UPCAT Language Proficiency – Detailed Review Notes
Parallelism
• Definition
– Parallelism = matching grammatical forms (words, phrases, or clauses) to emphasize similarity and create a sense of balance. This technique makes sentences concise, clear, rhythmic, and aesthetically pleasing, improving overall readability and impact.
• When it matters
– Items in a series: This applies to lists containing three or more elements that logically belong together.
– Paired ideas (conjunctions & comparisons): When two ideas are presented together, either contrasting or comparing them, their grammatical structure should be consistent.
– Any explicit list: This includes formal bulleted or numbered lists within a sentence or passage.
• 3–Step check
Identify the elements being connected: Look for conjunctions (like 'and', 'or'), comparison words (like 'than', 'as much as'), or indicators of a list or series.
Verify that the grammatical forms match: Ensure all connected elements are of the same grammatical type (e.g., all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitive phrases, all clauses). This consistency is key for clarity.
Rephrase whichever element breaks the pattern: Adjust the inconsistent part(s) to align with the dominant grammatical structure established by the other elements.
• 3 common situations
Conjunctions (coordinating & correlative): These words join grammatically equal elements.
Comparisons (as much as, more/less than, better than): When comparing two or more entities, their forms must be equivalent.
Lists or series (words, phrases, clauses): All items in a list should maintain the same grammatical structure.
1. Conjunctions
• a. Coordinating (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet)
– All joined units must share the same grammatical form to maintain balance and clarity. Whether connecting words, phrases, or clauses, ensure strict equivalence.
– Faulty: “He likes practicing, competing, and to eat before a game.” (gerund, gerund, infinitive)
– Fix 1: “He likes practicing, competing, and eating before a game.”
– Preposition rule: do not repeat “to” in parallel infinitives if the meaning is clear: to jog, to swim, to bike → to jog, swim, and bike. Repeating 'to' for emphasis is sometimes acceptable but generally avoided for concision (e.g., 'to jog, to swim, and to bike' is grammatically correct but less concise).
• b. Correlative (not only…but also / both…and / either…or / neither…nor)
– Each part of a correlative conjunction must be followed by a structure that mirrors the other in grammatical form. The elements immediately following each component of the pair must be parallel.
– Not only…but also
• Faulty: “She is not only talented at singing but also a gifted pianist.” (adjective phrase + noun phrase)
• Fix A: “She is not only talented at singing but also at playing the piano.” (prepositional phrase + prepositional phrase)
• Fix B: “She is not only a talented singer but also a gifted pianist.” (noun phrase + noun phrase)
– Both…and
• Faulty: “She enjoys both reading books and to write stories.”
• Fix 1: “…both reading and writing stories.” (gerunds)
• Fix 2: “…both to read books and to write stories.” (infinitives)
2. Comparisons
• Structure: X \text{ is/does } \dots \text{ more/less/better than } Y
– The grammatical forms on each side of the comparison must align. What follows 'X' must be grammatically equivalent to what follows 'Y'.
• “As much as”
– Faulty: “You enjoy going out as much as I like to rent a movie and stay at home.”
– Fix A (all gerunds): “…as much as I enjoy renting a movie and staying at home.”
– Fix B (all infinitives): “You like to go out…as much as I like to rent a movie….”
• “More than”
– Faulty: “He likes pizza more than eating pasta.”
– Fix (nouns): “He likes pizza more than pasta.”
– Fix (gerund phrases): “He likes eating pizza more than eating pasta.”
• “Less than”
– Faulty: “She spends less time studying than she does work.”
– Fix: “She spends less time studying than working.”
3. Lists / Series
• Applies to:
– Words: Individual words in a sequence must maintain the same part of speech.
– Phrases: Groupings of words without a subject and verb must be syntactically similar.
– Clauses: Groups of words containing a subject and a verb must be parallel in structure (e.g., all independent clauses, all dependent clauses of the same type).
• Words
– Faulty: “She likes reading, to jog, and cooking.”
– Fix: “She likes reading, jogging, and cooking.” (All gerunds)
• Phrases
– Faulty: “The job requires someone who is attentive to detail, who can work efficiently, and with a positive attitude.”
– Fix: “…and who has a positive attitude.” (All relative clauses, or could be: “attentive to detail, efficient, and positive” for parallel adjectives).
• Clauses
– Faulty: “She said that she would clean the house, wash the car, and will plant flowers.”
– Fix: “…clean the house, wash the car, and plant flowers….” (Parallel verbs within the dependent clause)
Modifiers
• Definition
– Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that add descriptive, qualifying, or limiting detail to another word or word group in a sentence. They enrich meaning by specifying characteristics, limitations, or actions.
• How they work
– Modifiers are typically placed directly before or after the word(s) they modify. Their logical and precise placement is crucial; wrong placement leads to ambiguity, confusion, or unintentionally humorous meanings, also known as misinterpretations.
• 4 categories
Adjectives (word, phrase, clause): Modify nouns and pronouns.
Adverbs (word, phrase, clause): Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Limiting modifiers: Restrict or qualify the meaning of the word(s) they modify.
Misplaced modifiers (incl. dangling & squinting): Modifiers positioned incorrectly, leading to unclear meaning.
2.1 Adjectives
• Single-word examples
– “retro arcade,” “yellow bird.” (Adjectives placed before the noun)
– Can also appear after the noun (e.g., “The house, old and creaky, stood on the hill.”)
