Grammar Test

Tenses

1) irregular verbs never sound quite right in any tense- to lie, to swim, to drink Ex: On Saturday afternoon, I laid in the sun for an hour, working on my tan. - should be I lay in the sun 2) tense switch don't always need to use the same tense throughout a sentence if it makes sense Ex: At swimming pools last summer, the heat will have brought hundreds and even thousands of people to bathe in chlorine-infested waters. - will have brought doesn't fit

Pronoun shift

A sentence should start, continue, and end with the same kind of pronouns. Pronoun shifts occurs when the kind of pronoun used changes over the course of the sentence. If you begin with plural pronouns, for example, you must use plural pronouns throughout. Ex: When one first begins to play tennis, it's important to work on your serve, and to wield your racket well. -Incorrect because you cannot go from one to you. Has to be "work on one's serve"

Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs are often confused with adjectives, especially when used in comparisons. Adverbs are words used to describe verbs or other adverbs often end in -ly Ex: i ate my pasta quickly Adjectives are words used to describe nouns Ex: I ate my delicious pasta -Well is an adverb and good is an adjective Ex: this paper is going good A paper can't go good, so well is the correct answer. - When comparing two items, use a word that ends in -er, like smarter,better, faster. Only when comparing three or more things can you use a superlative modifier like smartest, best,fastest. Ex: Of the two cars I drive, I like the Lamborghini Diablo best. -Have to say better than my civic.

Subject-Verb agreement

If you have a singular subject, you must use a singular verb. If you have a plural subject, you must use a plural verb 1) Subject after Verb -In most sentences, the subject comes before the verb. The SAT tries to throw you off by giving you a sentence or two in which the subject comes after the verb and the subject- verb match up is incorrect. Ex: There is many people - should be are Ex: Atop my sundae, a colossal mass of ice cream, whipped cream, and sprinkles, sits two maraschino cherries. - Subject are the two maraschino cherries and the verb is sits. However sits is singular so it has to be sit (plural) 2) Subject and Verb are Separated Ex: Sundaes with whipped cream and cherries, while good if consumed in moderation, is heinous if eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner - Sundaes is the subject so although is heinous is miles away it should be plural so are heinous. 3) Neither/Nor and Either/ Or Always talking about two things, but that doesn't mean it has to be plural. If the two things being discussed are singular, you need a singular verb Ex: Neither Kylie nor Jason measure up to Carrie - Both Kylie and Jason are singular therefore the verb must be singular. Measure is a plural verb. 4) Tricky Singular Subjects that seem Plural Singular subjects: anybody, either, audience, nobody, anyone, group, each, none, America, number, everybody, no one, amount, neither, everyone Ex: Of all the students in my class, nobody, not even me, are excited about the new teacher. - nobody is a singular noun, so it needs to be matched with a singular verb. Is excited instead of are excited.

Parallelism

Parallelism in writing means that the different components of a sentence start, continue, and end in the same way. It's especially common to find errors of parallelism in sentences that list actions or items. - A gerund is words that end in -ing (talking, biking, walking) Ex: Jack never liked bathing the dog, feeding the llamas, or to ride his personal roller coaster. - to ride has to change to riding

Pronoun errors

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns- words like she,her,hers,he,him,his,they,their,it,its,that, and which. Ex: Bernie felt better after eating could be replaced with Ex: He felt better after eating

Pronoun agreement

Pronouns must agree in number with the noun they refer to. If the noun is plural, the pronoun must be plural; if the noun is singular, the pronoun must be singular incorrect sentence Ex: Every student in the classroom pretended to forget their homework - when you start out with a singular noun (like students, someone, anyone, or no one), you can replace it or refer to it only with a singular pronoun ( like his or her). This sentence begins with the singular noun student, so the pronoun must be singular too. Their is plural.

Pronoun case

The "case" of a word refers to the function that a word performs in a sentence. There are two cases subjective and objective case. A word that is the subject of a sentence is the main noun that performs the verb. The object of a sentence is the noun towards which, or upon which, the verb is being directed. Ex: Joe kissed Mary - Joe is the subject, since he performed the kiss, and Mary is the object, since she received the kiss. When a pronoun replaces a noun, that pronoun must match the noun's case. Subjective Case Pronouns: I, You, He,She,It, We, They, Who Objective Case Pronouns: Me, You, Him, Her, It,Us,Them,Whom Ex: Her and her friend like to stay in their hotel room - DROP THE FRIEND - Her likes to stay or She likes to stay

Ambiguous Pronoun

We call a pronoun ambiguous when it's not absolutely clear to whom or what the pronoun refers. Ex: Sarah told Emma that she had a serious foot odor problem, and that medicated spray might help. Incorrect: the pronoun she is a problem. Who has a problem with foot odor Sarah or emma? She is ambiguous

Comparison using pronouns

Your suspicions should rise when you see a comparison made using pronouns. When a pronoun is involved in a comparison, it must match the case of the other pronoun involved. Ex: I'm fatter than her, which is good, because it means i'll win this sumo wrestling match -In this sentence I is being compared to her. These two pronouns are in different cases, so one of them must be wrong. Since only her is underlined it must be wrong -Can also add is Ex: Im fatter than her is (wrong)

Idioms

a prepositional phrase that's off Ex: Joan Rivers recently moved to a brand-new apartment in 108th street. - in should be on

Gerunds

a verb form that ends in -ing. Ex: In my family, Thanksgiving dinner usually causes two or more family members to engage in a screaming match, thus preventing the meal to be completed. (right)