Grammar Rules

To know for fixing sentences

-Subject-Verb Agreement (Typically subject-prepositional-phrase verb) -Antecedent Pronoun (Watch out for It, Which, and This, which often lack antecedents) -Verb Tense (esp. Tense Consistency) -Conjunctions (and vs. but/however) -Faulty Comparisons (always fix with that of/those of) -Word Pairs (esp. between...and, so...that, just as...so, not only...but also)

Subject - Prepositional Phrase - Verb

A prepositional phrase is, quite simple, a phrase that begins with a preposition (in the box, under the table, over the hill, etc.). Very often these will be inserted between subjects and verbs to distract from subject-verb disagreements. Prepositional phrases always end when you get to the verb. Ex: Changes in the balance of trade seems (seem) remote from everyday concerns, but they can drastically affect how we spend our money. Changes = Subject In the balance of trade = prepositional phrase seem = verb Changes seem remote from everyday concerns, but they can drastically affect how we spend our money.

Word Pairs

A. Either...Or Either the politician or his aide will speak to the media this afternoon. B. Neither...Nor Neither the politician nor his aide will speak to the media this afternoon. C. Not only...But Also Not only the politician but also his aide will speak to the media this afternoon. D. Both...And Both the politician and his aide will speak to the media this afternoon. E. Between...And Between the politician and his aide, the latter is far more interesting to listen to. E. As...As The aide is as interesting a speaker as the politician. F. More/Less...Than The politician's aid is a more interesting speaker than the politician himself. G. So/Such...That The politician was such a boring speaker that half the audience fell asleep. H. From...To The politician's speech covered topics ranging from the economy to the environment. I. Just as...So (Rare) Just as the politician's speech put half the audience to sleep, so did the commentator's remarks cause the other half to begin yawning. J. At once...And (Rare, usually correct when it appears) The politician's speech was at once intriguing because of its content and dull because of the monotone in which it was delivered.

Parallelism

A. Lists In any given list, each item should be in the exact same format. Either noun, noun, noun, verb, verb, verb, or gerund, gerund, gerund. Any deviation is incorrect. Ex: Susan likes to run, swim, and going (go) horseback riding. B. "Phrase" Parallelism This kind of parallel structure more common on Fixing Sentences, but (somewhat easier) versions of it do show up on Error-IDs pretty regularly. The construction on one side of a conjunction must match the construction on the other side of the conjunction as closely as possible. If one side contains noun + of + noun, the other must contain noun + of + noun; if one side contains a gerund, the other must contain a gerund, etc. Ex: The researchers called for strict enforcement of existing tobacco regulations as well as investigating (an investigation of) teenagers' motivations for smoking.

Adjective vs. Adverb

Adjectives modify nouns (The good boy; The loud noise, etc.) Adverbs modify verbs and adjectives and usually end in -ly: He speaks slowly; She runs quickly, etc. On the SAT, adverbs and adjectives are switched only with one another. If an adjective is underlined, stick in the adverb; if an adverb is underlined, stick in the adjective. Ex: The patient recovered quick (quickly), although he had been very ill earlier in the week. Ex: Because the man's clothing seemed oddly (odd), he attracted a number of stares.

Antecedent-Pronoun

An antecedent is a noun that a pronoun refers to. In the sentence, "Jamie picked up the ball and threw it," the ball is the antecedent and it is the pronoun. One and You You...You One...One Ex: If one wants to avoid insect invasions, you (one) should refrain from leaving crumbs lying on your floor. Singular vs. Plural Singular nouns are referred to by singular pronouns; plural nouns are referred to by plural pronouns. Any singular noun referring to a person: He or She/His or Her Any singular noun referring to a thing: It/Its Any plural noun referring to person or thing: They/Their Ex: When the economy does poorly, interest in them (it) becomes all-abiding. Ex: A person who wishes to become an Olympic-caliber athlete must devote virtually all of their (his or her) time to training. BUT: People who wish to become an Olympic-caliber athlete must devote virtually all of their time to training. No Antecedent Ex: Because of extreme weather conditions, starvation exists in some countries where they (people) must struggle to stay alive. Ex: In the report released by the committee, it stated that the significant budget cuts would be necessary for the following year. (The report released by the committee stated that significant budget cuts would be necessary for the following year). Ambiguous Antecedent Ex: Afraid that they would be late to the party, Jenny and Kate decided to take her (Kate's) car rather than walk. Antecedents = Nouns or Gerunds Only Do it = Wrong Do so = Right Ex: Activists who defend endangered species from poaching do it (so) on the grounds that such animals, once gone, are irreplaceable. What does 'it' refer to in this sentence? Defending endangered species. But since the word 'defending' doesn't actually appear in the sentence, 'it' has no real antecedent. Important: For both Subject-Verb Agreement and Pronoun Agreement, be on the lookout for collective nouns such as group, committee, company, jury, city, agency, team, etc. These nouns are always considered singular, and it is not uncommon for the SAT to pair them with plural verbs and pronouns. Whenever one of these words appears, you should immediately be suspicious. IT = BAD (most likely). If the word "it" is underlined, it's most likely wrong. Check its antecedent FIRST.

