Complete SAT Grammar Rules

5/8/2014 Complete SAT Grammar Rules
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CompleteSATGrammarRules
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PleasenotethatthefollowingruleshavebeenderivedfromanextensivestudyofnumerousCollegeBoardtests,notjust
theonesintheBlueBook.Someofthemmaythereforebedifficulttoapplyifyouareusingacommerciallyproduced
prepbook(e.g.Kaplan,PrincetonReview)whosetestsaredesignedasapproximationsoftherealthingandsometimes
donotcontainerrorsinexactlythesameformatasthosecreatedbytheCollegeBoard.Icanguarantee,however,that
thefollowingrepresentsasummaryofvirtuallyeverytypeoferrorthatappearsontheactualWritingsectionoftheSAT.
Ifyou'dlikemoreindepthexplanationsoftheserules,alongwithextensiveexercises,pleaseconsiderorderingacopy
ofTheUltimateGuidetoSATGrammar.
ErrorIdentificationCategories
1)SubjectVerbAgreement
2)VerbTense
3)PronounCase
4)AntecedentPronoun(PronounAgreement)
5)Adjectivevs.Adverb
6)Parallelism
7)Prepositions
8)FaultyComparisons
9)Comparativesvs.Superlatives
10)Doublenegatives/Doublepositives
11)WordPairs
12)NounAgreement
13)RelativePronouns
14)CoordinatingConjunctions
15)Usage
16)Redundancy
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Note:whileotherkindsoferrors(e.g.misplacedmodifiers)mayoccasionallyappear,theyareextremelyrareandare
thereforenotcoveredhere.Althoughyoucanexpecttofinderrorsfromanumberofcategoriesincludedineach
section,thefirstfourcategories(VerbandPronounErrors)generallyappearmostfrequently.Itistherefore
recommendedthatyoutakesometimetofamiliarizeyourselfwiththekindsofsentencestructuresinwhichtheyappear.
Theremainingcategoriesarelistedinapproximateorderfrequency.
Intheexamplesbelow,thecorrectanswersaregiveninparentheses.
AlthoughsomeoftheexamplesbelowaretakenfromCollegeBoardcreatedquestions,themajorityaresimplified
versionsintendedtoillustrateparticulargrammaticalprinciples.
1)SubjectVerbAgreement
A.SubjectNonessentialclauseVerb
Ex:Galaxies,farfrombeingrandomlyscatteredthroughoutthegalaxy,appears(appear)tobedistributedinbubble
shapedpatterns.
Wheneveryouencounteraparentheticalclause(aclausesetoffbycommasthatcanberemovedwithoutaffectingthe
fundamentalmeaningofthesentence),crossitoutandchecksubjectverbagreement
B.SubjectPrepositionalphraseVerb
Aprepositionalphraseis,quitesimply,aphrasethatbeginswithapreposition(in,on,over,from,to,of,with,etc.).
Veryoftenthesewillbeinsertedbetweensubjectsandverbstodistractfromsubjectverbdisagreements.Prepositional
phrasesalwaysendwhenyougettotheverb.
Ex:Changesinthebalanceoftradeseems(seem)remotefromeverydayconcerns,buttheycandrasticallyaffecthow
wespendourmoney.
Ifyoudontseeanerrorthefirsttimeyoureadasentence,trycrossingoutprepositionalphrasesandcheckingfor
subjectverbagreement("Changes...seemsremotefromeverydayconcerns..."ismucheasiertospot).
C.PrepositionalPhraseVerbSubject
Ex:AlongtheLoupCanalinNebraskaextends(extend)manylakes,parks,andtrailsownedandoperatedbythe
Louppowerdistrict.
Whenaprepositionalphraseisplacedfirst,makesureyouidentifythecompletesubject:veryoftencompoundsubjects
(twosingularnounsjoinedby"and")willbeusedinthisconstruction,whichoftenappearsattheendoftheError
Identificationsection.Insuchcases,asingularverbwillincorrectlyreplaceapluralverb.