• Adjective phrases (multi-word)
– These are groups of words that function as an adjective, often containing a prepositional phrase or a participial phrase. They give vivid detail and can often replace a single adjective or expand on its meaning.
– Ex: “The building that was taller than the others was prone to power outages.” (Adjective clause acting as a phrase)
– Ex: “Our generally aloof cat….” (Adverb modifying an adjective within a phrase)
• Adjective clauses (begin with who, whom, whose, which, that, where, when, why)
– These are dependent clauses that function as adjectives, typically modifying a noun or pronoun that precedes them. They help combine two related sentences into one more complex sentence.
– Ex: “Kiara, who had recently transferred, asked about testing.” (Modifies “Kiara”)
– Ex: “The service that catered our parties just raised prices.” (Modifies “service”) Adjective clauses can be restrictive (essential for meaning, no commas) or non-restrictive (additional info, set off by commas).
2.2 Adverbs
• Single adverb examples
– “She performed her solo perfectly.” (Modifies the verb “performed”)
– “We are very experienced designers.” (Modifies the adjective “experienced”)
• Adverbial phrases
– Groups of words that function as an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective, or another adverb. They often tell how, when, where, or to what extent.
– Ex: “She sang with perfect pitch.” (Prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial phrase, modifying “sang”)
– Ex: “He has worked here for years.” (Prepositional phrase modifying “has worked”)
• Adverbial clauses (dependent, act like adverbs)
– These are dependent clauses that provide information about the main clause, functioning similarly to adverbs. They often begin with subordinating conjunctions like because, although, if, when, while, as, since, unless, until, where, wherever, before, after.
– Ex: “The band played like a high-school garage band plays.” (Modifies “played,” telling how)
– Ex: “They hung their clothes like the closet was a boutique.” (Modifies “hung,” telling how)
2.3 Limiting Modifiers
• Limiting modifiers (also called restrictives) are words like “always, only, just, simply, almost, merely, hardly, even, exactly, scarcely.” They restrict or qualify the noun or verb they modify, and their placement is crucial as it can significantly alter the meaning of a sentence.
– Ex: “I just want to go on vacation.” (Implies vacation is the only thing I want to do)
– Ex: “I rode the only train into the city.” (Implies there was no other train)
– Contrast: “I want to go on vacation just.” (Grammatically incorrect, illustrates misplacement)
2.4 Misplaced Modifiers
• Definition: A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is separated from the word or phrase it is supposed to describe, leading to confusion or a nonsensical meaning. It appears to modify the wrong part of the sentence.
– Faulty: “They bought a car for my sister they call Pumpkin.” (This implies the sister is called Pumpkin, not the car.)
– Fix: “They bought a car that they call Pumpkin for my sister.”
– Rule: Place the modifier as close as possible to its target word or phrase to ensure clarity and avoid ambiguity.
• Two sub-types
Dangling modifiers
– These modifiers do not clearly or logically modify any word in the sentence. They often appear at the beginning of a sentence, implying a subject that is not explicitly stated or is different from the actual subject of the main clause.
– Faulty: “After reading the book, the movie was great.” (Implies the movie read the book.)
– Fix: “After reading the book, I thought the movie was great.” (Adds the logical subject “I”)
– Another Fix: “After I read the book, the movie was great.” (Turns the dangling phrase into a dependent clause with its own subject)Squinting modifiers
– An ambiguous modifier that is placed in such a way that it could modify either the word(s) before it or the word(s) after it, creating confusion for the reader.
– Faulty: “The kids who played at the playground sometimes bought ice cream.” (Did they sometimes play, or sometimes buy?)
– Fix: “Sometimes, the kids who played at the playground bought ice cream.” (Modifies “bought”)
– Another Fix: “The kids who sometimes played at the playground bought ice cream.” (Modifies “played”)
Sentence-Correction Strategies (UPCAT-style)
Read the whole sentence carefully
– Grasp meaning first; don’t jump to options. Before analyzing grammar, understand the intended message of the sentence. This helps in identifying logical errors and ensuring the chosen answer maintains the original meaning.
– Example: “Even though the weather was terrible, the team played.” ⇒ Played what? Add complement. The sentence is incomplete without specifying what was played.Identify the error type
– Common: subject-verb, tense, pronoun, parallelism, modifiers, comparisons, wordiness, diction. Train your eye to recognize common patterns and grammatical pitfalls. This speeds up the elimination process.Compare all answer choices
– Even if original looks OK. Sometimes the original sentence is grammatically correct but an option is more concise, clearer, or otherwise superior. Eliminate choices that introduce new errors or subtly change the original meaning.Eliminate strategically
– Cross out choices with clear grammar flaws, wordiness, or altered intent. Prioritize eliminating options with obvious grammatical errors first. If multiple errors are present, target the most severe ones.Look for consistency
– Tense, voice, point-of-view, singular/plural, parallel lists. Ensure all elements within the sentence are consistent. For example, if a sentence starts in the past tense, it should generally stay in the past tense unless there's a clear reason for a shift.Watch modifier placement
– Keep descriptive phrases next to what they modify. This is critical for clarity. Misplaced modifiers can drastically change the sentence's meaning or make it nonsensical.
– Example: “Driving through the mountains, we saw breathtaking scenery.” (Ensures