GMAT Idiom List

a debate over a lot a responsibility to a result of a sequence of agree with as an instance of as good as/or better than as great as as good as...or better than as much as attend to (someone) attribute X to Y/X is attributed to Y based on believe X to be Y both X and Y centers on concerned with conform to created with defined as depends on whether depicted as different from/differ from distinguishes between X and Y distinguish from doubt that either...or enable to fascinated by forbid X to do Y identical with in contrast to independent from indifferent towards modeled after
(no) more...than/(no) less...than more than ever neither...nor not only...but also not so much...as prohibits X from doing Y potential to range from X to Y regard as regardless responsible for resulting in retroactive to so X as to be Y so (adjective) that subscribe to such...as the same to X as to Y to contrast X with Y to mistake X for Y to result in to sacrifice X for Y

|A | |
|able + infinitive |Tom is able to play the guitar with his toes. |
|access to |Steve never has access to his dad's bank account. |
|as |Tom acts as a scout for GQ here in South America. |
|agree on + noun |We agreed on the plan. |
|agree on + gerund |We agreed on going to town. |
|agree to |We agreed to go away. |
|aid + person/thing |The magnifying glass aided his search. |
|allows for |Your schedule does not allow for much time. |
|appeal to |He wants to appeal to my good sense. |
|*as....as |She is as tired as I am. |
|ask + infinitive |He asked to go home. |
|ask + person + infinitive |He asked me to go home. |
|*associate with |We never associate with Steve – he is far too tacky! |
|*attribute to |His tackiness can be attributed to too many comic books as a child. |
| | |
|B | |
|*base on |I think that the movie Star Wars is based on a true story. |
|begin + infinitive |It soon began to rain. |
|boom in |There was a boom in the sale of yellow polka-dot bikinis as soon as Natalia Paris tried one on. |
| |The Avro Arrow was built by proud Canadians. |
|built by | |
| | |
|C |Who cares about that? |
|care about |I don't care for your tone. |
|care for |The story centers on the struggle for meaning in a chaotic universe. |
|centers on + person/thing |I do it because I choose to do it. |
|choose + infinitive |The atom is composed of various parts. |
|to be + composed of + thing |Your story is not consistent with Joel's story. |
|consistent with |Joel contends that you are lying. |
|contend that |I consider you a friend. |
|*consider + person/thing |If you continue to do that we will not be friends. |
|continue + infinitive |If you contrast Bill with you Bob, you find.... |
|contrast A with B |The new device will convert matter to energy. |
|convert to |Caliban is compared to a beast in Shakespeare's The Tempest. |
|*compare A to B |(compare to stresses similarities). |
| |Compared with you, I cannot sing well at all. |
|*compare A with B |(compare with stresses differences). |
| |I count on you for the correct answers. |
|*count on + person/thing |Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas. |
|to credit with |I have to give you credit for working so hard. |
|give credit for | |
| | |
|D |The robber was in danger of being captured. |
|are in danger of + gerund |We decided to leave the party early. |
|decide + infinitive |We decided on the all-meat pizza. |
|decide on + thing/person |Steve was delighted by the new findings. |
|delighted by |Steve depends on Joel for financial support. |
|depend on |Canadians are very different from Americans. |
|*different from |Steve finds it difficult to dance to Latin music. |
|difficult + infinitive |Joel decided to disclose to the world the truth about Steve's crazy ideas. |
|disclose to + person/organization |I want to distinguish between London and Paris. |
|*distinguish between X and Y |If you distinguish London from Paris.... |
|*distinguish X from Y |Unlike Felix, Steve can draw on funds from Joel's bank account. |
|draw on (take out) |The tattoo artist drew a lovely flower on Joel's left bicep. |
|draw + thing |Women are drawn to Steve's bulging muscles. |
|to be drawn to + thing/person |Natalia Paris often dreams about Steve. |
|*dream of/about |Mr. Bolton's bank account dwindled from one thousand dollars to less than half that in less than a |
|dwindle from |week. |
| | |
|E |It's easy to see why Mark is so popular. |
|easy to |Mark will be elected to the Congress in 2016. |
|elect to |We elected Steve as our office "gopher". |
|elect + person |The snail emerges from its shell. |
|emerges from |My job enables me to travel. |
|*enable + person + infinitive |We encouraged him to paint. |
|*encourage + person + infinitive |Steve wishes to escape from grinding poverty. |
|escape from |Coffee is essential to me, especially in the morning. |
|to be + essential to + person/thing | |
|except for + person/thing |Everyone is here except for the teacher. |
|except for + gerund |Except for being handsome, he wasn't very special. |
|explain to |Juan explained to Steve the difference between salsa and merengue. |
