Question

He left his speech on the plane and so was unable of giving his presentation; all the same he insisted to go to the conference. A. unable of giving his presentation; all the same he insisted to go B. unable to giving his presentation; all the same he insisted on go C. unable of giving his presentation; all the same he insisted on going D. unable to give his presentation; all the same he insisted on going E. unable to give his presentation; all the same he insisted to going

Short answer

D

Step-by-step solution

- Identify grammatical errors

Analyze each option carefully to find grammatical errors that affect sentence correctness.

- Correct form of 'unable to give'

The correct idiomatic use is 'unable to give.' Review each option for this correct usage.

- Correct form of 'insisted on going'

The phrase 'insisted on going' is the correct usage. Look for this structure in the given choices.

- Eliminate incorrect options

Using the criteria from steps 2 and 3, eliminate options: A, B, C, and E as they contain incorrect grammatical structures.

- Confirm the correct answer

Review the remaining option to ensure it meets both criteria: 'unable to give' and 'insisted on going.' The correct answer is D.

Key concepts

correct idiomatic usage

Idiomatic expressions are phrases or expressions that have a figurative meaning different from their literal meaning. In the context of the GMAT Sentence Correction question, it's crucial to identify and use correct idiomatic expressions to ensure grammatical accuracy. In the example sentence, the idiomatic expression 'unable to give' is correct. Unlike '*unable of giving*,' which is incorrect, 'unable to give' appropriately follows standard English usage. Another correct idiomatic expression in the GMAT problem is 'insisted on going.' The construction 'insisted to go' is incorrect. Always ensure that idiomatic expressions align comfortably with common usage in English.

identifying grammatical errors

Spotting grammatical errors in sentence correction problems is a critical skill. The first step is to closely read each option and identify any grammatical errors. Key errors to watch for include:

• Incorrect idiomatic expressions: like 'unable of giving'
• Subject-verb agreement: ensuring subjects and verbs match in number and tense
• Parallelism: similar elements in a sentence must be in the same form

In our example, the options 'unable of giving' and 'insisted to going' contain errors in idiomatic usage. Recognizing these mistakes will help you better understand how to correct and choose the right answer.

elimination method

The elimination method is a strategic approach for answering multiple-choice questions, particularly in GMAT Sentence Correction. Start by identifying errors based on grammar rules or idiomatic usage. Remove any options with obvious mistakes. In the given exercise:

• We eliminate option A because 'unable of giving' is incorrect
• We eliminate option B because both 'unable to giving' and 'insisted on go' are incorrect
• We eliminate option C because 'unable of giving' is incorrect
• We eliminate option E because 'insisted to going' is not correct

After eliminating all incorrect options, verify that the remaining option is grammatically accurate and makes sense within the context of the sentence. This approach increases the likelihood of selecting the correct answer, which in this case is D.