Sentence Completion Tutorial Foreign Languages If you know a foreign language it can help a great deal. Most words in English are derived from or relate to other languages You might be able to guess the meaning of the word by looking at it and thinking of a corresponding word in another language that you have studied. For example, "felice" means happy in Spanish, so when you see the word "felicity," if you know a bit of Spanish, you may be able to guess that it means something similar to being happy. As a rule, the majority of the English language is derived from Latin and German, so if you know either of these (or a language rooted in these), you are in a much better position to break down words and deduce their meaning. Another example is the word "benevolent," which is comprise of the word "bene," which means "well" in Latin, and "volens," which is the present participle of "velle," meaning "to wish." By putting these together, you can gain some insight into what "benevolent" means. A good strategy is to pull out your dictionary and go through the most frequently used word list that we provide, breaking down each word into its parts and then looking them up. You'll begin to get a sense for the Latin and European language roots found in most English words. It's also a good way to begin memorizing words. Don't Rush Take your time and read each sentence carefully. Taking a standardized exam is like solving hundreds of little puzzles. Only by focusing on each question and absorbing the information can you come up with the right answer. Many students feel compelled to look at the answers before they've thought about the sentence. This is a big mistake. When filling in the blanks, don't let your eyes dart to the possible answers before you clearly understand the material. This will just distract you and lead to errors. Only after you grasp the meaning of the sentence, should you look for the best possible answer. Try Every Word When looking at the possible answers, it's tempting to just pick the first word that jumps out at you. This is a common mistake. Instead, take your time and try each answer to see if it makes sense. Only after you've tested every possible answer can you determine which is the best one. Standardized exams are designed to be difficult, which means that an answer may appear to work, but when you actually compare it to other possible answers, you will see that it is an inferior choice. Understanding the Context Often the meaning of the word you are looking for is revealed within the sentence itself. If you don't know the meaning of all the possible answers, look at the context for clues. The context in which the word is used will help you eliminate words that don't fit and lead you towards the words that do. For example: President Lincoln's _____ was deemed his greatest asset; he never seemed to give up. (A) credibility (B) benevolence (C) compassion (D) malice (E) perseverance As you can see, the above sentence contains the definition of the word perseverance. Even if you don't know what perseverance means, you can go through the other words and see if they match the definition contained in the sentence. If they don't, you can eliminate them as possible choices. This is what we mean by looking to the context for clues. Many of the sentences in standardized exams contain clues as to the answer, and if you can identify those clues, you can use them to eliminate wrong answers and narrow down the possible choices. Breaking Down Words Big words can be intimidating. But instead of viewing long words as your enemy, you should see them as providing you with helpful clues. The process of breaking down longer words into their building blocks can help you deduce their meaning. The first thing you should do when looking at a word is to dissect it. By this we mean chop it into pieces and look for familiar parts, like prefixes, roots and suffixes. You may know more about the word than you think. For example, what does the word "indefinable" mean? First, let's remove the prefix "in" and suffix "able." If we do this, we're left with the word "define," which means to determine the essential quality of something. We know that "in" as a prefix is a negative , so the meaning is probably similar to "not able to determine the essential quality of something." This is a clue which can help us determine the right answer. You'll find that most words can be broken down in this way, and it's good practice to make a habit of dissecting words and trying to determine what they mean from their various parts. Think First Never start with the answers. First read the sentence and understand its meaning. Then take a few seconds to think of a word that might fill in the blank. Only after you have a word in mind should you glance over the possible answers. The logic behind this technique is that it's difficult to grasp the meaning of a sentence when there's a hole in the middle. By filling in a word, even if it's not listed as a possible answer, you will have obtained a clearer understanding of the sentence, which will help you to choose the right answer. If you use this method, you'll often find that either you have picked the correct word or your word is a synonym for the actual answer. This makes answering correctly a breeze. And even if your choice is not related to the answers, simply by going through process of coming up with a word, you will have a much better understanding of the material. Avoid Eye-Catchers Certain words are intended to catch your eye. Upon first glance, they feel right. For example, if the sentence is about science, the word may have a scientific tone to it. It may be something you've heard before in your physics or chemistry classes. So when you glance over the answers, it jumps out at you. Just because it feels right, doesn't mean it is the right. In fact, it may not work at all with the sentence, although it sounds like it should. Always be wary of these eye-catchers and make sure to test them against the other possible choices before choosing your answer. Contrast Transitions If you can understand and identify a "contrast transition" within a sentence, it can help you to determine what the sentence and the words within it actually mean. Below are some of the typical contrast transitions: in contrast in spite of although but despite even though however instead of nevertheless on the contrary yet still rather than on the other hand These contrasts often give the clue you are looking