|expose to |Steve is exposed to intense ridicule every day of his life. |
| | |
|F | |
|fail to |We fail to see the humor in these sentences. |
|flee from |Steve fled from their sharp criticisms. |
|*forbid to |We forbid you to go. |
|force + thing/person + infinitive |This mishap forces me to plan ahead. |
|focus on + thing/person |I want to focus on our mutual problem. |
| | |
|G | |
|get credit for/give credit for |I have to give you credit for your good work. |
|grow from |Joel predicts that Test Tutor will grow from a small company to a major multinational within five |
| |years. |
|grow out of |Steve grew out of his overalls just last year. |
| | |
|H | |
|help + thing/person + infinitive |Music helps me to think. |
| | |
|I | |
|indicate that |Studies indicate that people with gray hair are smarter than the majority. |
| |Steve's constant worrying over his gray hair indicates to me a serious self-esteem problem. |
|indicate to + person |Steve inherits his gray hair from his mother's family. |
| |Steve should invest in hair dye. |
|inherit from | |
|invest in | |
| |Lack of exercise leads to obesity. |
|L |The pain is localized in my left foot. |
|leads to | |
|localized in | |
| |You've managed to screw this up again, Steve. |
|M |Chocolate makes me think of Switzerland. |
|Manage to | |
|*make + thing/person + verb (simple form) |I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else. |
|*mistake + thing/person + for | |
| | |
|N |Penguins are native to the Antarctic. |
|*native to |Steve is a native of Canada. |
|*a native of |Steve needs to think of some better sentences. |
|need to |It is necessary to be creative. |
|to be + necessary + infinitive | |
| | |
|O |Liberalism, as we know it, originated in 17th century England. |
|Originate in | |
| | |
|P |Money permits us to live a comfortable life. |
|*permit+thing/person+infinitive |Stephen is prized as a teacher in Bogota. |
|prized as |Stephen is prized for his ability to dance the salsa. |
|prized for |In school, we were prohibited from fighting. |
|*prohibit from + gerund |The promise of success drove us to the mountain's peak. |
|promise of + thing |I promise to tell the truth more often – I swear. |
|promise to |Joel's first novel Love and the GMAT is published by ETS. |
|published by |Steve's first novel will be published in March. |
|published in | |
| | |
|R |His clients range from multinationals to the smallest businesses. |
|*range from X to Y |I wish to refer to the latest work by Foucault.... |
|refer to |She is regarded as an expert. |
|*regard as |My work requires me to travel. |
|require+thing/person+infinitive |Steve resembles a young Charles Atlas. |
|resemble + thing/person |Rough play often results in injuries. |
|results in |Injuries often result from rough play. |
|results from |The rivalry between Joel and Enrique Iglesias is legendary. |
|rivalry between X and Y |The rivals Enrique and Joel quarreled often. |
|*the rivals X and Y | |
| | |
|S |Save for that inconvenience, the trip was a success. |
|Save for |They saved me from another boring party. |
|save from |He seeks to save your soul. |
|seek + infinitive |I seek the truth. |
|seek + thing/person |You seem to be sleepy today. |
|seem + infinitive |I can sleep with whoever I want! |
|sleep with |I spoke to my secretary about the report I wanted. |
|speak to + person |I spoke with my colleague about the upcoming report. |
|speak with + person | |
| | |
|T |Steve loves to take advantage of those around him. |
|Take advantage of |She taught Jim to dance. |
|teach + person + infinitive |She taught Jim the lambada. |
|teach + person + thing |She told him that he was a terrible dancer. |
|tell + person |The rope is tied to the chair. |
|tie to |We transmitted the e-mail to him. |
|transmit to | |
| | |
|U |I use a light to read. |
|Use + person/thing + infinitive |Years ago, he used to walk every day to work. |
|used + infinitive |He is used to walking to work. |
|to be + used to + gerund | |
| | |
|W |Fortunately, he was willing to help us. |
|to be + willing + infinitive | |

GMAT idioms

|Differ from |X is related to Y(not X is in realtion to Y) |
|Regard as(to be regarded as) |Discourage from |
|“Consider” never takes “to be” on the GMAT? |Like to be at? |
|dispute whether(not”if”) |Respond to |
|They do not know X or Y(not “nor”) |Be encouraged by |
|Do something at the urging of somebody |Require that something be (not “are/is”) |
|To be under pressure to |Request that |
|Just as,,,,,so |The body did as he was told(not”like”) |
|Forbid to : prohibit from |As far/long as |
|So,,,,,as to –so large as to equal |For millenium( not “during” millenium) |
|To have potential to |As much with X as with Y |
|So as not to be hindered by |Enough that |
|Insist that |Need for |
|Capable of |Which compiled with standards |
|Not so much ,,, as |A debate over |As good as, or better than |
|Defined as |A responsibility to |Attribute to |
|Regard as |Responsible for |Credited with |
|Modeled after |A consequence of |Different from |
|Based on |So ,,,, as to be |Depicted as |
|A result of |So (adjective)that |To result in |