Ex:AlongtheLoupCanalinNebraskaextends(extend)aparkandlakeownedanoperatedbytheLouppower
district.
D.Thereis/Thereare,Therehas/Therehave
Thereis/has=Singularnoun
Thereare/have=Pluralnoun
Ex:Therehas(have)beenmanyquestionsraisedaboutthehandlingofthecompanysfinances.
E.Neither/Nor+Verb
Theverbalwaysagreeswiththenounafter"nor."
Ex:Neithertheparknorthelakeare(is)ownedbythecity.
Since"lake,"thenounafter"nor,"issingular,theverbissingularaswell.
OntheSAT,singularnounsconnectedbyneither/norareonlyincorrectlypairedwithpluralverbspluralnouns
connectedbyneither/norarenottested.
Important:
CollectiveNouns(e.g.company,school,city,country,committee,jury,agencyetc.)=Singular.
Each,Every,One=Singular
Anumber(of)=PluralBUTThenumber=Singular
(N)eitheroneORwhether(n)eitherclearlyreferstotwosingularnouns=Singular
Gerundswhenusedassubjects(e.g.Constructingnewskyscrapersoftentakesmanymonths)=Singular.
Whatandwhetherassubjects(e.g."Whetherdogsarecapableofexperiencingcomplexemotionsisasubjectof
muchdebateamongexperts.")botharesingular.
2)VerbTense
Theinclusionofadateortimeperiodinasentenceusuallyindicatesatensequestion.Ifnotenseerror
appears,theanswerislikelytobe"noerror."
A.TenseConsistency
Sentencesthatstartinthepastshouldgenerallystayinthepastsentencesthatstartinthepresentshouldgenerallystay
inthepresent.
Ex:SinceseriousdramaunaccompaniedbymusicwasforbiddeninallbuttwoLondontheatresduringtheeighteenth
century,Queenstheatrequicklybecoming(became)anoperahouse.
B.PresentPerfectvs.SimplePast
Thesequestionsarealmostalwaysrecognizablebytheinclusionofadateoratimeperiodinthesentence.Any
sentencethatincludesadateinthepastormentionsahistoricalperiodshouldalwayscontainaverbintheSimplePast
(e.g.,went,drank,sang),NOTinthePresentPerfect(hasgone,hasdrunk,hassung).
Ex:Duringthenineteenthcentury,CharlesDickenshasbecome(became)oneofthemostfamousBritishnovelists.
However,sentencescontainingsinceandforrequirethepresentperfect(e.g.,Ihavegonetothisschool
since2005Ihavegonetothisschoolforfiveyears).
C.Wouldvs.Will
WillandWouldgetswitchedwithoneanotherif"will"isunderlined,stickin"would"andviceversa
Ex:WilliamShakespeare,whowill(would)becomethegreatestEnglishdramatist,wasbornin1564.
Ingeneral,"would"shouldnotbeusedinasentencewithpresenttenseverbs,and"will"shouldnotbeusedina
sentencewithpasttenseverbs.
DoNOTusewouldorwouldhaveinaclausethatbeginswithif:
Ifhewouldhavearrived(hadarrived)at5pm,Iwouldhavebeenveryhappy.
D.Gerundsvs.Infinitives
GerundsandInfinitivesareswitchedwithoneanother
Infinitivereplacedwithgerund:Thoughshewasoneofthefewwomenofhertimegaining(togain)international
prominence,ClaraBartonwouldnothavedescribedherselfasaproponentofwomen'srights.
Gerundreplacedwithinfinitive:Laryngitiscausesthevocalcordsandsurroundingtissuetoswell,thuspreventingthe
vocalcordstomove(frommoving)freely.
E.PastParticiplevs.SimplePast
Inthesequestions,thesimplepastratherthanthepastparticiplewillbeincorrectlypairedwithaformoftheverbTo
Have.
