GMAT Test Resources

1. Among versus Between

a) Among- Comparison among more than two. ( There was great mutual respect among the Avengers)

b) Between- Comparison between exactly two (There was great camaraderie between Batman and Robin)

2. Account for versus Account to

a) Account for something. (Account for you sins)

b) Account to someone. (Account to the tax department for the evasion)

3. Act as versus Act like

a) ‘To act like’ is a special idiom where it means someone/something is acting like someone/something else. That someone/something has to be something with the consciousness to do the act. 

Ex- The child acts like his father. (Meaning, the child is acting in a way that resembles its father)

Ex- The child acts as his father. (Meaning, the child is acting as a father to someone/something)

Also – The man is acting like a king.(The man is role playing the king..but he is not really the king)

The man is acting as a king.(The man is the king)

b) ‘To act as’ is used when we talk about an action that is not consciously done. For example, inanimate objects such as stones cannot act like someone/something else, but they act as something else.

Ex-The boulders act as a bridge during the rainy season. (Correct)

Ex-The boulders act like a bridge during the rainy season. (Incorrect)

4. Affect versus Effect

a) Most people were not seriously affected by demonetization.(Influence)

b) Demonetization did not have any effect on the normal activities. (Result)

5. Agree to v/s. Agree with: 

a) Agree with is used when a person is agreeing with another person. Agree to is used when a person is agreeing to something inanimate.

I agree to your proposal

I completely agree with you on this one.

6. Amount versus Number

a) Uncountable or difficult to count things (Milk, sand, money, etc). Large amount of money was found in the raid.

b) Countable things/ base units (Notes, coins, people, animals, etc). Large number of 2000 Rupee notes were found in the raid.

7. As versus Like

a) As - Comparison of verb. They work as daily wage labor (do).

b) Like - Comparison of noun. They work like daily wage labors.

a) The AI can reason like an expert.

b) The AI can reason as an expert does.

Incorrect: The AI can reason like an expert does.

8. Agree to v/s. Agree with: 

a) Agree with is used when a person is agreeing with another person. 

b) Agree to is used when a person is agreeing to something inanimate.

e.g. I agree to your proposal

I completely agree with you on this one.

9. Because v/s. In That: 

a) When ETS puts ‘because’ and ‘in that’ in a sentence, more often than not, ‘in that’ would be correct. ‘In that qualifies’ the previous sentence, while ‘because’ is just used to show a simple causal relationship.

10. Because of vs Due to

a) Because of is used to talk about verbs or adjectives. (He was angry because of….)

b) Due to is used to talk about nouns. (His anger was due to….)

See Commonly Confusing Items later in the chapter.

11. Beside versus Besides

a) Beside - By the side

b) Besides - Apart from

12. Both versus Each

a) Use both when focusing on similarities. (Both of them have a common goal)

b) Use each when focusing on dissimilarities. (Each of them has a separate approach).

13. Center on vs. Center around

a) Center on is a more formal way in written English than center around (colloquial).

14. Chief of which v/s. Chief among which:

a) Chief equates to Main or Most important. So we prefer ‘Chief of Which’.

In Chief among, it would imply the 'head of the group'.

15. Consider as vs Consider to be

Considered to be is taken as standard and not considered as. 

Alex is considered to be a good singer.

(Alex is thought of as good singer)-------> Correct meaning

Alex is considered as a good singer.

(Alex is considered the same as a good singer)---> Incorrect usage and meaning

In GMAT, use ‘Considered’ only.

You could use: Alex is considered a good singer.

16. Compared to versus Compared with (Not same as Contrast to/contrast with)

a) Compared to is used when the objective is to point to similarities between objects being compared. (Messi has been compared to Maradona many times)

b) Compared with is used when the objective is to point out the difference between the objects being compared. (Ronaldo has been compared with Messi so often)

17. Correspond to versus with

a) Correspond to means "in agreement with": The penalty does not correspond to the severity of the crime.

b) Correspond with means "to exchange letters": He corresponded with many of the top European leaders of his time.

18. Credited with vs Credited for

a) I am credited with the bestseller, Honour of the Knights. (Here CREDITED is used as a verb. Meaning: I received the Honour of the Knights)

b) I am credited for the bestseller, Honour of the Knights. (Doesn’t mean anything)

c) The judge credited the witness with show of remarkable bravery under duress. (Correct)

d) The judge credited the witness for show of remarkable bravery under duress. (Incorrect usage)

e) The judge gave credit to the witness for show of remarkable bravery under duress.(Correct, here CREDIT is used as a noun)

f) I got credit for the bestseller, Honour of the knights. (Here CREDIT is used as a noun)

g) I have been receiving credits for your work. (Credit as noun)

h) The amount was credited to your account. (CREDITED TO is used when we are talking of money or something related to financial things).

