Sentence Completions

Link of the Day

ninjawords.com is an easy-to-use online dictionary with simple, common-language definitions. It displays the last several words you have looked up, making reference easy, and it includes audio recordings of each word so you can hear how it is pronounced. Best of all, it is fast because it isn't bogged down by advertisements. It does occasionally give circular definitions, ("riskless: free of risk; safe.") but since the definitions include links to look up other words, even the circular definitions are easy to decipher.

4/4 Sentence Completions

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

On the SAT, the Sentence Completion instructions are somewhat different and considerably longer. However, they say basically the same thing: find the word or words that fit best in the sentence. They will never suggest that you avoid looking at the answer choices until you finish analyzing the sentence, but always remember to do that or you will waste time looking back and forth or re-thinking the sentence. 

The architect wanted to ------ his own initial vision and design but recognized the importance of ------ requests from his client; in the end, he had to make several concessions.

Always start with the easy blank first--and remember that the easy blank is not always the first blank. The final clause of the sentence states that "he had to make several concessions," suggesting that the second blank relates to adapting or adjusting his plans to fit the client's needs. Look at the answer choices to eliminate options that do not fit.

A) maintain . . accommodating
B) develop . . submitting
C) protect . . excluding
D) refuse . . incorporating
E) preserve . . disregarding

Both "accommodating" and "incorporating" indicate that the architect is changing his plans to fit those of his client. Eliminate C and E because no architect should "exclude" or "disregard" the priorities of his client--that's one of the best ways to lose a client. Eliminate B as well because it is unclear where or why the architect would be "submitting" his client's requests. 

The architect wanted to ------ his own initial vision and design but recognized the importance of incorporating or accommodating requests from his client; in the end, he had to make several concessions.

Now focus on the first blank. The word "but" indicates that this blank is the opposite of something else in the sentence. The opposite of incorporating or accommodating a client's requests would be refusing them or, in the architect's view, staying true to his original design. Of the remaining words, look for one that means keeping the original idea rather than shifting to something new.

A) maintain . . accommodating

B) develop . . submitting

C) protect . . excluding

D) refuse . . incorporating

E) preserve . . disregarding

The architect would not want to refuse his original vision and design; he would want to maintain and preserve it. The answer is B.

Words tested in this SC
maintain: to keep or preserve
accommodate: to reconcile, to bring into agreement or harmony
develop: to change with a specific direction, to progress
submit: to yield or give way to another; to enter or put forward for approval
protect: to keep safe, defend, or guard
exclude:
refuse:
incorporate:
preserve:
disregard:

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