Ex:Mylittlebrotherhasgrew(grown)twoinchesduringthepastyear.
F.PastPerfect
PastPerfect=Had+PastParticiple(e.g.Ihadseen,Ihadgone,Hehadthrown,etc.)
Whenasentencecontainstwoactionsoreventsthatoccurredinthepast,theactionthatoccurredfirstshouldbeinthe
pastperfect
Thephrasebythetimeisusuallyatipoffthatthepastperfectisrequired.
Ex:Bythetimeitadjourned,thecommitteemade(hadmade)severalimportantdecisions.
Action#1:Thecommitteemadeseveralimportantdecisions
Action#2:Thecommitteeadjourned
G.TheSubjunctive
Thesubjunctiveistestedinfrequentlybutdoesappearfromtimetotime.Itinvolvesexpressionsofsuggestionand
necessity.Themainchangeinthepresentsubjunctivecomesinthethirdpersonsingularformoftheverb:
Indicative(normal):Hearriveshomeat5pm.
Subjunctive:Itisnecessarythathearrivehomeat5pm.
Thepastsubjunctiveinvolveshypotheticalcircumstancesitincludestheverbwere,regardlessofwhetherthesubject
issingularorplural.
Ifheweretoarriveat5pm,Iwouldbeveryhappy.
Or:
Werehetoarriveat5pm,Iwouldbeveryhappy.
3)PronounCase:Ivs.Me,Hevs.Him,etc.
Rules:
Anypronounthatfollowsaprepositionmustbeanobjectpronoun(Me,Her/Him,Us,Them)ratherthana
subjectpronoun(I,She/He,We,They).
Whatgoesforsingular,goesforplural:theSATwillalmostalwayspairapronoun(I,he,etc.)with"and"+
propername.Crossout"and+name,"andyoushouldbeabletohearwhetherthereisanerror.
Ex:Aftertwoweeks,theteacherfinallygaveRobertandI(me)backthereport.
Wouldyousay,TheteachergaveIbackthereport?Obviouslynotyou'dsay"Theteachergavemebackthe
report."SoyouwouldntsaytheteachergaveRobertandIbackthereporteither.
Ifthepronounisnotpairedwithanothername,itwillbefollowedbyanoun(e.g.Towestudents,itseemsunfairthat
classesshouldstartat7:30am.)Crossoutthenoun,andtheerror,ifthereisone,shouldbeobvious.Youwouldsay"to
us,"not"towe,"soyouwouldalsosay"tousstudents."
Important:Betweenyouandme,NOTBetweenyouandI
4)AntecedentPronoun
Anantecedentisanounthatapronounrefersto.Inthesentence,Jamiepickeduptheballandthrewit,theballisthe
antecedentanditisthepronoun.
OneandYou
You...You
One...One
Ex:Ifonewantstoavoidinsectinvasions,you(one)shouldrefrainfromleavingcrumbslyingonthefloor.
Singularvs.Plural
Singularnounsarereferredtobysingularpronounspluralnounsarereferredtobypluralpronouns.
Anysingularnounreferringtoaperson:heorshe,hisorher
Anysingularnounreferringtoathing:itorits
Anypluralnounreferringtopersonorthing:theortheir
Ex:ApersonwhowishestobecomeanOlympiccaliberathletemustdevotevirtuallyalloftheir(hisorher)timeto
training.
BUT:PeoplewhowishtobecomeanOlympiccaliberathletemustdevotevirtuallyalloftheirtimetotraining.
MissingAntecedent
Anypronouninasentencemustclearlyrefertoanoun,pronoun,orgerund.Apronouncannotrefertoanadjective,
verb,oranyotherpartofspeech.
Ex:Becauseofextremeweatherconditions,starvationexistsinsomecountrieswherethey(people)muststruggle
tostayalive.
Ex:Inthereportreleasedbythecommittee,itstatedthatthesignificantbudgetcutswouldbenecessaryforthe
followingyear.
