Hey all! I see that you are prepping for GMAT. Anyway, I too have given my share of entrance tests and struggled with words, idioms and the like. Luckily, I was a convent school girl, and hence verbal ability was something that developed steadily through 12 years of schooling! But, anyway for those who are pretty new to analyzing grammatical aspects of the sentence, please be sure to UNDERSTAND the rules thoroughly. It may seem impossible to know all the grammar rules, but trust me, once you start understanding the application, it gets much better and easier. So, hang in there!