GMAT - Verbal Sample Questions
Question #9
9a. Explain why the following sentence might be considered incorrect and rewrite the sentence so it is correct: Jeff and I go to musicals all the time and we "loved" them.
9b. There are actually two problems with this particular sentence and both of the problems have to do with the word "loved." First, the beginning of the sentence is describing an activity that has been going on for some length of time and is still going on now. However, the word "loved" in the second part of the sentence suggests something that had been going on, but has now ended. Since these two clauses are in different tenses, the sentence does not actually make sense. The second problem is that the word "loved" is in quotations, which suggests that there is a sarcastic undertone to the word that is probably unintended. If "Jeff and I go to musicals all the time" then it is probably safe to assume that they actually like going. If special emphasis on the word "love" is desired, it should be italicized rather than placed in quotations. As a result, the correct sentence should be "Jeff and I go to musicals all the time and we love them."