(Thereportreleasedbythecommitteestatedthatsignificantbudgetcutswouldbenecessaryforthefollowingyear).
AmbiguousAntecedent
Hint:lookfortwomaleorfemalenames.
Ex:Afraidthattheywouldbelatetotheparty,JennyandKatedecidedtotakeher(Kates)carratherthanwalk.
DoSovs.Doit
Doit=Wrong
Doso=Right
Ex:Activistswhodefendendangeredspeciesfrompoachingdoit(so)onthegroundsthatsuchanimals,oncegone,are
irreplaceable.
Whatdoesitrefertointhissentence?Defendingendangeredspecies.Butsincethegerunddefendingdoesnt
actuallyappearinthesentence,ithasnorealantecedent.
Important:
ForbothSubjectVerbAgreementandPronounAgreement,beonthelookoutforcollectivenounssuchas
group,committee,company,jury,city,agency,team,etc.Thesenounsarealwaysconsideredsingular,andit
isnotuncommonfortheSATtopairthemwithpluralverbsandpronouns.Wheneveroneofthesewords
appears,youshouldimmediatelybesuspicious.
IT=BAD(mostlikely).Iftheworditisunderlined,itsmostlikelywrong.Checkitsantecedentimmediately.
5)Adjectivevs.Adverb
Adjectivesmodifynouns(ThegoodboyTheloudnoise,etc.)
Adverbsmodifyverbsandadjectivesandusuallyendinly:HespeaksslowlySherunsquickly,etc.
OntheSAT,adverbsandadjectivesareswitchedonlywithoneanother.Ifanadjectiveisunderlined,stickinthe
adverbifanadverbisunderlined,stickintheadjective.
Ex:Thepatientrecoveredquick(quickly),althoughhehadbeenveryillearlierintheweek.
Ex:Becausethemansclothingseemedoddly(odd),heattractedanumberofstares.
6)Parallelism:Lists
Inanygivenlist,eachitemshouldbeintheexactsameformat.Eithernoun,noun,noun,verb,verb,verb,orgerund,
gerund,gerund.Anydeviationisincorrect.
Ex:Susanlikestorun,swim,andgoing(go)horsebackriding.
7)Prepositions/Idioms
Certainexpressionsalwaysrequirecertainprepositions.Forexample,onehasafamiliaritywithsomething,nota
familiarityinsomething.Becausetheyareidiomatic,repositionquestionsmustbedonebyearthereisnowayto
anticipatewhatprepositionwillappearonagiventest.
Ex:Afamiliarityin(with)Latinisusefulforanyonewhowishestopursueseriousstudyofamodernromancelanguage.
8)FaultyComparisons
Rule:Comparethingstothingsandpeopletopeople.
Note:WhenfaultycomparisonquestionsappearinFixingSentences,theywilltypicallybefixedwiththephrasesthatof
(singular)orthoseof(plural)
Ex:InancientGreece,womenwerenotallowedtovoteorholdproperty,theirstatusdifferingfromslaves(fromthat
ofslaves)onlyinname.
Ex:Attheageoftwentyfour,playwrightThorntonWilderwasbaldingandbespectacled,andhisclotheswerelikea
mucholderman(likethoseofamucholderman).
9)Comparativesvs.Superlatives(Morevs.Most)
More/erformofadjective=2itemsbeingcompared
Most/estformofadjective=3+itemsbeingcompared
Ex:Betweenthetigerandthelion,thetigeristhefasteranimal,whilethehippoisthemost(more)ferocious.
Ex:HurricaneKatrinawasoneofthemore(most)destructivestormsofthelasthundredyears.
10)DoubleNegatives,DoublePositives
DoubleNegative
Ex:Thereisscarcely/hardlyno(any)milkleftintherefrigerator.
DoublePositive
Ex:JanethoughtthatSusan'sblousewasmoreprettier(prettier)thanherown.
11)WordPairs
A.Either...Or
Eitherthepoliticianorhisaidewillspeaktothemediathisafternoon.
