Lesson: Sentence Completion - 07

Check for Idiom, Usage, and Grammatical Context

Sentence Completions cover not just overall sentence sense, but also the following three concepts: Challenging Sentence Completions often call for close judgments calls based on usage, idiom, or grammatical context. Pay close attention to whether the word(s) used are a proper way to convey the idea. Here’s a good example:

Example

Solved Example

Explaination

In the sentence, the word “mere” is very important. It suggests a risk that the historian’s role might be reduced. To grant someone “license” is to allow them leeway or freedom; hence, not doing so would be to limit their freedom in some way.
We should complete the sentence with a word that conveys this idea. Of the five choices, only demote and diminish serve the purpose. However, saying that a person’s role is demoted uses the word improperly. (It is the person himself, not his or her role, that is demoted.) On the other hand, describing someone’s role as diminished uses the that word properly. The correct answer is (E).
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