise the

Short answer

The correct answer is A. It’s surprising that the.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Sentence Structure

The original sentence is structured correctly with 'It's surprising that...'. This structure indicates that something is surprising and follows a logical grammatical order.

Identify Incorrect Options

Options B, C, and E alter the sentence structure in ways that make them ungrammatical or awkward. 'It surprises that the...', 'It surprises the...', and 'It takes a lot to surprise the...' all create issues with readability and grammatical correctness.

Evaluate Remaining Options

This leaves us with options A and D. Option D 'It's surprising the...' drops the conjunction 'that', making the sentence incomplete.

Confirm the Correct Answer

Option A 'It's surprising that the...' retains both the grammatical structure and meaning of the original sentence.

Key concepts

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To excel in GMAT Sentence Correction, you first need to master the art of understanding sentence structure. This means recognizing how different parts of a sentence fit together to convey a clear and meaningful message. In our example, 'It's surprising that the President overruled the recommendations of the Committee,' the phrase 'It's surprising that...' sets up a condition or context for the statement that follows.
Pay attention to:

• Subjects and predicates
• Clauses and their functions
• Conjunctions that link ideas

Understand how these elements interact to form a coherent sentence.
If a sentence feels awkward or unclear, it’s likely because one or more of these structural elements are missing or misused. Identifying these issues quickly will improve your accuracy and speed in Sentence Correction questions.

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Identifying grammatical errors is crucial for GMAT Sentence Correction. Sometimes, even a single misplaced or missing word can make a sentence grammatically incorrect. In our example, the incorrect options B, C, and E altered the original sentence in ways that made them ungrammatical.
Watch out for:

• Verb tense and subject-verb agreement
• Proper use of conjunctions (like 'that')
• Pronoun reference and consistency
• Sentence fragments and run-ons

For instance, 'It surprises that the...' in option B lacks a clear subject for the verb 'surprises,' making it awkward and incorrect. In option D 'It's surprising the...', dropping 'that' results in a fragment instead of a complete sentence.
By focusing on these common grammatical issues, you can more easily identify errors and eliminate incorrect options.

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Evaluating sentence options is the final step in tackling GMAT Sentence Correction questions. This involves comparing the given options to determine which one best maintains the original sentence's meaning and grammatical correctness. In our example, this means finding the option that best conveys 'It's surprising that the President overruled the recommendations of the Committee'.
Consider the following:

• Does the option retain the original meaning?
• Is the grammatical structure intact?
• Is the sentence clear and easy to read?
• Are there any ambiguities or awkward constructions?

After reviewing options A and D, it’s clear that option A ('It's surprising that the...') maintains both the grammatical structure and the intended meaning of the sentence, while option D does not. Thus, option A is the best choice.
Using these evaluation criteria consistently will help you select the correct answer more confidently and efficiently.