B.Neither...Nor
Neitherthepoliticiannorhisaidewillspeaktothemediathisafternoon.
C.Notonly...ButAlso
Notonlythepoliticianbutalsohisaidewillspeaktothemediathisafternoon.
D.Both...And
Boththepoliticianandhisaidewillspeaktothemediathisafternoon.
E.BetweenAnd(never"Between...Or")
Betweenthepoliticianandhisaide,thelatterisfarmoreinterestingtolistento.
E.As...As
Theaideisasinterestingaspeakerasthepolitician.
F.More/LessThan
Thepoliticiansaidisamoreinterestingspeakerthanthepoliticianhimself.
G.So/SuchThat
Thepoliticianwassuchaboringspeakerthathalftheaudiencefellasleep.
H.FromTo
Thepoliticiansspeechcoveredtopicsrangingfromtheeconomytotheenvironment.
I.JustasSo(Rare)
Justasthepoliticiansspeechputhalftheaudiencetosleep,sodidthecommentatorsremarkscausetheotherhalfto
beginyawning.
J.Atonce...And(Rare,usuallycorrectwhenitappears)
Thepoliticiansspeechwasatonceintriguingbecauseofitscontentanddullbecauseofthemonotoneinwhichitwas
delivered.
12)NounAgreement
Nounsmustagreeinnumberwhenjoinedbyalinkingverb(usuallytobeortobecome)
Hint:Lookforthephrase"asa+profession"(actor,physicist,entomologist...)
Ex:JennyandRobertwanttobecomeascientist(scientists)whentheygrowup.
Ex:TheWikipediahasjoinedtheEncyclopediaBritannicaasfavoritesources(asafavoritesource)forresearch.
13)RelativePronouns
Who/Thatvs.Which
Whoisforpeople,which/thatisforthings.InErrorIDs,whichistypicallyusedincorrectlytorefertopeoplewhois
notusedtorefertothings.
Ex:Knownforhismanywives,KingHenryVIIIwasaBritishmonarchwhich(who/that)ruledduringtheTudor
period.
When"which"appearsbyitself,itisusuallyincorrectpreposition+which(e.g."inwhich")isusuallycorrect.
"Which"isalwaysprecededbyacommaThatisneverprecededbyacomma
Correct:ThemoviethatopenedlastFridayhasearnedravereviewsfromcritics.
BUT
Correct:Themovie,whichopenedlastFriday,hasearnedravereviewsfromcritics.
VeryImportant:Whovs.WhomisnotactuallytestedontheSAT."Who"isonlyswitchedwith"which."If
"whom"isunderlined,ignoreit.
OtherRelativePronouns
WhenisforTime
WhereisforPlaces(Itisincorrecttosay,"Thestorywhere....")
14)CoordinatingConjunctions(andvs.but)
Whenconjunctionsareunderlined,makesurethattheyconnectthetwohalvesofthesentenceslogically.Ideasthatare
beingcontinuedneedtransitionslikeand,andideasthatarebeingcontradictedneedtransitionslikebut.
Ex:Peoplewithacertainrarediseaseareunabletofeelphysicalpain,and(but)thisdoesnotmeanthattheyareunable
tofeelotherkindsofpain.
Beonthelookoutfor"when,"whichisoftenusedinplaceof"because"or"for."
Ex:ItcameasasurprisetonoonethatSantiagocouldnotfinishtherace,whenhehadputlittleeffortintotraining.
15)Redundancy(Rare,1pertestmaximum)
Ex:Accordingtorecentreports,thecollapseofthecountrysgovernmentisimminentandcouldoccurinthefuture.
16)Usage(Rare,1pertestmaximum)
Ex:Thetallbuildingswerejustbarelyvisual(visible)fromtheoutskirtsofthecity.
FixingSentences
ThefollowingrulesprovideageneralsetofguidelinesfortheFixingSentencesportionoftheWritingsection.
