Frequently used IDIOM's in GMAT

Idiom	Example
A debate over	A debate over the election results ensued.
A means to	This job is only a means to an end for him.
A responsibility to	The teacher has a responsibility to keep the children safe.
A result of	The consequence is a result of your behavior.
Ability to	He doesn't have the ability to make better choices right now.
Act as	While Dr. Martinez was at a conference, Dr. Johnson acted as the interim head surgeon.
Act like	Stop acting like a child.
Agree on	The team agreed on a solution.
Agree to	When the police arrived, he agreed to a search.
Agree with	He agreed with the sergeant's findings.
Aid in	The village needed aid in harvesting the season's crops.
Allow for	My work schedule doesn't allow for many breaks.
Appeal to	The contract appealed to my sense of order.
Are in danger of	If Maria doesn't pass the class, she is in danger of being placed on academic probation.
As/as	I am as successful as he is.
Ask for	My committee asked for my dissertation paperwork.
Associate with	I associate the smell of cinnamon with the holiday season.
Attend to (someone)	He attended to his sick wife.
Attribute x to y/x is attributed to y	He attributes his depression to a death in the family.
	Type 2 diabetes is sometimes attributed to obesity.
Base on	We based our conclusions on the results of three peer-reviewed studies.
Believe x to be y	The judge did not believe the evidence to be sufficient.
Between…and	For her major, she has to choose between biology and chemistry.
Both x and y	Both my advisor and my professor will be at the meeting.
Centers on	The discussion centered on the film that we watched together.
Composed of	The organization is composed of elected officials.
Concerned with	Jason doesn't concern himself with this matter.
Conform to	He refuses to conform to social norms.
Consider x y (no "to be")	RIGHT: I consider Mark my friend.
	WRONG: I consider Mark to be my friend.
Contend with	My love for my daughter doesn't content with my love for my son.
Created with	The playwright wrote the play with the help of community members.
Credit to	I credit my success to my mentors.
Decide on	It's difficult to decide on a course schedule when there are so many classes available.
Delighted to	He told us that he would be delighted to assist us.
Depends on whether x	The success of the contract depends on whether we are able to compromise or not.
Depicted as	In the media, she was depicted as a villain.
Different from	He is very different from his siblings.
Disclose to	He disclosed his complicated history to the counselor.
Distinguish x from y	It's sometimes difficult to distinguish temporary grief from clinical depression.
Distinguish between x and y	Toddlers start to learn to distinguish between right and wrong.
Doubt that	I doubt that he'll actually call back today.
Dwindle away	We watched as our time dwindled away to nothing.
Either/or, neither/nor	Either Dr. Smith or Dr. Cortes will lead the discussion.
	Neither an apology nor a letter will be sufficient.
Elect as	She was elected as the club's vice president.
Elect to	The voters elected him to office.
Enable to	My health insurance enables me to choose the proper specialist.
Essential to	Water is essential to life.
Estimate to be	The average lifespan of a black lab is estimated to be 14 years.
Fascinated by	My daughter was fascinated by the butterfly garden.
Further (for degree); Farther (for distance)	She ran farther than I did.
	We tried to contain the spill to avoid further destruction.
In contrast to	In contrast to her earlier self, Mary is now outgoing and exuberant.
In contrast with x, y	In contrast with Annie, David waits until the last minute to start writing his papers.
In the (morning, afternoon, evening)	The plane is leaving in the morning.
Independent from	Teenagers want to be independent from their parents.
Independent of	That's my personal opinion, independent of any media influence.
Indicate that	The results indicated that our hypothesis was correct.
Indicate to	My boss indicated to me that he was displeased.
Indifferent towards	No matter how hard I try, I can't be indifferent towards her.
Invest in	They were both invested in the relationship, so they got married.
Invest with	The judge is invested with the authority to approve of the will.
Just as…so too	Just as exercise can lead to weight loss, so too can a healthy diet.
Modeled after	We modeled the curriculum after Montessori educational materials.
Native of	She is a native of Spain.
Native to	This animal is native to Australia.
Necessary to	CPS deemed it necessary to remove the child from the home.
Not only/but also	The exam is not only difficult but is also lengthy.
Not so much/as	I was not sleepy so much as exasperated.
Originate from	The ritual originates from an ancient Nordic tradition.
Originate in	The cancer originated in her lungs.
Originate with	The idea originated with my brainstorming group.
Potential to	Though he is struggling, he has the potential to improve.
Prefer x to y	I prefer classic literature to contemporary works.
Prohibit x from y	The school cannot prohibit the student from writing a controversial paper.
Range from x to y	The kids range in age from 10 to 17.
Refer to	I was referred to a specialist after my appointment.
Regard as	We regard him as part of the family.
Require that x be y	The group requires that participants be attentive.
Required from	Our HR department doesn't require that documentation from employees.
Required to	He is required to submit to a drug test as a condition of his parole.
Responsible for	He is not responsible for the child's welfare.
Resulting in	Our collective stress ultimately resulted in a family fight.
Rival in	The massive tome rivaled War and Peace in length.
Sacrifice for	Don't sacrifice your personal life for your career.
Sacrifice to	I sacrificed a great deal of time and energy to that demanding job.
Sequence of	The sequence of events that unfolded shocked all of us.
So x as to be y	He was so quiet as to be nearly unintelligible.
So x that y	It was so cold that school was cancelled.
Speak about	We need to speak about the incident.
Speak from	I speak from experience when I say that you should hire an attorney when filing a claim.
Subscribe to	I don't subscribe to that theory.
Targeted…at	All of our criticism was targeted at the committee head.
To sacrifice x for y	We weren't willing to sacrifice family time for church.
Unlike x, y	Unlike the flu, allergies are not contagious.
X expected to y	Taxes for the rich are expected to decrease next season