Prepositions

Certain expressions always require certain prepositions. For example, one has a familiarity with something, not a familiarity in something. Because they are idiomatic, reposition questions must be done by ear; there is no way to anticipate what preposition will appear on a given test. Ex: A familiarity in (with) Latin is useful for anyone who wishes to pursue serious study of a modern romance language.

Faulty Comparisons

Compare things to things and people to people. Ex: In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to vote or hold property, their status differing from slaves (from that of slaves) only in name. Ex: At the age of twenty-four, playwright Thornton Wilder was balding and bespectacled, and his clothes were like a much older man (like those of a much older man). 9) Comparatives vs. Superlatives (More vs. Most) More/-er form of adjective = 2 items being compared Most/-est form of adjective = 3+ items being compared Ex: Between the tiger and the lion, the tiger is the faster animal, while the hippo is the most ferocious (more ferocious). Ex: Hurricane Katrina was one of the more (most) destructive storms of the last hundred years.

Commas and Semicolons

Coordinating (aka FANBOYS) conjunction: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So Coordinating conjunctions are used to join 2 complete sentences (independent clauses). The coordinating conjunction should always follow a comma. Sentence 1: It is very sunny today Sentence 2: It is also very cold Joined: It is very sunny today, but it is also very cold. If a comma is used to join two independent causes, the result is is a comma splice. Comma splices are always incorrect. Comma Splice: It is very sunny today, it is also very cold. Important: When two Independent Clauses that have the same subject are joined with a Coordinating Conjunction without repeating the second subject, no comma is necessary before the Coordinating Conjunction. Correct: It is very sunny today but also very cold. Incorrect: It is very sunny today, but also very cold.

Double Negatives/Double Positives

Double Negative Ex: There is scarcely/hardly no (any) milk left in the refrigerator. Double Positive Ex: Jane thought that Susan's blouse was more prettier (prettier) than her own.

Important Stuff

Each = Singular A number (of) = plural but the number = singular

Redundancy

Ex: According to recent reports, the collapse of the country's government is imminent and could occur in the future.

Prepositional Phrase -Verb - Subject

Ex: Along the Loup Canal in Nebraska extend (extends) a series of parks, lakes, and trails owned and operated by the Loup power district. Along the Loup Canal in Nebraska = prepositional phrase extends = verb a series of parks, lakes, and trails = subject THESE ARE ALMOST ALWAYS ON QUESTIONS 27-29

Diction

Ex: The tall buildings were just barely visual (visible) from the outskirts of the city.

Noun Agreement

Hint: Look for professions Ex: Jenny and Robert want to become a scientist (scientists) when they grow up. Ex: The Wikipedia has joined the Encyclopedia Britannica as favorite sources (as a favorite source) for research.

Misplaced modifiers

Incorrect: John found his keys running down the street. (It sounds as if the keys are running along the street) Correct: While running down the street, John found his keys.

Sentence Fragments

Incorrect: The book being banned from a number of schools because it was extremely controversial. Incorrect: The book that was banned from a number of schools because it was extremely controversial. Correct: The book was banned from a number of schools because it was extremely controversial.

Gerunds/Wordiness

Incorrect: The book was banned from a number of schools because of it being so controversial. Correct: The book was banned from a number of schools because it was so controversial.

Non-Essential Clauses

Incorrect: The book, which was banned from a number of schools, and it was extremely controversial. Correct: The book, which was banned from a number of schools, was extremely controversial. Important: If a sentence contains a correctly used non-essential clause and does not contain another grammatical error, it is almost certainly correct — no matter how odd it may sound (e.g. "A cure for some cancers, scientists believe, may be found within the next decade").

Dangling Modifiers

Rule: Always place modifiers as close as possible to the nouns they modify. Incorrect: Having resigned for personal reasons, the ambassador's successor will probably be named tomorrow Who resigned? The ambassador. So "The ambassador" is the subject. Therefore, the ambassador MUST be the first words after the comma Correct: Having resigned for personal reasons, the ambassador plans to name his successor tomorrow

Semicolons

Semicolons essentially function like periods. They are used to separate two independent clauses when no conjunction is present. Example: It is very sunny today; it is also very cold. A semicolon preceding a Coordinating Conjunction is always incorrect. Incorrect: It is very sunny today; but it is also very cold. There are four transitions that should always be preceded by a semicolon when they appear at the beginning of a clause: 1) However 2) Therefore 3) Moreover 4) Consequently Correct: It is very sunny today; however, it is also very cold. Incorrect: It is very sunny today, however, it is also very cold.