Rulesforpickinganswers:
1)Shorterisbetter:
Alwayslookatanswersfromshortesttolongest
2)ING(esp.Being)isBAD
Gerundscreatesentencefragments
3)PassiveVoiceisBAD
Active:Idrinkthewater
Passive:thewaterisdrunkbyme
Thepassivevoicemakessentenceswordyandawkward.
MajorConceptsTested
1.ConceptsalsotestedonErrorIdentification:
SubjectVerbAgreement(Typicallysubjectprepositionalphraseverb)
AntecedentPronoun(WatchoutforIt,Which,andThis,whichoftenlackantecedents)
VerbTense(esp.TenseConsistency)
Conjunctions(andvs.but/however)
FaultyComparisons(alwaysfixwiththatof/thoseof)
WordPairs(esp.between...and,so...that,justas...so,notonly...butalso)
PronounCase(hevs.him,rare)
2.SentenceFragments
1)Gerundreplacesmainverb
Incorrect:Thebookbeingbannedfromanumberofschoolsbecauseitwassocontroversial.
Tofixthesentence,conjugatetheverb:
Correct:Thebookwasbannedfromanumberofschoolsbecauseitwassocontroversial.
2)Nonessentialandsubordinateclauseerrors
NonEssential:averbshouldfollowanonessentialclause
Incorrect:Thebook,whichwasbannedfromanumberofschools,anditisextremelycontroversial.
Correct:Thebook,whichwasbannedfromanumberofschools,isextremelycontroversial.
Subordinate:themainverbmustappearinthesameclauseasthesubject
Incorrect:Thebook,whichwasbannedfromanumberofschoolsbecauseitwassocontroversial.
CommasandSemicolons
Coordinating(akaFANBOYS)conjunction:
For,And,Nor,But,Or,Yet,So
CoordinatingConjunctionsareusedtojoin2completesentences(independentclauses).TheymustALWAYSbe
precededbyacomma:
Sentence1:Londonisaveryoldcity.
Sentence2:Ithasmanymodernbuildings.
Joined:Londonisaveryoldcity,butithasmanymodernbuildings.
IfacommaaloneisusedtojointwoIndependentClauses,theresultiswhat'sknownasaCommaSplice.Comma
splicesarealwaysincorrect.
CommaSplice:Londonisaveryoldcity,ithasmanymodernbuildings.
Important:WhentwoIndependentClausesthathavethesamesubjectarejoinedwithaCoordinating
Conjunctionwithoutrepeatingthesecondsubject,nocommaisnecessarybeforetheCoordinating
Conjunction.
Correct:Londonisaveryoldcitybuthasmanymodernbuildings.
Incorrect:Londonisaveryoldcity,buthasmanymodernbuildings.
Semicolons
Semicolon=Period.Itisusedtoseparatetwocompletesentences(independentclauses).
Correct:Londonisaveryoldcityithasmanymodernbuildings.
Therearefivetransitions(conjunctiveadverbs)thatshouldalwaysbeprecededbyasemicolonwhentheyappearatthe
beginningofaclause:
1)However
2)Therefore
3)Moreover
4)Consequently
5)Nevertheless
Correct:Londonisaveryoldcityhowever,ithasmanymodernbuildings.
ButasemicolonshouldneverprecedeaFANBOYSconjunction.
Incorrect:Londonisaveryoldcitybutithasmanymodernbuildings.
Note:when"however"isusedparentheticallyinthemiddleofasentence,itmustbesurroundedbycommas.Compare
thefollowingtwosentences:
Correct:Londonisaveryoldcityitis,however,filledwithmodernbuildings.
Correct:Londonisaveryoldcityhowever,itisfilledwithmodernbuildings.
InordertobesuccessfulontheFixingSentencessection,youmustbeabsolutelysolidonthethefourbasic
waysofcombiningindependentclauses:
1)Londonisknownforitsgloomyweather,butitactuallyreceiveslessrainfallthanParisdoes.