for. In most cases, the word you're after is an antonym or a near-antonym of a key word found within the sentence. For example: Although the boy looked malicious, he was rather ______. (A) despicable (B) drowsy (C) obtuse (D) harmless (E) intelligent The word you're looking for is the antonym of malicious. So in this case, the best choice would be (D). As a rule of thumb, keep an eye out for contrast transitions and use them to help you determine the right answer. Support Transitions Support transitions generally indicate that a synonym for a key word within the sentence will be the correct answer. Support transitions include the following: likewise in addition additionally as well also and besides furthermore moreover Whenever one of these support transitions appears, it's a clue that the correct answer might be a synonym or near-synonym of a key word within the sentence. For example: During World War II, bravery and other acts of _____ were prevalent among American troops. (A) desertion (B) valor (C) treachery (D) recklessness (E) merriment The answer is (B) because "valor" is a synonym of "bravery." The key to getting the right answer is first recognizing the support transition within the sentence, then identifying the key word, and finally looking at the possible answers and seeing which is the synonym or near-synonym of that key word. Even if you don't happen to know what the word "valor" means, you can eliminate words like "treachery" and "reckless" because they're so different from "bravery" that they would never make sense. This is a good tactic for narrowing down the choices, until you are left with only one or two possible answers. Cause and Effect Transitions Another critical set of transitions to be aware of is cause and effect transitions, like those we've listed below: thus therefore so...that when...then in order to accordingly consequently for that reason because for hence When these words appear in a sentence, they often indicate a cause and effect relationship, which can give you a clue as to the right answer. For example: The sun's rays can be _______, therefore, it is good idea to avoid exposure to direct sunlight for long periods of time. (A) infectious (B) harmful (C) invigorating (D) mundane (E) healthy The answer must be (B) because that is the only word that makes sense in the cause and effect relationship set up by the sentence structure. It's a smart idea to look for these cause and effect transitions and then use them to help you determine which is the correct answer. Double-Blanks Sentences with two blanks can be especially confusing and tiresome. It's often a brain teaser just to keep track of everything. To help eliminate confusion, a good strategy is to concentrate on one blank at a time. First read the sentence and grasp its meaning. Then go and insert the first word of each answer in the first blank and see if it makes any sense. If it doesn't fit, you can eliminate that answer. However, if it does make sense, you can move to the second word and try inserting it. For example: Bill realized that he had been ______ in his duties. If he had been more ______, the disaster may have been avoided. (A) irreproachable...careful (B) arbitrary...interested (C) neglectful...insensible (D) derelict...vigilant (E) unparalleled...careful Try inserting "irreproachable" in the first blank. Does this make any sense? The answer is clearly no, which means you can eliminate (A) as a possibility. Next try "arbitrary." It also doesn't make sense. Now try "neglectful." This may work, so you can't eliminate (C). The word "derelict" also seems to work. Lastly, "unparalleled" does not make sense. This leaves you with only (C) and (D) as possibilities. Now try inserting "insensible." Does this make sense? No. So the answer has to be (D). Even if you think you know the answer after testing the first words, don't skip testing the second words. Remember, it's the relationship between the words that counts. The first and second words must work within the sentence together. Even if one of the first words seems like a better fit, if the second word doesn't work, it's not the right answer. Be Careful Around Negatives Negative words and prefixes (such as: none, not, no, in-, un-, non-) can be tricky. They're often designed to mislead you, so whenever you see one, a red flag should go up, and you should read the sentence over an extra couple of times to make sure you grasp its meaning. For example, a sentence may read: "The donation was not insignificant." This means that the amount of money given was large, but if you're reading fast, it can seem like the opposite. Another example is a sentence that reads "James was not outgoing, so he made few friends; but those he made considered him to be not unlikable." Again, the meaning of this sentence can be obscured by the use of the negatives. Whenever you encounter a negative, always slow down and make sure that you understand exactly what the sentence is saying. A good tactic for making complex sentences simpler to grasp is to use word substitution. For example, in the above sentence, you could substitute the word "shy" for "not outgoing" and "likable" for "not unlikable." Then plug these back into the sentence so that it reads, "James was shy, so he made few friends; but those he made considered him to be likable." This is much easier to understand and will help you to avoid making a mistake. The Unexpected Keep an eye out for words that indicate something unexpected, unwanted or out of the ordinary is taking place. These words include: odd curious paradoxical surprising unexpected ironic incongruous illogical abnormal anomalous inconsistent These words typically signal that a contrast is being drawn between two opposing ideas. For example: Dr. Daoud thought it was odd that a patient claiming to be ________ was actually _______. (A) sick...dying (B) vigorous...happy (C) sick...healthy (D) depressed...ill (E) delirious...hallucinating Because of the contrast set up by using the word "odd," the only possible answer is (C). This is because "sick" and "healthy" are opposites. Even if you didn't know the right answer, it's clear in the above example that "sick" and "dying" are too similar to set up a contrast, so this couldn't be the answer. The same is true for "vigorous" and "happy." By identifying the word that signals the unexpected, you can see the necessary relationship between the words and quickly eliminate any answers which don't fit the pattern.