GMAT Verbal
Past Questions

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**The reasoning** Reading comprehension passages in standardized exams like JAMB, WAEC, and NECO follow a consistent format designed to test your understanding within a reasonable time frame. These passages are carefully crafted to be **200-350 words** — long enough to contain meaningful ideas, arguments, or narratives, but short enough that you can read and analyze them within the exam's time constraints. This length allows examiners to include enough detail for questions about main ideas, supporting details, inferences, and vocabulary in context. It's the "Goldilocks zone" — not too short, not too long, just right for assessment. **Why the wrong options tempt you** **A (Under 50 words)** — Too brief to develop ideas or test deep comprehension. That's more like a single paragraph or notice. **C (10 pages)** — Unrealistic for timed exams. You'd spend the entire session just reading! Exam boards need standardization. **D (Audio only)** — This describes listening comprehension, not *reading* comprehension. The question specifically asks about reading passages. **Quick takeaway** Reading comprehension passages in Nigerian exams are consistently **200-350 words** — substantial enough to test your understanding, but manageable within exam time limits.

AI Explanation

**The reasoning** This tests **subject-verb agreement with collective expressions**. The phrase "the number of" is the key here. Though "students" is plural, it's not the actual subject — "number" is. Look at the structure: "The **number** (of students) ___ growing." "Number" is a singular noun, so it takes a singular verb. Therefore: "The number... **is** growing." Compare this with "A number of students **are** coming" — here "a number of" means "several/many," making the verb plural. But "**the** number" refers to a specific amount, which is singular. **Why the wrong options tempt you** - **A) are** — You're thinking "students are," focusing on the plural noun nearby instead of the actual subject "number." - **C) be** — This isn't conjugated; you need a proper present tense verb. - **D) were** — Wrong tense (past) and wrong number (plural). Double trap! **Quick takeaway** "**The** number of [plural noun]" always takes **is/was** (singular); "**A** number of [plural noun]" takes **are/were** (plural). The word before "number" decides everything!

AI Explanation

**The reasoning** The key principle here is **pronoun case after prepositions**. Words like "between," "with," "for," "to," and "from" are prepositions, and they must be followed by **object pronouns**, not subject pronouns. Subject pronouns: I, we, he, she, they Object pronouns: me, us, him, her, them Since "between" is a preposition, you need the object form. So it's "between you and **me**" — not "between you and I." A simple test: Remove the other person. You'd say "between me" not "between I," right? Same logic applies when you add someone else. **Why the wrong options tempt you** - **A (between you and I)**: This sounds "polite" or "proper" to many people, but it's grammatically wrong. "I" is a subject pronoun; after "between," you need "me." - **C (between we)**: "We" is also a subject pronoun. Sounds obviously wrong when isolated. - **D (between us and they)**: "They" is subject form; should be "us and them." **Quick takeaway** After prepositions like "between," always use object pronouns: me, us, him, her, them — never I, we, he, she, they.

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GMAT Verbal — 36 questions in 65 minutes covering Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction.

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Parallel structure: items in a list/comparison must share grammatical form (e.g. all gerunds, all infinitives).

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All three must match — reading, writing, swimming (gerunds).

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'Team' is a collective singular subject — 'is' is correct in American English (GMAT standard).

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An assumption is an unstated belief required for the conclusion to follow from the premises.

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Strengthen questions identify the choice that supports the argument's conclusion.

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Weaken questions identify the choice that undermines the argument's conclusion.

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Comparative: tall → taller. 'More taller' is double comparison (incorrect). 'Taller than' is correct.

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GMAT tests dangling modifiers. 'Running' should modify John, not the squirrel. Correct: 'Running through the park, John spotted the squirrel.'

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Standard American English (GMAT): 'different from'. 'Different than' is informal; 'different to' is British.

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'The reason that he left' or just 'The reason he left'. 'The reason why' is redundant on GMAT.

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Correlative conjunction: 'neither...nor' (and 'either...or').

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GMAT-acceptable idiom: 'distinguish between X and Y' or 'distinguish X from Y'.