2)LondonisknownforitsgloomyweatheritactuallyreceiveslessrainfallthanParisdoes.
3)Londonisknownforitsgloomyweatherhowever,itactuallyreceiveslessrainfallthanParisdoes.
4)LondonisknownforitsgloomyweatherbutactuallyreceiveslessrainfallthanParisdoes.
DanglingModifiers
Rule:Alwaysplacemodifiersascloseaspossibletothenounstheymodify.
Incorrect:Havingresignedforpersonalreasons,theambassador'ssuccessorwillprobablybenamedtomorrow
Whoresigned?
Theambassador.So"Theambassador"isthesubject.
Therefore,theambassadorMUSTbethefirstwordsafterthecomma
Correct:Havingresignedforpersonalreasons,theambassadorplanstonamehissuccessortomorrow
MisplacedModifiers(LessFrequent)
Incorrect:Johnfoundhiskeysrunningdownthestreet.(Itsoundsasifthekeysarerunningalongthestreet)
Correct:Whilerunningdownthestreet,Johnfoundhiskeys.
Gerunds/Wordiness
Gerunds(the"ing"formofaverbthatactsanoun)arefrequentlywrongbecausetheymakesentencesunnecessarily
wordyandawkward.Whenusedinplaceofofconjugatedverbs,theyalsoturnsentencesintofragments.Theeasiest
waytofixagerundistosimplysupplythesubjectandconjugatetheverb.
Incorrect:Thebookwasbannedfromanumberofschoolsbecauseofitbeingsocontroversial.
Important:Theuseofpossessivevs.objectpronounsbeforeagerund(e.g.becauseofhisbeingvs.becauseofhim
being)isNOTtestedontheSAT.Thegerundconstructionitselfistheissue,notthepronoun.
NonEssentialClauses
TheSATwillfrequentlyincludesentenceswithnonessentialclausesplacedinunexpectedplacesifthesentence
makessensewhenthenonessentialclauseisremoved,however,thatanswerwillbecorrect.Itdoesnotmatterthatthe
placementoftheclausemayseemodd.
Correct:Theauthor'slatestnovelisagripping,ifoccasionallyperplexing,pieceoffiction.
Eveniftheoriginalversionofthesentencemaysoundstrange,ifweremovethenonessentialclause,weareleftwith:
Correct:theauthor'slatestnovelisagripping,ifoccasionallyperplexing,pieceoffiction.
Important:Ifasentencecontainsacorrectlyusedparentheticalclauseanddoesnotcontainanother
grammaticalerror,itisvirtuallyalwayscorrect,nomatterhowodditmaysound.
Parallelism
1.Lists(Easy)
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Taggedunder SATGrammarRules SATErrorIdentif ication SATFixingSentences
Ifyouwantadifferentscore,dosomethingdifferently IthinkDavidMulroyismynewhero
Ifyou'reretakingtheSATtoimproveonesection... Don'tlosepointstryingtofinishontime
GreatNYTOverviewofSentenceTypesandTone Procrastinate(or:ifyoucan'thandlethequestionnow,
don't)
Alittlefearisnotabadthing SATIdiomList
WhypushAPsohardanyway? DumbingDownAPComp
backtotop
Theitemsinalistmustallbeinthesameformate
Incorrect:Ilikebiking,swimming,andtoplaysoccer
Correct:Ilikebiking,swimming,andplayingsoccer
2."Phrase"orTwoPartParallelism(Hard)
Frequentlythelastquestionofasection(#11firstsection,#14second)
Lookforclassic"noun+of+noun"structure
Incorrect:JessyeNormanisanAmericanoperasingerwhoisknownfortheemotionalimpactofhersingingandher
intellectualcommandofhermusicisimpressive.
Correct:JessyeNormanisanAmericanoperasingerwhoisknownforboththeemotionalimpactofhersingingand
forherimpressiveintellectualcommandofhermusic.
Lastmodif iedon14January2013
PublishedinSAT Read60759times
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