Erika here with PrepScholar GMAT one of the most devastating mistakes test
takers make on the sentence correction section is confusing one idiom for
another today we'll go over eight of the most common GMAT idiom mix-ups and how
you can avoid them on test day as always if you like this video you can hit the
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great GMAT content links are in the description
all right mix up number one such as vs. like in casual speech many people use
such as and like interchangeably before giving a list of examples however on the
GMAT only such as is used to introduce examples while like is used to create a
comparison so I enjoy vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower means broccoli
and cauliflower are two vegetables that I enjoy while I enjoy vegetables like
broccoli and cauliflower means I enjoy vegetables similar to broccoli and
cauliflower two totally different meanings mix up number two like vs. as
we know from the last mix up that like is used for comparison as is another
word used for comparison however like is only used to compare nouns while as is
used to compare of verbs so we would say cats like dogs sometimes play fetch
because we are comparing nouns cats and dogs but we would say cats sometimes
play fetch as dogs do because we are comparing verbs play fetch and do mix up
number three due to vs. because of like mix up number two this is about nouns
vs. verbs due to only goes with nouns while because of only goes with verbs so
we would say my high GMAT score is due to careful study because due to modifies
noun score but we would say my GMAT score is high because of careful study
because because of modifies is trick for this one replace due to or because of
with caused by if it makes sense we should use due to
if it doesn't we should use because of so my high GMAT score is caused by a
careful study makes sense so we should use due to on the other hand my GMAT
score is high caused by careful study doesn't make sense so we should use
because of mix-up number four whether versus if like such as and like whether
and if are often used interchangeably in conversation to introduce alternatives I
am not sure whether the oven is off and I am not sure if the oven is off mean
the same thing to most people however only the first works on the GMAT while
whether is used to introduce alternatives if is only used to indicate
a conditional I will turn the oven off if it is on me turning the oven off
depends on the condition of the oven being on so on the GMAT the sentence I
am not sure if the oven is off means that not being sure depends on the
condition of the oven being off so if the oven is off then I am Not sure this
doesn't make sense and would be wrong on the GMAT mix up number 5 less versus
fewer this one you're more likely to have heard before but it still catches
students on the GMAT less and fewer both compare amount but less compares
uncountable nouns while fewer compares countable nouns so we say we have less clothing
but fewer clothing items less money but fewer dollars mix up number 6 more
versus greater this mix up is similar to the last more is used for both countable
and uncountable nouns greater is used for nouns that are numbers so we have
more clothing more clothing items but a greater number of clothing items more
money more dollars but a greater sum of money mix up number 7
among versus between another set of idioms related to amount among and
between mean the same thing but among applies to groups of three or more while
between applies to groups of two only so if I had one brother I would say my
brother and I divided the cookies between ourselves but since I have two
brothers I would instead say my brothers and I
divided the cookies among ourselves mix up number 8 I and me versus myself you
might already know that I is always used as a subject while me is an object I
bought a movie ticket for my friend while my friend bought a movie ticket
for me but you may not know that myself is also used as an object but only when
referring to something you do to yourself
so I bought a movie ticket for myself this rule is especially important
because it applies to other sets of pronouns
she her herself he him himself they them themselves etc a lot of test takers fall
for self pronouns because they sound fancy but they are very often used
incorrectly and those are the eight most common idiom mix-ups on the GMAT if you
have any questions what we talked about today or suggestions for future videos
please leave us a comment below thanks for watching and happy GMAT studies