Verb tense

Sentences that start in the past should generally stay in the past; sentences that start in the present should generally stay in the present. Ex: Since serious drama unaccompanied by music was forbidden in all but two London theatres during the eighteenth century, Queen's theatre quickly becoming (became) an opera house. B. Present Perfect vs. Simple Past These questions are almost always recognizable by the inclusion of a date or a time period in the sentence. Any sentence that includes a date in the past or mentions a historical period should always contain a verb in the Simple Past (e.g., went, drank, sang), NOT in the Present Perfect (has gone, has drunk, has sung). Ex: During the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens has become (became) one of the most famous British novelists. However, sentences containing 'since' and "for" require the present perfect (e.g., I have gone to this school since 2005; I have gone to this school for five years). C. Would vs. Will Will and Would get switched with one another; if "will" is underlined, stick in "would" and vice-versa Ex: William Shakespeare, who will (would) become the greatest English dramatist, was born in 1564. In general, "would" should not be used in a sentence with present-tense verbs, and "will" should not be used in a sentence with past-tense verbs. D. Gerunds vs. Infinitives Gerunds and Infinitives are switched with one another Infinitive replaced with gerund: Though she was one of the few women of her time gaining (to gain) international prominence, Clara Barton would not have described herself as a proponent of women's rights. Gerund replaced with infinitive: Laryngitis causes the vocal cords and surrounding tissue to swell, thus preventing the vocal cords to move (from moving) freely. E. Past Participle vs. Simple Past In these questions, the simple past rather than the past participle will be incorrectly paired with a form of the verb "to have." Ex: My little brother has grew (grown) two inches during the past year. F. Past Perfect Past Perfect = Had + Past Participle (e.g. I had seen, I had gone, He had thrown, etc.) When a sentence contains two actions or events that occurred in the past, the action that occurred first should be in the past perfect The phrase 'by the time' is usually a tip-off that the past perfect is required. Ex: By the time it adjourned, the committee made (had made) several important decisions. Action #1: The committee made several important decisions Action #2: The committee adjourned 3) Pronoun Case Ex: After two weeks, the teacher finally gave Robert and I (me) back our report.

Fixing Sentences

The following rules provide a general set of guidelines for the Fixing Sentences portion of the Writing section. Rules for picking answers: 1) Shorter is better: Always start by looking at the shortest answer 2) -ING (esp. Being) is BAD Gerunds create sentence fragments 3) Passive Voice is BAD Active: I drink the water; Passive: the water is drunk by me The passive voice makes sentences wordy and awkward.

There is/There are, There has/There have

There is/has There was = singular noun There has been There are There were = plural nouns There have been incorrect: In recent months, there has been many questions raised about the handling of the company's finances. Correct: In recent months, there have been many questions raised about the handling of the company's finances.

Coordinating Conjunctions (and vs. but)

When conjunctions are underlined, make sure that they connect the two halves of the sentences logically. Ideas that are being continued need transitions like "and," and ideas that are being contradicted need transitions like "but." Ex: People with a certain rare disease are unable to feel physical pain, and (but) this does not mean that they are unable to feel other kinds of pain.

Neither....Nor + Verb

When neither and nor are used with two singular nouns, the verb should be singular. Neither (Singular Noun) + Nor (Singular Noun) = Singular Verb Incorrect: Neither the senator nor his aide are expected to speak to the press today. Correct: Neither the senator nor his aide is expected to speak to the press today.

Subject - Non-Essential Clause - Verb

Whenever you encounter a parenthetical clause (a clause set off by commas that can be removed without affecting the fundamental meaning of the sentence), cross it out and check subject-verb agreement Ex: Galaxies, far from being randomly scattered throughout the galaxy, appears (appear) to be distributed in bubble-shaped patterns. Galaxies - subject Non-Essential Clause - far from being randomly scattered throughout the galaxy, Verb - appears take out the non-essential clause and see what makes sense Galaxies appear to be distributed in bubble-shaped patterns.

Relative Pronouns

Who/That vs. Which Ex: Known for his many wives, King Henry VIII was a British monarch which (who/that) ruled during the Tudor period. -When "which" appears by itself, it is usually incorrect; preposition + which (e.g. "in which") is usually correct. -"Which" is always preceded by a comma; 'That' is never preceded by a comma Correct: The movie that opened last Friday has earned rave reviews from critics. BUT Correct: The movie, which opened last Friday, has earned rave reviews from critics. Very Important: Who vs. Whom is not actually tested on the SAT. "Who" is only switched with "which." If "whom" is underlined, ignore it. Other Relative Pronouns When is for Time Where is for Places (It is incorrect to say, "The story where....")