19. Different from versus Different than

a)  The preferred form is different from. Only in rare cases is different than acceptable. 

20. Doubt that vs. Doubt Whether

a) Doubt whether is nonstandard.

b) (Incorrect) I doubt whether his new design will work.

c) (Correct) I doubt that his new design will work.

21. Each other versus one another

a) Each other is used to refer to two things, and one another is used for more than two things.

b) Those two witnesses’ testimonies contradict each other.

c) Those three witnesses’ testimonies contradict one another.

22. Farther vs Further

a) Use farther when referring to actual or physical distance; use further when referring to extent or metaphorical distance. 

b) He went no further (extent) than texting his feelings to her. 

c) Neil Armstrong went farther (distance) than any man had.

23. Fewer versus Less

a) Fewer is for comparison between countable things.

b) Less is for comparison between uncountable things. (Money, population, distance (miles), volume, weight, etc)

c) NOTE: I have less than two hundred dollars. ( I have less than $200/- of money with me) VS

I have fewer than two hundred dollar notes. (I have fewer than 200 number of dollar notes)

24. For vs. Since

a) For is used when we mention to time: He has been batting for 3 hours.

b) Since is used to convey from when: He has been batting since 2 pm.

c) Incorrect: He has been playing since 2 hours.

25. If versus Whether

a) If: When there is a condition: I will do it if he comes

b) Whether: No conditions: I will do it whether he comes or not.

c) Use whether when you have two discrete choices or mean "regardless of whether," and use ‘If’ for conditional sentences.

d) If and whether may be interchangeable: I am not sure if/whether he will win the race. (Two discrete outcomes-win/loss- here. Go with whether instead of if when there are no conditions)

26. “Instead Of” VS “Rather Than”

X instead of Y

X rather than Y 

a) Common logic:

"Rather" is a word indicating a preference or choice.

"Instead of" started as a more specific "in stead of" (in place of)

Except where ‘prefer’ is explicit: I prefer starting early rather than leaving things to the last minute.

b) GMAT logic:

- 'Instead of' compares two nouns because 'of' is a preposition and its object should be a noun

- 'Rather than' can compare nouns or verbs.

- Instead of can sometimes indicate getting something other than expected: I got a fake note instead of a real one from the ATM.

· He ordered the warm soup instead of a freshly made hot soup. CORRECT

· He ordered the warm soup rather than wait for a freshly made hot soup. CORRECT

· He is boiling the pasta instead of cooking the meat. (Incorrect - Here cooking is not a noun, but a verb)

· He is boiling the pasta rather than cooking the meat. (He is boiling the pasta vs He is not cooking the meat)

· He would like to have tea instead of coffee.

· Instead of buying Tech stocks, people seem to be more interested in investing in fixed deposit schemes. (CORRECT- Here ‘buying’ is a Noun-Gerund-Verb-ing. Eg- I don’t know who is eating, but I am buying).

27. Like vs Such as

a) Like is used when comparing two similar things/nouns.

b) ‘Such as’ is used wrt examples.

28. On account of vs. Because

a) The use of ‘because’ is usually preferred to the use of ‘on account of’.

b) Use ‘on account of’ if the sentence starts with it.

29. Plus vs. And

a) ‘And’ is used as a conjunction, but ‘Plus’ cannot be used like that.

b) His bravery and wit have smitten many a princess.

c) His bravery plus his wit has smitten many a princess.

30. Regard vs. Regards

a) Unless you are giving best wishes to someone, you should use regard. 

b) (Incorrect) In regards to your letter, we would be interested in distributing your product. 

c) (Correct) In regard to your letter, we would be interested in distributing your product.

31. Speak to versus with

a) Speak to: Basically like informing someone.

b) Speak with: Basically have a discussion.

32. That versus Which

a) That: Restrictive- The tallest metal tower that is in Paris is a tourist attraction.

b) Which: Non Restrictive: Eiffel Tower, which is in Paris, is a tourist attraction.

If removing the bold portion does not change the meaning: use WHICH

c) My house that is in Tampa, is a great purchase. ( It means I have many houses an one of them is in Tampa)

d) My house, which is in Tampa, is a great purchase. ( It means I have one house only and that is in Tampa)

e) When confused, use ‘which’. It is generally more acceptable a replacement for ‘that’ and not vice-versa.

33. Twice Versus Double

a) Twice is used for comparison. (He is twice as old as his brother)

b) Double is used as a verb. (He could double the returns in a year)

34. Whether vs. As to whether

a) Use whether and not ‘as to whether’.

b) (Weak) My dad has not decided as to whether to keep the puppies.

c) (Better) My dad has not decided whether to keep the puppies.